The Rising Cost of Living and the Sharing Economy: How Sharing Economy Platforms can help Individuals and Businesses to Thrive during Crisis

In my latest LinkedIn newsletter, I’m sharing my views and insights on how sharing economy platforms offer both individuals and businesses a solution to cope with the current cost of living crisis.??

I'd like to start with a story based on my own real-life discovery into the economy of sharing. Are you sitting comfortably? Then let’s begin…

Around this very time of the year, 3 years ago, I found myself in the midst of a viral health pandemic. Everything I had known up to that point as safe and secure, had suddenly become very unstable. My job, my home, even my favourite place to eat out on a Friday night were on rocky ground, and I knew I needed to make some changes fast if I was going to mentally and financially navigate this crazily uncertain time.?

I started to think about how I could make a little extra income on the side, a ‘just in case fund’ should the worst happen. I started a little side hustle sharing my skills on small projects for extra cash and soon found myself with a network of friends and colleagues who were loaning and borrowing their time, skills, cars, spare rooms and whatever else they had, in an effort to cut down on costs and make some extra cash. Life was good (well, as good as it can get in the middle of a global pandemic) and I found that I was not only earning extra cash, but I was reducing my spend through sharing.?

Then one day, on a business call, I spoke to a contact who mentioned they were about to lose a top graphic designer because the business couldn’t afford to keep them on. This is where the light bulb shone over my head and a seed of an idea began. “Why not keep them on and I can borrow 50% of their capacity next month for a new project I have planned,” I said. “I'll pay for the time delivered to cover 50% of their salary for that month. You get to keep them on and I get an expert graphic designer for my project?”... and this is how TheHIVE was born.

More on this later, but first…

What are Sharing Economy Platforms anyway?

Simply put, they are online marketplaces that allow people to borrow and lend their goods or services with others. They’ve become increasingly popular in recent years, as they offer people a way to make extra money and cut down on unnecessary new purchases, while also helping to reduce the cost of living.?

What are the benefits of Sharing Economy Platforms?

A huge benefit of sharing economy platforms is that they provide people with a way to make extra income; we’ve seen this through examples like Just Park (a personal favourite especially when I'm visiting London) where people rent out their available parking spaces, and TaskRabbit where individuals find odd jobs in their area with people who need their skills (Guilty! I still manage to make minor plumbing problems worse). In turn, this additional income can help people go some way to covering the cost of living expenses.

They also help people save money. For example, people can use sharing economy platforms to find cheaper services than they would normally pay. We’re all familiar with platforms like Airbnb for renting out spare rooms, homes or apartments, which can often be much cheaper than a traditional hotel or rental.?

Similarly, platforms like Uber are often cheaper and in higher supply to help you get around than traditional taxi companies. It’s pretty simple, using cheaper services and goods means people can reduce their monthly expenses and save money.?

What about the Sharing Economy for Businesses?

The sharing economy is a rapidly growing economic system and is becoming increasingly popular as a way for businesses to access new markets and embed different ways of working, while also cutting down on unnecessary costs.?

Shared office space, through businesses like Hubble, Breather and Flexe have allowed businesses to cut down on office rental costs, and businesses like Yard Club for example, have helped construction companies to loan out their available equipment and machinery.

One obvious (and dare I say, "exceptional") example of a B2B sharing economy platform is TheHIVE . TheHIVE is a staff sharing platform which facilitates non-competing businesses to share staff.?

Say for example, you have a business who is currently over-resourced, wants to retain their talented staff, but is struggling to pay their salary alongside other increased business costs, they can loan out their member of staff on a temporary basis to an under-resourced business who is in need of that individuals set of skills and expertise.?

Staff sharing is a great way for businesses to save money as the loaning business has their staff’s salary taken care of whilst retaining and up-skilling their staff member, and the borrowing company has access to the skills they need, without having to hire and pay full-time employees, contractors or work with recruitment companies.?

TheHIVE is an invaluable resource during the cost of living crisis, as it helps businesses reduce their costs, retain their talent and grow, while still meeting their staffing needs.

How can Businesses begin to embed a Model of Sharing?

1. Be clear on your needs: Before introducing a sharing model it’s important to understand your needs and what type of services or goods you want to borrow and share. This will help you determine which sharing economy models are best suited to help you stabilise and grow during periods of uncertainty.?

2. Do your research: Once you have identified your business needs, it is important to research the different sharing economy platforms to help you determine which ones are going to sustainably move you forward.?

3. Challenge your thinking: Often, sharing economy platforms like TheHIVE offer an alternative solution to traditional ways of working. Just because you’ve always done something a certain way doesn’t mean you need to continue in that way.

To summarise, sharing economy platforms have and will continue to be an important part of the solution to the cost of living crisis. By providing both individuals and businesses with ways to make additional income, cut costs and save money, as well as creating new opportunities, we will see more and more people joining this economy of sharing.?

Staff Sharing and TheHIVE?

We are at a very exciting time in the development of TheHIVE with over 200 members and businesses hiring shared staff through our platform . It’s FREE to join!

Join us on our journey by subscribing to this newsletter where we will be sharing regular news, information and updates.