The simplest key to success: a Sharing Economy of Goodwill

What do you think of when you see the words sharing economy??Uber??Airbnb??Homexchange??Poshmark??The past decade has brought a wave of companies that formulated compelling business models with the sharing economy as the foundation of their platform. ?Many of us have benefitted from them on both sides of the transaction and in the cases I mentioned above, they all involve an exchange of currency.?So is a sharing economy one where one party benefits from sharing a service such as a ride, or a good such as a worn pair of jeans, and the other benefits financially??

When I think of the idea of sharing, money doesn’t come to mind.?Maybe it is because I have a 2-year-old.?He is as cute as a button, and he doesn’t really like to share.?Imagine suggesting that if he shares his garbage truck with his friend “Elle-B” she will reciprocate with a few bucks. ?If I were to suggest that idea I’m 100% positive it would not induce any sort of change in his willingness to share. ?However, for me, the word economy does imply a currency of some sort.?Maybe money or even the decentralized world’s push toward digital assets.?The googled definition of economy is:?the wealth and resources of a country or region, especially in terms of the production and consumption of goods and services.?There’s actually no mention of any type of currency.??

So let's take currency out of the equation.?While it is my belief that mankind instinctually instituted a sharing economy prior to any sort of currency being developed, none of us were around to appreciate the times when the farmer & the hunter would exchange produce for meat or the seamstress and the cobbler would exchange clothing for shoes.?Therefore, the modern-day example that comes to mind first is Burning Man.??Having never been I have heard from enough friends to know that while wild costumes, elaborate art installations, howling dust storms, and perhaps some psychedelics and a few group orgies prevail, the beautiful underlying foundation of Burning Man is a sharing economy sans any sort of monetary transaction.?Everyone brings something to offer.?Maybe it’s grandma's pigs in a blanket, maybe it’s a tarot card reading, maybe it’s a performance or a massive sculpture or maybe it’s healing someone's chronic pain through energy.?Nothing’s off limits and everything is given and received without currency.?Burning man is a prime example of a non-monetary exchange of goods and services.?

What if there is no exchange of money or goods or services, rather a simple exchange of goodwill??Having spent the bulk of my career in sales followed by my career as an entrepreneur I often find myself on the receiving end of business engagements.?In sales, it was asking customers for the business, as an entrepreneur it is asking for business but also for connections, insights, resources that will benefit me and my business.?I have had the good fortune of so many givers, more like angels on earth, landing in my path.?Offering connections, introductions, and saying yes without anything in it for them.?And I feel grateful, almost unworthy, and sometimes even uncomfortable.?While I don’t like the feeling of doing all the taking I need these connections, introductions, yes’s to survive as a business owner.?It feels uncomfortable because I’m a giver.?I would rather throw a party than have one thrown for me.?I’d rather give a gift than get one.?So this experience of asking for things without immediate reciprocity feels a bit uncomfortable.?And I felt compelled to swing the pendulum back a bit.?So I started thinking about the sharing economy and how it may apply outside of the exchange of goods, services, and money.?A sharing economy of goodwill.

Recently I was doing some networking on LinkedIn and 1 man's name kept popping up as a connection to just about everyone I was trying to connect with.?So I reached out, not really knowing much about him or his business.?Turns out he is a big deal.?A massive deal. ?Like his firm spun off from Eric Schmidt, former CEO of Google’s, venture firm and he has brought many, many tech companies to life.?But he agreed to meet with me.?There was clearly nothing in it for him.?He graciously told me his story & listened to mine.?We had a lovely conversation and he offered up some helpful insights and a few connections.?I asked him why he was willing to meet with me when there was clearly nothing in it for him.?His response:?“you just never know where conversations like this one may lead in the future”.?

You see I have also experienced the opposite.?Reaching out to people I can actually help or there could be mutual benefit to our meeting and I have gotten responses like “why do we need to meet?”?“what is the agenda?”, “how can you help me?”, “no I’m not willing to meet with you”, or just no response at all.?It is interesting because these folks are far less of a big deal than my VC friend.?Their businesses are far less successful.?Their networks far less decorated.?And while they are posing resistance, questioning what’s in it for them, a man who has incredibly powerful connections, and much more important people to have conversations with than me, said “yes, I’d love to meet you”.??

I left my new VC friend’s office with a firm commitment to myself.?No matter how successful, important, or busy I get, I will always make time to meet with people and authentically do my best to help them.?I also pondered the notion of the sharing economy of goodwill and wondered how I may give back to the economy as a whole since I was clearly not able to give back to this man directly. ?I grabbed lunch, reviewed my notes, and it hit me.?The local sandwich shop where I was currently eating lunch competes with businesses like Jimmy Johns & Jersey Mike’s. ?Yelp & Google reviews are significant if not crucial to their business.?I had a good experience, so why not take the time & effort to leave them a good review??The sandwich shop owner & the VC businessman don’t have much in common and most likely don’t know each other, but he took the time to help me, so I should take the time to help the sandwich shop owner.?A micro example of a sharing economy of goodwill.?

Success in a sharing economy of goods & services is defined by how much is exchanged and the monetary value.?In a non-monetary sharing economy success is defined by the perceived value of what was received vs. given. ?And, if we think about success in a sharing economy of goodwill and extrapolate it to what you put in you will get out, it starts to make sense why my VC friend is wildly successful.?When there is no negotiation of goods, services, or money, and the only thing at stake is time & the willingness to help someone out without reciprocity, perhaps those who rise in the world are the ones who put the most into this sharing economy of goodwill???I needn’t much excuse to find ways to give to this sharing economy of goodwill as I’ve been so fortunate as a recipient, but now I truly believe, having had a picture painted right in front of me that giving to this universal sharing economy will directly equate to my own success.?Writing reviews, connecting people, offering insights, promoting other business owners, and even putting time in to write articles like this are all ways of contributing to the sharing economy of goodwill and most likely my own success.?How have you found ways to contribute to the sharing economy of goodwill?

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