5 Ways the Sharing Economy Can Help You Start Your Own Business.
The sharing economy has made a significant impact in the lives of business owners and consumers. It makes almost anything less expensive and easier to access. For people looking to start a business, inexpensive convenience is a godsend. Utilizing the sharing economy will do wonders for your budget and your time. If you’re scrambling to figure out how to have your business needs met on a shoestring budget, see what the sharing economy has to offer you.
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You can crowdfund almost anything. Crowdfunding is an amazing option for people whose business involves a proprietary or original product of some kind. People can effectively pre-purchase that product by crowdfunding your capital raising campaign, waiting until the goal has been reached and production is completed to receive what they’ve paid for. It might be a little harder to use crowdfunding platforms to raise money for a local business that deals more in services than products, but it’s still not technically impossible. If you have something to offer people, they might still be interested in funding you.
Starting a business may require you to travel. You might not be able to meet with people, visit warehouses, scout locations, or see where a product is produced from where you currently live. If you need to leave town to get things done, the sharing economy makes travel cheaper. Ridesharing services are less expensive than renting a car or even calling a traditional cab. Home rental services cut down travel expenses a lot by providing you with laundry facilities and a kitchen, so you’ll spend less money on food and washing your clothes while you’re away.
You might not be able to hire a full-time staff member to deal with a problem that only comes up once, or something you’ll only need to handle periodically. That’s where freelancers come in handy. You can hire freelancers from almost anywhere – just post an ad on the Gumtree job board and you’ll find there are all sorts of people willing to pick up a small gig with you as an independent contractor. If you like them, you can even turn them into permanent employees when you grow large enough to offer them a fair salary.
Do you have an office building or a retail space for your small business? Is it really expensive to keep up with? Good news – you can split the bills! Any extra space you have can be rented out, whether you use it as a consignment shelf for local retailers to sell their wares, a conference room for another startup to meet up, or a storage space for your community. You can even monetize your parking lot by charging people for events or airport parking if you’re close to a major city. You might even make enough to free up capital that will allow you to grow your business even bigger.
The sharing economy will allow you to hire remote experts. Need a tech support guy? Get the best one, no matter where in the world he’s located. What about an accountant, or a contracts lawyer, or a social media manager? Even if you don’t have a desk for them at your office, you still have a place for them at your business. It doesn’t matter if local talent will suffice when the internet can connect you to the best and brightest person for the job.
The sharing economy presents countless opportunities for people to see the results they need for a price they can afford. Before you go the traditional route, make sure there isn’t a sharing economy alternative that will suit your needs even better than you had initially anticipated.
5 Ways the Sharing Economy Can Help You Start Your Own Business
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