It’s all about the sharing economy

As a concept, the sharing economy is simple. Yet, brilliant!

Leverage excess capacity to generate revenue. Whether you are a business or an individual is less relevant. What is important is whether the product or service that you have spare capacity for can be marketed. The capacity may be a fleet of cars sitting idle at an automobile dealership, or a spare room in your house located in the downtown core of a metropolitan city. From Airbnb to Airpnp, it is all about the sharing economy.

The sharing economy connects users with providers through apps on your smart mobile devices. And, if you are wondering about Airpnp, it is an app similar to Airbnb, except that it manages “lavatory logistics.” Simply put, the app lets you find a clean facility near you, all courtesy of someone who is willing to let you use the toilet located within their business, home, or condominium for a fee. A good idea, if you are stuck at a large event like the Mardi Gras in New Orleans or the Caribana in Toronto.

Welcome to the sharing economy!

If you have occasionally used Craigslist, eBay, Airbnb, or Uber you are already part of the sharing economy. The collaborative economy, as Jeremiah Owyang refers to it – is causing traditional businesses enough disruption for them to pay attention. Savvy customers with high-end mobile devices are no longer afraid to use apps on their phones to summon a ride or check into a room at a privately promoted bed and breakfast, bypassing the big hotel chains. And, this appears to be just the tip of the iceberg.

Opportunities are many and span a variety of products and services. For instance, if you have a large collection of construction tools, you could rent those, similar to the way Home Depot does. Or, perhaps you are a genius at creating macros in Microsoft Excel and want to register as a freelancer at oDesk. In the same vein, LendingClub could replace your bank; Zipcars could replace your second car, and Munchery could get you food cooked by professional chefs delivered to your home.

You get the picture.

Whether you buy into the theory that this is the way of the future or not, it is clear that people’s appetite to share things – for gain or otherwise – is growing.

Mobile technology, cheap bandwidth availability, and creative applications are here to stay. Some of the current players will survive, and some will not. New ones will come up who challenge the status quo. The changing attitudes of socially connected users cannot be ignored. For some businesses, it may make sense to jump in on the action now.

After all, no one wants to be the next Blockbuster Video.

So, are you comfortable with the concept of the sharing economy?