Sharing is Caring... Even for Startups!

The Shared Economy Concept, at its core, is based on the most efficient use of money and resources. In the era of start-ups, gathering the resources is the most challenging aspect of any start-up. The broader vision of the founders of a start-up need to be simplified into micro plans so as to achieve the objective initially set. These micro plans focus on the resource requirements of the start-up. By resource requirement we mean all the tangible and intangible forces which are needed to build up the venture. It includes manpower requirements, space requirements and funding to name a few. Since the funds available to a start-up are usually limited, manpower planning plays a crucial role. An essential ingredient to effective leadership is to manage the resources efficiently. As the funds are limited, resource sharing can play an important role in the success of the venture. The technological advancement across all industries today makes resource sharing a very convenient and appropriate choice. An effective human resource management technique is to hire freelancers for specific tasks. A lot of female workforce of our country, who are on a career break but enthusiastic and willing to provide their services through flexible working options, are being taken on board at reasonable cost by the start-ups.

Similarly, the marketing function plays a crucial role in the success of any start-up. However, establishing a fully fledged marketing department cannot be an economically viable option for any start-up. So in such a case, a part time marketing team can be hired or you can say the marketing function can be outsourced in order to reap the benefits of expertise at a pocket friendly cost.

Outsourced CMO at present is providing exactly this service with expert marketing strategies at reasonable cost. Classic example of success through resource sharing is that of eBay. The uprising of eBay led to the strong foundation of the sharing economy. There is no question that the sharing economy, where users are able to rent what they want, be it skills, a room, or a car has disrupted the traditional economy. When a company is still small, it doesn't need a full-time marketing department. It probably also doesn't need a full-time IT person, a dedicated accountant, or a company chef. Conveniently, these jobs can all be hired out to freelancers.

Today a start-up can hire someone to build its web page or someone to create the text of its brochure, hire someone to do its corporate taxes or help it to manage its fund professionally so that it can pave its way to success. Collaborative consumption offers economic benefits for everyone involved. With the proliferation of online jobs and ride-hailing providers such as Ola, Rapido, Quick ride, and others, people can now work from the comfort of their home and use their owned vehicle to generate an extra source of income. People can also sell unwanted pre-owned items on portals such as OLX and eBay. This ensures the seller makes some money on commodities that were otherwise futile. On the other side of these arrangements, you may eliminate the cost of car ownership, reduce your travel expenses, and secure valuable financial support for a new business idea that may not have been fundable otherwise.

Sharing economy’s contribution to societal concerns isn’t just restricted to the environment. One very important aspect of sharing economy is instilling trust amongst community members. Earlier the apprehensions of having unfamiliar faces as guests soon were overcome by strong driving principles that led to the creation of the Airbnb community. Many sharing economy platforms, such as ridesharing apps like Uber and Airbnb, have built-in ratings and reviews that help keep providers and consumers honest. These trust-building efforts help the share economy participants see one another as equals, building constructive relationships where none existed previously.

While these are still early days in the resource sharing and not all is green, the potential it holds is second to none. As technology takes giant strides forward reducing processing time, increasing capacity and a wider interconnected network, it’s only fair to assume it would add on to empowering communities as a whole with sharing economy at its center. To make sure that your business survives the current economic turmoil, look for ways to move with the current, instead of against it. Thus resource sharing can benefit your business if you let it!