How to create a good project based on economy sharing?

The sharing economy is becoming an increasingly popular business model. In a world that offers us an abundance of opportunities, we are increasingly choosing to “be” instead of “have.” This, in turn, means that instead of consumerism and owning things outright, we are opting for renting, renting or cost-sharing. What is the essence of economy sharing and how to create a functioning project when working with 4BSystems?

What is economy sharing?

Probably most of us are familiar with sharing apps, through which we can rent or lease certain goods. The Panek app will give us access to a car for minutes, on BlaBlaCar we can find a ride to a destination of our choice, and through AirBnB we can book an apartment or room for a few days. What an individual or company does not use temporarily, but can give away for rent, will be an offer to meet a certain need with another entity. Thus, a certain good generates a profit for the landlord, and the tenant gets an affordable and generally cheaper alternative. Importantly, those using economy sharing do not have to buy the good outright. This allows them to bypass financial barriers and, at a fraction of the cost, enjoy the leased item when they actually need it.

The whole thing can be likened somewhat to the scene when, in communist Poland, one family in a block of flats had a telephone and neighbors used it in exchange for small favors. At the time, however, such sharing was dictated by the scarcity of goods on the market – autos, household appliances and electronics were considered luxuries. Today, economy sharing is associated with a rejection of an attitude of consumerism and a desire to reduce the carbon footprint. We are increasingly appreciative of neighbors and individuals, they are the ones we would rather pay rent to than corporations with multimillion-dollar incomes. This is also part of “economics in practice.” Why should an item gather dust or burden the owner with costs when others can bear some of the expense while enjoying having their need met?

Types of economy sharing

The aforementioned situation with landline phone sharing in the days of rightly gone by is just one face of economy sharing. Based on current market trends and business models, several types of economy sharing can be distinguished, depending on what becomes the shared good. Among them, three basic groups predominate:

• Accomodation sharing – for example. AirBnb, which is used to offer accommodations with private, verified hosts;
• Car sharing – for example. Traficar, where a car can be rented by the minute or hour and we pay by the “mileage” or rental time;
• Goods sharing (sharing of movable property) – such as Tier, which offers rentals of bicycles or electric scooters by the minute.

It is worth noting that a rapidly growing group is the latter – goods sharing. It is taking on more and more different faces – from renting catering accessories to lending construction equipment to providing board games. Companies are also entering this model by offering their product line for rent, an example of which is Decathlon Rent – under this service you can rent sports equipment instead of buying it on your own. A specific form of economy sharing is the hiring of services, such as bodyleasing, where several companies use the services of an employee who is employed by a completely different entity.

Economy sharing in Poland

The fact that economy sharing is present in Poland will probably not surprise anyone. In almost every major city you will find entities sharing buses, cars or scooters. The previously discussed AirBnb application covers the whole of Poland, so we can find accommodation in Warsaw and the Tri-City as well as in Murzasichle, Lagow or Kudowa-Zdroj. With the help of BlaBlaCar, a student from Dzierżoniów will get to Wroclaw, and tourists from Wloclawek will reach Rome, stopping in Austria on the way. More and more portals like Useme are springing up, where freelancers offer their services and people with jobs or their own businesses contribute to bodyleasing. In contrast, how the economy sharing market is developing is the subject of research by audit firms.

In reports presented by PwC as early as 2016, one could see the communication that economy sharing is the future not only for Poland, but also for the whole world. It is estimated that statistically two out of three Poles know what economy sharing is all about and can point to examples of businesses that rely on this model. At the same time, about 42% of people have used such a service at least once, and one in three Poles regularly use economy sharing. By comparison, in the aforementioned 2016, the concept of economy sharing was known to 40% of people, and the use of such solutions was declared by one in four respondents. This shows that its popularity is steadily increasing year after year. All indications are that, for economic reasons and through social trends, this situation will continue.

App and website based business

The scale of success of the largest economy sharing app, AirBnB, is truly impressive. Asset value at the end of 2022 was $16 billion, and net income for last year exceeded $1.5 billion. And it all started in 2008 with a website where the three founders offered a “bed & breakfast” service in the form of… a free mattress and breakfast together. The advantage of their business was that the conditions were acceptable to couchsurfers (people staying overnight in private homes instead of motels and hotels), and the price – much more competitive than in professional facilities. The capital raised in this way was used by the founders of “Air bed&breakfast” for marketing, development of the site and, later, creation of a mobile app.

And in fact, having a temporarily unused asset or knowing people who have one, we can start our own sharing. To make this happen, you will need a functional website and app that will allow your customers to make sharing requests. You don’t need a colossal budget to rock a full-scale business – all you need is a few thousand zlotys to create an IT platform and advertise your app or website on social media. For the first few months, your concept will be treated more as a passive income, but over time it can be fruitful enough to make you quit your day job and live on your own sharing or solely on service commissions.

Economy sharing with 4BSystems

You already have the concept of your own economy sharing, the business strategy is ready and all you need is a stable, refined IT platform? We will help you realize your idea and introduce you to the world of e-commerce market! Our specialists will prepare for you mobile and web programs that will allow your customers to take advantage of the proposed products and services. Both the website and the mobile application will be fully compatible and functional with each other. Not only will we take care of the essential mechanisms, such as preparing the reservation system, plugging in secure payments or creating a login panel, but we will also take care of the aspects of aesthetics and a consistent visual layer. Our software house has many years of experience, which includes hundreds of completed projects and tens of thousands of man-hours. Each of our employees specializes in a specific IT niche, so we complement each other holistically and create tailored solutions. We undertake orders both on a micro scale and extensive, complex projects. When you choose 4B Systems, you are assured of working with specialists on the programming side.