Our day-to-day lives have fundamentally changed—how we take vacations, furnish our homes, how we get to work. It’s called the sharing economy, and opportunities that were incomprehensible 20 years ago—letting strangers stay in your home, for example—are now commonplace.
Technology made this possible. With a few taps on an app, you can rent a car, hire someone to hang your blinds, or rent an office space for the afternoon.
Entrepreneurs have seized this shift in the market to create a cavalcade of new ideas that capitalize on the sharing boom. Here are three ways that the sharing economy is a boon for small businesses:
1. Technology is making it easier for entrepreneurs. You can get someone to code an app for you on Guru in the morning, launch it on the App Store in the afternoon, and have people trading restaurant leftovers by dinnertime. Technology facilitates a breakneck speed for business and life. Technology offers access to an enormous customer base; 3 billion people worldwide use the internet, and 90 percent of the United States is online.
The time is now for entering the sharing economy. To do so, you will need to be smart about your tech. Small businesses do not often have their own IT departments, so choosing a reliable technology partner is a crucial decision. Equipping your business with the appropriate devices, such as the Dell XPS 13—an exceptionally light notebook that’s blazingly fast and stocked with the latest performance features—is vital to enabling productivity.
2. Millennials are on board in a big way. Millennials are buying fewer new cars and new homes than ever before. Instead, they are supplementing those needs with the sharing economy.
With companies offering up everything from parking spots, to textbooks, to clothing, to bikes, the sharing economy grants access to necessities and luxuries alike, often at a discount or with added convenience. It works for those who already trust technology and do not make serious commitments—the quintessential millennial.
It isn’t just millennials who are giving sharing a shot. According to a PricewaterhouseCoopers study, those familiar with the sharing economy agree it saves money, adds convenience, is better for the environment and builds a sense of community.
3. Work styles are changing for the better. The sharing economy enables businesses—both large and small—to redefine the workplace. At Dell, work flexibility is now a key pillar of our culture and we have seen personal, environmental, and productivity benefits that come from enabling employees to work from home.
Dell’s Future Workforce Study 2016 reveals just how technology is shaping the workplace and how it is perceived. Dell is committed to supporting team members in working where and when they’re most productive–and we’re providing them with the tools and resources to be successful as part of our long-term strategy to adapt to an evolving workforce’s needs. That means employees can work in the office, from home, coffee shops, WeWork or wherever they are most productive.
Dell collaborated with WeWork to enable some employees to work at WeWork Austin. WeWork is a co-working space where several companies work alongside each other; WeWork locations exist all over the world.
Through our partnership with WeWork, we launched the Dell Technology Labs. Our Technology Labs enable WeWork members to check out Dell technology, test their apps on Windows devices, ask questions, borrow equipment and purchase systems directly. Dell Technology Labs are open in WeWork locations in Chicago, New York, Miami, and most recently, Austin, Texas.
To celebrate the opening of the Austin WeWork Technology Lab, Dell hosted a “Shareconomy” dinner with attendees hailing from sharing economy companies throughout Austin—an especially hot topic in the growing city.
Attendees from Zipcar, Uber, Glossy, Home Away, the Austin Technology Council, the Austin Chamber of Commerce, and the Austin Young Chamber could be heard declaring the dinner’s theme “Keep Austin Sharing”. Sharing economy companies like Priv, Smilebooth, and Sourced showed up with their company offerings in tow, providing on demand bar tending, hair styling, and more.
The sharing economy is here to stay, and the options are endless for those looking to be a part of the equation. Start brainstorming (rent a room to do it), get your ideas down (hire someone to build a slide deck), access some capital (need a loan?), and get sharing!
Dell’s commitment to facilitating economic growth by enabling entrepreneurs and small businesses spans every way you could possibly choose to innovate. So, whether you are creating the newest sharing economy mega-app or opening a new trendy coffee shop in downtown Austin, Dell is ready to bring our high-performance tech to your doorstep—or your shared office space.