The shared economy community has always existed, especially in small villages, where it makes sense to share resources. Why should every Tom, Dick and Harry dig a well, when they can all share Joe’s instead?
Fortunately, in the past few years, the internet has helped to bring the shared economy ideal to the world stage, by enabling easier communication and greater opportunities for exchange. These days, the possibilities are endless. You can rent your apartment or sell your grandfather’s old cuckoo clock to people in need.
With a shared economy, everyone wins – consumers often pay less than they would for the same service from bigger corporations, and those renting or selling their things often make a tidy profit. What’s not to love?
If you’re still not convinced, check out Dan and Holly below, and have a think about which you would prefer to be…
Dan and Holly live in London. They both make £1,500 a month and need some extra cash, but Dan is struggling to think of a way to improve his situation.
 |  |
This is DanDan is 36 and loves dalmatians, swimming and jazz music. His mother says he’s the most beautiful boy in the world. He lives alone in a 60m2 flat that costs £900 a month. He’s not exactly loaded, but he can treat himself from time to time. | This is HollyHolly is 29, and loves cucumber sandwiches, hockey and, though she doesn’t like to admit it, Justin Bieber. She also lives in a 60m2 flat with her dog Socks, and pays £900 a month for it. |
 |  |
| Dan has an extra bedroom, which he only uses when his beloved mother comes to stay. | Holly also has people over sometimes, but once in a while she rents out her extra room with Wimdu, and makes £35 per night. She usually rents it about 5 days per month, and meets loads of interesting people in the process. |
 |  |
| Dan uses public transport to get to work. It’s not ideal. Three buses, a sweaty sprint to the tube and 5 connections later, he arrives in work about an hour after he left his flat. He spends £150 on his monthly pass. | Holly wouldn’t give up those extra 30 minutes in bed for anything. That’s why she drives to the office. She spends £80 a month on petrol, but she always goes with 2 other people who she met on blablacar, and who pay her £1 a journey. She saves time and money – and it’s better for the environment than everyone using their own car. |
 |  |
| Dan doesn’t have a car, so his parking space is always empty. | Holly leaves her parking spot empty when she goes to work, so she rents it out via JustPark to Lindsay, an aspiring pop star. If Lindsay ever gets her big break, Holly will have no problem finding someone else to rent her space out to. |
 |  |
| Dan pays £30 a month for Wi-Fi in his apartment. When he’s not at home and needs to surf the web (usually just to look at videos of kittens) he goes to a bar and has a drink while he uses their internet. He has about 5 coffees with whipped cream and marshmallows every month. | Holly uses Fon, a company that allows her to share her Wi-Fi network and in exchange use other people’s networks whenever she needs to. This month alone, she’s already seen 254 pictures of kittens. |
 |  |
| According to his friends, Dan makes the best Sunday roasts in the world, but he’s always too lazy to cook. He normally just orders takeaway and eats it watching an indie film that’s way too arty for him. | Holly’s passionate about cooking and loves meeting new people. Ever since she discovered VizEat, she cooks a couple of times a month and charges £20 per person. She meets people from all over the world and makes a tidy profit in the meantime. |
 |  |
| Dan studied History at uni and knows loads about London. Whenever he’s out and about with friends he likes to bore them with facts about the city. | Holly also loves London, and knows it like the back of her hand. She puts her knowledge to good use, and organises local tours every month, charging £20 per tourist. |
 |  |
| Dan occasionally goes cycling around Hyde Park and likes to think of himself as the next Bradley Wiggins. His bike disagrees. It’s usually left alone to rust for weeks on end, waiting to be used. | Holly prefers mountain biking, but doesn’t use it all that often. That’s why she rents it via the platform Spinlister, for £25 per day. |
 |  |
| Dan has a load of old junk that he never uses but can’t bring himself to throw out either. His parents worry he’s got Diogenes Syndrome. Really, he’s just a bit lazy. | Holly’s the opposite. She has a rule that if she doesn’t use something for a year she puts it on wallapop. She sells about one thing a month! Sometimes it’s just a tenner for an old T-shirt, but one time she got £500 for an old sewing machine her Aunty Tess gave her. |
 |  |
| Dan keeps all kinds of stuff in his second room, from his Year 4 swimming badges to his collection of royal wedding thimbles. | Because Holly sells what she doesn’t use, her guest room is empty, meaning it’s free to rent out. |
 |  |
| Looks like Dan needs to step up his game, stop searching for cute kittens and start using the internet to explore the shared economy community! | Unlike Holly, who’s feeling pretty smug, because she used her resources properly! |
