How to make money from the sharing economy in 2019

Millions of Aussies use the sharing economy to supplement their income, with one in ten Australians using it to significantly boost their earnings.

With companies like eBay, Airbnb and Uber leading the way, it’s no wonder that so many individuals are now jumping onto the sharing economy bandwagon.

If you’re not already one of them, there’s no time like a new year to make a bit of extra cash and get your finances in order.

Here are five easy ways to make money with the sharing economy.

Freelancing

There are so many freelancing sites to choose from: Upwork, Freelancer, OzLance, SEEK, Fiverr and Microworkers, to name a few.

You can also join Facebook groups that reflect your skillet and interests to find jobs directly and avoid paying fees.

Peer-to-peer lending

Sites like SocietyOne, RateSetter and ThinCats are online marketplaces where investors earn money by providing loans to borrowers.

Rent out your property

For spare room or property rental, obviously you have your Airbnb. But did you know that there are more sites to choose from, such as Tripping.com, VRBO, HomeAway, Cubbi and FlipKey?

You can also even rent your outdoor space on Campspace, for travellers to camp in.

If you have a caravan or an RV, you can rent it out on Camplify or MyCaravan.

For renting out your car, you have Car Next Door and DriveMyCar.

Drive

If you like driving, meeting new people and you have your own car, you can always sign up to Uber, Shebah (women only) Taxify or Ola.

If you’re less keen on the people part, there’s UberEats, Menulog, Zoom2U and Freight Match, where you can make deliveries of things that don’t ask you questions.

Sell your stuff

Facebook Marketplace is possibly the most straightforward place to make money with the sharing economy. Wherever you are in the world, log in, upload an image, write a description and sell whatever you want.

There’s also Gumtree, eBay, Etsy and more.

Which sharing economy platform is best?

Sharing economy platforms work differently for different people.

When looking for the best sharing economy platform, consider what it is that you have to offer and how much time you are willing to put into it.

Choose which niche you want to use and sign up to a few different sites to begin with, and see which works for you.