3 ways the sharing economy can help you earn money

Jun 10, 2024 8 min read

This post contains affiliate links that HyreCar may receive a commission for referring you to them.

The way most people earn a living has changed. Finding that one full-time job that pays all your bills is becoming harder to do. You might need to work a couple of part-time jobs or do some freelance jobs on the side to make ends meet. That’s why thousands of people who need additional income are discovering that joining the sharing economy is one of the best new ways to make money.

The sharing economy is driven by the sharing of on-demand services and assets in exchange for a fee. Over 5000 sharing economy companies are generating billions of dollars in income. Want to know how to make money in the sharing economy? Here are two ways you can do it:

Work for a shared economy company as a freelance, independent contractor.
List personally owned assets to be shared with consumers who wish to temporarily use those assets for a rental fee. This is called earning passive income.

1. Neighbor

Another easy way to earn extra passive income is through an online platform called Neighbor. It allows you to rent out your unused storage areas, for a fee, with people who need to store their stuff. People love to store stuff with Neighbor because they can save 50% over regular self-storage prices. And storage space renters love Neighbor because they just list the space, sit back, and watch the passive income roll in!

If you are currently renting your car out in the sharing economy, you can now also rent out your empty driveway or garage and earn more cash every month!

Click HERE to sign up for Neighbor today!

How Neighbor works

Begin the listing process by clicking HERE. It’s free to list your empty space.
Enter your location, the dimensions of the storage space, and the type of space it is. Typical storage spaces include everything from garages, attics, closets, backyards, basements, driveways, sheds, and empty lots.
Neighbor’s earning calculator instantly gives you a good idea of how much your space is worth annually. For example, a 20 x 20 garage in Los Angeles would earn you around $3000 a year. The price goes up if you offer amenities like a smoke free environment, security cameras, private entrances, climate control, etc. You get to name your own price. The calculator total is only a suggestion based on local factors.
According to Neighbor’s website, renters earn an average of $100-$300 monthly. Think about it. Let’s say you live near Arizona State University in Tempe, AZ. A local ASU freshman, whose family lives in New Jersey, goes home for the summer. Instead of lugging his possessions across the country, he stores them safely in your climate-controlled basement for three months at $200 a month. Then he comes back in the fall and picks everything up when his sophomore year starts. Congrats! You just pocketed $600 in passive income!

Neighbor is available in all 50 states and pays your rental fee through direct deposit at the end of every month. The company takes a small processing fee of $4.9% of the gross reservation charge +$.30 of each monthly payout.

Neighbor turns your unused parking spaces into extra money

As mentioned earlier, an ingenious way to use Neighbor to earn some extra money is by joining the parking sharing economy. You advertise on Neighbor that you’ve got an extra space to share in your garage for someone’s car. Well, remember that kid from ASU who’s flying home to New Jersey for the summer? He can’t leave his car in the abandoned dorm parking lot for three months. He sees your ad on Neighbor and the next thing you know, his car is safely parked in your private garage for a monthly fee. Yup, you can actually share your garage or driveway with a renter for a weekly or monthly storage fee!

And if you’ve got an empty lot or extra space on your property, you can also park and store RVs, motorcycles, boats, trucks, and other kinds of vehicles.

Click HERE to sign up for Neighbor today!

2. Outdoorsy

Outdoorsy is an RV sharing platform that gives RV owners an opportunity to earn up to $3,200 a month by renting out their unused RVs to local travelers

It is the largest and one of the most trusted RV rental marketplaces for a few of the following reasons:

$1M insurance coverage for both the renter and the owner
DMV checks on all drivers/renters
24/7 RV rental roadside assistance
Dedicated customer support team

Click HERE to list your RV with confidence and start earning up to $3,200 a month.

3. Airbnb

Airbnb is an app-based room sharing company that lets you to earn money by renting a furnished room in your house to people who need a place to stay. You basically turn a part of your private residence into a hotel room for a designated time period. This can be for a few days, a week or two, or on a monthly basis. Airbnb rooms are available all over the world.

When you offer a room like this you’re known as an Airbnb host. Hosts generally charge much less than hotels per night, making Airbnb a comfortable, affordable choice for travelers on a budget. Here’s how to list a room on Airbnb for sharing:

Go to the Airbnb setup page by clicking HERE and enter the following:
Basic information about where the room is located (house, apartment, condo etc.) and the number of rooms you’re listing.
The number of people who can sleep comfortably in each room and the number of beds you’re providing. You’ll need to say if guests will have a private or a shared bathroom and if other parts of the house, like the kitchen or living room, are accessible to guests. You can also list any amenities that are available to guests (Wi-Fi, garage, pool etc)
Property address. This is not revealed to potential guests until they officially book the room.
When and how long your space is available for rent. Airbnb provides you with three availability choices that correspond with a digital calendar that accompanies your listing. Click one of the following and choose available dates accordingly.
A brief, enticing description of the space you’re renting and the location it’s in. Mention proximity to beaches, tourism, business districts, airport, etc.) Really highlight the uniqueness and convenience of the area.
High-resolution photos of the space you’re renting. That’s basically it. You’re ready to accept offers from guests!

An Airbnb Pricing Guide is provided to you to help determine how much you can charge guests to book your room. This is based on various factors including the type of room you’re listing, the area you live in, the time of year (holidays or a time of year when tourism is high) and the local rental market in general. You can factor in the cost of cleaning, utilities, and taxes into your listing charge.

How much does it cost to list with Airbnb? Nothing. It’s totally free to you.
Wondering how does Airbnb make money? They charge a flat 3% fee per reservation, which is pretty low, meaning more of the renting charge goes in your pocket than with other room-sharing companies.

Carsharing

The carsharing economy is a big part of the sharing economy. And so is the rideshare industry, where drivers who drive with Uber or Lyft transport passengers from point A to point B for a fee. But not every rideshare driver owns a car or wants to use their private vehicle for this purpose. That’s where carsharing comes in. To learn more about how to rent out your car click HERE.

If you have an extra car that you don’t drive very much, you can rent your car online to a rideshare driver, delivery service driver, or anyone who needs a vehicle for a short while. It’s another fast and easy way to bring in some sweet extra passive income. Plus, you’ll be helping out a driver who needs a quality car for work or for other personal reasons.

You could make between $8,000-$14,000 a year in passive income by registering your extra vehicle with a carsharing service.
As long as your car passes a 19-point inspection, and is registered and insured, you can list it to be shared. For tips on getting your car ready for renting click HERE.
- Note: If you still need to get your vehicles inspected for Uber or Lyft but don’t feel like going to a mechanic, check out our friends at Rideshare Mechanic to get your vehicles inspected remotely. Click HERE to sign up with Rideshare Mechanic and get your vehicles inspected quickly and efficiently.
HyreCar can help you list your car for rent no matter what state you live in. The process is simple.
Create an account for free, enter a detailed description of the vehicle, and upload a few clean and detailed photos of the vehicle.
Upload Uber/Lyft 19-point inspection documents.

You determine how long you want to rent your vehicle, for a few days or for several months. Check out how much other owners are charging for vehicles similar to yours in your area. That will help you to determine how much to charge a renter.

HyreCar offers industry-leading rideshare insurance for car owners and only accepts drivers who pass extensive background checks and have safe driving records.
After you receive a driver’s request to rent your car, review their application and decide to accept or deny it.
The renter’s fee is transferred to your bank account as soon as you approve their application.
Arrange to meet the driver and hand over the keys. Then sit back and let the passive income roll in!

Passive income is great, but some people like to earn their extra money by driving, delivering, and doing other on-demand tasks. If you have a special skill or enjoy offering a specific service for people, chances are there is a freelance job out there in the sharing economy for you. Here are just a few ideas:

Babysitting/Nanny.
Dog walking/dog sitter.
Music teacher.
Handyman.
Graphic designer.

Some rideshare drivers can earn over $1000 a week. To learn more about earning money as a rideshare driver click HERE.

If you’re interested in renting a car so you can drive with Uber or Lyft, or deliver food and groceries for shared economy companies like DoorDash, Postmates, InstaCart, and Shipt, HyreCar can get you behind the wheel in less than 24 hours.

Qualified cars are available in all 50 states.
No long-term rentals. Try it out for a little as two days.
Affordable rates that are market-driven by car owners.
Rideshare insurance included with every rental.

Conclusion

We hope we’ve given you lots of useful information about the new and exciting sharing economy, especially when it comes to earning extra income. Hosting based companies like Airbnb and Neighbor, as well as sharing your extra vehicle, are perfect for earning passive income. Meanwhile, working as an independent freelancer for on-demand app-based companies like Uber, Lyft, DoorDash etc., also allow you to make extra income in the sharing economy and provide needed services for people in your community.

Disclaimer

Actual earnings may differ and depend on factors like number of deliveries completed, time of day, location, and expenses. Hourly pay is calculated using average Dasher payouts while on a delivery (from the time you accept an order until the time you drop it off) over a 90 day period and includes compensation from peak pay, tips, and other incentives.

Happy sharing economy earning from your pals at HyreCar!

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