Just in the last 6 months, 68% of Australians have used the sharing economy to earn and spend money, according to RateSetter Sharing Economy Trust Index (RSETI). Making money isn’t as straightforward as logging in time on a 9 to 5 job anymore. With the world at our fingertips, through the internet, applications to share rides, accommodation and delegating tasks to skilled people has become a recurring phenomenon. Listed below are some of the applications that can be used to not miss out on the booming culture of sharing economy, and why they have become etched into people’s livelihood.

Uber

Uber as a startup was conceptualised out of a very real situation that Garrett Camp and Travis Kalanic faced when they couldn’t hail a cab to get to a conference in Paris. One of the biggest challenges faced by any startup is that of finding a real world problem to address, which would make life significantly easier for other people; an issue their idea addressed immediately. The reason behind the funding for this seed idea as well as why the company keeps growing to this day is because of how simple it really is. All they had to do was match the driver with the rider, without the need to invest on their own cars, and make sure that patrons had a range of options to choose from. Becoming a partner is an easy task as well, as long as you pass their tests of course! The minimum requirements include an age restriction of 21 years, a need to have held a full Australian licence for at least a year, be an insured driver on the vehicle and be able to provide identification documents such as passport or birth certificate. There are over 13,000 Uber drivers in Australia who make between $25 to $40 per hour.

Uber eats

Although under the same name, Uber and Uber Eats are very different in terms of the service they provide and the ease with which you can sign up as a partner. More and more international students join in as Uber Partner to make money by delivering food on their bicycles due to this ease. You can choose to deliver on a range of vehicle that includes scooters, motorbikes, bicycles and cars. However this isn’t the only reason behind the success of the application in the sharing economy. It makes lives easy not just for the consumers but for small businesses who didn’t have much exposure prior to Uber Eats, as well as people looking to make more money on the side, which is the reason why everyone is jumping on board with Uber, despite some restaurants having their own delivery services. The average rate an Uber eats driver makes is $24.85 per hour in Sydney. However, it should be noted that most people usually sign on to Foodora and Deliveroo along with Uber Eats, as there is no guarantee of getting gigs. You may earn up to $100 on a day and the next day could see you making only $20 in the same amount of time. Therefore, if you are looking to sign on to one of these services, you may be better off signing on to all three instead.  

Airtasker

Airtasker is one of Australia’s fastest growing and most used service in sharing economy, with an average of 4 star rating across all platforms. It is an easy service through which people can post ads on things they need to be done, whether it be fixing their fridge or mowing the lawn, and get it done at a reasonable price. Companies like Ikea have Airtasker advertised as a place where people can get their purchases delivered to their house as well as a place to get someone to fix these purchases. One of the key strategy the company has implemented is to acquire and integrate all its competition, allowing it to expand while remaining on the top. Although hard to navigate at first, the website becomes easy within the first hour or so of use. It also has a feature called “badges” on profiles to assure people that the users are verified, mostly for safety reasons. These badges include police checks for tasks such as babysitting or pet-sitting, Digital Id badge, Facebook and Twitter badges as well as Commonwealth Bank verification. These steps make consumers trust the people sitting behind the keyboard and helps boost the confidence in sharing economy. With more than 500,000 members, the website claims that there are people making $5,000 to $20,000 a month by selling their services online.

Airbnb

Air BnB is a service that has now spilled over to 191 countries. Homeowners are able to open their houses to guests and have the potential to earn a lot of side money by enlisting their apartments or even a spare room to backpackers. There are however challenges that come with this branch of the sharing economy. There have been complaints that the houses aren’t up to the standards that were advertised that that Air Bnb itself doesn’t do much to help. To make sure you are using their cheaper services and don’t fall into a scam, make sure you research the house thoroughly, message the owner as well as read all of the reviews of the place. Don’t rely on the ones that solely tell you how amazing the owners were, find ones that talks about the place itself. If you want to put your own house on the list, make sure you own the place, and if you don’t, talk to your landlord about subletting it. You don’t want them to find an ad from you through other sources and end up being evicted in hopes of making a little extra money to cover the rent. With people from so many countries using the app, it is possible to make a lot of money by renting the space to backpackers and people on vacations, especially if your property is in a touristic place.

Mad Paws

There is nothing that is too much to ask for in the sharing economy as is proved by the service Mad Paws, which helps pet owners find pet sitters and local dog walkers in Sydney. The concept is very similar to both Airtasker and Air Bnb, and aims to find a place to accommodate pets, however last minute it may be. Most of those signing up to the website are students who can’t afford a full time pet, either because of financial reasons or because of the lack of time to take care of them. Signing up to the website is easy and people usually provide pictures of the space in which they plan on taking care of the pet. Finding a sitter is even easier: just enter the kind of service you are looking for, number of pets you have and the dates and the suburb, and instantly matches you profiles of candidates to choose from. People have reported earning upto $500 a week pet-sitting, however it largely depends on the type of job you get; pet sitting will get you a lot more than dog walking will.  

Spacer

In a world where material possessions are making a bigger and bigger impact in our lives, and the living spaces are becoming smaller and smaller, storing what we own has become a big issue. This is where Spacer comes in handy. It’s a platform where you can share the space you have, which could be a parking space that isn’t being used, or a garage that is empty, and rent it to someone who really needs it. Signing up is easy, and the people who rent the space usually have a set of rules about the type of stuff that can be stored as well as how often the space can be accessed. The service is cheaper than normal storage units and as it is with all sharing economy, benefits both parties. All the renters have to go through an identification check, and insurance is provided by IAG, but if a space looks dodgy to you, it’s better to be safe than sorry. Do your research well, visit the space and the owner before renting the space if possible, as you don’t want your valuable items to suddenly go missing. If you have a large space, with unlimited access, you might even be able to rent it for up to $200 per week.

Freelancer

A business that was born in Australia is now a globally loved platform which is used by over 25 million people every day. Billions of tasks have been posted and completed by the users of this website. There are three ways you can utilise their services, you can either stick to the free version, pay a monthly fee or subscribe annually. Signing up and posting tasks is easy and makes for an attractive marketplace for people as they can post fixed or hourly rates for completing a project. This particular type of sharing economy is very competitive and therefore the services are significantly cheaper than other options. Whether you are posting a job or freelancing, the one thing you shouldn’t forget to do is reading reviews. There is a lot you can learn from the things other people have to say. Depending on the size of the job you take on, you can make anywhere from $15 to $250 an hour. Some of the most profitable freelancing jobs are graphic designing, programming and social media marketing, but there is something on the website for everyone.  

Fiverr

Fiver is a service whose tasks begins from $5; which is where the business gets its name. A lot of people have started making profit from this website by taking on a task on Airtasker, or other similar websites and then re-advertising the job on Fiverr to get it done at a lesser cost. Through this loophole in the sharing economy, called digital flipping, many have been making a handsome profit. However, due to this very reason, there are a lot of sellers that are extorting their buyers and leaving them hanging without any pay. The customer service team isn’t that responsive which leaves freelancers vulnerable to blackmailing sellers, who want more for little money and threaten to leave a bad review if their demands are not met. Having said this, there are also people who are earning $15 to $30 per hour doing small tasks that take 10 to 20 minutes to complete. As with any other sharing economy, you have to be very vigilant about the tasks you accept and always check if there are any complaints against the seller. Don’t ignore any red flags you may perceive about a seller, if your gut tells you not to work for someone, listen to it. You don’t want your credibility to be harmed by one malicious user.

Zoom2u

An Australian based service, you can hire people to pickup and deliver packages anywhere in the country. From delivering it across the city to sending it to an entirely other city as soon as possible to, nothing is impossible for them. Signing up to become a delivery person is an easy task, although it may take up to 2 weeks as they require a police check. You will also need an ABN in order to sign on to the service. You can sign up using any vehicle you own, ranging from a bicycle to a truck. The client is able to track your live location through the app, always know when to expect you and are required to sign on your phone after receiving the parcel. Before handing the package over, you are also required to take a photo of the it. This system makes it impossible for scammers to get out of payment by lying about late delivery, claiming the package was ruined or by asserting that they didn’t receive a package at all. You can choose your own work times and is a great way to earn extra money in between other jobs or university. Unlike other sharing economy jobs, Zoom2u pays you as an employee at the end of the week depending on how many deliveries you do (courier requests come with the amount you make for the delivery). So the amount you make completely depends on the hours you spend delivering goods.   

Gumtree

Perhaps one of the best examples of a sharing economy in Australia is Gumtree. From renting a room to selling a bike, to advertising a job opening, there isn’t anything you cannot do on this website. With 3 to 5 million monthly users, there will always be someone willing to buy the services you are selling. One of the best things about the marketplace is that advertisements can be uploaded for free and its organic reach is so good that you don’t have to pay for advertisement. Declutter your house and sell everything you haven’t used in the past 6 months. The rule of thumb is that if you haven’t used it for 6 months, you probably won’t use it at all. Depending on what you have to sell, it’s easy to make big bucks here, and you don’t have to step out of your house!