In a recently published article on Inc, John Warrillow (@JohnWarrillow) discusses how the sharing economy could potentially disrupt traditional businesses.

In today's economy, consumers are rapidly turning to renting as opposed to purchasing. Instead of buying a designer dress, women are renting from Rent the Runway; instead of owning a car, people are using Uber, and instead of staying at a hotel, people are staying at a Airbnb.  

The success of the sharing economy is directly linked to the take off of market forces such as the rise of urban centers, changing values, massive funding and accessible technology. All of which  have allowed the sharing economy to take off like a rocket.

"There was a time when the pride of ownership trumped any cost saving associated with renting. But in an environment where everyone is ‘deleveraging’ and technology allows us to share without dramatically impacting the quality of our experience; for many, access now trumps assets."

We’ve seen the success for businesses involved in the sharing economy, but what about businesses that are not part of the sharing economy? How do they jump on board?

For traditional companies to thrive in this new economy, businesses must:

1. Survey their customers to see if their offer is still valid. An example of this is feedback loops.

2. Create partnerships with sharing economy companies. For example, take Gap’s partnership with Taskrabbit during the holidays. They provided customers with a Taskrabbit voucher in an effort to find someone who could “task” them with gift wrapping and last minute shopping.  

3. Create sponsorships or campaigns to join other sharing economy projects