!  What was the most expensive investment in college?

!  How often do you use your circular saw?

!  When your kid gets tired of his Legos, what do you do?

!  That ADORABLE outfit your daughter only wore once, before she grew out of it?

!  How many DVDs/Books/CDs do you have at home?

Optimization of resources through the redistribution, sharing and reuse of excess capacity in goods and services.

When information about goods is shared (typically via an online marketplace), the value of those goods may increase for the business, for individuals, for the community and for society in general.

Two stories.

A business,

an office and a house.

!  Trust – transparency and accountability

!  Accessibility – must be easy

!  Connection – digital meets physical

!  Network – leveraging the connections

You can connect with ANYONE in the world online.

Our most valuable asset creates the most powerful, reliable opportunity for sharing.

Technology is enabling trust between strangers.

Imagine what it could do for us – the people we know.

The people we care about.

In the economy that matters most to us.

!  AirBnB, HomeAway, VRBO, MeshTrip

!  Uber, Lyft, ZipCar

!  thredUP, Just Between Friends, Twice

!  TaskRabbit, GigWalk, Zaarly

!  Swap

!  Barter

!  Share

!  Rent

!  Trade

!  Consignment

!  Collaborative Behavior of Humans

!  Trust Mechanics and Reputation

!  How long do you wait?

!  How hard will you work?

!  How much will you spend?

!  Why would we expect anyone to go through the hassle of “shopping locally”?

!  As consumers, most of us like convenience, lower prices and 24/7 access to whatever we want.

!  Does that affect how we operate our businesses?

!  Try before you buy – lower the risk of the investment.

!  Small selection of re-usable options, available for a lower cost.

!  Information sharing (not hoarding).

!  Start looking for ways to say “yes.”

!  Collaboration is an ACTION

!  It’s up to those of us who care about our community to begin to look at alternatives.

!  If the millennials can, they will. Whether that is here, or there.

!  We have to stay relevant in a changing world.

We can’t let them leave Lakeland behind.

!  Resources:

!  Rachel Botsman – TED Talk: The Case for Collaborative Consumerism.

!  Rachel Botsman – TED Talk: The Currency of the New Economy is Trust

!  Lisa Gansky – The Mesh: Why the Future of Business is Sharing.

!  Emily Castor – TED Talk: Creating Opportunity Through the Sharing Economy