Cabled Up is one example of a small business that has leapt at the opportunities the sharing economy creates, reaping the benefits of a two-sided marketplace.
Aristotle once wrote, “On the whole, you find wealth much more in use than in ownership.” Now, companies are now applying this model to how they work. As the sharing economy continues to grow, there are endless opportunities for companies to take advantage of peer-to-peer platforms to scale up their business operations and reduce costs.
Cabled Up is one example of a small business that has jumped on to use the sharing economy, reaping the benefits of a two-sided marketplace like DriveMyCar, Australia’s largest peer-to-peer car rental service.
Cabled Up is an Australian-owned telecommunications business based in Parramatta. Their customers can book licenced telecommunications technicians and manage the entire process online including payment, viewing pending/completed jobs, invoicing and ticketing. One of Cabled Up’s key values involves being environmentally friendly and to this effect the company has been paperless since 2011 and has ensured their fleet of vehicles is fuel-efficient.
Marvin Montais, founder of Cabled Up, was doing some online research when he found he could rent a BMW, Mercedes and other similar privately owned premium vehicles through DriveMyCar, at prices that were up to 62% cheaper than those quoted traditional by car rental companies.
“We’ve always operated a waste free business, so when I realised that I could rent an affordable luxury car for my business partner who would be in town from Japan, the decision to use DriveMyCar was easy,” Montais said.
Montais continued to rent out premium cars on an as-needed basis through DriveMyCar but the penny soon dropped for Marvin realising the value the sharing economy provide for Cabled Up.
He realised he could make Cabled Up’s vehicles available for rent on DriveMyCar when they weren’t in use and make money from them.
DriveMyCar enables Cabled Up to make money from their assets, particularly their three Fiat Panda cars, which they rent out on the platform for periods when they’re not being utilised.
“Since putting all three cars up for rent on DriveMyCar, when we’re not using them, the return we get not only covers our vehicles repayments costs, but also allows us to make some extra cash from an asset that would otherwise sit idle.”
Through listing their vehicles on DriveMyCar, Cabled Up enables other individuals who don’t own a car to rent one through the peer-to-peer platform. As a small business, the platform provided a powerful asset management solution to ensure they are using their assets in the most efficient manner.
Inside Small Business
