How to Scale the New Sharing Economy and Create a Higher Quality of Life with Economic Futurist, Joel Hodroff EP: 10

Ever enjoy one of those seemingly serendipitous introductions that turns into a strong connection and a lot in common? That’s what happened with Laura met Joel Hodroff through a mutual friend. 

Joel is a Money Innovator, Serial Entrepreneur, Visionary Thinker, and an excellent “step-down transformer” – meaning he can make the complex very simple and easy to understand when it comes to finance, money, and economics. He shares some insight into how the expansion of mobile apps and social media has really changed how money, employment, and economics work… and unfortunately, we’re still in a win-lose situation.

 Joel explains how the on-going win-lose competition paradigm in business today is borne of scarcity thinking, which is crazy as there is actually a lot of wealth and a lot of abundance. The key is how we view and understand it and how we choose to approach life, work, and business. In fact, there’s so much excess capacity in a lot of things – transportation, lodging, professional skills & expertise… but we need to continue working to create fair exchange systems to monetize it. 

He goes on to outline a business-to-business dual currency system in which a person could earn “community service dollars” to exchange – along with some amount of $$ -- for goods and services; a more sophisticated barter system, if you will, as the old-time exchange of chickens for someone to build a wall at your house is so impractical! 

Joel is collaborating with some other experts and they have created an accounting protocol for how this exchange system could work and are currently working to build the infrastructure to allow it to scale. They believe this new shared economy will make a significant difference in how we think about, use, and exchange assets, services, professional expertise in a more productive way. 

Laura connects the idea to a business simulation game she uses as a tool in her work, which magnifies our win-lose paradigms and introduces the concept of “Win to the Winth  Power” thinking and collaboration; essentially creating a shift in approach where two people, organizations, or businesses come together and create something that allows both parties to win, along with another larger community, as well. 

There’s a lot to be learned about the truth of what happens with wealth when the economy takes a dip, as well as new ways of thinking and behaving in this new shared economy.

The two discuss several resources and books, which you can find here: 

The Big Short (movie)

Your Money or Your Life (book)

Walden Two (book)

Stranger in a Strange Land (book)

The Lean Startup (book)

Joel Hodroff Bio

Inventor, business revolutionary of the heart, economic futurist 

Joel Hodroff believes that emerging business models based on cooperation and sustainability have the power to solve our most pressing social, economic, and environmental challenges. He asserts that win-lose competition over money—which modern society inherited from an era of scarcity—is now impeding greater economic security and increased happiness for individuals, families, and communities in the US and around the world. Consider that today’s oftentimes stressful workplaces, schools, and community organizations can become organizing centers for personal growth and healing, social innovation, and sustainable community economic development.  

In 1997, Joel was issued a US patent for his novel dual currency pricing, accounting, and transaction settlement system. The system was designed to reward socially valuable activities such as community volunteerism, youth academic performance, unpaid domestic labor, and so forth. The systems stretches dollars (or other national currencies) utilizing a Business-Community Wealth Accounting Protocol to turn underutilized business capacity—such as empty restaurant tables, empty college desks, and off hours at the movies—into new economic resources for healthier families and communities. 

 Joel has been a social entrepreneur and environmentalist for over 30 years, launching Solar Consultants, Inc., in 1983; DualCurrency Systems in 1993; and cofounding Responsible Minnesota Business in 1998. He was a Minnesota Finance and Commerce Innovator of the Year in 2005 and a Visa Thought Leader / Innovation Provocateur in 2007. 

Joel has stayed the course with his economic vision for over 25 years through every imaginable entrepreneurial near miss, wrong turn, and outright failure! He is currently playing for (and praying for) what is termed “a 25-year overnight success story.” Joel’s personal mission is the pursuit of unlimited human potential through unconditional love in community. He believes that the profit motive can be harnessed for the good of humanity and the natural environment. 

To learn more, please check out Joel’s dual currency white paper (written just before the 2008 mortgage industry meltdown) Sustainable Prosperity Now! Awakening a Green Revolution of the Heart http://www.dualcurrency.com/Awakening.pdf and/or reach out through his LinkedIn page at https://www.linkedin.com/in/joelhodroff/

Joel can also be reached at: [email protected]