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What's Next for the Sharing Economy? With successes such as Uber and Airbnb, peer-to-peer businesses are here to stay.

By Matt Villano

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Have you heard the one about the Silicon Valley executive who went all-in on the sharing economy? First the guy sold his BMW and opted to take Uber to and from work every day; then he converted his empty garage into an apartment that he rented out on Airbnb.

It doesn't matter whether this tale is true (many believe it is); the mere fact that it exists indicates that the sharing economy has arrived in a big way.

While there are no current estimates for market capitalization overall, Uber, the company that specializes in ride-sharing, recently was valued at more than $18 billion, and various reports place Airbnb's value at $10 billion. Now that the industry has changed the way we look at supply and demand, what happens next?