The Tentshare story: Tent Share's Rebecca talks to RentMy

The Ultimate Side Hustle – the Tentshare story

Side hustles are the perfect way to boost your income, making extra money as the cost of living soars. To mark Own Business Day on Wednesday, October 12, we spoke to Rebecca Heaps, who founded an entire platform – Tentshare – after renting out her own bell tent

Lying in bed one night, Rebecca Heaps was wondering how she could make some extra money.

While compiling a mental itinerary of the items she owned, the former teacher, who was working in her family’s construction business, suddenly thought of her own canvas bell tent.

She began renting it to friends and neighbours, and the tent proved to be popular – and a money-earner.

She’d spotted a gap in the market - parents wanting to give their kids the glamping experience, without having to purchase, store or maintain a tent.

So when she looked for a website to list her tent for rental further afield, and found nothing, Tentshare was born.

That was in 2019, and Tentshare is now a community-led tent-matching service, where campers, glampers and festival goers can create a free Tentshare account and either rent out a tent and camping equipment to earn income, or book a tent and save money without the set-up expense. 

So how has Rebecca made her side hustle so successful?

“I think it’s because in Tentshare, I found my purpose,” said Rebecca. “It combines everything I’m passionate about – getting out in nature, the planet, a sense of community.

“I love what I do, and am really passionate about it.

“But the other crucial factor was that I had control – I was able to fit it in during evenings and weekends, or when our family business was quieter. 

“Now my children have grown older, I have more time to be able to fit this around family life.

“But I’m also able to take foot of the peddle when life gets busier, which works well for me.”

Rebecca still lists her own bell tent on Tentshare, and makes around £2,000 a summer when it is rented out at £90 a time.

“I highly recommend having a side hustle – you don’t have to start a platform, you could just start by looking around the house and see what you can rent out to other people.

“It was important to me to continue renting out my tent as it shows just how well it can work.

“The beauty of it, is that it’s totally in your hands – you can control how much time you put into it, and still make money.

“If you pick items around an activity that you’re really passionate about – whether that’s a sport, hobby or interest – then you’ll feel great about renting it out and sharing that interest with other people.”

So would she recommend renting as a side hustle? The answer is a resounding ‘yes!’

“Most people are great, I’ve never had a problem while renting out my tent. I’d say that renting out things you own as a side hustle is a really rewarding way to make extra money, as well as building communities and helping the planet. What’s not to love?”

Find out more about Tentshare by visiting www.tentshare.co.uk

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