The advantages of co working spaces
According to the Harvard Business Review, co working spaces are: “membership-based workspaces where diverse groups of freelancers, remote workers, and other independent professionals work together in a shared, communal setting”.
Coworking spaces have become hugely popular with freelancers, consultants and small businesses. The key reason for this trend is that they offer value for money office space for entrepreneurs who would otherwise not be in a position to afford an office of their own. The alternatives are working from home or taking your laptop to work in a café, both of which have disadvantages, mainly that of feeling isolated. Many people who work on their own say they really miss the daily contact with colleagues.
Moving into a coworking space offers many benefits and advantages – here are the main ones:
Professional environment – when working from home, many people find themselves easily distracted by domestic tasks, friends popping by, TV and, with no-one looking over their shoulder, the internet and social media. They also find that the lines between home life and work life become very blurred, and they never feel they are properly ‘off duty’ which is not helpful for their wellbeing. Renting space in a coworking office enables you to separate home life and working life more effectively, leading to greater motivation and productivity at work and making it easier to relax and unwind properly at home.
Colleagues – you may not be working with colleagues any more (an advantage if you don’t like office politics!), but having the same people around you every day gives you someone to chat with whenever you need to take a break.
Motivation and productivity – working in an office environment with other entrepreneurs create a sense of energy which most people find very motivating. And the more motivated you are, the more likely it is that your business will become more profitable!
Networking – you will be in the company of entrepreneurs who have a huge range of skills, so there will always be someone understanding and supportive who will be happy to discuss any work issues you’re having. And thanks to their familiarity with you, it’s also increasingly likely that you will end up collaborating on work projects with them.
Cost and time – consider the costs of having your own office. You don’t only have to think about the rent, but also about the rates, utilities, WiFi, furniture, cleaning, maintenance, etc. When you sign up for a coworking space, not only will all of these bills be included in your rent, someone else will also be responsible for making everything happen – leaving more time to devote to your business and ensuring no nasty surprises when it comes to paying the bills!
Flexibility – finally, many coworking spaces are hugely flexible and don’t require you to sign a long-term lease – indeed many only ask for a month’s notice if you decide to leave. You will also have flexibility if you need to employ freelancers for short-term projects – you can rent desks for the duration of the project for as many people and much time as required, only paying for what you use.
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