If you’re a freelancer, working on your startup, or an entrepreneur and don’t know what coworking is, please spare five minutes to learn how you can benefit from and take advantage of coworking spaces near you.
Every individual has preferences on how they prefer to work and what setting provides them with maximum productivity or makes things happen for them. Whatever your setting might be, it is important to understand what helps you make your best work happen and the options available.
Coworking is a growing trend. Gradually, more people are shifting towards the use of alternate workspaces, whether they are solopreneurs, freelancers, startups, or even corporate employees. All of this sounds cool, but there are also some key elements to consider when choosing a coworking space over a traditional home office, a cafe, or a cubicle. Here are a few reasons why you should choose to cowork and to know if it’s really for you or not.
Belong
Coworking helps make you feel like you’re part of something. Working in a room where others are also working can help you focus and get your work done faster. It also helps you feel like you’re involved without actually having to be involved. At the same time, if you need a quick tip or have a question you’d like a genuine opinion on, you will always have your coworkers near by.
Connect
Coworking spaces serve as an excellent platform for people to connect with other coworkers and the local community of like-minded people. It is a platform to make connections, network, and share knowledge and ideas. People need people (not just technology). You never know if a coworker sitting right next to you could possibly be your client or a supporter.
Flexibility
Coworking spaces promote a culture of flexibility, openness, and innovation by their very virtue. These spaces not only offer flexible services and space options, but also flexibility of movement and communication. You can choose to talk to someone, you can choose where to sit and work, and you can choose when to come and when to leave.
Work-Life Balance
Coworking helps you keep a check on your work and social life. Organizing your work time as an entrepreneur or freelancer is important for your own sanity and that of the people around you. It doesn’t necessarily mean a 9 AM–5 PM corporate office schedule, but scheduling your “work” hours and leaving home to do it will help you get more work done with less hassle and more serendipity when you’re “off” the clock. Shift to “Never in a hurry, always on time” from “Always in a hurry, never on time.”.
Cost
The cost is definitely worth it. Independent freelancers, entrepreneurs, or any business professional need to start looking at coworking as a work expense. In order for you to get your work done, you purchase a laptop that meets all your specifications and more, a specific software or tool to provide the appropriate services to your clients, right? Most of those are tax write-offs or can be reimbursed depending on what type of work you do. What about your workplace? So, you’re not renting an office and working from a cafe or home, but shouldn’t your clients be paying for your desk space? If you don’t have a healthy work space, how will you provide quality service to your clients? All types of companies and organizations pay for overhead. It may be time for you to consider paying for a coworking space as a necessary work expense. Coworking pricing is driven by value, whereas office space rentals are driven by profit and physical dimensions. Plus it saves you from the hassle of actually going through the tedious process of finding a right broker to actually setting up shop somewhere.
While the aforementioned benefits and the design of these spaces may vary, they are predominantly beautifully designed in order to draw inspiration and creativity. These places serve as a good platform for sales and marketing; for instance, a fellow coworker could refer you to a new client or partner up with you to work on a new project. Besides, having a physical office and a conference room is a huge plus that could help you reach out to more prospective clients. This could lead to higher client rates and a better income.
Do you think coworking is for you, or is it a platform for entrepreneurs to turn their ideas into action and their dreams into reality? If you are already working out of a coworking space, how much would you agree to this?
