A coworking space is a shared workspace where multiple businesses, entrepreneurs and remote workers use as their office together. They work and share office amenities and supplies, although they belong to different organizations.
Nowadays, more and more people have moved from working in a corporate office to a coworking space. Why is this happening?
Benefit of joining a Coworking Space
When you’re a member of a coworking space, you can decide how you want to work. Many coworking spaces have a variety of rooms, ranging from individual desks, private conference rooms, and more collaborative open areas with shared tables.
You’ll have the chance to form strong relationships with your cohorts that could lead to new clients, or even potential employees and business partners.
Coworking spaces also allows you to save money. Everyone likes saving money right? Rather than renting an expensive office, coworking monthly memberships enables you to save money on overhead costs such as utility bills or service providers. One of the greatest benefits is that you’ll have access to a community of like-minded entrepreneurs and professionals. In joining a coworking space, people have different preferences on what they like and even the type of community they want to join in.
Listed below are the major things that you might want to consider before joining a space.
Type of space
How do you find a coworking place that suits your needs? Finding what fits you, your team, your personality, and your budget is a great first step. Depending on your particular need; if you’re a freelancer, a small startup or a large company will determine what is the best choice to meet your monthly budget and workspace needs.
Private Office: A private office may be more suited to teams ranging from 2 to 20 people who are looking for a secured and fully enclosed space to push productivity and business-related works.
Hot Desk: It can be a daily pass, weekly pass, part-time or full-time monthly membership. You’ll get a seat in one of the common areas of the coworking space.
Dedicated Desk: Full-time dedicated desks offer people a bit more privacy as well as a lockable filing cabinet below it, to keep some of the belongings safe overnight.
Location
The location of your desired coworking space is one of the first factors to take into account. You need to choose a location that fits to your existing team and consider also that it will be an an attractive option for people you might want to hire in the future. It’s also important to consider the needs of your clients. Ideally, the location should be easy for visiting clients to locate, and in a desirable spot. Remember, you want the location of your office to leave a positive impression on your clients.
Here are some questions to ask yourself:
- How’s the commute from home?
- What are the perks and conveniences of the surrounding area? Such as lunch spots, gyms, and bars.
- Does space accommodate parking?
Budget
Sticking to a budget is always important in business. One of the most obvious things to consider when deciding what space fits your needs is the price. The cost of joining a coworking space differs according to various factors. You’ll need to research well to ensure you are getting the best value out of your membership. Make sure to inquire about all the hidden costs before making a final decision. Consider what your priorities are.
Amenities
It’s important that space provides you with the facilities and amenities you require to maximize your productivity. At the time of assessing the cost, it’s important to scrutinize what all amenities are included in your coworking membership and whether these amenities allow you to save in other areas.
So you need a desk, but that’s not all. How good is the Internet connection at the coworking space you’re considering? Here are few essential amenities that you should consider:
- Free and Convenient Parking: Providing free and convenient parking will save coworkers’ time, energy and frustration. It makes them easier to get to their workspace and become productive.
- 24/7 Building Access: Your coworkers can simply use their smartphone to gain secure entry to keep them and your coworking facility safe.
- Fully-Equipped Bookable Conference Rooms: Provide several conference rooms of varying sizes that feature Apple TV, HDMI cables, a whiteboard wall, a traditional projector, and a viewing screen that will boost their productivity.
- Phone Booths: Everyone needs to make phone calls, so you might want to consider a private space for this area.
- Kitchen and Lounge Areas: Coworkers need to fuel their body to boost their productivity. Such as an area that is for relaxing, where people can eat, work and chat in comfort.
- Power back up: Providing power back up of is most essential, as to avoid any future risk.
Before making a final decision, be mindful of the services that you will use and the money you will end up spending.
Flexibility
One thing to consider is if the coworking space will be able to accommodate your space expansion in the future. Also, if there are available facilities that can be used beyond normal hours of working. Such flexibility must be looked into since there are times that situations are unpredictable.
Community
Finding a coworking space with a great community is the easy part, but finding a space with a community that fits to you at best is what really matters.
You can do research by checking on online reviews on a space community that you are joining. Take out an analysis of current occupants or just do basic observation and ask yourself whether these individuals may prove to be helpful in your business and career development. Generally, the coworking spaces are designed to cater to a particular industry like start-ups, professionals, freelancers, and not for profits or creatives.
If you’re a freelancer who is looking for new opportunities then a coworking space should be your go-to place, it will open up new opportunities for you to network with people and get offers and collaborations. Make sure you can gain the maximum exposure you can, there will be a lot of people you can meet if you opt for a trial period after checking with the management.
It may take you some time to find your ideal coworking space. But remember, the space you choose to work in is an extension of your business, so take the time to find the one that will suit you.
The Workspace
There are a lot of things that you should consider before joining a coworking space. It is important for an individual to feel their company cares about their mental and physical health. If a company provides a stocked kitchen, the healthier and more nutritious snacks, the better fuel it offers. Always ensure your working space has the right layout and design to maintain a professional setup. Check the equipment if they are useful to the needs of your team. The environment, people, atmosphere, and everything that can affect your performance. Identify a coworking space that suits you and your team.
Trial Period
Does your space of choice offer a trial period before requiring you to commit to a contract? If so, test it out to see if it meets your requirements. Most coworking spaces offer a trial period for new potential members.
Many coworking operators have seats to spare and are willing to offer you more than what their official website says to try it out. It will also let you review the facilities it provides, the noise levels when it’s fully occupied and availability of quiet areas or conference rooms for meetings and discussions. Thus, get a preview before you sign-up for the coworking space.
Conclusion
The above factors would surely help you make a clearer decision on your business decision. Working on a coworking space is fun and can prove to be a refreshing break on working from home. So, definitively try them out by making a good decision on allocating your budget well and in choosing a quality space for you. Thus, select your new office wisely. Let us know if this has been helpful for you. Feel free to comment your suggestions. We’d love to hear from you!