One of the biggest trends in the world of small business is the rise of the coworking space. From WeWork, to boutique spaces in cities and towns around the globe, the amount of flexible work space available to small business owners, sole proprietors, and freelancers grows by the day.
Thanks to technological improvements and a changing relationship to the nature of ownership, the concept of operating out of a coworking space is both more feasible and more attractive than ever.
Coworking spaces straddle the line between traditional commercial office leases and working from your home office or local coffee shop. They give business owners many of the benefits of both worlds, with few drawbacks outside of the need to share with other business owners—which can be a perk in its own right.
If you’ve considered a switch from working from your couch, or from an expensive office, but have yet to make the move, consider these six reasons for running your business from a coworking space.
Boost Your Productivity
When considering making a move from a home office to a coworking space, this might be the biggest benefit: you’ll put yourself in a position to get more done.
You might think this benefit is imaginary, and that you can work as well from home as anywhere else, but HBR says that people who work from coworking spaces report “levels of thriving that approach an average of 6 on a 7-point scale.”
That’s because, according to HBR’s survey, you work harder when you feel in control of your work, derive meaning from that work, and sense that you are part of a community—feelings coworking spaces incite in their members.
Another productivity boost comes from bringing people together to work in the same location. Although there are lots of benefits to remote work, one study found that having team members work from the same space will make their collaborations more impactful. If you have a team that works remotely, relocating them to a convenient shared space may be worth the investment.
Maintain Your Flexibility
A lot of what makes you productive in a coworking space could make you productive in an office environment. But an office space often requires signing a multi-year lease, committing you to a certain amount of square footage.
Coworking spaces, on the other hand, help you maintain the flexibility that is so alluring about working from home. Want to try one coworking space this month, and another across town (or across the country) next month? Want to bring in a couple of freelancers to work on an important project, and give them the resources to thrive? Maybe you want to take a long vacation and don’t want to waste money on space you’re not using next month.
With coworking spaces, you can scale up and down as needed, utilizing the space when it works for you and your team. If you’re feeling a cash flow crunch, just downsize; if you’re flush, take on more space, if you’d like.
Work Happier and Healthier
Coworking spaces help people feel happier and healthier while working (and when they’re not working), in a few ways.
For example, according to a survey from Officevibe, 70% of people feel healthier when working from a coworking space. The majority of respondents also said they were better able to focus and complete their tasks on time.
Additionally, work-life balance is more important than ever to entrepreneurs and young workers alike. Coworking creates a division between work and home that brings more meaning to both settings: 60% of workers say they feel more relaxed at home after coworking. That’s how you come into work refreshed and ready to get more done.
Worry Less About the Small Stuff
When you started your business, you didn’t do so because you wanted more paperwork to fill out, or because you like buying office furniture or equipment. But these are the little things we need to worry about when renting private office space.
These little things, of course, become big things if left unattended. No one can get work done in an office with no lights on, no internet, or no chairs.
Similarly, working out of a home office can be a headache from a tax perspective. What can you write-off in a home office situation, anyway? It’s complicated.
Leave the logistics and minutiae to the people who run your coworking space, and focus on what you came here to do: run your business.
Network with Fellow Business Owners
Working out of a traditional office might put you in the same building as other business owners and entrepreneurs, but you rarely get the opportunity to network with them.
A major selling point for coworking spaces is how they encourage networking with inviting communal spaces, fun events, and shared access to all the amenities, from the printer to the cold brew tap.
In this setting, you’re much more likely to cross-collaborate with fellow business owners who can see your expertise and effort first-hand, one table over. Use your coworking space to meet people, get more work, and add talent to your roster.
Learn from Your Peers at Industry-Specific Spaces
Not every coworking space is the same. The rise of the trend has also lead to differentiation by sector. Nowadays, there are coworking spaces clustered around themes like tech, health, education, food, environmentalism, or socially aware ventures.
Of course, a generalist coworking space has the advantage of giving you access to a large pool of different people and businesses to learn from. But to make waves and advance in your industry, it’s good to be surrounded by like-minded people who can share insights, experience, and valuable input. Through these spaces you may learn about events, meet-ups, trends, and breakthroughs in your field you wouldn’t be privy to otherwise.
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Coworking spaces are becoming a mainstream option for gig economy workers and growing small businesses alike. As remote work, flexible organizations, and freelancing proliferate, expect the trend of working from a coworking space to become as common a way to run your business as any other option.
With that in mind, why not give it a shot? You can always go back to your old ways next week if the scene doesn’t suit you.
Nice article Eric. Freelancers and startups have abandoned the corporate aesthetic in favour of a brighter, almost communal approach to the environments where they can work and conduct business. Furthermore, people in the modern business ecosystem want products and services that can be customised as per their needs. So it’s fair to assume that the time is right to open a coworking space.