Future of Work is Coworking Spaces

One of the fastest rising trends in business is the coworking space. This is a space that entrepreneurs and those who run small online businesses rent, so they can do their work in an office environment. The concept is both recent and simple, but it is also one of the fastest-growing trends for those who are starting up online businesses or offices for their freelancing efforts.

Coworking spaces are a relatively recent phenomenon, but the concept has been around for quite some time. Today, with more companies doing their work online, this has created more office space in cities and towns that can be used for co-working areas. Depending on your community, you may have several such spaces within a short distance of your home.

How a Coworking Space Works

Essentially, a coworking space is a floor or building that is conveniently located and designed for those who run online businesses or freelance work. Just like a traditional office space, they have all the professional features but at a fraction of the cost. This is because you share the same floor or area with several others doing their own type of work.

This means that if you are starting up an online business, freelance, or profession with plans to expand, a coworking space offers the perfect starting point. It is a place where you can rent space on a table for your laptop or if you want to pay more, a private office complete with desk. You can plug in, go online, and run your business from a professional setting.

Why are Coworking Spaces Becoming Popular?

You may ask why are so many people choosing to work in a coworking space rather than at home. The truth is that many people who run online businesses or freelance do so from home. But there are advantages to a coworking space that being at home does not offer.

Professional Setting: Perhaps the most important reason why coworking spaces are becoming so popular is that they offer a business setting that provides a place for clients or employees to meet and visit. For mostly only businesses that need to grow, conducting meetings with clients or collaborating with co-workers can be awkward in the home.

A coworking space offers a professional environment that provides the perfect setting for quick meetings. Many coworking spaces offer meeting rooms that can be rented by the hour. This means that you can work regularly at the coworking space and rent meeting areas when needed. For employees or co-workers at your business, you can rent extra space daily to help them perform their jobs.

Focus on Work: It can be pretty tough to get your work accomplished when you have all the distractions of home around you. One of the biggest challenges that many people face because they are at home is the constant pull of attention away from doing the work. This is why work efficiency for most people drops considerably when at home.

By having an office space, you can focus on getting your work done. There are none of the usual distractions and you are in a room with people who are also getting their work done. This type of setting helps you focus to get more accomplished in less time, so you can have more time at home and with your family.

Inexpensive: One of the biggest challenges for people starting up a business is the expense of renting or purchasing space for their company. For online companies, this can be a real challenge as it takes time to build up a good reputation while needed office space to expand. Renting traditional office space can be expensive while working from home may be impractical.

Coworking spaces offer the perfect alternative. They provide office space at a fraction of the cost compared to renting a floor or building. In an expensive city like San Francisco, the difference is huge. While renting a small office could cost thousands of dollars, the starting rate for a desk at a coworking space such as SOMAcentral is just $375, and you can get more space only if you need more. In addition to the cost benefits, coworking spaces provide the professional setting needed to conduct quick meetings, working with employees, and having a centralized place to gather.

In addition, being in a room with others who run their own businesses produces a productive working environment. Add to this the fact that people can network right inside the same space, and it becomes clear why coworking spaces are growing in popularity.

With more businesses starting up online, the future for coworking spaces is bright. A coworking space offers all the advantages of traditional office space at far less cost. This means that it allows a business to grow naturally until you are ready to rent or purchase your own floor or building.