If you are a freelancer or small business owner, you may have begun your career working from home. Indeed, during the COVID-19 pandemic, many people chose to work at home as a precaution. However, home is not always the best place from which to run a business. When you work at home there are too many distractions, and a professional working environment is often better for productivity.
Even before the coronavirus, entrepreneurs and freelancers had difficult decisions to make over where to base themselves. Buying an office is out of the reach of many small enterprises. Renting an office requires a long-term financial commitment and investment in furniture and equipment. An office in a spare room at home is not always ideal, either.
Another option that you may not have considered is coworking office space. Coworking facilities offer office solutions for any sized business. From hot desks to private offices, coworking office spaces provide a flexible office solution for small businesses at an affordable price.
But flexibility and cost-effectiveness are not the only reasons that coworking has become so popular. Here ten more benefits that businesses and freelancers enjoy when they use coworking office spaces.
- Improved Productivity
When you are working alone, it is easy to get sidetracked. But when you are working with other hard-working, dedicated professionals, the enthusiasm of the people you share the office space with can be contagious. Indeed, studies have found that 68% of people say they can focus better when working in a coworking space.
- Professional Meeting Place
The best coworking spaces are situated in prime downtown locations. So, they provide the perfect place for holding meetings with customers and business contacts. You can hold meetings in coffee shops or hotel meeting rooms, but a meeting room in a coworking setting provides a much more professional environment for business meetings. And, if you already rent a desk or an office in a coworking space, you will find that hiring a meeting room in the same building is much more cost-effective, too.
- Room for Expansion
The flexible terms available on coworking spaces make it easy for you to expand your office space as your business grows. You might begin with hotdesking and then move up to a dedicated office. And, in some facilities, you can eventually rent an entire floor. Plus, as your business grows, you won’t be faced with the cost and disruption of moving from one building to another. Should you need to reduce the space you are using, then that is an option, too.
- Networking Opportunities
Coworking spaces provide an excellent networking opportunity. You will have the chance to meet many like-minded individuals from many different industry sectors. Business people who work in coworking spaces are usually very community-spirited. You will find that people will be happy to share ideas and discuss opportunities. Coworking is a superb opportunity to make new business contacts and develop new and fruitful business relationships.
- Shared Infrastructure and Facilities
Coffee and other refreshments on tap are all part of the service at the best coworking facilities. So too are superfast broadband and access to shared facilities like photocopiers and printers. And, of course, you don’t have to pay extra for other services, like electricity, heating, and office cleaning.
- Positive Peer Pressure
Seeing other people around you succeeding will boost your enthusiasm for your own business. Working alongside other high achievers in a coworking space will increase your self-confidence and drive you to achieve your ambitions. And you will likely find willing mentors in a coworking space who will be more than happy to help you achieve your goals.
- Events to Attend
Coworking spaces often offer far more than a desk and a chair. Indeed, the best coworking facilities hold regular seminars and events for their tenants. As well as providing networking opportunities, coworking events will help you keep up to date with developments and teach you new skills. You might even meet some new potential customers or business people with whom you could collaborate.
- Discounts and Special Offers
You will often find that other businesses in your coworking space offer discounts to other companies that share the office. There may also be offers and discounts available from other local businesses. Local restaurants, for example, might offer a special deal for tenants of the coworking space. Every little bit helps, so it would be a good idea to keep up to date any deals on offer. You might also be able to attract some new customers by offering discounts to colleagues in the coworking space.
- Social Interaction
Running a business solo or working as a freelancer can get lonely. But, if you rent space at a coworking facility, you will have people around you, and you will make some new, valuable friends. People who use coworking spaces are, of course, focused on business. Even so, everyone needs to take a break sometimes and chill out. It does no one any good to be working in total isolation every day.
- Hygienic Working Environment
You might be concerned about infection risk using shared office space. However, the best coworking spaces go to great lengths to ensure that their facilities are safe. The best coworking spaces provide hand sanitizers, enforce social distancing, and regularly clean high-touch areas and shared equipment. You are probably safer in a coworking space than you would be in a busy coffee shop or hotel lobby.
Conclusion
To sum up, coworking spaces provide a stimulating working environment that can increase productivity and eliminate the isolation of working from home. Shared office facilities also offer opportunities for networking, collaboration, and learning. These added benefits and flexible rental options have made coworking spaces extremely popular with small growing businesses and freelancers.
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