Are you a small business owner looking to escape from the distractions of home-working? However, the long term commitment involved in leasing property from a landlord can be somewhat off-putting and no-one really wants to spend time and money managing an office.
Get inspired
Is all the enthusiasm you had when you launched your venture draining away as you sit facing the same four walls day in day out? Well, co-working offers a change of scenery that could provide the spark of creativity you need to continue driving your business forward. It can also offer a really dynamic environment, often boasting some of the most innovative people, so who wouldn’t fail to be inspired?
Get feedback
One of the benefits of being surrounded by innovative thinkers and creative geniuses is that you have a whole host of new opinions to offer feedback on your ideas. Co-working offices are perhaps the best place to get genuine constructive criticism and maybe an idea or two that you hadn’t even considered before.
Get connected
What’s more, you will be exposed to a network of different ventures all of which boast their own network of contacts. Co-working can be a great way to build some really great connections. Who knows, the person working next to you may become a colleague, an employer or even a client some day!
And get an office with none of the hassle
Having your own office can be great, but if you are a small business the lease terms can be infuriatingly inflexible, whilst having to manage an office yourself can use up your valuable time.
In contrast, if you were to rent desks in one of these shared spaces you would get everything you need provided for you for a single monthly fee. These contracts are often rolling month-to-month affairs; affording you all the flexibility you may need in a tricky period for many businesses. The office space will be managed and maintained by the building owners and any building and refurbishment work will be contracted out to companies such as http://www.woodbar.co.uk/.
The downsides
Of course there are downsides to going co-working. You won’t have any control over the office or the people you work with, so there can be no guarantees you will be in a quiet environment or sat next to a person with whom you get along swimmingly. Of course negative cases such as these are in a real minority. There are also a couple of security issues: you will be sending potentially sensitive data through a shared network and won’t get to lock your own premises at the end of the day.
If these sound like they could bepotential problems, co-working may not be your best option, but the beauty of such flexible contracts mean you can give it a try for a while and leave swiftly if it’s not for you!
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- Insurance Requirements for Businesses (thestartupmag.com)
- Creative Ways to Workplace Wellbeing (thestartupmag.com)
