In the coming years, millennials will account for the majority of the world’s total workforce. And being the civic-oriented intuitive individuals that we are, millennials are not afraid to challenge the corporate norm with the aim to create, adapt to, and utilize more effective and innovative methods of doing business.
For example, one such method that has gained some serious momentum in recent times is coworking spaces. And yes, it’s exactly what it sounds like.
Specifically, in this article, we are going to be looking at what a coworking space is, the benefits associated with it, and how you can build your own.
But first, let’s start with the basics.
What’s a Coworking Space?
Particularly, a coworking space is essentially a shared office space where people come together to work, network, share ideas, and collaborate on projects.
These spaces are usually autonomous and not associated with a single entity or business. They rather aim to harvest the collective efforts of various individual entrepreneurs, business professionals, freelancers, and fields of expertise.
This is an excellent alternative for someone who works on contractually or travels often and often needs a temporary office. As co-work spaces are gaining popularity and becoming widely adopted over time, the obvious question of why should you bother with them in the first place rings no surprise.
A coworking space can be a good fit for:
- Remote employees
- Full-time freelancers
- Start-ups with no physical existence
- People working on side projects
- Digital entrepreneurs
- Business travelers
Why Work at a Coworking Space?
While the world is going digital and an ever-increasing number of people working remotely, the adoption of coworking spaces is a perfectly logical and viable solution. In what has popularized to be called “The Remote Revolution,” people today look for a comfortable and breathable working environment which the ‘9-5’ sadly doesn’t always offer.
Let’s take a look at some of the benefits coworking spaces offer:
1. Offers a community-centric culture
Firstly, coworking spaces help bridge the gap between remote working and community-building. Considering how they carry a diverse crowd of people from different work backgrounds and expertise, the environment is naturally quite inviting and offers a lot of flexibility, room for creative thought, and serves as an excellent feedback mechanism.
2. Helps in cost-cutting
Coworking spaces are great to cut back on costs and club together your resources in one organized place. Not only does it help you make productive use of an idle place (that’s eating rent), but it also saves costs by shared use of office supplies, utilities, and other essentials like internet connection, furniture, electricity, and rent.
3. Increases scalability of team
Coworking spaces can be a great asset for growing businesses with an increasing need of employees but not enough office space to hire more people. By using coworking spaces, you allow the extension of your team without having to move to a bigger office and bear the expenses of setting it up from scratch.
4. Boosts employee morale
A business run on people needs to understand the needs of people. And a typical corporate office, to put it gently, is not the most inspiring place in the world. However, coworking spaces solve this problem quite effectively.
A coworking space, frankly speaking, is more about seeing people as productive individuals than seeing them as a materialistic resource – as companies do. Consequently, people feel more seen, respected, and experience a strong feeling of belongingness and community – increasing their morale and thereby productivity and job satisfaction.
Where to Build a Coworking space
Given the fact that a coworking space is not affiliated with any particular company or institution, the design philosophy is malleable to what you want it to be. Particularly, The place’s layout can be as structured or freestyle as you deem fit, assuming you know the crowd you’re trying to attract.
Here are a few examples of the places that can be used as co-work spaces:
- Unoccupied real estate
- Restaurants, cafes, pubs
- Spare office rooms
- Abandoned buildings
- School or college classrooms after lecture hours
…and more.
How to Get Started
A good coworking space is one that makes you feel easy while you work and gives you the freedom to step out of it whenever you desire. To achieve this effect, investment in interior design and decor is a must.
From intuitive wall paintings to fireplace decor ideas to spacious rooms, all ideas are welcomed, but not all ideas should be realized. As great as coworking spaces are, building them and setting everything up can be quite intimidating.
Considering how a coworking space needs to cater to the needs of a diverse crowd with multiple interests, it needs to be stocked with essentials and additionals at all times.
Here are a few key things you’ll need to consider:
Location
An optimal location is super important for any successful coworking space. Since you will be having people over residing from varying levels of distance, you wanna make sure that the co-work space is:
- easily searchable on the map
- easily reachable via public transport
- situated where demand is high and supply is low
- not situated in a noisy neighborhood
- situated somewhere with great network coverage
Events & Private Conference Rooms
Coworking spaces are designed for community-engagement and must organize events from time to time so as to keep people feeling involved and a part of the workplace.
However, at the same, they would also require private conference rooms for business meetings and discussing confidential information or strategy.
Facilities, Pantry, Stationery Solutions
Facilities like consistent electricity, high-speed internet connection, first-aid kits, and break rooms are becoming increasingly more popular and people will definitely expect the same from your co-work space.
Like any workplace, co-work spaces need planning for the food and beverages people would need while taking breaks during work. Stationery solutions will always be a requirement in an office setting as well.
Pens, paper, markers, boards, a printer, and a photocopy machine will undoubtedly be needed regularly. Make sure to stock up, be eco-friendly, and avoid as much waste as possible. Promote the narrative of sustainability and ask people to follow.
And there you have it!
Our beginner’s guide to building a healthy coworking space. Thanks for reading this article. We hope it added value to your work life and future endeavours.
