It's a no-brainer. Providing coworking office space is a win-win.
You keep looking at it. You just can't help it. Your eye seems somehow unavoidably drawn to it; until you force yourself to concentrate on your computer monitor once again. But it's no good. Your gaze inexorably returns to what is a truly beautiful sight that's simply awe-inspiring. But despite all that, it’s hardly great for productivity, is it? Not only is it a distraction, it's also costing you money. No, we don't mean that photo of your gorgeous significant other on your Smartphone's Home screen, and we're not referring to the shiny Harley Davison Heritage Classic standing proudly in the office car park. What we're talking about here is a desk.
Yes, a desk.
You know the one we're banging on about: that spare office desk space to your left, or maybe you're right? If it's behind you, beware of straining your neck's axial muscles. Perhaps it's the desk of a former colleague? Hmm...Where are they now? Or maybe it's simply always been there, but for whatever reason, just never got used. Not exactly good for the company profit margin, is it, having an office desk space that could be being used by someone skilled and committed, helping to generate increased revenue for your business? What's more, making that office space available to a business start-up could help them immeasurably, meaning that, for all parties involved, it's categorically a win-win.
For budding coworkers seeking to benefit from working in a shared office space environment, the advantages of doing so are hard to ignore: meet people, extend your business network, get referrals, collaborate on projects (just make sure that they're paid projects; you're a pro, not a volunteer, after all!), bounce ideas off others, learn LOADS, and work happily and productively in a welcoming environment with a great community atmosphere. Now, for most achingly lonely back bedroom office freelance folk, all that's pretty hard to resist. And for professionals who travel frequently and therefore have no need for a permanent office, coworking is the perfect solution for them. Even directly employed people can thrive working this way in London, or another UK town or city. Thousands already are.
For you, the office space provider, or at least as someone who's seriously thinking of giving desk sharing provision a go, there's lots to be excited about too. Look forward to having a new dimension at your workplace – 'fresh blood', if you like: someone coming in with new ideas, perhaps a skill-set and profession that you know very little about and have no experience in yourself. Who knows, someone may just come along one day with a rare talent, or a specific skill that you can use, helping to grow your own business in ways you never thought possible; until you gave shared office space provision a go, that is.
We used the word collaboration before. Here's another way to apply it: to learn about the dos and don'ts of providing space, pick up the phone. Talk to someone who's already providing it. Find a veteran. Pick their brains. Find out what the most common mistakes are, as well as the absolutely must-includes. Perhaps you're not looking to utilise a single desk, or maybe two, but to actually go the whole hog, providing a dedicated space at a location somewhere in the capital or even in a rural area?
If your dream is to bring together professionals from all walks of life; or maybe to provide a location solely for entrepreneurs; or assembling a tribe of independent 'creatives' in one place and providing an incubator for the development of amazing ideas and collaborative projects is what you're longing to achieve, all that's entirely possible. But don't rush it. Do your homework. Aim to strike a balance between creating an environment with a welcoming, fun and friendly community vibe, whilst simultaneously providing business professionals from myriad industries with a shared area where viable businesses can definitely be established and grown.
With all that achieved, treat yourself! Go and blow some of your first year's profits on a Harley :)
