So, could opening a second shared office space be well-worth considering?
The bottom line. It never moves, does it? Well, it certainly doesn't when it comes to business. In a world where these days it seems that so many people are keen to "raise awareness", to "make a difference" and all that jazz, it's still money that ultimately talks; and there's no getting away from the fact that, without profit-making small businesses operating week-in-week-out across the land, the British economy would be on its knees. In recent years, so many of our start-ups have seen their businesses evolve rapidly, by moving out of the back bedroom office, or maybe the converted garage, or even the shed down the end of the garden (!), and into a welcoming shared office space environment.
Now, that was a smart move.
An even smarter idea was to join the coworker office space community local to them, and to work every day in a contemporary cool and on-trend milieu, but never to take their eyes off the prize: making sure to prioritise productive work while at their desk space, instead of making an all-too-common mistake: falling into the trap of thinking that work should become secondary, an additional activity to the 'main event', namely, to make new friends; share thoughts, ideas, and drinking stories; and to spend half the day sipping cappuccino or latte while shooting the breeze with similarly disengaged souls (who one day might 'get focused').
Of course, a desk sharing venue should be a fun environment, a welcoming and happy place to be. You want to wake up every morning looking forward to going there, to seeing familiar faces and catching up with mates old and new, but the bottom line is: getting the most from shared space can only be achieved if work output is prioritised. For space providers, this is equally important. Sure, you could get a business plan together, secure funding, find the right location, fit out the facility with all the necessary kit, and take steps to make it a vibrant, cool place for business professionals to flock to, but they won't hang around for long if they're not seeing progress, business-wise.
In short, with most spaces, the cool and hip aspects are evident, crystal clear for all to see. But underneath all that, successful desk sharing space provision is proven as being a great business model, and one that is in itself profit-making whilst simultaneously helping all sorts of businesses to thrive.
Ever thought about opening a second space? Maybe that's a new one on you, or has long been part of your long-term growth plan. You've got a lot of shared office space experience to draw from now. Take your already acquired know-how to a second location; but, of course, don't expect the challenges to be quite the same. There's bound to be differences in terms of venue size and dimensions, for a start. And opening up in a new city may require a bit of research into the area (citizens' preferences, their particular likes and dislikes...), to ensure that you're providing a site deliberately tailored to meet the needs of local people, to businesses operating primarily within a couple of specific industries, perhaps. Also think about transport connections, parking availability, broadband reliability and phone signal strength in that region. In addition, providing on-site employment to people with literally priceless local knowledge is a smart idea. Equally important is having your marketing strategy formulated and in place well before opening day.
Perhaps before doing any of this second location stuff, your best first step would be to get in touch with someone who's already done it!?
