What is Coworking?

What is Coworking?

The Hub Amsterdam

For years, many independent freelancers and self-employed workers have been confined to the solitude of the home office. While for some this may consist of an actual office with a desk and nameplate, for others a home office is simply a laptop and a bed.

In recent years, coworking has become a popular alternative for not only those in home offices, but also for small businesses.

Coworking can offer many of the benefits of working for a larger company without a lot of the limitations.

Although the freedom to work from bed is often a great perk, home offices can have their disadvantages.

Yes, you may not have to wake up early or sit through traffic, but when you work from home the line between your personal and professional lives can get blurred. Not to mention that while there are an abundance of distractions at home, there isn’t much human interaction.

Coworking spaces are places where workers of all different professions can come together to pursue their individual goals. So why join a coworking community? Beyond the benefit of not having to work in isolation, many coworking spaces will offer the much needed amenities of traditional offices such as receptionists, conference rooms, and free coffee.

However, the biggest benefit of coworking is that it enables an exchange of ideas and often creates a productive work environment. Every freelancer, entrepreneur, and small business that occupies a coworking space has chosen to be there.

theOffice: Santa Monica, CA

This allows enthusiastic and willing people to come together and form a larger community that is motivated to succeed.

The constant exchange of ideas and networking allows workers pursuing individual projects to still enjoy the benefits of working with others in an office like setting.

Since its conception in 2005 the popularity of coworking has grown drastically. Some important highlights on coworking in 2011 include:

  • There were 1,779 coworking spaces worldwide, a 93% increase from 2010.
  • Nearly 700 of those coworking spaces were located in the US, and just over 700 were located in the EU.

Coworking Offers Variety

Coworking spaces are individualized to accommodate the needs of their members.

Zonaspace, St. Petersburg Russia

There are some coworking spaces that are free to use, while others charge for their services. For example Gangplank, a coworking space in Arizona, offers users its space in exchange for their time and services rather than their money. In contrast Collab, a coworking space in New York City, charges $600 dollars a month for membership.

If you’re looking for a coworking space, the versatility of coworking enables you to choose a space that meets your specific needs.

There are some coworking spaces specific to programmers, writers, or artists, while others accept workers of all professions.

And the possibilities don’t end there. You can pick amongst coworking spaces that offer educational workshops or spaces that promote community building activities such as Happy Hour and Spa Days.

Coworking Communities

Despite their numerous differences, most coworking spaces retain an underlying sense of community. The members of these communities do more than just coexist within the same building; they interact and motivate one another to accomplish their individual goals.    

Does coworking sound like something you would want to try?

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Widgetized Section

Go to Admin » appearance » Widgets » and move a widget into Advertise Widget Zone