Innovative entrepreneurs and small businesses around the globe are reducing cost and increasing workplace flexibility by using a shared office space where freelancers, startups, and corporate teams alike, work under one roof. Coworking spaces are trending so fast that emergent research is projecting a continued surge in shared workspace growth for the next four years that’s even faster than what we’ve seen the last decade. 2016 marked the opening of the 11,000th shared office space, and the year 2020 is expected to see the 26,000th…talk about business growth!
As the trend continues to snowball worldwide, employing a shared office space is being recognized as one of the more viable options for small businesses and hungry entrepreneurs looking to stretch their budgets and boost their business capital. Not only does sharing a workspace help cut down operational cost and eliminate stress of corporate real estate commitment, it also saves precious time and hassle by providing a work-ready, fully equipped environment for a soon to be thriving business. Still, joining a community office is a business decision worth careful consideration. Here are the top reasons small businesses are choosing to join the movement:
Low overhead.
Most shared office space opportunities offer essential utilities and services like high speed internet and Wi-Fi access, company phone lines, printing, and presentation technology, so quite simply, you have less to worry about.
Workers also benefit from shared office spaces’ modern ergonomic furnishings and productivity-cultivating atmosphere that might otherwise prove costly.
The Real Deal Feel
Starting a business from your bedroom seems like a dream am I right? But realistically speaking, there are certain qualities a small startup should have to give themselves credibility, like a real office address for example.
Not only is an office address imperative for receiving official business mail, but hosting client meetings and events in your living room or a noisy Starbucks won’t exactly give a great impression.
Networking, Networking, Networking.
Sharing a workplace is the perfect opportunity to meet, interact and collaborate with employees at other businesses, independent consultants, and coworking community staff utilizing the space. Alon Alroy, Co-founder of the event management platform Bizzabo, stated in an interview with Business News Daily that he thinks the community offered by shared office spaces “is a resource that small business owners should be keen to take advantage of.” Through meetups, seminars and day-to-day interaction, a diversity of professional voices and insights are the fuel behind a successful business idea.
Flexible Office Space
Leasing corporate office space spans such a long gap of time (relative to the small business cycle), is legally binding and essentially gives your business little to no room to grow. You’re left with a worst case scenario of terminating the lease early in debt, and a best case of terminating and needing to move into a larger space. Renting a shared office space allows you to utilize the resources included by the day, week, month or year depending on your unique business needs.
Leasing in a coworking space means you have room to grow with your forward-thinking business by having the ability to upgrade offices and even rent large conference rooms when needed. From renting a hot desk to moving into an executive suite, a shared office space sees your budding business the whole way through.
Attract top Talent
Full-time freelancers and independent contractors now occupy a significant gap in the workforce. Research shows that 40 million Americans will choose to be self-employed by 2019. With the help of new communicative technology and the ability to be constantly connected through the internet, more businesses and employees are discovering the possibilities of working remotely.
Corporate downsizing, employee dissatisfaction in traditional cubicles, long commutes and new online marketplaces make the movement towards office freedom more possible (and appealing) than ever. Hiring top talent now means making the role attractive in this light. 63 percent of millennial “digital natives” are reportedly “as comfortable working from a mobile device as they are at a desktop computer.” They value autonomy, prefer offices with an open floor plan and are more willing than earlier generations to share their workspace with someone else. Sounds a lot like a shared office space.
If you’re an entrepreneur or small business trying to decide if joining the shared office space movement is right for your growing business, learn more from our experts.
