In general terms, coworking space refers to a situation where people assemble in a neutral space to work on different or same projects. How is it different from a typical office, then? It is very different because the people in a coworking area aren’t working for the same company. These spaces are a trending concept now and what differentiates them from a typical office is flexibility as there is no need to sign a long-term lease.
When walking into a coworking space, one will quickly feel the difference, and the atmosphere feels energetic and electric. These spaces offer a host of amenities like private meeting rooms, kitchens, coffee machines, recreation spaces, printers, copiers, conference rooms, and much more, along with excellent internet speed.
Advantages
- Cost
Coworking spaces provide the ability to rent the part of the building you need versus the entire building, which can burn a hole in your pocket. This means that these spaces are advantageous to everyone including freelancers, corporate organizations, and even startups.
- Location flexibility
The person can choose the location of their workspace according to their client and customer base, and spaces can be readily available in and around Austin as well.
- Community feeling
A community offers a business the chance to meet new people, socialize, and grow themselves. A person also gets an opportunity to share a space with people who have similar goals and aspirations as them. This can also help in building a network that will eventually aid in the growth of the business.
- Events
These spaces host a ton of events like hackathons, parties, game nights, and even art exhibitions which keeps you engaged to the core and even builds up a person’s skills.
Who uses these spaces?
- Freelancers
This brings out the best of both worlds for freelancers as not only do they get to socialize and build up their network, they also get the flexibility of choosing their own office hours. They are welcomed into a community and hence, are not isolated from the world of business.
- Start-ups
Start-ups were the first ones to hop into this concept of coworking spaces as they appreciate the low rental costs and flexibility. Additionally, they appreciate the community and the network that they are able to build by connecting with the right people at the right time.
- Large organizations
With this concept working excellently across all spheres, large organizations are also hopping on board and are able to save a large number of their expenditures such as management of the real estate and also on amenities like kitchens, parking spaces, coffee machines, events, and much more. Large organizations are also able to avoid longer leases on office spaces as the management required proper forecasting and analysis.
Conclusion
With the rise of the freelance economy, the concept of coworking space is also growing. In the United States, there are 55 million freelancers, and also, with the growth of small organizations, this concept is only going to develop further.