Co-working spaces are on an all-time rise in India. Many startups, solopreneurs and freelancers are choosing it over the traditional office setup, or in some cases, even over the ‘Work from home’ option. Reports suggest that by 2020, around 13 million professionals in India would be working out of these co-working spaces.
Co-working spaces, also known as shared office spaces, have replaced the typical atmosphere with a healthy working atmosphere and much more productive outcome. The basic difference between a traditional office and a co-working space is that all the employees are not from the same organization or the same background. There is diversity in the employees and clients.
The growth of coworking spaces is inevitable. Here, we discuss the top five factors that are working as the catalyst to this growth.
01) Low Startup Cost
The key benefit of using a coworking space is its affordability. It enables unfunded startups or freelancers to avail a fully functional office on a shoe-string budget. Occupants are provided with the resources that are essential for their jobs. There is no worrying about electricity or any other kind of service bills. You can work without having concern for the expenses. This will not only save your money but also help you in increasing your productivity. In order to get the best boost to your start-up, you should know how to reduce your expenses and use that money to enhance productivity. If you want, you can even have meetings with your client in the workspace and save the money of going to a cafe or hotel. Affordability is one of the prime reasons behind the growth of such co-working spaces.
02) Flexibility
Many startups or freelancers do not want to be committed to their office space for the entire month. Co-working spaces offer flexibility in terms of occupancy. You can opt to pay only for the number of days you are using the office space. Flexibility is also offered in terms of the area occupied. The companies using co-working spaces can change their contract as their team size increases or decreases. Moreover, you can also select the number of hours you want to stay in the office as many people do not want to spend much time in their office. If someone is busy in the afternoon, he can even opt for night shifts. However, night shifts are not available in every co-working spaces.
03) Central Locations
The co-working spaces are mostly situated in the prime location, which is an important factor for startups. Having your workspace at a premium location makes it convenient for the employees to commute as well for the clients to visit. You will always find it easy to get hold of public transport near your co-working space. In addition to that, some coworking spaces even offer cab services. This will help you to commute to your working space with ease and save the money by dividing the fare. For example, coworking spaces in Mumbai are located at premium locations like Motinagar, Juhu, Bandra etc. This will not only assist you to commute comfortably to your workspace but also help the client to find your location with ease.
04) Networking Opportunities
A co-working space is shared by many entrepreneurs and freelancers. This is an innovative way to surround yourself with some goal-oriented people and even getting help from them in your work. The diversity of people creates the opportunity for collaboration. Many of them can either be your potential client or introduce you to one. You can even have chats with experienced entrepreneurs and gain knowledge and assistance from them to boost your success rate. One can even partner with other startup and work together to gain success. There are many cases where two start-ups joined together and experienced a huge boost in their organisation.
05) Encouraging Work-life Balance
The shared office or a co-working space is a place where an employee will hardly experience the phrase called “ All work no Play”. These spaces promote a balance in the work-life by creating a community in the office. These communities organise events such as health and wellness, guided meditation or even a weekly yoga session for relaxation. Some co-working space even has indoor games, where one can release their stress by playing some indoor game with your partners.
Co-working spaces enable starters to have an office and that too within their resources. Then comes their resilient features, which captivate the attention of the clients and inhabitants. Establishment of the popular addresses also adds up to the convenience factor of these shared working spaces. There are people from different professions working in co-working spaces, which can enable companies and entrepreneurs to collaborate with each other.
With so much on offer, the concept of co-working spaces is here to stay, and grow.
