Can Businesses Use Coworking Spaces?
Coworking is widely known to provide a work zone for freelancers and other independent professionals. Due to its vibrancy and flexibility, it is said to cater to the wants of employees who work remotely. Does that mean that its offerings are confined only to that particular segment of working people? Does it imply that businesses cannot be part of coworking spaces? Well, we shall answer your question regarding the same in this particular article.
Coworking Spaces for Businesses
As a matter of fact, MNCs prefer having their own offices which they may not prefer sharing with any other company, which is why they usually do not choose to be part of coworking spaces. Since they usually have a considerably large team to work for them at every office branch of theirs, they also need bigger spaces. Also, in order to maintain a sense of professionalism, they like to design their offices in ways that are similar to one another which helps them maintain their brand image.
However, MNCs are not the only kind of business in the world and even though many business owners aspire to build MNCs of their own at some point in their life, they all start small.
In terms of real estate
When the concept of coworking didn’t exist, every business owner had to take the risk of hiring his own office space in order to commence operations. When one hires an entire office space, landowners usually give it only on lease which adds to the level of risk involved. Nobody offers lease terms of less than 6 months which is why it used to be difficult for an individual to be sure about whether or not to implement a business idea.
Coworking spaces on the other hand have made life fairly easier for those looking at developing a business of their own, irrespective of whether it is a popular product or service that they may be selling or a niche. In the case of a popular product, there may be quite a bit of competition which is why one may have to work very hard to make a place of their own in that particular market segment. In the case of a niche product, one may never know if their market is ready to accept their offerings in the first place. Either way, there is a huge risk involved.
However, coworking spaces considerably reduce that level of risk by offering extremely flexible terms which allow business owners to rent spaces for a time period of as short as a month. There are no forced lease terms that can highly reduce the risk involved when taking the aspect of real estate into consideration.
In terms of interiors
Hiring a typical or traditional office space requires businesses to work on the furnishings and décor by themselves. In order to set up an office, one needs to buy desks, chairs, side tables, cabinets, and more-all at their own expense. Lighting and furnishing can get very expensive and if the business doesn’t do well, that can all go to waste.
Coworking spaces on the other hand come with fully-furnished spaces- including great lighting and fancy décor- and all one has to do is move in. In case things don’t work out for a business that hires a coworking space, he/she doesn’t have to worry about having wasted money and effort on the décor and furniture.
In terms of maintenance
A typical office needs the business owner to hire staff to clean and maintain it on a daily basis. However, that isn’t the case with coworking spaces that have their own staff members to take care of those aspects and needs.
Hiring a Coworking Space for a Business/ Start-Up
Coworking spaces offer a variety of plans, some of which can include desks, floors, and private cabins. A business owner can choose to hire anything that’s within his/her spending limit. If what a particular business owner wants is minimal risk, s(he) can always hire a few dedicated desks for his/her employees and a private cabin for himself/ herself.
If a business owner or investor has a decent budget, an entire floor can be rented which can be used exclusively by the employees of that particular business.
Meeting and conference rooms
Meeting rooms are available in most coworking spaces that can be rented by the hour. All a business owner has to do in order to use it is inform the receptionist about the same. If his timings do not clash with the timings of another meeting, the room is his which can be used to hold staff/ employee meetings or even meetings with clients. These meeting rooms are typically well furnished and provide a professional atmosphere, which can provide a great impression to potential clients of a business.