Co-working Spaces vs Home offices – Every small business owner finds themselves pondering the same question: should I keep working from home (and my local cafe), or is it time to find an office? Your first office isn’t going to be the corner space on Collins St with a view. Co- working spaces are a great solution when you’re making the initial transition, and for some people, in the long term too. We’ve put together a list of pros and cons for co working spaces to help make your decision of home versus office easier.
Pros:
- Bang for your buck: If you’re dreaming about a luxurious office but don’t have the budget for one, this can be a great solution. There are plenty of big co working spaces with every amenity you could want, at a fraction of the price that a private office space costs.
- Networking: there’s no such thing as too many connections. Surrounding yourself with a plethora of other business owners means every workday is a networking event. You never know where your new friends could lead.
- Creativity: working solo or with a very small group can make it hard to get your creative mojo on. Bouncing ideas off like-minded people in the lunchroom can be incredibly valuable, not to mention the social advantages that come with it.
- Accountability: feel like being slack today? Now there are people who notice when you don’t come to work. There’s also the motivational factor of paying for a space and therefore wanting to make the most out of it.
- Reduce your stress: separating home life from work life is one of the hardest things small business owners have to tackle. Literally leaving your home to go to work will make this much easier than trying to separate the two when your desk is right next to your lounge room…
- Low maintenance: Vacuuming? Chasing up your Internet provider because it won’t connect again? Forget that. Paying for a space means those pesky things are taken care of for you.
- Scalability: As your business grows and so does your team, all you have to do is add to your space. Eventually, you may look at a private office but until you’re in that position, co working spaces mean that you can scale up or scale down with ease.
Cons:
- Distractions: if you find it hard to focus in busy or loud environments you might struggle to get big chunks of work done. Also, being around so many people to talk business with is fun! You’ll need a bit of discipline is this area or you could find yourself losing half a day because there’s so many interesting people to chat to
- Cost: obviously, staying at home means no rental fees. However when you consider tax deductions, the fact that you can use someone else’s Internet and that the cost can be around $500 per month or less, this isn’t a big one.
Personally, we are big fans of co working spaces. We work in one! Check out Casey Cardinia Business Hub for a bit of inspiration. We also love Creative Spaces and Spaces Richmond if you’re looking closer to the city.
Images: Spaces Richmond, Collingwood Warehouse Studio via Creative Spaces.
