7 Steps to Finding the Perfect Coworking Location for Your Team.
Finding the ideal location for your business can be challenging. If you don't have a good location that keeps you happy, your team and customers are more likely to not be as happy as they should be. A lot of people think that it's impossible to find the perfect workspace, but there's always a way.
In this blog post, I'll walk through 7 steps that you can take to help you find the right coworking space.
1. Identify a Target Location.
The location is one of the most important considerations when choosing a coworking space. Here are some things to keep in mind:
Choose a location that's convenient for you. The more convenient the space is from where you live, the more likely you'll be to use it. This will help maximize your productivity, especially if you are working on a project that requires several meetings over time with other members of the coworking space.
Choose a space that's convenient for clients and suppliers. If your business is client-facing or project-based, it makes sense to find a space that's close to your customers and suppliers. If they don't come to you, then you should go to them.
Is there enough parking? A coworking can be perfect in every way except one: There is no parking or not enough parking and this could be a deal breaker when choosing the right place for your business. Before signing up make sure there is adequate parking or access by public transportation.
2. The Amenities.
The amenities that a coworking space offers can make it far more inviting than working from home.
There are many hidden benefits to coworking environments that you may not think about when considering it as an option. The amenities that a coworking space offers can make it far more inviting than working from home. From private offices, conference rooms and kitchens to coffee, snacks, gyms and saunas – shared space is often loaded with perks.
You should also take into consideration what type of services you will have access to through your membership. High-speed Wi-Fi, printing and photocopying facilities are essential for most people in a coworking environment. However, some spaces offer extras that can add value to your membership like fax machines or storage lockers or even showers and bike parking if you plan on working out or biking to your office each day. Other key things worth considering include parking availability, public transit accessibility and even bike rentals if there is no place nearby to secure your bicycle while at work!
3. Membership Options.
Different coworking spaces offer different levels of membership at varying prices.
These might include:
- Unlimited access to the space (e.g., 24/7, 24 hours a day, 5 days a week, etc.).
- Limited access to the space (e.g., part-time may be 5 days a week but only 9am-3pm).
- Day passes or hourly fees for individuals who don’t need regular access to the space but want to use it occasionally.
- Community memberships that let you drop in and use common spaces on an as-needed basis or allow you to reserve conference rooms by the hour.
Some coworking spaces offer additional services as part of your membership including:
- Cleaning services.
- Printing and scanning services.
4. Coworking Atmosphere.
If you're going to work in a space alongside other people, you want to make sure you'll be able to get along with them. These are the folks you'll be sharing your workspace with—and every day will hold opportunities for social interaction. After all, a shared workspace is a community, which means that working in one involves everything from dealing with each other's quirks and communication styles to potentially working together on projects. That's why it's so important that you understand the cultural aspects of your potential new coworking spaces.
When visiting prospective coworking locations, pay attention to how the employees interact with each other and their clients (unless the coworking space only rents out office space). Do they seem happy? Are they cordial? Is there a sense of teamwork among them, or do they just seem stuck doing something they don't enjoy? If an employee seems like he or she would rather be anywhere else but at work, this might mean that employee is unhappy about where he or she works—and if that's the case, it could mean bad things for your experience as well.
You can also ask questions about the culture when touring a potential new workplace. You might try asking something along these lines: "What kind of person would really love working here?" This question can give you insights into how employees feel about their workspaces and how much they enjoy coming into work every day—as well as giving hints on what sort of person would thrive in this sort of environment.
5. Employee Happiness.
You need to find a space where, despite the lack of traditional office perks, your employees are still motivated and happy to work.
It's not enough to choose a coworking space that just has more free coffee and beer on tap than the rest. You need to find a space where your employees are still motivated and happy to work, despite the lack of traditional office perks.
There are several key components of coworking spaces that can help with this, including:
- Plenty of natural light.
- Flexible working hours.
- A relaxed atmosphere.
- Regular social events.
6. Community Options.
Coworking spaces aren't just offices--they're a community
A good coworking space will provide a sense of belonging to its community. The people there are like-minded and passionate, and they're not just your coworkers: they're part of a family.
There should be a real, palpable sense that every member is an important part of the community, and that they want you to be a part of it too.
The space should be designed to encourage collaboration. That's why you're there, right? To work alongside other creatives, bouncing ideas off each other? If the space is intended for entrepreneurs or freelancers or artists who work alone in their bedrooms all day, then it should have some way of connecting them with their peers.
The coworking space should be a source of inspiration and motivation. It can't feel like just another office where you stare at the wall all day--it needs to feed your soul somehow! A well-designed coworking space will help boost your productivity so that you want to stay longer and do great work while you're there.
7. Coworking Expansion.
How can you make sure your new coworking space will give you the flexibility to expand or contract as needed? The trick to getting this right is to know what options are available to you.
Some spaces allow teams to move rooms or floors within the same building, giving them more room for expansion. Other spaces can be more limited and might not offer this kind of flexibility, which is why it's important for your team leaders to ask plenty of questions when looking at a potential space.
If a coworking location doesn't have the ability to scale up or down easily, chances are it wasn't designed specifically with businesses in mind.
Now that we've gone over how you can get flexible space that's ideal for your team, let's move on and explore other ways coworking locations can help your business grow.
Summary of Finding the Best Coworking Space.
There are many reasons that a remote worker would want to join an office space. Coworking spaces aren't the right choice for everyone, but they can be great for the flexible worker who isn't quite sure where the next opportunity will take them. Ultimately, choosing a coworking space comes down to personal preference.
When searching for a work environment, it's best to ask yourself a few questions: What are my immediate needs as a remote worker? How do I want to feel when I go to work? What do I value in a community of coworkers?
Once you answer these questions, it will become easier to find the perfect workplace for you.
