There’s a third alternative to choosing your work space if an office in your home or workplace isn’t feasible: working remotely. “Remote” working is when you are independent of a specific location.
Remote locations come in a variety of flavors:
- Shared office spaces
- Co-working spaces
- Coffee shops
- Digital “nomadism”
- Amazon WorkSpaces (not a physical location, but virtual)
- Public Libraries
- Single-day intensives
Freedom from a physical location is the most exciting thing to me about having your own business. Sometimes, all you need is a laptop and internet connection.
Shared Office/Co-working Spaces
These are locations where people from many different businesses pay a monthly fee – similar to a gym membership – to work and share resources in a physical location. Depending on one’s needs, prices can range from around $35. per month to several hundred. Ten years ago, co-working spaces were almost unheard of, but with the progress of technology and young adults coming of age coming of age as fully-fledged digital experts, their popularity has exploded.
Co-working spaces can be found in just about every city. However, unless you live in one, it might not be a practical solution, unless you enjoy commuting. Still, a shared office is far less expensive than renting office space on your own.
Shared office space has fewer responsibilities – things like cleaning, maintenance, restocking some supplies – basically the annoying everyday things.
Co-working spaces offer opportunities to meet new people, and network. There can be dozens, if not hundreds, of people sharing the same space. And not all are business owners – they are also employees working remotely, college students, teachers on sabbatical, to name a few. And the population changes month to month, offering many chances to meet new people.
Low commitment is another benefit of shared office space. A lease term can be for a year to several years. Owning a building is out of the picture for most. The commitment for shared office space usually runs monthly, but weekly and even hourly is not unheard of.
There’s a trend away from the traditional 9 to 5 work environment, and a redefinition of professional relationships and what you really need to start a business. There are some disadvantages to co-working spaces: you can’t set it up as you want, and socializing can be a distraction for some. But for freeing up your brain and wallet, co-working space is just growing in popularity.
An organization called WeWork takes co-working space to the next level, with different monthly membership tiers, included refreshments, yoga, health insurance, bicycle parking, front desk services, common areas, private phone booths (yay!), handling of mail and shipping, office supplies, coffee, daily cleaning, 24/7 access……. I might never leave such a place.
Another similar organization is called Office Nomads. They appear to have only one location, In Washington, D.C.
Coffee Shops
For the price of a Venti Earl Grey with 50-cent refills all day, my local Starbucks is the place I go when I need a change of scenery from home, or to just be around people. Wifi, coffee, and food!
There have been studies done on the background noise in coffee shops. The “white” background noise can actually encourage creativity and concentration. If your work requires creativity, this could be a huge benefit.
Escaping from co-workers, family, people in general, in a coffee shop is a great when needed. Sometimes, you’re simply in a “mood” and everything is annoying. Maybe you’re under pressure and just need to retreat. You can wear headphones or earbuds to tune out noise and distractions; it’s unlikely you can do that in your workplace, where others need you or your phone keeps ringing.
Disadvantages: in most places, you’ll be expected to be a paying customer while there, especially if there’s a shortage of tables. But it’s still a lot cheaper than paying rent for a co-working space or an office. Another disadvantage – and I don’t have a good solution – is having to leave your laptop and stuff behind while you use the restroom. And after drinking coffee all day, you will! Some people ask someone nearby to watch their stuff; I’ve heard there are cable locks you can get but am not sure how they’d actually work. Pack everything up and you lose your seat. Another drawback is, the seats are almost always hard! Remember what I wrote on the previous post about the wood chair I used to have? Of course, you can always bring a cushion. Also, forget about talking on the phone due to lack of privacy and background noise.
Public Libraries
A growing trend in public libraries is accommodating remote digital workers. And they are free! You don’t have to be a paying customer, rent your seat, sit in uncomfortable chairs. Generally, other people in these work spaces are more diverse, and not all – or even most – are business owners. Another great thing is that you don’t have to live in a city to have access, as public libraries are found everywhere, in towns of all sizes (horray!). For the growing ranks of freelancers whose alternatives range from a cramped corner of their bedroom to a $500-a-month, private coworking space, the new library work zones are a boon. Decked out with fast Internet, 3-D printers, meeting rooms, whiteboards, and plenty of space to spread out, they’re much better suited to getting work done than jostling for counter space at a noisy coffee shop.
Fast Company, 8/8/14
Libraries, for me, have always been a reflection of what we want to be. Small-town repositories – shelf after shelf of the past, present, and future. Places of peace and thinking. So it seems completely natural that libraries should provide the means for business owners to have a place to retreat to in order to connect to the internet.
They’re great places to set up your work space, but with limitations.
- Completely free
- No need to be a paying customer
- Quiet
- Diverse “co-workers”
- Can’t talk on the phone without going outside
- Limited desk space, although many larger libraries with millions of dollars in funding have actual “offices”
- Might or might not have dedicated work space rooms, but most have a reading room
- Not good for networking due to “co-workers” diversity of purpose, similar to the coffee shop environment
One-Day Deep Dives
I learned about Caveday while researching info for this article. Don’t know if there are other “deep dive” organizations or not, but this concept might appeal to many who need a break now and then from working alone. There are only two locations, New York City, and Los Angeles. But if you happen to be close enough, it sounds like a way to have a productive day, change of scenery, on-site support, and meet new people
.A full day to shut out distractions and do your best, deepest work.
When you arrive by 9am, you’ll surrender your phone until you leave at 530pm. We create a space where better work gets done. We’ll provide a distraction-free environment with meals, wifi, coaching support, energy + time management, and community so all you need to do is show up and do the work.
The events range in price from about $40. – $50. and include meals, coaching, facilitators. They have sprints and breaks, and help you with your goals, if that’s something you want. There’s nothing like a deep dive to be productive, but they are by nature short-lived, as that kind of work is not sustainable over long periods. It’s work with a start and stop time; since it comes in a box, it’s a little more manageable.
Amazon Work Spaces
Since we’re on the subject of work spaces, Amazon has a service called WorkSpaces. If you and/or your employees or team members work remotely, want to use their own devices, and you don’t want to have to supply them with company-issued laptops, WorkSpaces might be what you need.
Using Wo rkSpaces allows you and your team to use their own familiar equipment while all programs and files stay in the cloud. This is great for travel too, as there have been restrictions on traveling with laptops. Also, if your laptop is lost or stolen, your files stay safely stored in the cloud, not on the computer. If you have a security issue with files stored on your computers being lost or stolen, cloud computing might be a solution.
So there you have it; a ton of choices of where to establish the nerve center of your business! Wherever you call your office, it should support, encourage, and energize you and your beautiful biz!
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