How do I know if this coworking space is good for me?
Coworking spaces are a boom nowadays. No wonder so many startups and freelancers are choosing them because of their low cost. The second reason most of them coworking spaces is because they find lots of like-minded people are there to talk with.
One global survey showed that being lonely is the second biggest problem freelancers have. First is the irregular income. Coworking spaces cannot rule out the biggest problem but help them with the second problem.
You have visited a coworking space and liked it. Now, you are considering to book it, but really not sure whether it’s good for you or not. This is where this story will help you. I wrote this story by keeping only one thing in mind — you should not be ambiguous about the coworking space after reading this story. Because I know you deserve the answer.
This story first appeared on I Innovate magazine.
Let’s start with the very basic questions before I tell you what to do next.
What Is Coworking?
“coworking” generally means that two or more people work together but not for the same company. The term was introduced by Brad Neuberg in 2005.
I know that the definition made you worry about your privacy but you don’t need to worry. The person sitting next to you belong to the same mindset you belong to. He’s also an entrepreneur and setting up his startup (the same way you are doing).
What Is A Coworking Space?
Coworking space gives you a seat or a cabin where you can work alone or with your team. But there will be somebody else sitting in the next cabin or seat who is from a different company.
I have also written it in detail. You can find it on What is coworking story.
Many of you are avid readers of I Innovate magazine and a few months ago I wrote on the pros and cons of working in a coworking space. I got a good feedback on that topic but I was asked “how do I know if this coworking space is good for me?” a lot.
Unfortunately, that story fails to answer this question. So, I decided to write a new one.
Wondering “how do I know if this coworking space is good for me”? Ask these 6 questions to yourself
You need to visit the coworking space first before answering the questions. I am sure that you do not want to book a coworking space and work there for the next few months of your life without even visiting it.
Que 1 — Is any startup working there which has raised more than $1 million?
“Yes” answer to this question is very much important. Startups which have raised more than $1 million have a different set of problems that can be met by only top-class coworking spaces. They want reliable and fast internet, no downtime of the facility, ad hoc access to the meeting rooms, etc. Only a good coworking space can provide these.
There are also few newly opened coworking spaces which claim to provide these facilities but you need to really dig down more to verify them. :)
Que 2 — Are the community managers treating their members happily?
A good coworking space will always have a balance between their members and their community managers. If they force their community managers too much to sever their members best, you’ll come to know this from their face and behavior.
If you see that they are always happy, this means that they are being treated well by their managers. If they are being treated well, this means that they will treat you well. When you treat you well and help you, almost all of your problems related to that coworking space will be sorted out.
Que 3 — Is the place over/under crowded?
Let’s say there are three points. One extreme is under crowd which means that the coworking space does not have enough members. Another extreme is overcrowd which means that it has a lot more member than it can accommodate.
A perfect coworking space should always have their members between the center point and overcrowded but a bit closer to the center point.
If they’re overcrowded, this means that they are very money-centric and care more about the money than members’ comfort.
If they are undercrowded, either they are new or something is wrong. This is why they have lots of vacant spaces.
Que 4 — What are its members’ saying about it?
Personally talk to a few of its members and ask their feedback. If you are planning to raise a startup there, better to talk other startup owners. If you’re a freelancer, better to answer a freelancer. A coworking space normally has a different set of rules and facilities for a freelancer and startup owner.
Que 5 — Is it a standalone or part of a chain?
A coworking space which has presence in multiple locations are preferred. There are two reasons behind it
- They have a feature which enables you to access the coworking space of a different location free of cost. There are some limitations that vary spaces to spaces
- The owner of the space has a growth mindset which means that he/she is not looking to halt the coworking space growth. This will make sure that he has not opened this coworking space just for the sake of opening and he will do all the things it takes to make the members’ experience better.
Que 6 — Will this coworking space stay in the business for the next 5 years?
The answer to this question is tricky, and you cannot answer unless you have insider data.
You can only make an educated guess by analyzing the ambiance of the space and its members.
The answer to this question should be “yes” if you want to book this coworking space.
This is all.
This story first appeared on I Innovate magazine.
If you have any feedback, tweet to me at @iinnovatemag and I’ll respond to your queries.
