What is coworking and what are its advantages?

If you are a self-employed professional looking for a workspace to call your own that isn't too expensive, the coworking This could be a great solution.

What is coworking?

If you've ever walked into an office building looking for a professional and ended up in the wrong room, talking to someone from a completely different field, you've certainly experienced coworking in a rather unusual way.

That's because, When we talk about coworking, we are referring to the sharing of physical space by companies or professionals from different fields, with the goal of reducing infrastructure costs.

So, if you've ever walked into a building looking for a lawyer and accidentally ended up in an accountant's office, know that this space likely uses a coworking setup.

The idea was created to help freelance professionals who wanted to find a physical space to work or even provide services, but without having to bear all the costs.

In this system, professionals share physical spaces, systems, resources, and even strategies for promoting their address, making everything cheaper for everyone.

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What are the advantages of coworking?

For those unfamiliar with the concept of coworking, the idea of sharing space with other professionals, who are sometimes from completely different fields, may seem a bit confusing.

However, we must understand that there are different types of coworking spaces, and the first is where only the building is shared, so that each professional has their own office, or even each company has its own floor.

The second model, widely used by beginning freelance professionals, involves sharing offices, where each person has their own desk, but all physical resources are shared.

If you work with clients, this second model might be a bit more complicated, but the first one can work well.

If your goal is simply to secure a physical space for activities that depend solely on you, the first model could be a smart way to save money.

Here are two of the main advantages of coworking.

1. Cost reduction

When we talk about coworking, the main advantage is cost reduction, since the costs of maintaining a professional space are responsible for interrupting the dream of working independently.

Rent, furniture, utilities, building maintenance fees, promotional materials, cleaning, and equipment are just some of the costs that should be included in the planning spreadsheet.

Therefore, even owning an office can become a distant dream for professionals and startups.

That said, with coworking it's possible to share these expenses with other people, which makes the dream of having your own space more affordable.

2. Exchange of experiences and networking

Do you remember the example we gave earlier, about the client looking for the lawyer's office and ending up finding the accountant's? As unusual as it may seem, that's one of the advantages of coworking.

Most clients leave this experience thinking, "There's an accountant here too, good to know!"

However, this contact can also occur directly, whereby a professional recommends a colleague from the same building who works in the area the client is looking for, outside of their area of expertise.

Therefore, if you want to exchange experiences and invest in networking, this concept is very useful for those purposes.

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Can a building with multiple offices/rooms be considered a coworking space?

When researching coworking, you'll find explanations that link the concept to the direct sharing of spaces; in other words, rooms designed to accommodate various professionals.

Therefore, coworking spaces tend to be large, with numerous desks and designed to provide an acceptable degree of privacy while sharing the space.

This raises the question: considering that coworking spaces are portrayed in this way, can we consider a building with separate offices/rooms as belonging to this concept?

Yes, although the most popular application of this concept is in a large shared space, having an office or room in a development with other professionals offers the same advantages.

After all, you only pay for the room, and you can share expenses, reception, and many other items with other professionals.

Furthermore, there are coworking models where each company operates on a specific floor within a building.

Ultimately, the goal of reducing expenses is achieved in all cases, so they fall within the concept.

When is it worthwhile to join a coworking space? What should you consider?

To join a coworking space, it's important to reflect on the advantages of the concept: are they truly beneficial for you and your business?

Does sharing expenses compensate for a certain loss of privacy or even damage to your company's image, considering that your address is not exclusively yours?

Furthermore, while this concept offers advantages in reducing expenses, it's important to know if these advantages are justified, even if reduced.

In some cases, continuing to work from home in certain activities offers more advantages than renting a space.

Therefore, carefully evaluate your situation to make an advantageous decision free from losses.

Roberta

I am a member of the O Administrador team and I produce content about career, personal finance, financial education, productivity, and professional development. My goal is to share clear and practical information to help readers with their day-to-day decisions.

July 29, 2024