Getting a small business off the ground or even maintaining a successful startup can be a grueling and expensive task but co-working spaces have been popping up all over to offer a more compelling option for entrepreneurs.
According to Nerd Wallet, co-working offices can provide a lot of key benefits to a small business owner that might not be obvious at first glance and go way beyond just free coffee.
One of the best reasons to consider co-working spaces revolves around the competitive pricing they offer as well as the prime locations. Using the multitude of different tenants as an advantage, leasing companies are able to take over whole floors of attractive office buildings to then sublet for a profit. According to co-working company, The Common Desk, businesses can save up to 75 percent of their total costs by using this method. A 2,000-square-foot space for six workers could cost around 4,000 dollars monthly and that wouldn't include supplies or utilities. Conversely, one of their monthly memberships would cost only 1,200 dollars per month and would include many supplies and utilities such as internet.
The ability to plug-and-play is another great advantage for co-working spaces. Because they are already set up with furniture and internet access, many businesses just need to bring their laptops to get started. There isn't any need for a complicated move, design process, or renovation in order to make use of the space and there are often shared printers and kitchen space to use as well as unlimited conference room use.
Perhaps overlooked as a benefit, co-working spaces offer an excellent opportunity to network and many places feature an open floor plan that makes meeting new people extremely easy. They might even offer special events to encourage mingling and exchanging ideas. This type of environment helps to bring like-minded people together who are excited about new ideas and projects. These chance encounters could be the difference between a breakthrough and a long solo slog through a problem.