Work, home ... Now more and more people come to understand that such a lifestyle is not for them. Many begin to work hard for themselves: they become individual entrepreneurs, lawyers, accountants, photographers, and choose various creative professions. This is the essence of a common phenomenon - freelance, when a person decides how and for whom to work. It was this trend that led to the emergence coworking. it a relatively new phenomenon, but extremely popular. Let's get together what coworking is.
We reveal the concept
Translated from English, "coworking" - "collaboration." In practice, it is. Work for yourself and in the office - these are two opposite phenomena and lifestyle. Coworking managed to absorb the best of two extremes. Often people lack the motivation to work for themselves when they leave their usual, well-regulated life within the office. That's when coworking comes to the rescue.
He returns the person to the office, helps him shake himself, return to working mode and mood. It’s still not completely clear what coworking is. Let us describe in detail the meaning of the phenomenon and its characteristic features.
The essence of coworking
First of all, this is a way of organizing the work of people of different professions and specialties. Photographers, lawyers, copywriters, designers can work in one room - they are all independent of each other and work only on their own projects.
To understand what coworking is, it is worth imagining a room equipped as an office. Any freelancer can come here and rent a workplace. It is extremely convenient and profitable.
Types and forms of organization of coworking centers
There are no restrictions on this issue. The center may resemble an office or a creative workshop.
It can be just a room with work areas and office equipment, in addition, it can be like a creative studio. It all depends on the goals that the owners set for themselves.
What is needed to organize such an office?
For the premises you need to choose a convenient location. It is important to pay attention to the neighborhood. For example, it is unlikely that people will be pleased with the presence of a railway outside the window. The work area is of great importance. But since the target audience is extensive, then before you do the repair and arrangement, it is worthwhile to conduct a market analysis, a survey of potential customers.
It should be borne in mind that in the same room it will be extremely difficult to coexist with a seamstress and a writer, for example. Therefore, you can make a highly specialized center or universal.
The room must include:
- working area divided into zones;
- meeting room;
- rest area;
- the kitchen;
- a bathroom.
There are universal requirements for a coworking office, namely the availability of:
- high speed unlimited internet;
- telephone connection;
- organizational technology;
- furniture.
The rest is acquired on an individual basis, depending on who the center for organizing joint work will be oriented to.
Coworking Target Audience
The main customers are free people who work for themselves. They can be representatives of different social groups and professional orientations: from students, photographers, designers, lawyers, to sewing workshops, individual entrepreneurs, creative studios.
In general, all potential customers can be divided into 3 groups.
- Freelancers. Now more and more people are leaving for free swimming, trying to get rid of corporate shackles and work strictly on schedule.Someone has already found himself, someone is in search, is trying various specialties, mastering new knowledge, working for the soul. A freelancer can become a representative of absolutely any profession who is able to take 100% responsibility for his life. Of course, such people could work sitting in their kitchen or on their favorite couch. But when there is no clear regulation of labor and a controlling body, difficulties arise with motivation: laziness overwhelms, work accumulates. And most of these people. It was the representatives of freelancers who invented and organized the first coworking centers of a non-commercial nature. The main goal was to create a working atmosphere that makes people get involved in the fruitful process as much as possible. And it is not surprising that such centers have become extremely popular.
- Individual entrepreneurs. Often they do not always need their own office: it is costly and not in demand. But periodically, an official place to meet with clients is necessary. And here a coworking center comes to the rescue, where a working area is prepared for customers.
- Small companies. There are many organizations on the market that employ no more than 3-4 people. It is often unprofitable to rent an entire office, purchase equipment and create conditions for a small staff. Therefore, coworking comes to the aid of small businesses.
Organization of labor and workflow
Everyone, subject to availability in the coworking center, rents it. The cost depends on whether you just need a desktop or if you need a technique for use. You can rent your personal workplace for any period of time. In the process of work, when there is a need for a break, you can go to the rest room, chat with new friends, spend time together. In coworking centers, the organization of labor is made taking into account the necessary rest. They may include board games. Need a break for lunch or dinner - the kitchen is at the disposal of customers. Especially advanced centers open even canteens and hostels.
Often, in order to increase the profitability of the center, they organize all kinds of trainings, coach sessions, and educational programs. The premises are also rented out for negotiations or various business events. Paying attention to a wide audience of customers and demand, most of these centers work 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
pros
The advantages of coworking before working at home or in the office are as follows:
- Additional motivation to work. Since the beginning of coworking was laid by freelancers, everything is easily explained. Not all people have the willpower and motivation to force themselves to work in their own apartment. The home atmosphere is extremely distracting. Some kind of illusion of working in an office, the very atmosphere where everyone is busy with his own business, has a more intense and fruitful work.
- Communication. Those who work at home on an ongoing basis know how communication is lacking. This is what they get in coworking centers. You can also make useful contacts here.
- Saving. In addition to the working area, you get the right to use the meeting room, invite your clients there, and discuss all issues of interest in the atmosphere of the office. Also fully equipped with Internet and office equipment.
- Independence. You can rent a place at any time you need, which is very convenient. And, most importantly, it is psychologically more comfortable, since you are the boss, you decide when to come to the office and how much to work.
- Non-stop. The working hours of most coworking centers do not include breaks and weekends. They operate around the clock 7 days a week, which is very convenient for people with a different schedule of wakefulness and employment.
disadvantages
- Remoteness. This is a relatively new phenomenon, so coworking centers are not yet very common.It may well be that the city will have only one such center.
- Price. From the tenant's point of view, the cost, of course, will be lower than when renting a full-fledged office. But still, this is also a tangible waste of money. For the landlord, this is also an expensive project. Premises, equipment, repairs, running costs - all this is a considerable cost.
- Noise. Since people with diverse interests gather under one roof, one can often see this: a programmer immersed in his work sits at one place, and marketers very eagerly discuss their advertising campaign at the next table. Of course, you can always agree, but the likelihood of such a situation is worth considering. After all, not all people are naturally friendly, conflict situations are possible.
Business coworking is a very interesting and therefore promising area, especially in big cities. More and more people are trying to get rid of addiction in the form of offices.
And on the other hand, directing all creative flows to develop themselves as a free worker, individuals are afraid of a confined space in the form of home walls. Therefore, what coworking centers mean to them is easy to guess. For such people, this is a full-fledged working active zone, which they can visit at any time without falling out of society.
