When you work in a startup or small business, it can sometimes be a lonely experience. Working from home is great and being able to take your laptop to the local cafe and work remotely certainly has it’s benefits – however, we’re social creatures at heart and sometimes having other people to talk to, bounce ideas off and get advice from can be invaluable.

Co-working spaces or shared offices are becoming more and more popular with the increase in internet start-ups and small businesses that work predominately online in Australia, and the benefits of working with a group of like-minded business owners can be invaluable to your fledgling company.

What are co-working spaces or shared offices?

Think of a normal every day office. People coming in, getting coffee, sitting at their desks, making phone calls, etc. A shared office space is pretty much the same but instead of co-workers, you have other business owners and entrepreneurs. There are many benefits to working in a coworking space or shared office. Coworking spaces are popular all around the world and San Francisco's Brad Neuberg is credited with starting this movement back in 2005 – many home-based workers have found working in a shared environment has many benefits.

Working companions
Having people to bounce ideas off and talk to throughout your working day is a great way to get different perspectives and attitudes towards problems and issues you may face as a business owner or entrepreneur. A shared office gives you the opportunity to talk with other like-minded people and ask for advice and help when it’s needed.

Social Contact
We are social creatures and need the contact of other humans. Sure, you can sit in your local cafe or catch up with clients occasionally if you work from home but it’s hard to beat the friendship building potential of working with the same people every day.

Low Cost
If you try getting into an office near the Brisbane CBD it’s likely you’re going to have to sign a 12 month lease and pay a huge amount in fitouts, rent and fees. With a shared office space this all disappears and is replaced with an easy-to-pay daily, weekly or monthly fee!

Community of freelancers and business owners
With so many innovative and hard working people to surround yourself with, shared offices are a great way to ensure you get a good dose of motivation every day when you step into your ‘office’.

You can be yourself
One really surprising aspect we’ve found our clients who use our Brisbane co sharing office space is they love the fact they can be themselves. Because there’s a group of people who all work for different companies or for themselves, there’s no competition for promotions within the company or issues with internal and office politics. This leaves an open space where you can be yourself and do your best work!

Accessible 24/7
Are you a night owl? Perhaps you’re a morning person? It doesn’t matter what hours you keep with our shared office space because you can access it 24/7. This flexibility means that if you want to have an extra long lunch or want to hit the gym for a couple of hours in the afternoon, you can and there’s no-one there to look down their nose at you when you come back to the office.

What’s it like to work in a shared office?

Well the first thing you’ll notice when you walk into a shared office is the relaxed atmosphere. Generally people are very inviting and helpful. Because no particular person owns the space or is ‘the boss’ there’s a collective attitude of mutual connection and collaboration that is hard to get in any other office environment.

Here’s what Gavin, an IT professional, had to say about working in a shared office environment.

“The first thing I noticed is that people are really helpful. It's almost like working with a group of mates. Having others that might have had the same issue or problem as you is really helpful because you can ask them questions or find out how they dealt with stuff ”

Because you can choose your own hours and decide when and how you would like to work, shared offices offer you the flexibility of being your own boss with all the benefits of working within a group environment.

If working from a shared office sounds like something you would like to do, we’d love to hear from you. Call us today on 1800 629 143 or visit the contact us page so we can talk.