Have you ever thought about working in a coworking space? Coworking, defined as the sharing of office space by (typically) self-employed, independent professionals who wish to work together in a communal, collaborative setting (as opposed to the traditional model where office space is occupied by employees of a single organization), has a lot of advantages that you may not have thought of. Coworking spaces have been typically associated with freelance work, but Susan Ward's article tells us why coworking spaces are ideal for entrepreneurs. We - Coworking @Atol expand these benefits to sales and marketing professionals.
Self-Employment Is on the Rise as Coworking Tailors to Entrepreneurs and Lone Wolves
Statistics indicate that self-employment is on a steady rise and by 2020, somewhere between 40% and 50% of the workforce in the Western world will consist of freelancers, independent contractors and on-demand workers.
The rise in self-employment has led to an explosion in demand for coworking space, particularly from millennials in tech industry startups. According to Deskmag's 2017 Global Coworking Survey the number of coworking spaces is growing by 22 percent per year and the number of coworking members is growing at 40 percent per year.
Coworking Saves You Money While Improving Your Business
Susan Ward lists the advantages of coworking and groups them into four main benefits:
Low Cost
All-Inclusiveness
Collaboration and Synergy
New Business and Contacts
Coworking is the Best Bang For Your Buck
Coworking has been so successful in the past mostly because it offers an effective and affordable alternative to leasing a commercial office space.
Coworking spaces are treated more like a club membership—space is typically rented by the month, week, hour, or even pay-as-you-go options. In this perspective, coworking space is ideal for startup entrepreneurs and freelancers looking for a professional workspace without the high upfront costs and long term commitment.
Coworking Has Everything You Need
Besides the low cost, entrepreneurs and freelancers love the convenience of it. Coworking spaces are often better equipped than normal offices. Besides the usual amenities of a commercial office, such as a desk, WiFi, printers and scanners, and a coffee machines, coworking spaces usually offer much better stacked.
Coworking usually provides kitchen facilities, break rooms to socialize, conference rooms for rent with better equipment, and events that promote new ideas, networking, and socializing.
Cowork Your Way to a Better Business
Networking and socializing bring us to the next two points, which are heavily emphasized at Coworking @Atol - Higher productivity and Lead sharing.
Working for yourself and/or from home comes at a price. Isolation—many contractors work from home and don't get the synergy and social interaction that working in an office with a group of like-minded people can offer.
In order not to feel alone, many will work from cafés or shopping malls. Imagine how much your productivity suffers in a crowded and noisy environment without proper office amenities.
Gaining New Business and Valuable Contacts
With the surge of coworking spaces and the number of coworkers, coworking has become a surprising breeding ground for many sales and marketing professionals. There are more and more travelling sales agents, creative consultants, digital marketing specialists, and sales consultants that are following the freelance model.
Establishing a network of contacts in a new market, or finding new projects for your business has never been easier!
Coworking spaces are ideal environments for networking with other entrepreneurs and like-minded sellers and marketers.
Offering your services to other to other members may get you new business without the hassles of expensive marketing. Mingling with other business people on a daily basis is an ideal way to get positive word of mouth and is a much more effective (and less expensive) way to gain new business than advertising.
Even sitting down with someone for a cup of coffee can nurture conversations that bring incredible opportunities for your business. You might just find a partner that will complement your business model, they might inspire you to think outside the box, or even the simplest lead sharing can be a strong boost to your work.
If you are not exactly competitors, lead sharing is enormously helpful for everyone. Establishing marketing criteria, researching the market to find suitable potential customers, finding the decision-maker, establishing contact, etc. can be awfully time-consuming and spirit-breaking activities. What is a day's work can have the same result as a 10-minute conversation and sharing leads with someone established in this market.
How We Add Value to the Coworking Community
At Atol, we've recognized the enormous potential for the future of sales and marketing. As 🐦PGN - a platform business model for sales networks grows, so too does Coworking @Atol. This gives you the opportunity to check-in at any Coworking @Atol space and enjoy an international community of entrepreneurs, freelancers, sales and marketing professionals where synergistic cooperation, lead sharing, and business nurturing events are the focus.
Based on Susan Ward's article at https://www.thebalance.com/coworking-space-for-entrepreneurs-4150279