Starting up a new business entails a number of expenses, including start-up formalities, premises, advertising, management fees, etc. But these costs are not necessarily bearable for small businesses until the first cash flow comes in. Coworking is a solution that lets you benefit from a favorable environment to start up your business, and a place to exchange ideas with other entrepreneurs, without putting a strain on your budget. Here's a closer look at the advantages of coworking.
Coworking: a place dedicated to professional activity
Premises and equipment at your disposal
It's not always possible to run a business from home, because you need a large, quiet space where you can receive colleagues or customers without fear of being interrupted. By choosing a place specially dedicated to your activity, you create an environment conducive to the successful start-up of your business, and you benefit from all the necessary equipment.
So, in most shared workspaces, everything is present for you to work in the best conditions. You'll usually find :
- open workspaces, but also closed offices to guarantee the confidentiality of your exchanges
- ergonomic, modular furniture to suit all morphologies
- a high-speed Internet connection
- printers and photocopying services
- meeting rooms
- relaxation areas to unwind
- catering facilities, with a room equipped with at least a microwave and refrigerator.
What's more, some coworking spaces offer domiciliation and secretarial services.
Total freedom
By renting work space in a coworking space, you eliminate long-term financial constraints. Unlike renting an office, for which you have to commit to a classic 3/6/9 commercial lease, without knowing how your business will evolve, coworking doesn't constrain you over time. You pay only for the periods when you need to use an office.
In fact, most shared workspaces offer you the option of renting an office by the hour, day or month. Some coworking facilities are even open 365 days a year, 24 hours a day.
Coworking: a convivial space
Like any entrepreneur starting out in business, you may experience moments of questioning, doubt and sometimes even discouragement.
In a shared workspace, you have the opportunity to exchange ideas with other people who are in a similar situation to you. Conversations between entrepreneurs are always stimulating, and allow you to break the isolation that often threatens the self-employed.
Use a shared workspace to better separate family and professional life
The early days of a small business are often time-consuming. You have to be able to wear all the hats: canvassing, accounting, management... so many young entrepreneurs tend to get overwhelmed by all the tasks, to the detriment of their personal lives. They find it hard to relax.
By choosing a coworking space rather than a workspace in your own home, you'll be better able to put a limit on your working time and devote hours to your family. Once you've left the office, you'll be less tempted to become absorbed in work-related matters, and these moments of relaxation will benefit your creativity.
Coworking: an opportunity to network and assert your professional image
This is particularly true if you opt for a generalist coworking space. You'll meet entrepreneurs working in different fields, students and sometimes even telecommuting employees.
It's the ideal place to share knowledge, discover new horizons and build partnerships. By networking in the real world, away from internet platforms, you'll be helping to build a community of entrepreneurs who can bring each other business.
Finally, you should know that by receiving your customers in a space dedicated to business activity, rather than in a room in your home, you will improve your image as an entrepreneur. You'll have every opportunity to reserve a meeting room, and use professional equipment such as a video projector to broadcast a presentation of your company, all of which are guarantees of seriousness and investment for your future customers.