What Is a Coworking Space and Should I Be Using One?
Coworking is all about getting out of your home office (or couch, or closet, or whatever it may be) and joining some friends for a productive but low-stress work session.
The company you keep is a big part of what makes coworking so great, but the locale matters too. What should you look for in a coworking spot – or a place to work solo, for that matter? We’re pros here at Ladies Work Remote, so here’s your handy-dandy checklist.
What to Know about Coworking Spaces
What Is a Coworking Space?
A coworking space is essentially a building full of desks, tables, conference rooms, and so on where you can pay a monthly fee to come and work. Each coworking space runs a bit differently. Some are as simple as it gets: everyone pays the same membership fee and gets to come in as often as they want and sit wherever they want to work.
Other coworking spaces have different levels of memberships, with lower-cost memberships for “hot desk” access and higher-cost memberships for a dedicated desk or a private room. Still others are designed more like collaborative collectives where members can come to work but also where they host educational events and networking events with the expectation that members collaborate more.
Pros and Cons of Joining a Coworking Space
A coworking space is essentially a building full of desks, tables, conference rooms, and so on where you can pay a monthly fee to come and work. Each coworking space runs a bit differently. Some are as simple as it gets: everyone pays the same membership fee and gets to come in as often as they want and sit wherever they want to work.
Other coworking spaces have different levels of memberships, with lower-cost memberships for “hot desk” access and higher-cost memberships for a dedicated desk or a private room. Still others are designed more like collaborative collectives where members can come to work but also where they host educational events and networking events with the expectation that members collaborate more.
Pros and Cons of Joining a Coworking Space
Thinking about joining a coworking space? It’s a game-changer for some but not a fit for others, so it’s a matter of what you might be missing in your work environment now and what you hope to gain. Weigh these pros and cons.
Pro: Dedicated Workspace
Coworking spaces are perfect if your home isn’t an ideal worksite. Maybe you have a hard time focusing at home, you don’t have the space for a good work setup, or you have kiddos at home who don’t understand that you need quiet alone time. A coworking space gives you a productive place to go when you need it.
Con: Monthly Fees
The primary trade-off for a coworking space is the cost: usually a monthly membership fee. The cost varies significantly from one coworking space to another and it can vary based on the type of membership you choose too. Fees usually range from as low as $100/month to as high as $500+/month.
Pro: Meeting Other Professionals
Much like a Ladies Work Remote meetup (which sometimes even take place at coworking spaces), joining a coworking space gives you a chance to meet other people who work remotely. It’s a great way to get more involved with the community and potentially make profitable connections too who could lead to a great collaboration, a new client, or a job lead.
Should You Join a Coworking Space?
So, the ultimate question: is a coworking space worth it? Truthfully, it’s all a matter of personal preference and circumstances. If you find yourself wishing you had a more stable, productive work environment you could go to as often or as little as you want, a coworking space could be a great addition to your work life.
Of course, there are those who prefer coworking meetups instead. If you’re one of them (or if you’d benefit from both a coworking space and a coworking meetup group), check out Ladies Work Remote for a meetup near you.