Is it a Good Idea to Rent a Co-working Space or to Buy an Office?
Wondering which is better? Here is what you need to know before deciding to rent a co-working space or to buy an office.
Nowadays there seems to be a trend for businesses to opt for co-working spaces. However, whether or not you should opt for a co-working space or a traditional office depends on the type of business you have, the goal of production and how you would like to brand your business.
Flexibility
With co-working, things can be more flexible in terms of space and renting options. It is a more popular choice for startups. Let’s say you have decided to recruit five more new employees and are afraid to run out of working space. With co-working, you could easily rent more space. And what’s good is that the desk, hot seat, and private office memberships are all offered on a month-to-month basis. Also, if you are not around as often as you thought you would be, you could discontinue the rental. However, if your company is a more established and stable one, then it is better to have your own office. It is also convenient to have your own space as well. However, should you need to expand your team and lack of space, you might need to consider shifting to a bigger space.
Privacy
In a coworking space, you might not have the privacy as people could peep into your office, or eavesdrop your conversation with someone important. People could walk around when you are trying to pitch to your potential client and it could be distracting and disruptive. Besides, you could not do much if the room next door is noisy and you are trying to concentrate on your work. Other than that, if you are working with something confidential like personal information or some government documents it might be difficult because you might not feel comfortable or have the privacy when someone passes by. With your own office, you do not have to worry about the noise, the accidental eavesdropping and people peeking into your work space. Also, if you are dealing with sensitive information, things are safer in the privacy of your own office. You could also be safe from security issues from not sharing a WiFi network.
Branding
If you have your own office, you could develop more brand awareness. Your company’s logo could be placed anywhere. People who come to visit your company could also gauge a feel of your company’s culture and values. This might be especially helpful if you have potential clients, business partners or employees. Furthermore, by having your own office your business could be listed on Google maps, hence it is more convenient for people to locate your business and more brand awareness could be developed. On the other hand, if you are sharing a space with other tenants, perhaps there are some things that you could not control, like creative decorations, types of events held there and music choices. Hence people could not really gauge a feel of your company’s culture, values and community.
Staying Focused/Productivity
By having your own office, you could probably boost productivity as you could concentrate better with minimized distractions from other tenants from co-working spaces. Contrary to co-working space that fosters an environment for people to socialize, you could easily do networking with other entrepreneurs. Although most co-working spaces provide a conducive environment for work, it does not really minimize distractions and noises compared to a private office.
