My experience in coworking
Welcome harazhiteli!
One of our friends instead of an office rents a workplace in the so-called coworking center and recently shared his experience with us. Coworking is perhaps the most convenient format for freelancers, start-ups, novice entrepreneurs and all those who for one reason or another cannot or do not want to work at home, and are not ready to spend money on a full-fledged office. So, first-hand experience in coworking:
- start of recall -
“My name is Dmitry, I am a freelancer and a novice entrepreneur selling equipment from the USA via the Internet. My work tools are a computer and a desk. The lack of a tight time frame, a free work schedule, the boss and the performer in one person - all this is about me ...
Like many freelancers, I can work from anywhere in the world, if only the Internet was there. As the simplest version of the workspace, I chose my own apartment. A place where communication takes place with family, relaxation, sleep, entertainment and ... work. This has its pros and cons.
The pluses are that there is no need to spend money on office rental, travel, office infrastructure (Internet, furniture, office equipment) - because all this is already at home.
The downside isthat there is no way to share personal life and work. Sometimes it’s just impossible to find the strength to start working in yourself. The temptation to lie down on your favorite sofa, go to the kitchen and look in the fridge, chat with your home, as a result, the work was interspersed with watching videos and chatting on social networks. I am sure many here recognize themselves :)
The environment and environment greatly affect the working mood. And if it comes to meeting with clients in real life, then you cannot do without a full-fledged workspace. What to do? To rent an entire office, furnish it with appliances, hire a cleaning lady, put security, investing a tidy amount at the initial stage and paying substantial monthly payments in the future? Like most freelancers, I simply don’t have money for it.
And if the office suddenly disappears, the field of activity changes, difficulties arise temporarily or vice versa, will the expansion of the company be required when I’m just starting out and don’t know where my business will lead me?
Then a coworking center came to my aid . On a habr already wrote about coworkings, in Russia they only begin to appear, and I just found one of them in St. Petersburg.
This is the workspace of a large office, where several independent freelancers, entrepreneurs, novice businessmen and just creative people work. This is a joint rental of premises, which is much cheaper than renting an entire office alone in a business center.
The coworking in which I rent a workplace already has a ready-made infrastructure with its workspaces (tables, chairs, lockers), fast and broadband Internet, a kitchen, a bathroom, a hanger, a meeting room and an incoming cleaning lady.
In modern and fashionable words - this is the complete outsourcing of my work environment - I just have to put the necessary documents in my personal locker, turn on my laptop in any outlet and start working through the Wi-Fi network of the co-working center.
At the same time, I can freely use the city telephone, kitchen, meeting room, a large whiteboard for writing, a projector, a printer, a scanner, a copier and a library with business and specialized literature. Round-the-clock access to coworking allows me to flexibly plan my work schedule, building it in a way that is convenient for me.
What is especially nice - I do not need to worry about payments for Internet and electricity, monitor the availability of paper in the printer and toilet, or run to the store for unexpectedly finished tea / coffee - this is a headache for coworking administrators, and I can calmly concentrate on work .
The working spirit of the team, united by common aspirations, does not allow “to score”
to work, relaxing behind a toy or social networks. I liked the fact that the issue of privacy of each participant in the coworking center was also worked out quite well. No one will enter projects without consent, “peep” or find out any confidential information. It employs people who respect the privacy of each resident. Therefore, you don’t have to worry about data security, which is important for me.
In addition to comfort at work , for me this center has also become an amazing communication environment. Being surrounded by successful entrepreneurs, I got the opportunity to learn. In the evenings and on weekends, various trainings, seminars and discussions are periodically held, in which I, as a resident, can participate for free.
Also, face-to-face communication, in which people help me on various issues, for whom this is an organizational stage. Here everyone is a specialist in their field - lawyers and owners of online stores, representatives of the training organization center and the advertising and communication agency. All of them are residents from whom you can learn and strive for the prosperity of your personal project - this is exactly what I'm working on.
After a busy working week, it is quite possible and necessary to relax. Another plus that is hardly available at work at home or in your own office. This is watching a movie on the big screen, these are regular games (Mafia, Monopoly and its analogs, Dixit, Alias and others), these are creative gatherings with pizza and juice or tea and cookies, both in the circle of their partners in the coworking center, and with guests guests.
Coworking gave me the opportunity to develop, find interesting and necessary people, expand the circle of contacts, be creative, discovering something new for myself, relax together and just work and work in a comfortable environment in the city center. ”
- end of review--
Perhaps the review will seem unnecessarily laudatory to you - well, we laid it out as is, just formatting it a bit and adding photos :) If someone has another experience - write in the comments, it will be interesting to learn about such a thing as coworking, from all sides .
The Nevsky 132 coworking center in question is located in St. Petersburg, so we also visited it and, frankly, immediately fell in love with this place. If anyone is interested, its founders are ready to share their experience in creating a coworking center from scratch. Now we are making plans to hold one of our SumIT events there.
By the way, every weekend in this coworking they play mafia and board games, as well as arrange movie screenings that anyone can get to. You can learn more and sign up for them.official VK page .
If you are looking for an office or want to surround yourself with interesting people, then you should especially look at the format of coworking. On the basis of the next major SumIT event, which will be held from February 20 to March 13, free co-working will also operate.
Recall that SumIT is the first step towards creating your own startup, and in addition to fully equipped coworking, there will also be help from iDealMachine startup accelerator experts, daily seminars and master classes, and the opportunity to present your project to investors.