Coworking is a relatively new phenomenon which provides tremendous benefits to both employers and employees. As with all opportunities, it is important to embrace the possibilities with arms wide open. Let’s look at some concepts you can follow to improve the experience and maximize the benefits for both yourself and your company.
1. Be Open And Friendly
While it is true that you are supposed to be working, it is important that you develop good working relationships. Make an effort to get to know others in the coworking space, and start connecting with the folks around you. There will be times when you could potentially work together for a client, so it is always better to lay a good foundation from the beginning.
Once you have broken the ice, and have gotten to know the fellow entrepreneurs around you, you will be much more relaxed, and your standard and quality of work will improve. This sense of community is also beneficial towards your health, particularly if your work is very computer intensive. Sitting for hours every day, alone, and focused on a computer screen is not conducive to good health. Engaging in some friendly conversation with the many companies and freelancers in the space will encourage you to take breaks throughout the day, and may even encourage you to hang around for the coworking space’s happy hour.
2. Offer Help And Advice
Perhaps one of the best things about being around a lot of people from different industries is the wide range of skills and talents that are contained within the room. Whether it is a coding expert, a graphic designer, a group of lawyers, or maybe even some technical support, everyone brings something to the table. By making yourself available to help and support those around you, you will be encouraging a community culture and benefitting everyone in the long run.
At some point, you will inevitably face a challenge or problem that you are struggling to solve. Having built up relationships with the other companies around you, and helping them with a problem puts you in the position to reach out and take advantage of the immense wealth of knowledge within the overall coworking space. It may not seem like a huge thing at the time, but freely sharing your help and knowledge amongst each other will bring many benefits to all.
3. Don’t Be Afraid To Seek Advice
This is not to be confused with the point above, as this is not about solving a problem. This is about showcasing your work and gaining the perspective of those working from the table across from you. With their different knowledge, expertise, and life experiences, they may make suggestions that you would never have even contemplated. This will result in your work being fully enriched from all different viewpoints. Remember that constructive criticism is an important tool for your personal development and growth.
4. Be Prepared For New Business Opportunities
One of the many benefits of coworking is that you will constantly be exposed to new people, many of whom could turn into clients in the future. Let’s imagine you are a writer, and one of the fellow entrepreneurs in the space runs their own website design business. Once they have designed a site for a client, that same client may require content to be written on a regular basis for the site. There is a strong possibility that the fellow businessman could point their client in your direction, gaining you a new, profitable business opportunity. This should work both ways of course, but provides yet another benefit of coworking.
Coworking offers so many benefits to everyone involved. The key is to take full advantage of all of the opportunities it offers, both inside and outside of the work environment. You will be exposed to new friendships, skill-sets, and even job opportunities, but only if you get involved and make yourself available to those around you. Coworking is certainly the way forward for most freelancers, and now you have the perfect foundation upon which to build your business.