Is co-working space beneficial for a freelancer?

These days it has become a new concept of having Co-working space. Here many people will be sitting in their rented area in a cubicle and doing their own work. There will not be any administrative problems once you share a coworking space. All infrastructure facilities will be given by the owner of the facility and you need not spend time getting them. The following are some of the advantages and disadvantages of having a co-working space.

Advantages.
1. Generally, these co-working spaces will be located in city centres. A prime business location is always helpful in improving your professional impression. Your potential customers, vendors, prospective employees and financiers will get impressed with your organisation when you are at a prime location.
2. The space provider will generally provide all the required services and maintenance of the office. They provide services like professional receptionist, secretarial services, IT support, office and building maintenance and cleaning staff. This will give you some additional time to concentrate on your work more.
3. You can start your work without any delay as electricity and other requirements will be in place and just you can move in start working. If you have to create your own space a lot of time will go into procuring all these facilities.
4. These facility providers will come out with very easy to understand rental or lease agreements. Generally, these agreements will be user-friendly. The lease period will be very flexible and you can change from one to another facility easily if required for your own reasons.
5. In a Coworking space there will be many other people working in similar or different areas and you can get introduced to all of them and networking will become easy for you.
6. Generally these offices will have better on-site facilities which will help you in having better working facilities.

Disadvantages:
1. Sometimes your privacy may be in question
2. You may not get these facilities in the areas where you want and on time when you want them.
3. Visibility of your business may be less.
4. You can have the look of your office as you want.

The following are some good names in providing cheap co-working spaces in Bangalore and Chennai.
1. GoFloaters
2. ikeva, MG Road Bangalore,
3, Quest offices, MG Road, Bangalore
4. Raheja towers
5. Regus, Anna Salai, Cgennai
6. TwoTrees workspaces, Chennia

Co-working space is a workspace and it comes somewhere between regular office workplace and a home office. It is basically shared workspace . Co working spaces give most of the essential facilities of regular office space, and they are affordable too because of sharing.
Co-working space is most ideal for freelancers who do not have a regular office space, and who can avoid disturbing the peaceful home peace and also avoid the need to work on a coffee shop table.
The advantages are that you can rent just what is needed for you instead of spending for a whole office space. Mostly you will have a surrounding community of similar profession or supporting jobs which will be a help to your own work. Co-working space gives the advantage of choosing your own working space and working hours but get the feeling and focus of a regular office.
The concept of co-working space is fast picking up especially in space starved and costly commercial cities. It is picking up as there are more and more freelancing jobs and more start ups and ventures with small teams.


Following are some of the co-working space providers in Bengauru and Chennai.
Rent A Desk -at Union Street Bengaluru
Workafella's Coworking space -. Infantry Road, Bengaluru
Bunchworks – Ner Richmond Road, Bengaluru
Regus coworking space- UB City, Victor Malya Road, Bengaluru
91 Springboard- at ITPL Main road – Mahadevapura
Workflo-at various locations in Bengaluru
Spacelance co-working space –at Spenzer plaza , Anna Salai,Chennai
Karyaspace- Mylapore & Nungambakkam, Chennai
Smartworks –Guindy Industrial Estate, & other locations,Chennai
Workafella's Coworking space -.various locations ,Chennai

For more specific details you may visit their websites .

Though there are many advantages is using co-working space and some of them are listed above, there are a few disadvantages too. The first one is lack of privacy and lack of a sense of belonging. As you do not have a proper command on others unlike the regular office hierarchy, the productivity will be impacted and diminished. Unlike regular office it is not always possible to sit for extended time than what you have rented for.
There will be lack of infrastructure or rather lack of customised infrastructure.
Another disadvantage is the frequent change of co-workers.Unlike the regular employee colleagues in a regular office, in co-working space the co-workers often change and as such you may not be getting to enjoy a stable good co-working relationship.

A freelancer generally works from home, without the support of other colleagues, so a good place to work out of can be a huge bonus. If you are on a tight budget, then a co-working space is often a good way to get access to high-quality, professional office equipment, from computers and printers to phones and high-speed internet. On the other hand, if you are not that keen on being on the premises, then it is also an option. By working in a space that is totally dedicated to freelancers and entrepreneurs, you will have the opportunity to network with other members and will also be able to pick up some valuable business skills in an informal setting.

Benefits of co-working space for a freelancer

Having a co-working space can offer valuable benefits for your business. Most experts believe that working from home can be an isolating experience and that the lack of collaboration can harm your creativity. An efficient, well-run office space allows you to meet other like-minded entrepreneurs in a friendly environment, where you can discuss business ideas and come up with new ideas that will help your business grow. Of course, there are some downsides as well, like having to pay rent or buy all your own equipment, as well as the potential cost of any damage that might occur. If your company is based in a rural area, then the price of commuting could also be a big factor when deciding whether to open a co-working space.

Choosing a space to work from

Depending on your financial situation and requirements, you may prefer to work from a co-working space rather than a dedicated office. Although you may have to buy equipment to use at the office, a co-working space may be able to offer you a lower rent than an actual office, or even a lower membership fee. You may also be able to rent a room at a property that you own or rent on some sort of dedicated property, where you can work from. On the other hand, the fixed costs of owning a property, along with any repairs that may be required, may add up quickly, particularly if you have an unused office at home.

The best co-working spaces

There are several different types of co-working spaces, with the one that you choose likely to be based on your business requirements. There are shared offices, where members pay a monthly fee, and there are non-shared offices, where there is a membership fee or an hourly fee, and both have their advantages.

Individual office spaces are often a good choice for small companies, as you can get a quiet place to work in peace, while larger companies may choose to use shared office spaces as a way of saving money on lease and equipment costs, as well as reducing the number of office spaces needed to accommodate everyone.

Flexible memberships allow for members to change hours to suit their own schedules, as well as reducing the price of membership for those with multiple jobs.

There are also company-wide memberships, which allow for multiple people to join the space in one package. These offer a discount to each employee, but you will usually have to commit to an entire year of membership.

If you don't need an office space and you prefer working from home, then it may be worth considering a Flexi-membership, as well as the possibility of renting out a private office space for a nominal fee.

Different locations can also be a good choice for freelancers. Many commercial property managers offer discounted lease terms to the business owner, so if you don't need large office space, then it may be worthwhile considering these options.

As well as meeting other like-minded entrepreneurs, there are other benefits that a co-working space offers. The usual benefits include greater networking opportunities and access to business services.

Check your local Chamber of Commerce to see what events are happening in your city. There's a ton of opportunities to meet fellow entrepreneurs and co-working spaces.

Hopefully, you'll find a co-working space that suits you and your needs.

Become a member and get in on the action.

If you're looking to start a business from home or want a space to work from that's private but not private, a co-working space may be for you.

Co-working space is a new concept but very much supported by freelancers and various entrepreneurs who are finding it difficult to focus on their work from home for the reasons like lack of availability of space or several other basic amenities and also can't arrange for their own office. There are various benefits and some disadvantages of carrying out work in a co-working space.
1)While working in a co-working space you can have a sense of professionalism of having your own office, although it's a shared one.
2)Co-working space is very economical. Here, you have a choice of your own, if you choose to work in a better place and can afford the rent of that then you can go for that otherwise medium or very few facilities spaces are also available. Here, there are several other people also sharing your working space therefore per head cost of the best infrastructure, seems very less.
3)In the metro cities hiring as a place of your own would be very difficult.
4) Here, you are out of the hustle and bustle of your home and if you an introvert then you also are not forced to informal communication with your colleagues as in the case of companies. So, you can focus on your work in your cabin.

Disadvantages:
1) It is very difficult to adjust because there are more often changes in space partners even more than termination in companies.
2) Even after having goodwill you can't be recognized.
3) Autonomy of having own office is not available at coworking spaces even after paying good rent there.