About Coworking

If you are freelance, or your company allows you to work remotely, you have four alternatives to work from: home, cafe with wifi, a traditional private office or from a coworking space. Each option has its advantages and disadvantages.

In this blog we will talk about the advantages of working in a coworking space versus a cafe with wifi:

1. Concentration

People talking loudly, coffee machine noise, scents, music that you can not control, doors opening and closing … patterns that if you have tried to work from a cafe with wifi you will know well. If what you need is to work with peace of mind, or at least have the option to do it, in a coworking space it is possible. You can distract yourself in the fun areas enabled for this whenever you feel like it, and concentrate in a quiet work area when you need to.

2. Community

In a cafe with wifi you will be surrounded by people, but … possibly every day is different people and you do not necessarily have anything in common. In a coworking space you surround yourself with familiar faces (and also some new ones) and possibly share, at least, professional interests and the desire to socialize with others. There is a feeling of community among coworking members, and it is this community the greatest added value of this new way of working. If you are one of those who need to take a break from time to time during the workday, share some ideas or problems in your business, connect with other professionals or make new  friends … coworking is your office.

3. Flexible schedule

Forget about adapting to a cafe opening and closing times and build your own work routine completely adapted to your lifestyle and your needs. Many coworking spaces offer 24/7 access and thus adapts to the increasingly globalized work schedules. And because being a entrepreneur or freelance … does not have a fix schedule!

4. Professional synergies

A coworking space will always offer you the possibility to connect with professionals who work in the same or different sector, and with it new opportunities for synergies. You can also train yourself and expand your contacts network simply by working from the space and by attending the events and workshops that coworking spaces usually organize or host.

5. Guaranteed spot

Nobody guarantees that when you arrive at a cafe with wifi you will have a table from which to work, and in case you find a place, it will not always be the same, or it will not always be near the socket you need to plug the computer, or away from the door, etc. In a coworking space you will always have a spot equipped with all the comforts you need to work.

6. Security

In a cafeteria every time you need to get up, even if it is 5 minutes to go to the bathroom, to order another coffee or go out for a smoke, you may want to take all your stuff with you and avoid risks. In a coworking space your belongings are safe, customers are registered, there is surveillance at the space sometimes with security cameras, and lockers or drawers available to lock your belongings. Also, if you have a fix membership, most spaces give you the option to leave your equipment and belongings at your spot from one day to another.

7. Food and drink.

In most coworking spaces you can bring your own food and drinks. Some even offer free coffee, tea and water for members. This in a cafe with wifi is not possible (obviously) and makes the end of the day costing the same or more than a daily pass at a coworking space.

8. Equipment 

If you have worked in a cafe with wi-fi you will know the difficulty to find a table with a plug, comfortable chairs, wifi without interruptions … and carrying on your computer and accessories (and if one of them is a screen … crazy!) . A coworking space is designed to offer all these: plugs distributed in each workplace, ergonomic chairs, fast WIFI, locker, meeting rooms, ethernet option and possibility to leave your work equipment from one day to another.

9. Private spaces.

If you work from a cafe with wifi, you will not have the possibility to have meeting rooms or silent spaces to meet clients, answer calls or hold a video conference. Coworking offers private spaces for this.

10. Reception and Virtual Office.

Do you need to receive mail or packages? In a coworking space you have the possibility, and in case you are not on that day, they will keep it until you can pick it up. A business address for your company? Coworking spaces are often located in relevant areas and streets, and thus a professional image to your business.

Do you live in Valencia and after reading the blog you would like to try a daily pass at our space Vortex Coworking and experience if these 10 advantages are true? Contact us at Vortex Coworking we are looking forward to welcoming you!

Are the walls from home closing in you? Do you need an office, but you don’t have time to deal with a leasing agreement, cleaning services, electricity, internet, bills and unexpected issues and costs? Do you need to keep your personal life separate from professional life?

Today we will discover the 10 main advantages from working in a coworking space versus frente a una traditional office, or working from home or a coffee place with wifi. 

Before continuing reading, do you know what coworking is? If the reply is NO, we welcome you to read our following blog article “Qué es un coworking y su historia”. If the reply is YES, but you are still unsure what are the reasons that make it a better option for many professionals and the reason why it’s becoming so popular, keep reading because we are going to list the 10 key factors:

1. Goodbye to loneliness

How many times did you feel lonely at work, whether that be in your private office or in your house? Or in a coffee places surrounded by strangers? In that moment the motivations falls down and the feeling of loneliness shadows your thoughts. You might be eager to share something that happened at work, or ask for advise, or just talk loud about it to clarify your own thoughts. Or sometimes you just need to take a break to refresh your brain, think about something else and go back with a clearer mind. Instead, silence or strangers surround you.

In a coworking space you are surrounded by like minded professionals. There will be always someone friendly or familiar to share that coffee with, to ask advise have a laugh with. Either other solo coworkers or any of the start ups residents at the space. Or even the coworking community managers. You will always feel company, the right company.

2. Location

Location is part of the brand of any business. Good location relates to a consolidated and successful professional (or business). However, how many want to invest and commit to real state in the most expensive areas of the city? Specially if your business started recently; is that where you need to focus your investments? Maybe you can’t afford it now, but you will in the near future.

Coworking spaces are aware of this, and for that reason they tend to locate the space in relevant areas, being locations one of the key selling points of their own brand. Working in the city centre, in key business strategic areas such as a TechHub, by the beach, in the most trendy neighbourhood became now possible for freelancers or any newborn start up with coworking. For that reason Vortex Coworking is located in the Valencia Port – the city TechHub – and el Cabanyal, a historic neighbourhood that is becoming the most trendy area after Ruzafa‘s boom. A workplace only steps away from the sea, the port and the beach. Who wouldn’t want to take a break from work walking under the mediterranean sunshine or by the beach?

3. Services included  

You need an office, electricity, water, cleaning services, heating, aircon, internet, coffee and drinking water… and many other additional services such as meeting rooms, relax area to take air and a coffee area to socialise and take a break. In a coworking space you can forget about dealing with each one of these because these are being taken care of by the coworking management: lease agreement, services, maintenance and all the unexpected issues (and costs) that arise from office management, contract issues and payment of invoices. The time and money that you save in a coworking is huge. A laptop is all you need, you can focus on your business and forget about the rest, just in one single invoice a month.

4. Flexibility

First of all, flexibility with the lease agreement; in a traditional office, the agreement is (generally) above one year, and you need to commit for a period of time that may not be the best option to you. In a coworking space it is (generally) a monthly comittment, giving the business the flexibility needed to adapt to their needs.

Also, flexibility with your working schedule; in a traditional office you will probably have fixed hours out of which the office might be closed. If you work from home, your schedule might be disturb by the schedule of the rest of the family.

Some spaces may have a fixed opening schedule, however most of them (like us) allow full access 24 hours any day of the week. Thanks to this you can work whenever it feels more efficient to you,  have meetings at any time when your clients or your time are at the other side of the world. You choose when you start or finish the work of the day, and what days.

5. Without conflict of interest

Some people say that in some traditional offices or corporations it exists a feeling of rivalry between colleagues, conflict of interest when making decisions, a controller boss that always tells you what (and how) to do things. Goals and Bonuses are sometimes the drivers of the environment at work, generating conflicts and making professional relationships a challenge.

In a coworking space you have “colleagues” or “coworkers” but nothing of the above. Coworkers work in different companies, businesses and projects. No coworkers will try ti impose their own ideas or criteria. Collaboration is 100% altruist, you can either take or not the advice, agree or not with others. The environment is relaxed and honest. And that enhances productivity.

6. Love what you do 

When you are working on your own everyday, be that at home or in your private office, your job may become something ordinary to you. And it may look something less exciting to you, or less valuable. You might be the best developer or the best sales person, but since you do it everyday and you are used to it, you may think that what you do is not so special. But every job has value and every day is challenging and worth it.  

Joining a coworking space will help you to love (more) what you do. As you share square metres with other professionals, either from the same background or not, you share what you do, your experience, your passion. And by doing so you become aware of its importance, why you are doing it and the value inherent to it. Not everyone can do what you do, at least not the same way. You will feel better about your job, love what you do. Coworking often brings awareness to its coworkers.

7. Flexible growth 

One of the key aspects to look at when looking for an office for your business is size, which depends on the number of employees. Nowadays that is a very dynamic aspect of a business; you may grow very quickly, you may need to relocate people elsewhere,  you may need freelancers for a short period of time…. how can you choose the right size of an office, and commit to it yearly? Your business may not grow as expected, and what you had orginally plan to be 6 people became 2. Or we have the 6 employees, but you need to relocate 5 of them to another city, What do you do with the oversized investment (and comittment) of your office? And the costs that you could hace saved and used somewhere else?

Office size is flexible in a coworking space. If you employ more people,  book more desks. If you need to relocate your employees to another city,  cancel those desks. If you have temporary employees, book a desk for the period of time you need them. You don’t need to change office to adapt to the growth, you can adjust that cost as required by your growth thanks to coworking.

8. Professional Image

When you are a freelancer or a solo entrepreneur you do not need to much metres squares yourself. However, what can you do if you have a meeting with a client or a partner or a provider? Or you going to book a meeting room in a different location every time? Or have it in a coffee place? Or… at home? You can, of course; however, a space such as a coworking, with good location, a reception and all the services you need, looks (and sounds) more professional. And that is part of you brand, right?

In a coworking space you can host your clients; you may have the option to book meeting rooms at a cost, and some may offer it within the memebership, together with other additional sercices. Sometimes they also give you the option to exhibit your products and organise a worshop related to your business. Some have a modern, innovative and inspiring design, at the same time as professional. Together with a perfect location…. the image you express will impress.

9. Culture of Solidarity 

In a traditional office each one has a goal to accomplish. In a coffee place you don’t necessarily surround yourself by consolidated professionals. In a coworking space a rule non written is to help each other and create community. Coworkers always (or most commonly) want to help and collaborate each other. During the day there will be many opportunities to connect and provide  (or receive) advise, ideas or a different point of view, since there will be people with different professions and backgrounds.

10. Life Balance 

One of the key issues to most of freelancers and solo entrepreneurs if how to balance your professional and personal life. We all know that it is healthy to put a wall in between the two, for one side and the other. At least sometimes. A coworking space will help you to do that; it will push you to have a daily schedule and build a routine. The change of space (home / office / streets) makes it natural to focus more in one thing than the other. Achieving balance in life becomes easier with coworking.

The coworking community is more than a shared office. It is a philosophy with a clear mission: help each other in their own professional adventure. And to surround yourself by other like minded professionals is the best why the start your adventure: to share, collaborate and grow together. Now you know that all you need is your laptop and find your space; and if Vortex Coworking is the one for you, we wait for you with our arms open.

“That coworking thing, what is it?” My father asked at the beginning of this adventure. That’s when I realized that not everyone is comfortable with this type of anglicisms. It is one of many “words” that the world of the company puts on the table: marketing, sponsoring, branding, SEO, target, freelance, brainstorming, know-how … are many of these words that we have all heard at some time and that we are not always sure what they represent.

Well, the word coworking is, literally, working with several people in the same space, or, to understand each other better, in the same office, sharing resources and capabilities. However, we like to call it “space”, since the term “office” limits the extension of it and forgets the idea of a close relationship and the fact of sharing something more than an office.

Broadly speaking, it is about sharing the workspace, using the same office between different professionals of the same or different companies and different sectors. In this way, expenses and services are shared, while the relationship between different sectors and projects and collaborations is fostered. In addition, a space like this invites movement, companionship, innovation and social involvement. A coworking has a beneficial impact for your community (the coworkers that compose it), your neighborhood and your locality.

But coworking is much more than that. The true purpose is to create an environment and a community of coworkers, a space that encourages networking, collaborations, growth and creativity. It seeks to escape from the isolation that exists in a traditional office or in one’s own home; the coffee machine will stop being your best friend and the refrigerator your best counselor. The house will not fall on you again.

However, coworking is not as young as they paint it. There is documentation dating back to the 1600s in which coworking was already spoken of as a collaboration between God and his subjects. But, it was in the mid-1990s, in 1995, when one of the first spaces considered as coworking was born in Berlin, Germany. The C-Base e.V. that initiates the project “BerlinBackbone” with a space in which different people who knew each other and exercised their work under the same roof, as a community.

Bernie DeKoven is considered by many to be the father of coworking. He was the first to use this term in 1999 to refer to working together and collaboration thanks to the possibilities that computers gave us. In addition, that same year, the first shared offices were born: 42 west 24, New York Share (shared offices in New York).

During the first decade of the year 2000 when many coworking spaces began to appear. In 2002, only three years after Bernie gave life to the term, it is in Europe where they are seen growing. In Austria Schraubefabrik appears, a space designed for the community of workers who founded it: architects, public relations, cooperatives, freelancers or micro-companies. In this way they could stop working at home and move to a more friendly space. They themselves proclaim that community as the mother of coworking.

In 2005 the first coworking space as such was opened in San Francisco by Brad Neuberg, who offered from 5 to 8 desks a couple of days a week and different services such as; wifi network, meditation rooms, bike rides, massages or shared meals. The space closes only one exercise after giving way to Hat Factory; This was the first full-time coworking space, offering the freedom of a freelance but with all the necessary resources for a workplace. This space gave rise to Citizen Space, which is still open, with venues in Las Vegas, California and San Francisco.

Google enters the scene and coworking becomes trendy. The term begins to be part of the database of Google and other search engines. In 2007 it is considered as a trend and this triggers an increase in the volume of searches and other related terms such as “digital nomads”, “shared office” or “shared work spaces”. During the following years, coworking is directly related to the United States. It is not until 2010 when it is taken into account in Europe.

In recent years we can see the consolidation of this type of space, the recognition of the working model throughout the world and the wide range of opportunities offered by this kind of services. Thanks to Coworking Spain we can know that in Spain there were more than 1,500 coworking spaces at the end of 2016. In 2010 there were around 50. Thanks to the statistical portal par excellence, Statista, we know that in 2017 there were more than 13,800 spaces around the world.

In these types of spaces there are different work areas. It usually consists of 3 main spaces: the open work zone, hotdesk or freedom (Vortex Zone in our space), where you find wide tables shared with the rest of coworkers and a more relaxed atmosphere; a private area where you find personal desks and a calmer environment (Focus Area in our space, Vortex Coworking); the meeting rooms; a social zone that can include a kitchen, cafeteria or rest area. At the same time, some have the “virtual office” option, which offers visibility, cost savings and greater flexibility.

We will also find different types of coworkers: those fixed or office, that act like any traditional worker fulfilling a schedule; the flexible coworker that has no time of entry or time of departure; and, the night coworker, the one who prefers to work beyond the evening hours. Without forgetting what we now call “digital nomads”, taking advantage of the possibilities offered by the network today: online meetings and being able to work remotely from anywhere in the world.

In short, coworking spaces are “accelerators of chance” that have expanded throughout the world in recent years and that offers endless possibilities. They are designed to house creative, sociable, enterprising people who are eager to learn. They are built to break with isolation and create a good atmosphere of coexistence, favoring collaboration and social gatherings. The borders disappear leaving room for hybridization between companies, whether by economic, technological or social sector. In addition, the same facilities can organize events, courses or workshops that complement the training of coworkers who are part of the same community. A place where entrepreneurs and companies live together sharing experiences and resources.