Advice from those who have done both
If you work remotely, you know how distracting it can be to try to work out of a home office. Especially if you’ve got a big pile of laundry staring at you all day or dirty dishes in the sink calling your name every time you walk into the kitchen for a coffee refill.
Even though we like to put those under the category of productive procrastination, bottom line is they’re a distraction. These daily distractions in our home office is what lead us to give it a go at a coworking space.
Coworking Space Trial and Error
Eventually you reach a point where you need a dedicated workspace whether that be a dedicated office in your house or as we chose to do, a coworking space. We looked at two different coworking spaces, Industrious and WeWork.
Industrious
- Very traditional in terms of the office space and environment.
- The size of the offices were much bigger (than WeWork).
- Amenities were pretty similar (to WeWork) but the environment was a bit colder. People were definitely not as social.
- The community areas were very quiet.
WeWork
- Hosted a lot of events, happy hours, and use of the common areas were encouraged.
- Great perks! Kombucha and beer on tap as well as a great espresso maker!
- The overall energy of the space was good
- The management and staff was great!
- Office sizes weren’t ideal but had great conference rooms for client and employee meetings with whiteboards and monitors available.
A large reason we initially looked at a co-working space was because we wanted a social environment that allowed us to get out and meet new people, entrepreneurs and startups within the community. For that reason, we chose to sign with WeWork. We thought there would be more opportunities for networking at WeWork, but that turned out not to be the case. Unfortunately, everyone seemed to be there for their own needs and didn’t seem interested in meeting people outside of who they worked with.
One of the biggest misconceptions that we had going into a co-working space was that everyone there would be a small team or startup. There were some offices that had hundreds of desks and people working there which isn’t bad, just not what we thought, or most people think of when they envision a co-working space.
Eventually we decided to take the money we were spending on WeWork and reallocate that towards changing our living situation to move into a larger space with a room that could be used as a dedicated workspace. Although we sometimes miss the nice conference rooms for client meetings we now get to meet clients at coffee shops, restaurants, cafes or at their place of business which is much easier than having to explain LA parking, drawing them a treasure map, and hoping they can eventually find our office space at WeWork.
So, What’s The Verdict?
Brody: After having done it all from a traditional corporate cubicle style office to a coworking space, I’d still prefer to work out of our home office. Plus, it gives me a space to have my Kanban board!
Chloe: I would definitely consider working at a co-working space again and would recommend it to friends and colleagues. It wasn’t what we needed at the time, but I wouldn’t be opposed to exploring it again down the road.
Perks Of The Work From Home Life
One of the biggest perks we’ve found in working from home is that we save so much time and energy commuting every day that we have more time to dedicate to evening activities whether they be professional networking events or personal social gatherings. Remember, having a good work life balance is one of the most important parts of being an entrepreneur.
Creating Your Own Dedicated Space
If you’re like us and decide to work from home, it’s important that you create a dedicated space to work from that’s not the couch! Because it’s your own space you have the freedom to design it in a way that fits your needs and caters to your ability to focus (a perk not all office spaces have).
At the end of the day it’s important to find a space that works for you and your business. We’d love to continue this conversation with you, drop us a line and tell us about your ideal working environment or struggles you’re facing trying to find your own dedicated work space.