Coworkies at Coworking NOW
Key Takeaways of our talk at Coworking NOW conference 2018 in Gdansk.
A few weeks have passed since Coworking NOW conference and we were glad to be part of it! Instead of sharing a presentation that could get lost in your emails, we’ve put together below a recap of everything we discussed.
Are you ready? Let’s do this!
Our talk was centered around one thing: sharing with the audience what we have experienced while traveling the world of coworking and meeting more than 250 spaces in 27 cities. The attendees were a mix of coworking professionals, service providers and total newbies to the the concept. So, we spoke about:
- How and why coworking started in different cities?
- What kind of impact coworking has on cities?
- What are the type of coworking spaces we’ve seen?
- Why are coworking spaces unique?
- What are the challenges the market is facing?
- Where is coworking heading at?
WHY COWORKING STARTED?
Back in early 2000, the world was going to unprecedented changes.
The emergence of technology + global economical changes = allowed freelancing to rise and shine.
With the rise of freelancing, new working needs came in. Rather than working alone from home, people sought an environment where they can collaborate with others and grow as professionals.
In 2005, coworking has emerged in San Francisco thanks to Brad Neuberg who created Spiral Muse.
WHAT KIND OF IMPACT COWORKING HAS ON CITIES?
2 words: positive and big!
Coworking spaces allows people living in big cities to find a place to work around their home, reducing commuting time while also giving more daily life to neighborhoods who would usually be considered as purely residential.
By reducing the commuting time, it also reduces the level of stress people have while taking public transport. It gives them the opportunity to walk or cycle to work, enhancing healthier way of living.
One interesting component of coworking can also be found in interior design. When bringing open work environments where people can do their job, network and collaborate, coworking spaces have to be creative in order to combine loud and quiet areas inside their open space. More technologies are entering the workspace, allowing people to focus on their work or, for the coworking spaces, to actually measure how people are using the workplace.
In the early days of coworking, Creatives where targeting abandoned spaces, transforming them into their creative nest. With time, those buildings have grown and developed, bringing more and more people to what used to be “abandoned” neighborhoods. More people means more businesses activities which helps to give a rebirth to the neighborhood.
Lastly, the strongest impact of coworking lies in people. Let’s look at the word itself COWORKING, combining community / collaboration / at work. Members of coworking spaces use them as a way to grow their network, meet like-minded individuals with whom they become more than just coworkers. Many stories are created in coworking spaces!
WHAT ARE THE TYPE OF COWORKING SPACES WE’VE SEEN?
- Accelerators / Incubators — supporting Entrepreneurs to start and grow their businesses by giving them access to a targeted network.
- Creative spaces — designed for the creative industries to thrive and connect.
- Coffices — mixing cafes with workspace, coffices are a great solution to nomadic way of working in a city.
- Makers and Hackers spaces — where people build things
- Startup Hubs — focused on one target group and bringing them together to share and connect.
- Hybrids spaces — not focusing on any specific crowd, building a wider community of skills.
WHY ARE COWORKING SPACES SO UNIQUE?
No, the 10 BEST coworking spaces in the world do not exist. Stop reading the click-bite articles that repeat themselves for no apparent reason except for wasting your time. Each coworking space is unique and has its own story and vibe. Ask your coworking colleague why she/he started a space and you will see that the reasons and the vision is different from yours. Work towards your uniqueness and enhance it in your own spaces! Focus on what matters the most: your community!
WHAT ARE THE CHALLENGES THE MARKET IS FACING?
After more than 10 years of existence, coworking is now meeting challenges.
- Leasing terms are coming to an end, meaning contracts can be at risk and rents can be increased by the landlords. Many spaces are closing doors.
- The business model of coworking spaces is so flexible that it is hard for some spaces to sustain.
- More and more spaces are opening, making the competition quite hard especially with big-budged brands entering the market.
- Inside coworking spaces, noise level is becoming a real issue with coworkers reporting that it has an effect on their productivity.
- Privacy is also a big topic. Working in an open environment makes it tougher for coworkers to work on NDA projects!
- The demand for closed offices is rising, meaning it is harder for coworking spaces to create a sense of togetherness when everyone is locked in rooms.
WHERE IS COWORKING HEADING AT?
Throughout our travels, we’ve experienced interesting trends that we see are flourishing.
MORE CURATED WORK ENVIRONMENTS
More and more spaces are targeting 1 specific crowd: let it be Parents, Writers, Students, Blockchain statups, Elderly people, Women only…
MORE TECHNOLOGY AT WORK
Augmented reality and virtual reality are among the tech trends entering coworking.
HEALTHIER WORKSPACES
More than A table and A chair, coworking spaces are developing healthier work environments catering to different type of workers with adaptable desks and work chairs.
It’s not just about work, it’s also about the mind! More and more spaces incorporate health programs into their offers. From yoga to meditation to healthy food.
RISE OF CORPORATES COWORKING
Corporates are entering coworking spaces, using it as a flexible way of working for their employees (especially for their sales team who do not use the office everyday).
DIVERSIFICATION OF REVENUE STREAMS
Coworking spaces are breaking down their revenue streams, developing the concept of “space as a service”. By working with local service providers coworking owners craft unique offers that help their members outside the walls of the space.
BEYOND COWORKING — COLIVING
Beyond work, coliving is rising as a solution to expensive living in big cities as well as bringing together curated communities of people. Just as an example where else you would find co-habitation of a ballerina dancer and a investment banker!
Only when a coworking space looks at itself through the eyes of its coworkers it can build a strong community in a sustainable way.
Thank you Marta, Martyna and all the O4 team for such a great conference! We can’t wait for the next edition :)
ABOUT COWORKIES
Coworkies is the first global network for freelancers, startups and small businesses working out of coworking spaces. It is the go-to platform to find people, jobs and events in coworking spaces around you.
