Coworking spaces?

[JoshB92]

Does anyone here know anything about running coworking spaces? A unit in a city near me has just come onto the market for a fairly good rental price that would be perfect for a hotdesk or coworking setup. The location is situated along the road from the bus station, and a 5 minute bus ride / 12-15 minute walk from the major train station.

The unit is in a somewhat 'quirky' building, with space for an entrance / breakout area featuring sofas and I'd look at getting good quality coffee, and fresh fruit provided. Leading on from the breakout space is what I envisage as the primary 'coworking' space with great natural lighting, with space for around 15 'proper' desks as well as a couple of bigger desks for 4-5 people to sit around. At the rear of the unit there is a vast space that I would look at dividing into a conference / meeting room, and several smaller more private offices for 3-4 people. I believe that if I could provide quality facilities, located in the heart of the city, in a pleasant working environment, then there would be some potential for this idea.

I was just wondering if anyone had any experiences / pitfalls to share about this type of business? Would / have you used coworking space on a daily / monthly basis before?

Thanks in advance for any input you might have.

 

[Strontium Dog]

I dont know, but I presume there maybe problems with the lease.

As you are effectively granting people licences for a specific period to occupy desks/rooms you might be subletting.

Legal forum might be the place to go.

 

[JoshB92]

I dont know, but I presume there maybe problems with the lease.

As you are effectively granting people licences for a specific period to occupy desks/rooms you might be subletting.

Legal forum might be the place to go.

A very good point that I will take onboard, thank you. Anyone else have any thoughts?

 

[ethical PR]

I guess you would need to have quite deep pockets to be able to refurbish, pay ongoing costs and market effectively.

I would suggest doing some research to find out what costs would be involved, what you would need to charge and what the competition in your area is charging.

Quite a lot of creative people including PRs, designers and writers tend to use spaces like this. I remember using one in London quite a few years ago when I was freelancing.

 

[jo-sidekick]

Hi Josh,
I don't know a great deal about running a co-working space, but I am going to one up in Newcastle tomorrow. You might find some useful info or links on the Co working wiki (sorry I can't post links, but you get the idea)

Are you set on having a full time space as you could also look at hosting a co-working event at different venues. It means that you could reach more people and also reduces costs as you only need to pay when you're there.
There are tons of venues that have wifi and are happy to hire a suitable space for free or low cost as they'll benefit from raising awareness of their space and on catering sales. Take a look at colleagues on tap. this is the event that I am going to and they run in several locations around the North East.

The charge is £20 per day and that includes a desk for the day, wifi, lunch, tea/coffee.

Hope that helps
Jo

 

[c4l]

We 'co-locate' with a company we sort of work with - i.e. we're not competitors but share a mutual client.

We hire the 2nd floor or their 3 storey office, and a couple of their staff, and management are in with us.

We paid the costs required to add 2 extra offices, and the rest is open-plan.

Our company has it's own printer, and they have their own also.

Tea and coffee are part of the rent, as are admin time, postage and call-answering. We also get 4 parking spaces, which isn't ideal as there is usually 8 of us in at least, and generally up to 15 users.

We get wi-fi access but have networked ourselves.

The charge works out cheaper than when we had our own space at our own companies bigger offices - and looks good on likes of website as shows we're further spread, plus the client likes it too as he sometimes comes and hot-desks also.

The landlord likes it as it's money for old rope - i.e. a floor that died off as the cred crunch hit.

 

[garyk]

I go to one regularly now in Cambridge and I think there is demand for it. There are a few springing up and they all seem to be around the £15 per day mark. So its good value for those looking for space but I think the key is getting regular attendance.

I guess you need a mix of hot deskers, i.e. those that pay a set amount every month to use it every day and co-workers who perhaps do it on a pay as you go basis.

Gary