Nomading vs Residency
What community are you looking for ? Some spaces foster higher turnover and flexibility, meaning you’ll find a lot of different professionals passing by and for little time. Others prefer to build up a solid base of companies settling for several months. Both options have positive points: a high flow of coworkers gives you an incredible opportunity to meet a maximum amount of different people. On the other hand, a stable community will provide for deeper relationships. Know yourself, your needs and do not hesitate to test the spaces for a week before taking your final decision.
Your Second office
As a sales guy or a professional on the go, you need a backup plan to substitute your HQ wherever you go. Coworking spaces are a great option for that, a lot better than old business centres, especially because they usually propose a big openspace where you’ll be directly in touch with coworkers. But all coworkings are not made equals and some might be rather small or quite in the afternoon. Others propose additional options like a photo studio or a bigger coffee section, making it easier to network or meet specific profiles. Scout in advance for the best space for you, you won’t regret it !
Community builders
Coworking is the new synonym for networking. It’s an incredible platform to connect with talents, especially as the place is usually running events several times per week and they are often aligned with the community areas of expertise. Choosing a coworking is more about choosing a community.
FabLabs
There is a specific type of spaces blooming in cities, in parallel with the trend of smart cities, FabLabs. These spaces mix people + technology + crazy tools to allow creative profiles to build whatever they envision.
These spaces are not coworking as such but often big garage with tools everywhere and work on a book-your-turn basis. If you are a maker yourself, this is the perfect choice for you. If you haven’t seen any already, please take an afternoon and come see the magic happens.
Accelerators, iIncubators, Venture Builders
These business oriented centres always offer a space to share desks and welcome profesionnals without trouble. They offer a vivd community of start-ups and entrepreneurs for you to connect with. Expect less services than a true coworking (as you might know it) but more networking opportunities. Count also on possible activities like mentoring, coaching, and events around Tech and Business.
Studios
There are not coworking as such but rather shared spaces where several freelances have pooled resources. You can get there because one member has gone out and a desk is available. Even if the associates will look for a more “long term” relationship, they might be open to a flexible approach and welcome professionals for shorter period of time.
Try them all !
It’s not as if you should pick one and never change. It is even more probable that you will switch from one choice to the other depending on your day, needs and mood. And you should. The future of work offers many opportunities to share, connect and discover, it would be a pity to stick with one option !
