BETWEEN CO-WORKING/VIRTUAL OFFICES AND REGULAR WORKPLACE

If you had to choose between a co-working/virtual office and having a regular office space what would your preference be? Mine would definitely be in favour of the former.

Co-working/virtual offices have in recent times, redefined the way we learn and work matching the required flexibility for most growing businesses.

Many co-working spaces are springing up all around the continent and they all have proven to be an essential tool for young entrepreneurs, allowing them access to valuable resources, skills, knowledge, and infrastructure at a minimal cost.

There are several factors that contribute to the explosive demand of community work spaces in the recent, and flexibility tops the list.

Start-ups and SMEs can cut down on operational costs significantly by eliminating the obligation of renting out an entire space for limited human capital. In addition to this, the pay-as-you-use model of co-work spaces allows them the flexibility to rent cubicles without a long-term commitment. Most co-working spaces also take care of basics such as Wi-Fi and office management allowing their customers to instead focus their time and energy on the important aspects of creating and growing their business.

The facilities that co-working spaces today provide are an added bonus. With interiors designed to promote creativity, increase productivity and reduce stress, co-working spaces are attractive, innovative and colourful, especially in a place like Enterprise Hubs. They are fashioned keeping in mind the growing class of millennial opting for 'cool' office-spaces with nap-pods,  and break-rooms further popularising them. Careful attention to detail is given not only the aesthetic of these spaces but the infrastructure itself, with a variety of options in desks, meeting rooms and any other kind of work space you would need.

Asides cost and infrastructure another major driver of co-working is networking. The keyword here being 'community work spaces', most organisations in this sector go beyond providing a space and service, to offer both an online & offline community to interact with and learn from. The community is formed and nurtured by organising frequent meet-ups, forums, talks and events that create opportunities to exchange ideas and network. Add the tag of an incubator or an accelerator to an established co-work space and you now have everything that a start-up or SME needs under one roof to help them grow and flourish.

So I'd like to ask again - if you had to choose between a co-working/virtual office and having a regular office space what would your preference be? If you decide on co-working, I'd recommend you visit www.enterprisehubs.com. The hub is so uniquely configured and the additional offerings are amazing.

To read my full article on how co-working is redefining work in Africa, kindly click here.

Cheers!