Sharing a coworking office space is an emerging business trend among Los Angeles’ entrepreneurs. The concept is surprisingly simple: take legions of the self-employed and place them into temporary offices. Are you hip to the trend?
What is Coworking?
Have you seen the multitudes of laptop-toting customers at the local coffee shop? They nurse a double-tripple Racehorse for what it’s worth while hacking away on their computer keyboards. As more and more Angelenos get laid off, the number of the self-employed rise, but since a shoestring budget does not allow for office space rent, it makes sense to set up shop at the local coffeehouse.
The downside of rubbing elbows with baristas, customers, families with kids and the occasional homeless person who frequents the coffeehouses is the lack of privacy, the dirty looks the entrepreneur eventually reaps for bringing in little business but occupying a table all day and the occasional religious types that want to convert them. The answer to this dilemma is the coworking office.
Coworking in Los Angeles
Blank Spaces(1) is perhaps the most visible of all coworking office spaces in the L.A. area. A generously apportioned workspace with single private offices, boardroom type meeting spaces, community table and also cubicle clusters allow for any kind of work setup. A library, ample parking, available white boards and a pantry round out the amenities.
Technological perks of the coworking office space include copies, fax, color laser printer, direct-dial VoIP, high definition projectors, T-1 high speed internet and – of course! – Wi-Fi. Situated on 5405 Wilshire Boulevard in the heart of Los Angeles, this is certainly an address an entrepreneur is not afraid to claim as a workspace.
Advantages of Renting a Coworking Space
As a mompreneur, I know that between the “mom, can you…” and the folks who figure they can stop by at the drop of a hat – after all, their workday has ended – I have sometimes longed for a place to go and set up a laptop for uninterrupted efficiency.
Fellow mompreneurs and entrepreneurs alike occasionally also need that chic office space to wow a client. This is not possible at the noisy coffee shop and most certainly won’t work in a cluttered home office. A modern conference room with the latest gadgetry might just be the wow-factor that lands the account.
Dollars and Fringe Benefits
Coworking is a lot cheaper than renting an office space with a commercial lease, but it is not as cheap as relying on a home office. Blank Spaces offers nights and weekend rates, day rates for the rental during business hours and also membership rates.
For example, renting the nice big conference room for one hour on a Monday between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. costs $75; the same space on a night or weekend only costs $50. Membership rates for a virtual office cost $75 per month with a three-month minimum commitment.
The fringe benefits of coworking are quite impressive as well. Network with other entrepreneurs, meet likeminded workaholics unencumbered by commercial office spaces and get a morale boost just from the energy in the room. After all, being surrounded by other entrepreneurs enthusiastically hacking away on their laptops does something to heighten one’s own work ethic.
Coworking at Blank Spaces in Los Angeles is likely only the beginning of this trend. Already there is a coworking office in Santa Monica, aptly named the CoLoft(2).
Source
(1)Blank Spaces; accessed April 10, 2010
(2)CoLoft; accessed April 10, 2010
