Is co-working best for us?

October 5, 2009 4:38 PM

Is co-working best for us?

My business which had been run out of home offices for the past few months has grown large enough that we'll need a central location for working sometimes, a conference room where meetings can be held, and most importantly, maybe, a legitimate address where packages can be delivered and queued for shipping. I've read about local offerings in NYC/Brooklyn, where a group of entrepreneurs and established businesses share a central space, but I'm not sure if it's the best thing for us.

Are there other options? We're not yet at the point where we want to budget for our own office ($1500+), but we do need something a bit more sophisticated than a UPS Store box.

posted by christopherbdnk to work & money (2 comments total)

Lots of the shared workplaces have either cordoned off areas, or small (generally claustrophobic, but still separate and cheap) offices for each team/entrepreneur. I'm sorry I don't have time to provide links for you but have worked in 2 shared offices, both in a separate office. Check out the pictures or call around.
posted by shownomercy at 4:46 PM on October 5

I work most days at a local coworking space in Rochester, NY. I'm really happy with it - it feels like I have a healthier relationship between work and home, and most of the other freelancers I hang out with work there as well, so it's quite pleasant. The atmosphere is generally quiet, but occasionally someone will speak up to ask a question or bounce a news story around.

I can't say whether or not it'll work for your situation, but my understanding is most places absolutely won't mind if you visit to check it out (I know ours doesn't). I believe most of them have allowances for day-to-day or month-to-month, so if you don't like it you're not out a whole lot - but again, that might just be our local place.
posted by agentmunroe at 5:50 PM on October 5