The first coworking space was inspired out of a need for programmers to find affordable office space that would also be space to innovate. This small space somewhere in a hip, urban landscape was one of the birthplaces of the phenomenon that has become coworking. In Australia, this phenomenon has created a cottage industry of coworking enclaves, all with a different culture and a different flavour.
First a favourite of the start-up, the coworking space has quickly become popular with businesses of all types. SMEs and corporate giants are even co-opting parts of coworking to address parts of the 9-to-5 routine that can dampen any creative effort. However, in a typical shared space plan, professionals rent coworking spaces, shared offices, and hot desking in a creative environment.
Let’s take a closer look at how these creative environments can help to stimulate business growth.
Diverse Talent Pool
One of the major contributors to creativity in a shared space environment is the fact that these spaces are typically comprised of professionals from a number of different industries. In one location, you can find professionals from technology, any of the media industries, finance, and these are just a few of the professions that find the coworking space a favourite simply because of its creative environment. For businesses, they benefit from office space that is also a platform for making connections and getting referrals.
However, this diversity also is in terms of the range of professionals at all levels of expertise. In one coworking space, you might find professionals entering a field working right next to seasoned professionals. This diversity in experience makes for interesting mentoring relationships and for great collaboration opportunities.
Industry Mode Of Thought
This interesting mix of professionals in the workplace also makes for an interesting exchange of ideas. In a standard office, everyone is working toward the same goal while being supervised by management with the same mode of thinking. Not that this is a bad thing, but in the shared space, you have several businesses that can potentially have very different approaches to work.
For your business, this potentially means you can learn a few different ways to tackle a problem. Not only do you learn new methods of approaching issues, but you also gain insight from other industries whether it relates to new styles of manufacturing products, new technologies, and good practices within the industry. In essence, simply because the coworking space is comprised of so many different industries the stage is set for a creative hub of businesses to work, network, and grow within a larger business community.
Space Profile
One of the reasons that the coworking space is a creative place is because most professionals who rent workspace in these offices are very independent, creative types within their own right. As stated previously, those renting space in one of the enclaves are likely to find free-thinkers mixed in with entrepreneurs with a dash of the occasional digital nomad thrown in there for good measure. The influx of new thought and new invention into the conversation sets the tone for a very creative work environment. In fact, one of the reasons that corporate offices are looking to the coworking model is because the interaction of personalities and professionals is a great example of incorporating activity-based work into the corporate landscape.
Mixing It Up And Making Great Products
Creativity is at the core of invention. Every great product or service ever invented started as a thought developed by one person or group. The coworking space presents businesses a creative platform that will allow them to not only take from the well of expertise but also contribute to it as well. More significantly, this creativity can be the platform from which your business can develop its core mission.