7 Signs a Freelancer is Ready to Upgrade to Coworking

Freelancing can really be a blast…

For those working from home, this means flexible working hours, numerous breaks whenever they please, not having to get up early for work, not having to think about what to wear.

On the other hand, some freelancers can decide they need socialization, so they opt for a coffee shop or something similar, where they can be in contact with other people.

Unfortunately, even though working from home or a café has its perks, some people may soon encounter serious problems and setbacks. When this happens, it is important to find a proper solution.

The first step is to realize when enough is enough, and when to move forward. We can’t stress this enough, not all stay-at-home entrepreneurs feel unhappy about their place of work.

But those who do, show clear signs they are ready for a major change.

Money’s Running Out

Of course, working from a café has its perks.

The atmosphere, the endless coffees, and those amazing sandwiches you have been enjoying for a couple of weeks now. However, at the end of the month, it’s finally time to go through your expenses. Which is then quickly followed by the shock and disbelief when you realize that you have been spending far more than you can actually afford.

The moment you realize that the costs of working from a café or a restaurant are significantly higher than the ones you are willing to make, is the moment you need to start thinking about changing your surroundings.

This is where the idea of coworking comes into the picture. A co shared office space is not a new idea, it has been around for decades already. However, not many people are familiar with all the things a coworking office space has to offer, nor with the available and affordable spaces in their surroundings.

Affordable being the key word here.

When you look at the offer any coworking space has, you can clearly see that working in such a space can cut your costs significantly and save you the money you would otherwise have spent in the aforementioned café.

When you think about what you could gain by paying a monthly membership, we are sure you will make your decision right then and there. The coworking office space offers a wide range of services, so it is not just about renting a nook where you work. With the paid membership come many other benefits, that we are sure many will find irreplaceable in their future work: all the necessary equipment, computers, printers and the strongest Internet connection there is at a very low price.

And all the free coffee you can drink.

So, if you have had any doubts so far, this will certainly change your mind and make you join the coworking community. A step, which will definitely be very beneficial, not only for your business, but for your pocket, too.

Too Many Distractions

This can be a serious problem for many freelancers working from home. Trying to find a peaceful corner for you to work can be quite a tiresome endeavor. Especially when everybody needs to take something from the room you have just entered to try to finish some work.

Even though your family might understand that you are working, staying at home still means that you are present, having all the obligations you wouldn’t have had if you were to work in a more professional environment.

This problem has become more widely spread and acknowledged due to the Cov-19 pandemic, where many people had to start working from home, since the offices closed down. Truly a difficult situation for all.

At one point, you realize you have been doing the household chores all day, taking care of your home and family, and you haven’t finished your work at all for the day. The stress of having to finish it during the night, when everybody’s asleep, because it is the only time during the day when you can actually focus is immeasurable.

The dawn is approaching, you have finally finished your work, you go to bed, only to see that your kids are up and running, because it’s a new day, which means you will not sleep at all. We get you.

At this point, you need to consider changing your pace, and changing your place.

Coworking would be an ideal solution in this case, because it would mean stepping away from all the things that distract you, and finding a perfect sanctuary, so you can work in peace. It is, after all, a way of providing for your family, and it needs to be nourished, too.

If you fret that you would encounter similar distractions in a coworking office space, let us put your mind at ease.

Communal office spaces are not all about offering hot desks, or working in large groups at one large work table. Their offer also includes more secluded office spaces, where you can sit alone with your thoughts and be productive, finishing everything in time.

The best thing about this new system you are about to get yourself into is that you can choose your working hours. You can choose what fits you best, so you can organize your workload, both at home and at work, appropriately.  

Procrastination

One would think that people living alone have all the necessary requirements for doing their jobs perfectly when working from home. That is not necessarily the case.

Being alone at your home can have its distractions, too. Being aware that you have all the time in the world to finish your workload, because you are not confined by strict working hours, can have its disadvantages, too. The main one being serious procrastination this lack of schedule can lead to.

Yes, there are people that are intrinsically more organized than the rest. However, there are but a handful of them, whom we observe in awe, while they finish everything in time, leaving enough space for all the extracurricular activities they desire.

For the rest of us, the day usually goes like this: you get up, have breakfast for about an hour, watch a couple of shows on Netflix, realize it’s noon and you haven’t finished anything yet. You start working, notice the kitchen sink is overflowing, and you just cannot work in such a mess, so you have to do the dishes. As soon as you finish, oh look, a new episode of whatever show is about to start. Now it’s late in the evening and you have to force yourself to finish everything you have been putting off.

Of course, you haven’t finished everything you have set out to do, you leave the unfinished work for tomorrow, only to repeat the same, detrimental pattern again.

Renting a coworking space could be a lifesaver for all of you dealing with the problem of procrastination. First, there is the matter of money. By paying for an office space, you will feel obligated to come every day and finish the work you have in time. Yes, the time you decide to come can be optional, which means you are not confined to nine to five working hours. However, it still needs to be planned in advance, because of the other coworkers.

The benefits of such a change of pace will be noticeable soon enough. The way you organize your time is going to improve drastically and, consequently, you will feel better and more accomplished.

Loneliness

Let’s have a look at the aforementioned coffee shop visitors. You saw how much money you had been spending at coffee shops and you realized you couldn’t afford it, so you decided to work from home.

However, after a month of isolation, you realize that you have started talking to yourself and that you are in dire need of human interaction. This is the moment when you get that working from home is just not going to cut it.

A coworking office space would be a perfect solution for all of you yearning for social interaction, because it offers a system where people working in different areas come together to work in a space that both unites them and gives them space necessary for them to do their jobs.

The networking opportunities are infinite. The co shared office space is an amazing place filled with great thinkers alike, united there for the sole purpose of doing their jobs the best way they can. Everybody is sharing the working vibe, giving you the feeling of belonging to a community, as opposed to being alone at your home, not having any social interaction at all.

Yes, some benefit from working alone at the comfort of their home, not having to engage in any sort of social interaction. But for those who find this type of working environment unbearable, the coworking office space is the way to go.

It is an opportunity to expand your professional and social network, which could mean the world for your work blossoming. Just imagine the amount of new ideas you could get, by just talking to people in the line of work similar to yours. This is just something that would never happen if you stayed at home.

Lack of Equipment

The lack of a printer or something similar could prove to be a serious setback, when you need to get things done.  Not to mention the lack of a good and stable Internet connection.

Imagine your Internet connection breaking at the exact moment you are supposed to have an online meeting with a potential client, or your boss. That could pose a serious problem to the advancement of your career, and it needs to be dealt with quickly.

The solution to this problem lies, yet again, in finding a proper co shared office space close by. Most of the coworking spaces are equipped with state-of-the-art equipment. At such a place you needn’t worry whether your Internet connection is going to break, because all of these spaces pride themselves on having top speed, secure and stable Wi-Fi.

In addition, by being a member of such a space, you gain access to their personal care services, such as massage rooms, manicures, pedicures; physical fitness rooms where you can exercise, do yoga, and many other activities. Sounds amazing, doesn’t it?

You would be able to find at one place all the things you would do, but just can’t, because it means traveling long distances to get them.

Lack of Professional Atmosphere

This is maybe the most important reason why many people working from home opt for a change of their work surroundings. Whether you are a freelancer, or an employee working for a big company, to advance, you need to have a place where you can meet potential clients and talk business.

This place, of course, can’t be your living room. You need to bring your business A-game up a notch, which means a more professional environment is due.

This is where coworking spaces come in handy because, apart from office spaces, they offer different event spaces that could be perfect for meetings, both small and large in size. By being a member, you just need to book an event space or a meeting room and the floor is all yours.

This way, you will come across as more serious and more dedicated to your potential clients. Appearances are everything in this day and age, and first impressions still count the most.

Many co-shared office spaces also offer the services of a virtual assistant, which could be a great deal of help for your expanding business. They could deal with all that administrational work, you simply can’t manage in time, which deters your attention from “more important” issues.

Expansion of Your Company

Until recently, your business was a one-man show. However, due to the diligent effort you have been putting into it, it has expanded and you are now in need for some assistance, that is to say, in need of additional employees to take on the workload.

You need to keep them in check, and be around to explain all the dilemmas they might have about their job. Of course, this can’t be done from the comfort of your home, so this is the moment when you need to rent a bigger space. However, renting a traditional office space can be quite expensive, so, the logical way out of this is renting a space at a coworking company.

It is affordable, yet beneficial, in many ways.