Thinking of making the move to a shared office space but unsure of how to start looking for one?
Circle Hub has your back! Whether you’re a freelancer who wants a more professional upgrade after working from home or you’re an employer searching for a base that your remote workers can use, here are the eight most important things to look for in a shared office space.
1. A Variety of Workspaces
Many coworking spaces offer up just one type of workspace, and this may suit some people just fine.
However, there’s no denying that this can also limit you. Working at a desk where you’re surrounded by other people may suit your style most days, but what happens when you have an important Zoom meeting and need to guarantee a working space at that particular time? The same applies if you need to work on something confidential one day and can’t risk having other people overhear or oversee what you’re doing.
That’s why, at Circle Hub, we offer a variety of different workspaces for people to choose from. None of them require a long-term commitment, meaning that you can simply book yourself into whichever space happens to best suit the project that you’re working on.
For example, as we mentioned above, there’ll be plenty of days when you’re happy to work in a busy, buzzing environment. For this, our Hot Spots are perfect. Turn up when you need to, grab yourself a desk, and start working.
On the other hand, if you want to guarantee an available space at a certain time, then you can book yourself a Designated Desk. Whichever desk you choose will be reserved just for you, whether this is for a few hours, a few days, or longer.
What happens if you ever need your shared office space to provide more privacy and seclusion? That’s where our Private Offices come in. These sleek rooms vary in size, making them ideal for every purpose. Whether you want a single desk for just a few hours or you need enough room for a small team for a few days, our glass-enclosed offices will encourage maximum productivity.
2. A Convenient Location
If you’re looking for the perfect shared office space, then location is everything. After all, there’s no point picking a space that offers all of the right services and amenities, only to have to spend hours stuck in traffic each day on your commute. The whole point of a shared office space is to make life more convenient for you, and the location of that space plays a huge role in this.
At Circle Hub, we try to be as accessible as possible, which is why we have two locations in California for you to choose from.
The first is in Northridge, in the heart of the valley. Various freeways are just a few minutes away, making it easy to get to us from surrounding areas. Our Northridge location also happens to be situated near the Northridge Fashion Center. With a number of snazzy bars and restaurants to visit, this spot is perfect for some after-work drinks.
If Northridge doesn’t work for you, then you may prefer our Ventura location. Situated just off the 101 freeway, this location is also surrounded by cafes and restaurants. However, what may really appeal to some people is the fact that Circle Hub Ventura is just a 10-minute drive from the beach!
3. Reliable, High-Speed Internet
This one may seem pretty obvious. After all, what shared office space doesn’t offer internet? It’s an absolute must-have in this day and age.
However, the key words here are “reliable” and “high-speed”. One of the biggest complaints that people often have about coworking spaces is shaky WiFi. There’s nothing worse than having to constantly pause your video meeting while it buffers, or waiting for an important, but very large, file to download. Not only is this frustrating, but it’s a waste of time too.
Fortunately, you won’t need to worry about this at Circle Hub. We provide high-quality, high-speed WiFi that’s more than capable of providing for everyone’s needs. Our connection is fast, stable, and reliable. Best of all, it’s available to Circle Hub users without any extra charges.
We don’t limit how many devices you can connect to our WiFi either. As we said, it’s good enough to cope with high demand! So, even if you need to hook multiple devices up to our WiFi, you can be guaranteed a dependable connection and fast download speeds on each one.
4. A Shared Kitchen
When looking for a shared office space, most people tend to focus on work-related amenities. After all, without WiFi or a good printer or a variety of workspaces, a shared office space won’t be much use.
However, there’s another amenity worth keeping an eye out for, even though it may not seem very essential at first, and that’s access to a kitchen. While it’s true that this may not be quite as important if you only plan on working for a couple of hours at a time, those who intend on spending longer at their shared office space would greatly benefit from a shared kitchen too.
For starters, having access to a shared kitchen will save you so much time throughout the day. You won’t have to leave the building, find a cafe, queue up for your beverages and snacks, and then head back half an hour later. Instead, you can simply walk down a corridor and whip up whatever you happen to be in the mood for. After all, time is money, so you don’t want to be wasting any of it.
That said, catering to your caffeine habit each day can also cost a pretty penny. If your shared office space comes with kitchen access, you’ll likely find yourself saving a fair bit of money. This is especially the case if your coworking space provides complimentary refreshments in their kitchen, just like we do at Circle Hub.
5. 24/7 Access
Some coworking spaces are only open during regular office hours, i.e. 9-5. If these working hours suit you, then that won’t be much of an issue.
However, set working times can also be very restrictive. Some people do their best work at the crack of dawn, while others prefer to work late into the night. People working with overseas clients have to be pretty flexible too in order to account for time differences.
If you can relate, then you need to find a shared office space that will accommodate your untraditional working hours, and that’s where Circle Hub really shines. Both of our locations offer 24/7 access. This includes the use of all of our amenities, meaning that you can plan your workday (or night) however you’d like, without having to worry about timing restrictions.
6. Meeting Rooms
Meetings are an essential part of just about every business. Sure, in this day and age, many meetings take place virtually. However, nothing quite beats a face-to-face discussion, and for this, you need a meeting room.
At Circle Hub, we have a variety of different conference rooms that you can rent by the hour at very reasonable prices. They come in a few different sizes – the smallest is able to seat four people while the largest can host 12.
Each of our meeting rooms is completely private. They also come with a few extras to make your meetings even more successful. From our flat screen TV, which is ideal for presentations, to the whiteboard that can help to keep a brainstorming session alive, being able to turn to our well-equipped conference rooms will make life so much easier for you if you ever need to hold a meeting.
7. Organized Events
One of the biggest perks that comes from using a shared office space is how easy it is to network. You’ll be surrounded by people from all walks of life, and in all industries, meaning that you never know who you’ll end up meeting. The casual vibe that shared office spaces have makes it easy to strike up a conversation too, even if you’re usually an introvert.
However, organized events can be very beneficial as well. This is especially so if you’re someone who usually works on your own. Chatting with your coworkers at your shared office space is always a good start, but let’s not forget that people are there to get work done.
On the other hand, attend an organized event and everyone that’s there will be eager to network as much as possible.
Not all coworking spaces offer organized events, which is just another reason why Circle Hub stands out from the crowd. Whether it may be formal networking events or casual breakfasts, our events calendar is perfect for helping you with the social side of business.
8. A Professional Business Address
One of the advantages that comes from having your own office, rather than using a shared office space, is then having your own business address. After all, once your business reaches a certain size, you don’t want to still be using your home address. Not only does this come across as unprofessional, but it could also cause security concerns if your business address needs to be displayed online to the public.
One way to get around this is to look for a shared office space that also offers virtual office services. This basically enables you to use that virtual office address as your professional mailing address.
For example, if you sign up for Circle Hub’s virtual office services, then you’ll be able to use our Los Angeles, California address for your business. This means that everything from your business cards to your website can feature this prime address.
Even if you stop using our shared office space, you can still make use of our virtual office services. We offer this to people no matter where they may live, even if they’re in another country.
What happens when you get mail? It’s simple – we receive it for you. We can then either keep it with us until you’re ready to collect it, or we can forward it on to a more convenient address. Alternatively, we can also send it over to you digitally. It really couldn’t be any easier!
Interested in a Shared Office Space at Circle Hub?
There are a number of benefits that come from working at a shared office space, but you’ll only experience them if you pick the right workplace to begin with. Keep our tips in mind and you’ll be able to do exactly that, especially if you decide to make the move to Circle Hub.
If you’re interested in finding out more about the various workplaces and amenities we offer at Circle Hub, click here to book yourself in for a tour.