Co-working space is one of the latest inclusions in organisational real-estate, where entrepreneurs or teams of individuals hailing from an organisation work in a shared office space.
These locations offer flexibility and functionality over individual, rented spaces; individuals and businesses using the co-working environment can adjust or modify the space according to their requirement.
These are also significantly more cost-effective as firms can avoid paying for all the amenities or rent out an entire plot to form an office space.
What is a co-working space can be defined as a business offering workstations to individuals or to another business? The rent creates the primary source of revenue for the organisation.
Co-working space is a relatively new inclusion in India, with only certain Tier-1 cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Pune, and Kolkata offering such amenities.
Most such infrastructure offers customisable options as well, including separate halls and cabins, as these are more in-tune with India’s current working space requirement.
Evolution of co-working space
The first official use of the term co-working or a shared office environment was in 2005, as entrepreneurs tried to reduce their overall cost of renting and maintaining a usable office space. These became especially popular when the real estate market started developing.
As the prices of properties and office space in downtown and prime business districts started rising, small scale business owners and entrepreneurs started looking for alternatives that would offer them working spaces at an affordable rate. The idea of what is co-working space developed from this endeavour.
There are several benefits of setting up an office in a co-working space, especially for professionals who have just started their career. Professionals like CAs can use a co-working space to set up their office instead of renting an entire plot, as these can help them save a substantial amount of funds and yet offer a workplace in the prime locations of a city.
There are also several advantages that such setups have to offer; let’s take a look –
- Cost-effective – A significant number of entrepreneurs and self-employed professionals prefer co-working spaces as this offer fully equipped office infrastructure without the cost of setting up the necessary equipment. Co-working spaces save funds on rent, insurance, office equipment, furniture, maintenance, and etc., which one can utilise in other vital requirements that can prove essential for a successful CA firm and help individuals improve their management and accounting skills .
- Flexible – Another major benefit of a co-working space is its flexibility. Organisations can rent space according to their requirements; for example, a self-employed individual can use facilities for only themselves, whereas a business with multiple employees can procure space for their entire team. It also allows installing workstations as per their requirement, skipping on the hefty procurement and installation fees usually associated with a growing workstation.
Even small scale business can rent a number of workstations as per their requirement, the rent for such work-spaces are reasonably affordable when compared to a standalone office plot.
Moreover, they can avail credits like business loans to financially back the growth of their organisations. Advances like loans for chartered accountants provide adequate monetary support against an affordable rate of interest and flexible repayment tenor.
Co-working spaces are likely to become the next hub for growing businesses, providing an affordable yet well-equipped option for companies that do not have the means to rent entire plots.
Such innovative real estate solutions can prove especially beneficial in populated metropolitan areas and Tier-1 cities offering up-and-coming businesses access to top clientele without hugely affecting their operating budget.