What you should know about co-working
Co-working has been a growing trend around the world, a trend that is spreading across Africa as well. If you’re in charge of a business, particularly a small startup, you know that running your own office space can be seriously distracting. “The internet is down! What should we do?” “This place is dusty, was the cleaning done today?” “Are we making sure all our visitors are taken care of?” With all this headache, you may end up forgetting what your business is actually all about! Not everyone has time to deal with all these challenges! If you can relate to this, then you should consider moving into a co-working space! Abuja has Ventures Platform, Lagos has Stranger, Johannesburg has the Hub and Nairobi has Nairobi Garage which has been at the forefront of the co-working scene in Nairobi for more than a few years now. If it isn’t yet a no-brainer for you, here is a list of reasons why co-working is a great option for your business. Networking You already know that networking is an essential part of growing your contact base. This is something every professional has to go through. Expanding your network is something that you always have to go out of your way to do…unless you’re in a co-working space! When you co-work, you don’t have to go out of your way to meet people, they’ll simply come to you! Take a look at the sort of people you could be sitting next to. YOLO Renting out your own office space can seriously break the bank. Then, you may find yourself having to choose between fast broadband internet and better furniture. Which one will you let go? Co-working is great as access to Wi-Fi, office equipment, a kitchen, a lounge area, and meeting rooms are all included in a package. You’ll have many great amenities at your disposal that you otherwise wouldn’t be able to afford on your own startup budget. All this without any serious investment on your part. Meet new people Co-working spaces usually consist of people from a wide variety of different companies. This means lots of new ideas can be found everywhere! Being surrounded by small-scale startups means beings surrounded by innovators like you, so you’ll definitely be inspired by different people on many occasions! Some co-working spaces also host seminars, panels and workshops. Nairobi Garage for example hosts cool bi-monthly events. We are one! Last but not least, the main thing a co-working space has to offer is the feeling of community! Thanks to the range of different companies in these spaces, companies aren’t directly competing against each other. This means you won’t get entrenched in any internal politics that plague usual working spaces. You’re part of a family, a big one where people help each other out. THAT is the essence of co-working!