9 Ways Coworking Spaces Will Help Guarantee Your Startup Success
ResourceAs an entrepreneur, founder, maker, freelancer, developer or anyone else taking a risk in launching their own thing, you will know that the odds of your success are stacked against you. Most startups won’t see their first birthday, and very few will reach the age of 5.
There are lots of things that can cause a startup’s failure, and some of them are easier to prevent than others. Whether it’s raising investment, getting user feedback, or acquiring key customers.
Fear not, however, coworking might be the answer to all your woes.
Coworking prevents loneliness
Especially as a solo founder, you’ll probably find yourself feeling quite lonely, quite often.
If you’re working from home, from cafes, or from your own 1-man office, the silence will eventually get to you and will make it harder for you to focus and be productive. Working around other founders will surround you with a buzzing atmosphere full of motivating vibes.
Sounds weird, but try it and you’ll know what we mean.
Coworkers give genuine feedback
Founders want genuine feedback on their ideas and products.
Only with genuine feedback can they build something truly useful. This means that when you ask someone in your coworking space what they think of your idea, they’ll give you feedback akin to the feedback they themselves would want to receive.
They’ll be critical but constructive and won’t give you fake opinions just to make you happy
You’ll get new ideas on how to do stuff
You can learn a lot from other businesses that you can apply to your own business; pricing models, landing page layouts, distribution channels, marketing strategies – the list goes on.
Working alongside similar, or very different businesses will open your mind to things you may otherwise never have thought of, that could end up becoming your edge over your competitors.
You’ll have a support network
Having an investor pull out last minute, hearing that your product won’t be shipping in time for Christmas, or just looking at your mountain of emails and to-do’s is sometimes enough to make you cry and want to give up.
But when you’re surrounded by people who have already been there and done that, you’ll have a support network to help pick you up and remind you that it’s all worth it
People know people
You might be frantically looking for a social media marketing expert, and find that the guy in the office next door is just that.
You might have sent a thousand emails to land a huge client, to find that the sister of the person on the shared desk next to you runs the business. You’ll meet all kinds of people in coworking spaces, and through them, get access to a very wide network
Coworking is cheap and flexible
Coworking spaces are cheaper and more flexible than traditional offices.
This means that not only are your monthly costs of running your business significantly lower than they otherwise would be, but also that if your business doesn’t exactly go to plan, you aren’t going to bankrupt yourself paying off the remaining three years of your office lease.
Inspiring guest speakers
Quite often coworking space owners will arrange for people to come and give talks or workshops to their members.
This is a great way to hear stories from people you otherwise wouldn’t have. They will impart their wisdom on you and inspire and motivate you to keep going
Access to customers
The people working around you aren’t just there to support you in the development of your product or business; they may also be your first customers.
Having direct access to an audience right from day one will mean you can easily get feedback and advice from genuine users, and quickly act upon it
Work life balance
Coworking isn’t just about working. It’s about being social too.
You’ll meet people with all kinds of interests and hobbies, some of whom you might be able to join in with. On top of this, workspace hosts often arrange trips, walks and mini-adventures, designed to bring a bit of work-life balance to your week, and prevent the inevitable startup founder burnout
Final Thoughts
Coworking could be the key to keeping your business alive. Coworking can help you brainstorm, develop, launch, promote, run and grow your business.
Can you really afford to not give it a go?
