Guest article by Joanne Roffman
Image credit: Pexels
Instead of sticking to the usual nine-to-five working hours, professionals are trying to gain more freedom in their work by freelancing. To illustrate, popular freelance marketplace Upwork reported that the number of full-time gig workers rose from 28% in 2019 to 36% in 2020. It’s even projected that there will be as many as 86.5 million freelancing professionals in the US by 2027, signaling that gig workers will make up half of the U.S. workforce a few years from now.
Freelancing is indeed becoming an enticing work setup for many professionals. A report by LHH on the gig economy highlights that this is because of the financial and personal freedom that gig workers get. Gig work can help college students or recent college graduates pay off their student loans, while enabling young professionals to work whenever and wherever they want. This allows them to enjoy similar opportunities and salary ranges for office jobs, as they work in their favorite places during their most productive hours.
Though freelancers can work wherever they want, coworking spaces provide more advantages than popular alternatives, like cafés. Here, we’ll list down several reasons why coworking spaces are the best place for freelancers:
Optimized worker productivity
Let’s admit it: Comfortable beds and noisy cafés are not the most conducive places for work.
Recognizing this dilemma, Coworking Mag explains that coworking spaces with good lighting, access to outdoor workspaces, and even private areas, can boost your productivity for freelance work. As an added bonus, certain coworking spaces even offer office amenities that can increase your energy and your comfort, such as coffee machines and ergonomic furniture. This allows you to get your work done, while enjoying the amenities you love from your home or your favorite café.
Greater networking opportunities
Freelancers have more freedom to work on their own terms, but many gig workers fear that this limits their opportunities to network within their office and industry.
A guest article by Courtney Rosenfeld, pointed out that renting a coworking space allows professionals like you, to work alongside entrepreneurs and fellow freelancers. This provides you with an opportunity to connect with professionals who can complement your line of work, or even with people who can even offer you greater freelancing opportunities.
Increased professional resources
Freelancers have a wide variety of tasks at hand. This sometimes requires the need for conference rooms and dedicated offices that houses or cafés cannot provide.
Luckily, coworking spaces like The Back Office Studio provides members with private desk options and even access to the conference rooms. Through these amenities, you can conduct your own meetings with clients in private spaces and enjoy full privacy from your own dedicated office space.
More opportunities for skills development
Aside from providing you with a venue for networking or meetings, coworking spaces support your professional career by offering various opportunities for skill development. In fact, a paper on Coworking Spaces as Talent Hubs highlights that several locations run member-exclusive events that allow freelancers and entrepreneurs to learn from experts within the community. This allows coworking members to acquire new strategies from freelancing experts or even discover industry trends from startup founders who are part of the coworking space. Coworking spaces allow you to enjoy the resources and networking opportunities from traditional office spaces, while accommodating your preferred work setup and schedule. As an added bonus, you even get to participate in member-exclusive events that can boost your skills and open up more opportunities.
Blog article written by Joanne Roffman exclusively for The Back Office Studio
Great insights on office spaces! If you're looking for a coworking space in Santacruz, this blog has valuable information to help you choose the right one.