What is Coworking?

Today, a record number of people are working as startup business owners, independent contractors, freelancers, and telecommuters. They are what digital marketing specialist Jacob Puhl would call “location-independent” workers. They contribute to society, providing products and services to the general public, without being tied down to a particular city or office building. In the past, these workers would have operated out of their own kitchens or garages, or hopped to different coffee shops and libraries to get work done. Sure, those places are great, but they lack the shared purpose and community of most office buildings where employees work toward the same goal.

Enter coworking, the twenty-first century model for the freelance workspace. Coworking – collaborative working – spaces have popped up in cities around the U.S., Europe, and Asia in the last decade, and more spaces open every year. The idea was introduced by technology worker Brad Neuberg, who sought more structure and community in the workplace. He opened the first coworking space, San Francisco Coworking Space at Spiral Muse, in 2005. San Francisco, famous for technology startups, continues to be a hub for coworkers in a variety of fields.

So what exactly is a coworking space? Though they come in many shapes and sizes, the general idea of coworking is for one or more people to rent out desks in an office space. Spaces often offer multiple levels of membership that allow varying access to larger desks, more time at the desks, and use of other office facilities. While people in one coworking space may be employed in a variety of fields, they share the space and are able to enjoy a more office-like environment than a coffee shop, while also being cheaper than whole offices. Many spaces offer free WiFi, printing and copying, a mailing address for users, kitchens for communal use, coffee and tea makers, conference rooms, whiteboards, and private rooms for phone or video calls. In general, coworkers are people in their twenties and thirties (a population that represents seventy-four percent of startup owners) and coworking spaces reflect this young millennial clientele. Most spaces have modern atmospheres characterized by bright lighting, lots of open space, plants and clear whiteboards, and neon colors. Others, like Hub in Melbourne, are starting to have couches and hammocks in addition to traditional desks.

Membership at a coworking space benefits independent workers by giving them a physical space in which to work, but the idea of coworking is deeper than a chair and complimentary WiFi. These spaces offer a community; Puhl noted in an interview that it was nice just to “have people to say ‘good morning’ to at work.” Bouncing ideas and business questions off others can be incredibly beneficial to freelancers or startup owners, and many coworkers find networking opportunities with other clients. Coworking places emphasis on the importance of interpersonal interaction on a daily basis.

Coworking has found the biggest success in major U.S. cities like San Francisco, Portland, and New York City, as well as in the U.K. and other parts of Europe. Recently, the space Hatch Studios has been in the news for attracting major technology startups in Silicon Valley, and Google’s coworking office in London has received global attention for allowing startups to grow while being affiliated with a major business name. As Fort Collins/Loveland and Boulder are the two largest metro areas for high-tech startup density in the country, coworking has also had success closer to home. Spaces like Cohere and Galvonize in Fort Collins and Impact Hub in Boulder, among many others, are examples of the new scene for startups and freelancing in Northern Colorado.

Have you been a member of a coworking space and want to share your experience? Have an idea for a new coworking community? Let us know in the comments!