Working from Home vs Coworking

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 Laura from YourLaura.comWorking from home can seem like a luxury in the world of self-employment. It definitely has its pros - you can choose your own hours, avoid the hideousness of public transport and even have the odd lie-in. It’s cheap and likely to be quiet if you need or prefer to work in a peaceful environment.

The problem is though, when the novelty of Jeremy Kyle, too many biscuits and not getting dressed until 3pm every day wears off, working from home can be distracting and unproductive. For me, the first few weeks of working from home in my pyjamas was great. After two months I hated continuously working alone, was becoming stuck for ideas, completely out of sync with a work/life routine and generally feeling a bit uninspired.

I heard from a friend that coworking can be a good solution for freelancers or self-employed folk like myself, so I tried Rentadesk. Whilst it doesn’t seem very business savvy to be forking out extra cash on something that isn’t really necessary, it can actually be hugely beneficial to your business. And your sanity. You get all the luxuries of an office – a desk, a kitchen, the odd boozy Friday night; if you’re lucky - an office hottie - but also retain your independence. Overall, my work time is definitely more productive because I feel like I’m ‘at work’.

Also, you’re probably going to be surrounded by likeminded people who you can network and brainstorm with and potentially work with in some form. Who knows, if you’re really nice you might even make some friends.

Of course, it all depends on the nature of your work, your situation and your business/work objectives, plus the type of person that you are. If you’re not a fan of people, coworking probably won’t be for you. Then again if you find it difficult to network in the traditional sense, it could be a good way to get you speaking to people in a more informal environment and make some great contacts. If nothing else, it encourages you to get dressed at least 5 days a week. Working from home can definitely lead to one becoming sartorially sloppy. And I speak from experience.

What are your experiences and thoughts on working from home versus co working?

Coworking space for Freelancers

As a freelancer the one thing you need to keep a strict eye on is your expenses, which is why many freelancers start by working from home. At first the novelty and flexibility of working from home are a welcome change from the rigid 9 to 5 working patterns of conventional office life.

However within a few months, the advantages start to wane and the loss of social contact, stimulation of meeting different people each day, together with the distractions of home working start to look less appealing.

For these reasons I started the Rentadesk coworking community in Soho, to create a place where like-minded freelancers could share space, ideas and create a focused and fun working environment for ourselves.

If you are home-bound or client-bound freelancer and are intrigued by what working at a coworking community is like, come and try us out on any weekday at noon. Bring along your laptop, make yourself a cup of coffee in the kitchen and (hopefully) absorb the motivating environment!

The coworking revolution

My intention in creating this blog is to inform, entertain and hopefully inspire freelancers, small businesses and entrepreneurs to explore the benefits of using coworking communities to create connections, collaborate, and enjoy an inspirational working environment.