Here’s your best briefly guide to anyone seeking to set up his own Coworking Space.
Several Coworking spaces were recently launched reaching a number that exceeds the number of current coworkers. This matter is a double edged weapon which has several pros and cons. People used to think it’s strange to leave their homes and head to a Coworking Space to get their work done.
Currently the number of Coworking spaces is in an uninterrupted expansion fulfilling the market’s demand, leaving it sounding strange to work at home.
With the overwhelming enlargement, a lot of business owners shifted their fields to Coworking Spaces for the sake of finances, with absolute ignorance to the idea of Coworking Spaces other than the fact that Coworkers visit to communicate with a good number of aiding courses and that’s it. This is one of the highlighted cons that negatively affected the idea of such Spaces and will definitely lead to the abandonment of these Spaces if left without an action.
So here I am giving you the highlights and guidelines as I have gone through experiences of setting up 2 Spaces along with taking part in the launching of Spaces across Egypt.
Terminal 1:
What kind of Space am I willing to set up?
There are multiple categories of Spaces including :
Art Spaces – Innovation Hubs – Coworking Spaces – Makers Spaces – Culture Spaces
I’ll be focusing on Coworking Spaces in this blog as it’s the prominent, and most common framework in the market.
The interior design of the Coworking Spaces is dependent of the Target Segment.
– Business & office spaces
This is a B-to-B model targeting companies and multinationals.
There has recently been office buildings that adopt these Spaces, and Business Spaces that host international companies.
– High level :
It targets developing companies and offers high quality, often service based which means that it mainly sells services to its hosting companies and not only rented Spaces.
– Students Spaces :
It focuses on students and student activities, yet doesn’t prioritize offering high quality as it seeks cost reduction which doesn’t make it widely apply the concept of Spaces as it’s mainly a student union.
– Program based :
It aims to deal with Startups and predominantly rely on activities, programs, and projects that they’re working on whether it’s some kind of a training or workshops or incubator or camps. It’s ultimately focused on these programs and applying it on a huge scale.
-Hybrid Space :
It is a combination of several kinds of spaces targeting students, freelancers, community activities and that’s severely tough because each has his own needs and requirements so this requires a lot of work.
Terminal 2:
What will my profit elements be ?
– There are several business models that you could work with, yet I’ll be talking about the Revenue Streams that boost your income from the Coworking Spaces.
– Coworking Slots :
Coworking Slots are the main stage of Coworking Spaces, so that most of the Coworking Spaces are keen on making them highly equipped as it’s a form of quality measurement and but for it’s existence these coming stuff wouldn’t have been present.
– Shared Offices :
Shared Offices are monthly memberships for freelancers who need to have an access to offices with reasonable prices. Consequently, they take highly equipped shared offices from which they undergo their work.
– Private Offices :
Private Offices are totally equipped to fulfill startups team’s needs on an average of 4 to 6 persons who need privacy and concentration to work in.
– Meeting Rooms Renting :
Companies, groups, trainings, and different activities rent meeting rooms. It is a great source of income.
– Event Venue :
You can absolutely host huge events, and undergo eventual events. This is extremely unique as you deal with different target groups. People then start trying your Slots, which makes it a win-win opportunity. Revenue sources are of no limit, so you can also try incubation, service based and commission.
Is it easy? How fast am I going to make money? How much will my profit be?
Let me tell you about my experience.
It passed by several stages, some of which were Revenue based, others were Value based. Summing it up it was profitable, but never scalable. It is not the best investment money wise, and that’s because its expenses is extremely high.
You’ll notice this an any High Level Coworking Space has its own separate Business model that serves whether it’s a restaurant, training company, or a company in a specific field that supports the greater income. The Space basically works on building a community that has a great impact on the success of the Business model.
Simply, your monthly Running cost is X
– If you’re a Coworking Space Founder, your profit might be as well X
– Whereas other projects’ profit may reach 2X or 3X
There are Coworking Space that could definitely accomplish such profit, yet needs a huge investment of effort, money, and most importantly human power.
Along with the greater headache this Coworking Spaces cause, you have to be keen to always offer the best quality, and services.
Hence, the idea of setting your own Coworking space should be Value based to you so that you keep going despite the daily obstacle and challenges that you face.
How much do I need to set My project ?
The least relevant amount of money you need to offer such great quality is not less than 100,000 EGP in case you’re on a rent. The Cost varies according to the Quality you offer.
Dominant Notes:
As mentioned, Coworking is not just a place where coworkers gather, you have to keep pace of several stuff including User Experience inside the Space.
You have to see Coworking Spaces all over the Cities and decide on the model that you’ll work on, along with your target group that you’ll mainly serve.
-There are funds, and competitions that are held for Space founders. There are specified corporations in the fund of such Spaces that work with freelancers and Startups, as they valuably contribute in the Ecosystem. Uncountable numbers of Startups started their journey at Coworking Spaces.
It’s ultimately massive and needs a brilliant team to work on to create an innovative Space and develop the community.