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Original poster

New business idea - What do you think?

97 replies

Statsanddata · 12/05/2023 09:42

I'm thinking of setting up a new business.

If you are a remote worker or a freelancer...or basically anyone who works from home, would you work in a coworking space?

Whether it was every day, once week or a few times a month, or even sporadically, would it be something you would consider?

I'm thinking of somewhere with free tea and coffee, good internet, proper desks, good location, meeting rooms etc.

I've done some research and I think I can see more pros than cons, but wanted to ask people directly what they think about it.

Is there anything specific that would attract you to working in one or anything that would put you off?

OP posts:
Haveallthesongsbeenwritten · 12/05/2023 11:50

Statsanddata · 12/05/2023 09:42

I'm thinking of setting up a new business.

If you are a remote worker or a freelancer...or basically anyone who works from home, would you work in a coworking space?

Whether it was every day, once week or a few times a month, or even sporadically, would it be something you would consider?

I'm thinking of somewhere with free tea and coffee, good internet, proper desks, good location, meeting rooms etc.

I've done some research and I think I can see more pros than cons, but wanted to ask people directly what they think about it.

Is there anything specific that would attract you to working in one or anything that would put you off?

Not sure where you live but that already exists. Not necessarily free coffee/tea (often you get a costa or nero in those type of places) but i know few co working spaces round where I live and i think is working well:

Mars27 · 12/05/2023 11:51

Erm...there's hundreds of those already, including We Work which currently has a debt of 3 billion dollars 🤷🏻‍♀️

bailarbailar · 12/05/2023 11:52

I would go to a dog friendly one if there was a totally separated space away from the dogs... or if there was a dog crèche type thing too. That would save me a fortune in paying for doggy daycare and a desk space on the same day

Original poster
Statsanddata · 12/05/2023 11:53

ICouldHaveCheckedFirst · 12/05/2023 11:45

Sounds like you need to do some market research, but finding your target customers to do a survey on in the first place, might be tricky.
Where are these people currently working - home? If they already have the option to go into their office (at no cost to them) , why would they pay to use your space?
I can see it might appeal to the self-employed, freelancers etc.
Have you any idea how big the potential pool of customers is locally?
You've had some ideas of what might attract or repel people from this thread as a starting point. Good luck.

Thank you.

So I've managed to do some market research and have found some apatite for this.

The people who seem keen are:

  • those who work remotely for large companies which are based in different cities and who can expense some or all of the cost.
  • people who need to get out the house some of the time or people who perhaps don't have suitable setups at home.
  • small companies who like to have one or two days a week where they can all work together but don't want to pay for permanent office space.

I would also like to be able to target those who work in coffee shops. Why a coffee shop over a coworking space?

OP posts:
PinkFootstool · 12/05/2023 11:54

Coffee shops - cost probably. What's the fee you're thinking of charging per day?

randomuser2019 · 12/05/2023 11:56

This reply has been withdrawn

Removed at poster's request due to privacy concerns.

Original poster
Statsanddata · 12/05/2023 11:59

PinkFootstool · 12/05/2023 11:54

Coffee shops - cost probably. What's the fee you're thinking of charging per day?

I was thinking around the £20-£25 per day. Would include free tea and coffee all day.

I know I can't compete with the price of coffee shops, but hopefully the appeal of a proper desk/chairs plus the more focussed workspace environment would help?

I don't want it to feel hostile but not as casual as a coffee shop.

OP posts:
LoobyDop · 12/05/2023 12:01

I tell you what would be a great USP that would definitely reel me in- really good outdoor workspaces. Proper desks and seating, with good fast wifi and effective awnings so you could see your screen properly, but set in terraces with loads of planting, water features… it would be brilliant if you could pitch up and work in the fresh air all day. There is an obvious downside in that it would be very seasonal and a wet summer could screw you, but from a customer perspective it’s brilliant.

Original poster
Statsanddata · 12/05/2023 12:03

This reply has been deleted

Removed at poster's request due to privacy concerns.

That's a good point. I would imagine companies with such a strong focus on security would use protected VPNs etc. The person I am working with on this is a tech person so she knows more about this than I do but seemed quite confident that we could sort that.

Perhaps that needs to be one of our selling points?

A few people have mentioned privacy now so I definitely think that needs to be a priority.

OP posts:
Original poster
Statsanddata · 12/05/2023 12:05

LoobyDop · 12/05/2023 12:01

I tell you what would be a great USP that would definitely reel me in- really good outdoor workspaces. Proper desks and seating, with good fast wifi and effective awnings so you could see your screen properly, but set in terraces with loads of planting, water features… it would be brilliant if you could pitch up and work in the fresh air all day. There is an obvious downside in that it would be very seasonal and a wet summer could screw you, but from a customer perspective it’s brilliant.

Ah the building we are looking at has an outside area!

The furniture would be an issue though. I suppose it would need to be ergonomic and can be packed down for storage.

OP posts:
Ŕfiuty · 12/05/2023 12:07

There are loads of places like this near me - we're in London in a big startup area so lots of demand for it. Personally I couldn't see the appeal for my own business, but my house has enough space to not need it, and I don't drink tea or coffee. I think you'd have to research the local market very carefully. Near here there are places like Barbican which has lots of workers on laptops on the foyer (for free), and the local library provision is pretty good too. So I don't know who would pay for it when there are various free facilities around. The bigger facilities like We work are used by those with bigger budgets I guess.

tara66 · 12/05/2023 12:08

Pop up offices have existed for a very long time. I knew someone who owned one. I think it was successful. It was in a very desirable commercial area. There were ''meeting rooms'' etc He owned the building.

randomuser2019 · 12/05/2023 12:11

This reply has been withdrawn

Removed at poster's request due to privacy concerns.

LoobyDop · 12/05/2023 12:12

The furniture would be an issue though. I suppose it would need to be ergonomic and can be packed down for storage.

Probably metal framed chairs with wire mesh seats- so they’d dry off quickly- and padded toppers that were kept indoors when not used would be best.

Or a fully retractable roof cover, but I suspect the cost of that wouldn’t stack up.

BonnieGlasses · 12/05/2023 12:18

I don't get the appeal of this at all. Why would I want to leave my home to go and work around random people who aren't even my colleagues? And pay money to do so? So I'm possibly not your target market!

Original poster
Statsanddata · 12/05/2023 12:18

This reply has been deleted

Removed at poster's request due to privacy concerns.

Excellent advice, thank you very much.

You're right. Can't get complacent with things like this and always better to have reassurance.

OP posts:
Original poster
Statsanddata · 12/05/2023 12:23

BonnieGlasses · 12/05/2023 12:18

I don't get the appeal of this at all. Why would I want to leave my home to go and work around random people who aren't even my colleagues? And pay money to do so? So I'm possibly not your target market!

Some people don't have a suitable home setup or struggle with isolation when working from home. One person who responded to my survey said they have a neighbour who recently moved in with additional needs and made working from home more difficult for them, but their company had sold their offices during the pandemic.

Others have said the expense at working from home - paying to heat their house all day, going through their own tea and coffee, printer paper etc. If they were to use a coworking space it would make claiming back for these things easier.

It won't be for everyone for sure! But if you usually work from home but some temporary disturbance meant you couldn't (ie home renovation work), would you then consider using such a space?

OP posts:
Original poster
Statsanddata · 12/05/2023 12:24

LoobyDop · 12/05/2023 12:12

The furniture would be an issue though. I suppose it would need to be ergonomic and can be packed down for storage.

Probably metal framed chairs with wire mesh seats- so they’d dry off quickly- and padded toppers that were kept indoors when not used would be best.

Or a fully retractable roof cover, but I suspect the cost of that wouldn’t stack up.

Definitely worth looking into! As I say, we have an outside space which we hadn't made a decision on what to do with.

OP posts:
randomuser2019 · 12/05/2023 12:32

This reply has been withdrawn

Removed at poster's request due to privacy concerns.

Greentree1 · 12/05/2023 12:34

I looked a while ago and thought it was too expensive. Also worried about security if you leave equipment or paperwork there and the inconvenience if you have to take everything back and fore daily. Also potentially noisy, distracting environment when you are trying to work. The only useful thing is meeting rooms if you have to meet customers, but using them seemed to be extra and you can always just book a room when you need one anyway.

AtomicBlondeRose · 12/05/2023 12:36

I know someone who sometimes uses a coworking space -he’s self employed, working a desk job from home and finds it isolating and hard to concentrate given the many distractions around (teenagers, pets, deliveries etc). He tried one in a cool area and found there were a lot of young creative/tech types who were quite lively, and though that was fun for them it was too
loud and off putting for him! So he tried a less cool town and found it was a good place to go on occasion. So it seems it depends if it’s primarily for networking etc or quiet independent- there’s a market for both but they’re not really compatible.

Artichokepiglet · 12/05/2023 12:37

There's somewhere near me that offers this but I've never used it. Personally, I wouldn't want to spend money on a space to work in when I can have one free at home. I can see why people would in other circumstances though, like if their home was noisy or too small.

Kablea · 12/05/2023 12:43

Lots of screens, I need at least two large screens for work and wouldn’t want to have to cart them about with me.

Overthebow · 12/05/2023 12:44

I think it may only really work for those who can claim part or all of it back, otherwise £25 per day is a huge amount.

I would want good, free parking, I wouldn’t bother if I had to get public transport (this would be more expensive than driving too). Squash/juice as well as tea and coffee. Love the idea of the outside working area. Flexible booking that allowed last minute bookings. On-site cafe with decent food option not pre packages sandwiches. Maybe fresh salads. I would not go if it were dog friendly. I would love a crèche that you could use as hoc but I guess that wouldn’t be feasible, I would definitely pay for that though!

Augend23 · 12/05/2023 12:44

The printing is an interesting point - printing is a nightmare, and if your organisation is fussy you often can't install printers etc on company laptops so probably needs some consideration as to how you'd manage that.

What is super annoying when you go into the office is when you go in, everyone is on teams calls and so the whole place becomes incredibly noisy in a way it just doesn't when people are working together with other people in the same physical space. It's not just if you need privacy for a call. It might be that you need to zone the place so that you have a quiet zone, a no calls zone (but chit chat is fine?) and then some high sides booths for calls.

As people aren't committing to a lease or anything you have to make it attractive to come back, which is going to mean that you need to test stuff like the efficacy of different booths/partitions before you open as once people have been put off they aren't likely to return.

The other ? going through my mind would be could you set it up so people can also hire space for in person meetings and whether you want to be an attractive prospect for people who want a rolling short term lease but with dedicated space for their company? Might give some more guaranteed, regular income?

Also worth thinking about whether you could do a membership scheme at different price points for different levels of commitment to get some reliable cash through the door?