How to make the most of your rented coworking space
Coworking spaces are challenging traditional offices. However, you might feel a little challenged in a coworking space, too. While they might provide you with everything you need to grow your business, only you can make the most of them and pour that into your work. Here are five tips to take advantage of your coworking space.
Coworking spaces are challenging traditional offices. However, you might feel a little challenged in a coworking space, too. While they might provide you with everything you need to grow your business, only you can make the most of them and pour that into your work. Here are five tips to take advantage of your coworking space.
Evaluate exactly what you need
Think about your work as a freelancer or as a startup, then evaluate the coworking space in terms of your work. Do you work best with frequent snacks? Perhaps a desk near the kitchen would be best. The same goes for if you constantly need to use their printer, scanner, or conference room.
Are you more productive when you’re surrounded by complete silence? If your coworking space tends to be a bit noisy, you could use earbuds to keep yourself focused. You can also prepare your trusty cables and plugs if you use several appliances that need charging. If the coworking space lacks equipment you need, bring it yourself so you can still make the most of the amenities they offer.
Some coworking spaces have comfortable seats that you could sink into while you work, but if you feel more productive sitting at a traditional guest, no one’s going to stop you!
Ask your networks for recommendations
It might feel awkward and uncomfortable to break the ice with people you meet at the coworking space, but everyone else feels the same way, too. Coworking communities are composed of both new and seasoned freelancers and startups, so whoever you approach will likely be very welcoming. Occasions to expand and diversify your networkare usually scheduled by the coworking space to let everyone interact. These could come in the form of parties, mixers, or workshops, among others. Once you’ve made friends in the community, you could continue to build on those relationships as an entrepreneur, and this could benefit you later on.
These people could help you learn from their experiences in similar or different fields of work. More importantly, they could help guide you if they’re familiar with what you’re going through. In a traditional workspace, your co-workers might talk to you, but only about the business you’re working for. In a coworking space, your new friends might be able to provide you with ideas or recommendations for your own work, based on experiences you have yet to be exposed to.
Find out who has the best deals and discounts in town
Every coworking space usually has a community manageror someone who can connect with all the members in the office. If you have yet to make any friends in the office, approach the community manager and ask that you be introduced to people who might be able to help you or be interested in your work. You could also bond with other freelancers over a cup of coffee in the kitchen or by striking up a conversation over lunch.
In coworking spaces, the main atmosphere is often one of helpfulness, where each assists the other purely out of sincerity. Through these little chats, someone might just tell you who could print your book for cheap or where you could get team shirts made at a discount.
Others may help you as you help others. However, remember that help isn’t always welcome. Try to be helpful whenever you can, but make sure that someone does need your help first. Being part of a community at your coworking space allows you to get word of your product or service out to a larger group of people, but that doesn’t mean that that should always be on your mind. Similarly, don’t just talk to people in the office when you need them.
Be productive while you’re there
Being at a cool coworking space could distract you just as much as being at home, but only if you let it. Focus on being productive by doing whatever you can to keep yourself focused. This is an opportunity to train your self-discipline.
The first thing you should do to track your productivity is make a list. Write down everything you have to do each day, and cross them out every time you finish a task. Try your best not to head home without completing the entire list. With every task on that list, determine what the end goal should be. Remember why you’re doing your work in the first place, and everything will follow.
However, you don’t need to work on your list every moment of every day. Take a break every now and then. You could stand up and stretch for a few minutes or take a 10-minute nap. Let your brain recharge, lest it give up due to overwork.
If you’re finding it difficult to find motivation to work, you could reward yourself every time you finish a task or reach a goal. Reward yourself with candy if you find that sweets cheer you up, or fancy coffee if you’re tired of the coffee being served in the office.
Avoid procrastination by managing your time wisely. Have a plan for the day, and in that plan, include your list of tasks. It doesn’t hurt to have some structure. Surround yourself with a clean workspace, too. If the trash on your table is piling up and your papers are in disarray, maybe it’s time for a desk cleanup.
It might also help to make use of what modern technology can offer you. Find an app or website that can sync your emails and calendars, save your to-do lists, store your files, and check your grammar to improve your work and productivity.
Lastly, get enough sleep. Sleep deprivation can severely hamper your work, keep you from concentrating, and make you resent your job. Sacrificing your health for your job just isn’t the answer.
Learn the space and which areas are the best fit for you
A coworking space presents you with different options for seating. You could sit at your desk and mind your own business, or hang out in a communal area like the kitchen. The energy a coworking community emits is incomparable to traditional office setups. You’ll be able to observe freelancers and startups working hard to make it big, just like you. This can be inspirational, especially when you’re in dire need of motivation.
If you aren’t the type to put yourself in that kind of situation, then don’t. You know yourself best, so choose what you think is best for you and your work ethic.
SPACE ™ Member | Happy Hour April 2016
thanks for joining - another very happy very fun plusconcept-happy-hour smile emoticon and thanks for the cake. Won't be the last one! And thanks for the discounts Loof!
What MNC Virgin thinks of co-working spaces
"Co-working spaces and small business incubators are cropping up more and more in major cities and allow start-up entrepreneurs... physical interactions necessary for effective collaboration whilst sharing the cost of renting the space." PlusConcept SPACE is just that and not only catering to start-ups, but also successful entrepreneurs, advanced businesses or overseas set-ups in Singapore who are looking for a productive, secure, 24/7 office location. The location of our co-working spaces and shared offices on Purvis street in Singapore further adds to this character.
Source: VIRGIN ENTREPRENEUR
Why People Thrive in Coworking Spaces
Very interesting article about the benefits of co-working and shared offices. Check it out and if you are interested you are welcome to visit PlusConcept on Purvis - the unique shophouse co-working concept in Singapore. Why People Thrive in Coworking Spaces - Harvard Business Review
There seems to be something special about coworking spaces. As researchers who have, for years, studied how employees thrive, we were surprised to discover that people who belong to them report levels of thriving that approach an average of 6 on a 7-point scale. This is at least a point higher than the average for employees who do their jobs in regular offices, and something so unheard of that we had to look at the data again.
It checked out. So we were curious: What makes coworking spaces – defined as membership-based workspaces where diverse groups of freelancers, remote workers, and other independent professionals work together in a shared, communal setting – so effective? And are there lessons for more traditional offices?
To find out, we interviewed several coworking space founders and community managers, and surveyed several hundred workers from dozens of coworking spaces around the U.S. A regression analysis following our survey revealed three substantial predictors of thriving:
People who use coworking spaces see their work as meaningful. Aside from the type of work they’re doing – freelancers choosing projects they care about, for example — the people we surveyed reported finding meaning in the fact that they could bring their whole selves to work. They’re able to do this in a few ways.
First, unlike a traditional office, coworking spaces consist of members who work for a range of different companies, ventures, and projects. Because there is little direct competition or internal politics, they don’t feel they have to put on a work persona to fit in. Working amidst people doing different kinds of work can also make one’s own work identity stronger. Our respondents were given the opportunity to frequently describe what they do, which can make what they do seem more interesting and distinctive.
Second, meaning may also come from working in a culture where it is the norm to help each other out, and there are many opportunities to do so; the variety of workers in the space means that coworkers have unique skill sets that they can provide to other community members.
Lastly, meaning may also be derived from a more concrete source: The social mission inherent in the Coworking Manifesto, an online document signed by members of more than 1,700 working spaces. It clearly articulates the values that the coworking movement aspires to, including community, collaboration, learning, and sustainability. These values get reinforced at the annual Global Coworking UnConference. So in many cases, it’s not simply the case that a person is going to work; they’re also part of a social movement.
They have more job control. Coworking spaces are normally accessible 24/7. People can decide whether to put in a long day when they have a deadline or want to show progress, or can decide to take a long break in the middle of the day to go to the gym. They can choose whether they want to work in a quiet space so they can focus, or in a more collaborative space with shared tables where interaction is encouraged. They can even decide to work from home, without repercussion, if they need to meet a repairperson or deal with a family member need.
And while coworkers value this autonomy, we also learned that they equally value some form of structure in their professional lives. Too much autonomy can actually cripple productivity because people lack routines. Coworkers reported that having a community to work in helps them create structures and discipline that motivates them. Thus, paradoxically, some limited form of structure enables an optimal degree of control for independent workers.
They feel part of a community. Connections with others are a big reason why people pay to work in a communal space, as opposed to working from home for free or renting a nondescript office. Each coworking space has its own vibe, and the managers of each space go to great lengths to cultivate a unique experience that meets the needs of their respective members. Grind, for example, is a growing network of coworking spaces in New York and Chicago. Anthony Marinos, who oversees Grind’s marketing, community management, and member services, shared with us, “When it comes to cultivating our community at Grind, we’re all about the human element. We consider ourselves as much a hospitality company as we do a workspace provider. Our staff knows all of our members by name and profession, and we’re constantly facilitating introductions between Grindists.”
WeWork, which recorded a valuation of $5 billion last December, emphasizes how it “seek[s] to create a place you join as an individual, ‘me’, but where you become part of a greater ‘we.'”
Importantly, however, socializing isn’t compulsory or forced. Members can choose when and how to interact with others. They are more likely to enjoy discussions over coffee in the café because they went to the café for that purpose – and when they want to be left alone elsewhere in the building, they are. And while our research found that some people interact with fellow coworkers much less than others, they still felt a strong sense of identity with the community. We believe this comes from coworkers knowing there is the potential for interactions when they desire or need them.
So what are the implications for traditional companies? Even though the coworking movement has its origins among freelancers, entrepreneurs, and the tech industry, it’s increasingly relevant for a broader range of people and organizations. In fact, coworking can become part of your company’s strategy, and it can help your people and your business thrive. An increasing number of companies are incorporating coworking into their business strategies in two ways.
First, they’re being used as an alternative place for people to work. Michael Kenny, Managing Partner of San Diego-based Co-Merge, told us, “In the past year and a half, we’ve seen a dramatic increase in the use of the space by enterprise employees. We have seen teams come in to use various on-demand meeting rooms. We have users from global companies of size ranging from several hundred to several thousand employees who use the space not only to allow their distributed workers to get productive work done, but also to attract employees who demand flexible workplace and work time.”
Grind is also witnessing growth in the number of remote workers who are becoming members. “We haven’t had to reach out to larger organizations, they actually tend to just come to us,” Anthony Marinos says. “We’ve had employees from Visa, journalists from the Chicago Tribune, and even people affiliated with large financial institutions all work out of Grind.”
Spending time away from the office at a coworking space can also spark new ideas. Rebecca Brian Pan, the founder of COVO and former chief operating officer of NextSpace, explained how Ricoh’s innovation team worked out of NextSpace Santa Cruz for several months to observe how people work and where they hit pain points. Based on member insight and feedback, and their own observations, the Ricoh team explored several new products that could help members in their daily work and chose the most highly rated product to pursue. From this effort, Ricoh later launched this product globally as their Smart Presenter, a paperless meeting solution.
Second, the lessons of coworking spaces can be applied to corporate offices. Just as it’s important to encourage flexibility and support your mobile workforce, there is an equally important reality of creating the right kind of work environment inside your own walls. But this doesn’t just mean creating open plan layouts or adding a coffee bar.
In reality, people need to be able to craft their work in ways that give them purpose and meaning. They should be given control and flexibility in their work environment — many companies are increasingly adopting the best planning practice of providing a 1:1 ratio (or close to it) of desk seats to seats in shared settings used for either collaborative work or quiet work.
Companies are also trying to enable more connections, helping people to interact and build community beyond work meetings. Coworking spaces are one place to look for guidance, as they regularly offer networking events, training programs, social events, and even summer camp. Some companies are going even, further, however. Rich Sheridan and James Goebel, founders of Menlo Innovations in Ann Arbor, Michigan, recently expanded their office space by 7,000 square feet so that so that start-ups and early stage entrepreneurs can work alongside Menlo programmers to spur community and innovation.
In a way, the company is reverse-engineering its office into a coworking space.
Our research — which is ongoing — suggests that the combination of a well-designed work environment and a well-curated work experience are part of the reason people who cowork demonstrate higher levels of thriving than their office-based counteraparts. But what matters the most for high levels of thriving is that people who cowork have substantial autonomy and can be themselves at work. Our advice to traditional companies who want to learn from coworking spaces is to give people the space and support to be their authentic best selves. The result will be employees who feel more committed to your organization, and are more likely to bring their best energy and ideas to the office each day. Even if it is corporate headquarters.
Gretchen Spreitzer, PhD is the Keith E. and Valerie J. Alessi Professor of Business Administration at the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business where she is a core faculty member in the Center for Positive Organizations. Her most recent work is looking at positive deviance and how organizations enable employees to thrive.
Peter Bacevice, PhD is a researcher affiliated with the Center for Positive Organizations at the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business and is Senior Design Strategist with the New York office of HLW International, a global architecture and design firm. He works with a range of organizations on projects related to workplace strategy, workforce flexibility, and engagement. Follow him on Twitter @Bacevice.
Lyndon Garrett is a PhD candidate at the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business studying relationship processes, group bonding, and meaningful work.
A perfect planner
An appointment calendar, goal setting guide, journal, sketchbook, gratitude log & personal and work to-do lists all in one notebook... A perfect planner - we think. For all our hardworking people at our Singapore Co-working and all other members and in fact everyone this is a highly recommended
personal, productive and prioritised planner implementation. We can only recommend it. You can order them already at PASSIONPLANNER or support their latest KICKSTARTER campaign
you can also get some free :)
Guide to a very neat mailing address and virtual office platform in Singapore
If your business is expanding or starting out in Singapore one of the key (marketing) features will be a mailing address and a business address.
A prominent address, preferable one that does not look like a PO box or an off the rack virtual office service, add to credibility and professional set-up of your operations. Unfortunately the service level and reliability of many solutions is often lacking resulting in lost mails, no overview of your mailings or obviously well known letterbox addresses.
Some key features to look out for are:
A PROFESSIONAL REGISTERED ADDRESS
A permanent Singapore address to receive postal mail. Whether you need to establish a local business address for your new company or want a reliable mail services while you travel. A good mailing solution makes it easy for you to access your postal mail from anywhere. - Add content about CBD and accessibility,
Business Address
Singapore law requires all local companies to have a registered Singapore address. A virtual office solution can act as the official corporate and operating address for your company, providing one permanent address for all business communications. Use your Singapore address for government registration or on business cards, company letterhead or to register a website.
Personal Address
You have one Singapore address where you can receive mail and packages everyday - even when you're traveling. Choose to forward your mail to any local or international address and get all packages delivered right to your door, no matter how many times you move.
The service should accept mails and signs for packages everyday, so you never miss a delivery and you always know what's arrived.
AUTOMATIC EMAIL ALERTS
Stay updated from anywhere
The service should ensure that you never miss a tax document or official bank statement by notifying you of every delivery - including letters, documents and packages. Automatic email alerts let you know that something has arrived, when it arrived and you can log into the system to see more details. A online system allows you to view a scanned .jpeg copy of the front and back of each envelope, so it's easy to see what's been delivered.
Easy decision making
Good systems can access a full-color scanned copy of the front and back of each envelope, so you can tell the difference between junk mail and important statements. Decide to open the envelope and scan contents, forward the mail to a new address, or trash it forever.
See a complete history
Tracking of deliveries is important, so you always have a record of what was sent and when it arrived. A copy of each scanned envelope is always available - even if you chose to trash the mail for good.
SINGAPORE MAIL STORAGE
Save or forward your mail
Ability to pick up your mail in person or have it forwarded to a new address. Pongo Post is the most convenient and secure way to receive postal mail.
Forward original documents
Check for forwarding Restrictions - list a few here and link to another web page with extensive details.
Singapore Law it is not legally allowed to accept. Bulk packages - 20 kilos 1 meter, length breadth or height perishable, flamable.
SECURE RECYCLING OR SHREDDING
Everything is shredded and sent for recycling. Safely shredding of sensitive documents or recycling of junk mail, whilst maintaining a full electronic history of your mail, including scanned copies of important documents, so you can safely dispose of the original.
KEY FEATURES
summary of all your mail scroll over images based on image, one click decision making within 24 hours we alert you that your scanned copy is available Login into system see searchable PDF organized by date, newest content on top chose not to open it, still maintain permanent hard copy of scanned envelop download or print your mail fully searchable pdf keyword search through all opened mail
The advertisement bit :):
With Pongopost and PlusConcept | SPACE Virtual Office Starter, we try to offer a state of the art, yet personal and professional solution for the above at two locations of your choice in Singapore. We are flexible enough to give your business a presence and have options to expand into virtual phone services and even desk and shared office services through PlusConcept | SPACE.
Our Singapore Office Locations
16 Purvis Street, Singapore 188595
On trendy Purvis Street near the Raffles Hotel, between City Hall, Bugis and Esplanade MRT stations.
At 16 Purvis Street we do additionally offer a professional shared office and co-working space PlusConcept SPACE
If you are looking for a workspace. Please head over to PlusConcept | SPACEhttp://space.plusconceptinc.com
If you are looking for a Virtual Phone solution please check our partner HOIIO
PlusConcept HOIIO Phone Service
Our partner HOIIO is an innovate, easy and instant communication platform to enable your business with a state of the art and instant local phone number solution and much more.
You can choose a local and proper 6 number for your business with various forward options, online/app access or connection to a sip phone. In addition there are neat features like multilingual announcements and extension forwarding.
We at PlusConcept utilise the service ourselves, as we find it the most efficient and up to date solution to provide a flexible business with a local contact number.
In cooperation with PlusConcept you will receive:
1. Free 3 months trial of all the Apps worth up to SGD 135 2. Short activation time 3. Numbers from various countries on the fly 4. No equipment needed to get started 5. Configure using the our easy to use User interface
You will get an extended trial period so you can play around and try out the service.
Tokyo Workspaces Wrap-up
Hi! Asides from our great co-working and virtual office space in Singapore PlusConcept | SPACE we have a long history working from Tokyo Co-working spaces, which actually inspired us to get a SPACE started in Singapore. In the meantime we established some partnerships and co-operations with the LEAGUE IN GINZA and MONO SPACE IN ODAIBA.
That aside a while ago we collected some info other cool work-spaces in Tokyo - quite a while ago, so no guarantee for its up-to-date-ness, but we thought we put the small list here. Enjoy.
Ginza Business Center
http://www.ginza-bc.co.jp/
http://www.ginza-bc.co.jp/en/virtual_office/service/#
RentalOfficeIndex (only in Japanese)
You can search shared offices, serviced office and/or virtual offices by area at: http://www.rentaloffice.jp/area03_kantou/tokyo.htm
Ginza Plus Net (Omotesando, Aoyama, Shibuya and more) (Japanese info only… so far)
There are more… haven’t been there yet, but a friend just joined this. Not sure about their English capabilities. They have multiple locations around Tokyo and provide business addresses too.
http://www.ginza-plus.net/
moboff:Mobile Office (shameless PR)
This is Nicolas from Design Works Project, an architectural design/real estate consultancy based in Harajuku. We design offices and advise companies on how to work better.
The project that I started, and would like to shamelessly plug, is moboff （モバフ）, short for mobile office. The concept was to combine multiple “real” office space + “cloud computing” services + a “community” of freelancers/creators/entrepreneurs etc.
Features: -5 coworking locations in Aoyama/Harajuku (members can use any and all) -cloud based WebOS service, VoIP phone, IP fax -networking events, etc.
Site: http://www.moboff.jp/en/ (I’m upgrading the site through next week)
Twitter: http://twitter.com/moboff_jp/ Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/moboff
Contact me at nico[at]moboff.jp
Cross Office Shibuya (Japanese)
Discovered an ad of something new which could be of interest to some:
www.crossoffice-s.jp
Shinjuku Business Garden
The benefit of Google ads in a nice group :-) This just popped up. SHINJUKU BUSINESS GARDEN “Shinjuku Business Garden offers private offices in our building on a monthly rental basis. Private office rental also includes our Postal Office Box, and Telephone Answering Service at no additional cost, making this a tremendous value.”
http://www.shinjuku-bg.jp/english/
3 best Tokyo cafes for the business traveller
Nice CNN GO write-up about some workable coffee shops in town.
3 best Tokyo cafes for the business traveller
Whether a corporate drone or artiste, these three spots offer coffee or tea for the jetlag and the perfect atmosphere to get some work done…. READ THE ARTICLE HERE
Tokyo 21c Club – Marunouchi
Tokyo 21c ClubCollaboration and shared office space in the Marunouchi Building. Membership based and recommendations from other members required. Seems nicely business like – but we haven’t been there ourselves. Anybody tried this one?
Tokyo 21c Club The Shin-Marunouchi Bldg. 10th floor 1-5-1, Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-6510 Phone: 03-5208-2121 Fax: 03-5208-9035
update: PlusConcept | SPACE happy to be part of the Coworking Asia Conference (Tokyo 2013) + Presentation
We are happy to represent and share our insights about Singapore Co-working at the Coworking Asia Conference in Tokyo. Thanks for inviting our PLUSCONCEPT | SPACE.
OUR PRESENTATION VISUALS
Virtual Office STARTER Special $10/month only
We are happy to offer our Singapore Virtual Office STARTER PLAN at$10*per month only.
For $120 per year you can get a fantastic address @Purvis Street. Great virtual office management and mail notifications, mail storage and upgrade to our Pro-System Pongopost for basic mail notifications
More details with an new INSTANT SIGN-UP FORM or our PlusConcept | Space website.