If you are a small business owner or a solopreneur, you might feel that it is cost-effective as well as feasible to work from home. But working from home on a long-term basis leads to loneliness and distractions, which is not ideal for your business. So, working from home may not be a practical approach if you are aiming to grow your business in the long run.

What if you do not have enough resources to hire a physical office? Office spaces tend to be too expensive and require a long-term commitment. In such cases, you should opt for a coworking office space which is a flexible and affordable alternative to the traditional offices and offers several benefits which can help you grow your business by leaps and bounds. The rapid growth of mobile-driven workforce, shared economy and knowledge intensive careers is the major reason which is responsible for alternative workspace models like coworking office spaces. The increased popularity of coworking spaces makes it obvious that they are here to stay and thrive. Networking, growth and flexibility are the prime benefits of coworking spaces.

Here are few of the prime advantage of coworking for the SMEs and solo entrepreneurs.

1. Easy and fast setup– Coworking spaces provide a ready-made setup with all the necessary facilities for the smooth operations of your business. All you need to do is to bring your laptop and start working. So, this is perfect for any SME or startup operating on a limited.
2. Affordability– Coworking spaces charge an affordable membership fee that is significantly lower than the rent of a traditional office. The office cabins, workstations, conference rooms and cafeteria are available 24/7 and can be rented as per requirement. Many of the evolved coworking spaces also feature extra facilities like gyms, wellness centres, sick bays, doctors-on-call, gym etc.
3. Better location and office space– The shared office spaces are usually located in prime locations and major business districts of metropolitan cities and are available at an affordable price package. This provides a great opportunity to the small business owners to access the offices in locations convenient to them.
4. Scalability and flexibility– Most coworking spaces usually offer monthly lock-ins as compared to the long-term leases offered by traditional office spaces. As you are paying the monthly rentals, you can upgrade or downgrade your plan every month. With the expansion or contraction of your business, you can opt to increase or decrease the number of workstations you are opting for.
5. Complimentary amenities– There are several complementary facilities available when you opt for a coworking membership like high-speed internet connectivity, pantry services including tea and coffee, etc. This eventually cuts down on the daily costs.
6. Networking opportunities– A coworking space is shared by bright and ambitious people, several of whom are innovators. So, there is a good chance of finding few like-minded peers with whom you can associate and grow your business.
7. Model of paying commensurate to your usage– Solo entrepreneurs and SMEs can choose several facilities in a coworking space for which you just need to pay whatever you are opting to use. Some of these facilities include the conference rooms, meeting rooms, ideating rooms, brainstorming spaces like interestingly themed terrace cafes, events, workshops etc.
8. Funding opportunities– Several well-organized coworking spaces connect startups with their Venture Capital partners. These Venture Capital partners mentor the entrepreneurs in the best possible manner and help them take their businesses to the next level.

The shared or coworking spaces undoubtedly create the best environment for nurturing productivity and creativity. Also, these workspaces are perfect places to blend knowledge sharing, collaboration and fun. These components build up the perfect eco-system for growth of startups and SMEs. iKeva is one of the most dependable coworking office providers present in major cities in India. For any queries or suggestions, feel free to write to us in the comment box below.