Welcome to the eleventh day of the 30 days writing challenge of this year. You can find a list of all the articles I wrote at the end of each article. Please have a look at the end of it to understand how can you participate in this one.

CoWorking? What's That?

10 years ago, this concept would have been considered impractical, if not downright ridiculous. Why on Earth will someone go to a place where there is no fixed office, where you're almost forced to work alongside unknown persons and pay for that? But, as the digital nomading phenomenon started to pick up, coworking became the "de facto" way of working for this new breed of modern breadwinners.

I've been using coworking spaces extensively, for more than 10 years now and, for two and a half years, I even managed my own one, a place of more than 500 square meters. Incidentally, that business didn't finish well, but that's another story. The good thing is that I learned a lot from that failure.

Now, back to our best practices post.

1. What Are The Services?

I think the most important thing you want to find out is what types of services that space offers. Thee are typically flex desks, fixed desks, separate rooms and some combinations of those. It's important to know if you can grow, like upgrading the service you first get, or, in the case your needs are growing, you'll have to find another place. I think at this level you can also include "services" like free coffee, meeting rooms, etc.

2. What Is The Price

The second most important thing is obviously the price. Now it's getting flatter, but in the beginning there was a lot of variation in price, so you could easily get fried. The regular price for a flex desk is now between $100 and $160, and for a fixed desk from $150 - $220, but that obviously varies based on many criteria: location, freelancers density in that area, real estate price, transportation and access, etc.

3. How's The Internet?

Once you got the first two sorted out, it's time to test the internet. From my own experience, this is the most common source of problems, because it's very difficult to shape a connection that would accommodate such a diverse user base. Some people need video calls, others are doing uploads, others are just downloading a lot, and others may need permanent connections to specific services. So, make your due diligence and make sure the internet meets your needs.

4. What Are The Events?

One of the best things about coworking is their vibrant social life. It's not only a place where you work, but also a place where you meet other people, make friends, find clients or business partners. Some coworking spaces have a full agenda, while others may keep only a small list of events. Make sure you pick the one that suits your needs at that specific moment. I personally prefer coworking spaces with a lot of events, but your mileage may vary.

5. Is There A Niche For That Coworking Space? Do I Fit In?

Many coworking spaces are actually finding a specific niche and stick with it. All purpose coworking spaces are less and less popular (and, being in that business I can tell you that they are harder to maintain than niched ones) so you should take this into account. There are coworking spaces for artists, for programmers, even for lawyers. Pick the niche that will help you grow.

So, this was my (very short) list of best practices for choosing, and working from, a coworking space.

How Do I Participate In This Challenge?

The criteria for @challenge30days account to vote your post are:

• post must be at least 300 words long
• post must be original
• post must be on best practices
• post must use the #challenge30days tag

Previous Posts In The Challenge

• January 2019 Challenge 30 Days - Best Practices For Keeping A Successful 30 Days Challenge
• January 2019 Challenge 30 Days - Best Practices For Selecting Relevant Crypto Projects (Day Two)
• January 2019 Challenge 30 Days - Best Practices For Surviving In The STEEM Universe (Day Three)
• January 2019 Challenge 30 Days - Best Practices For Working Remote (Day Four)
• January 2019 Challenge 30 Days - Best Practices For Working From Coffee Shops (Day Five)
• January 2019 Challenge 30 Days - Best Practices For Learning A New Language (Day Six)
• January 2019 Challenge 30 Days - Best Practices For Choosing A Crypto Exchange (Day Seven)
• January 2019 Challenge 30 Days - Best Practices For Running (Day Eight)
• January 2019 Challenge 30 Days - Best Practices For Getting A Good, Relaxing Sleep (Day Nine)
• January 2019 Challenge 30 Days - Best Practices For Incorporating Yoga Into Your Daily Routine (Day Ten)

Steem on!

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I'm a serial entrepreneur, blogger and ultrarunner. You can find me mainly on my blog at Dragos Roua where I write about productivity, business, relationships and running. Here on Steemit you may stay updated by following me @dragosroua.

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