The concept of shared office space is burgeoning rapidly in cities like Gurgaon, Bangalore, Noida and Delhi. Startups now are looking for shared office space in Gurgaon, Bangalore, etc. Why? How is it gaining in popularity among the emerging entrepreneurs of the country?
Today, co-working spaces are in hot demand like never before. It has turned out to be a highly competitive market and contrary to the early adopters of co-working space, those who prefer to work out of co-working spaces today are not looking merely to rent an affordable office space or to get rid of the rigid ways of the traditional office.
When it comes to truly innovative interior design, co-working spaces must be wary of a number of delicate balancing acts. Office environment should be such that it not only fosters productivity, but also collaboration, so that it appeals to both the introverts and extroverts. Some of the most inspiring co-working spaces turn the simple idea of a ‘traditional office’ entirely by designing spaces that give you a cool feeling like sitting in coffee shops and less like cubicle offices of decades past.
Drag Inspiration from Cafes and Coffee Shops
Why restrict your design inspiration to co-working spaces? After all, the spirit of co-working – in many ways- resembles the work style you could see in a coffee shop than a traditional office. There are many co-working spaces that have already started to use coffee shop’s proverbial design book, seeking to imitate the environment where many of their employees feel most comfortable in getting the work done effectively.
Marketing your Venue
So now after designing your co-working space comes how do you go about filling your co-working space and building a presence in your community? It will be better to market before you launch. Ideally, you must gain some traction and word of mouth interest for your co-working space by beginning your marketing efforts ahead of your official launching. Even if you space is not ready yet, it is worth building connections and relationships out in the community so as to create a buzz in the market.
Befriend your Neighbors
Yes, you have to take it to the streets. Look for opportunities to work with other local startups in your community. And this could come in various forms like, asking local restaurants to look after the events at your co-working space, seeking discounts for your members if they are interested in utilizing restaurants, parking lots, gyms; the possibilities are just limitless.
Get Social
Social media is one of the most effective and affordable way for you to market co-working space, if done efficiently and consistently. Your first decision is to decide whether you target a hyper local or global audience, or the combination of these two. Search for the kind of people you would love to have as members. Search for the hash tags like #coworking, #startup in order to get new connections. There are many other ways to build a digital community and yes, they are definitely worth your time and money.
The One-Off
When you start marketing your co-working space, at first you don’t really know about the audience you will attract to join your community. Today, shared office space in Gurgaon has turned out to be the first priority for young entrepreneurs coming up with their innovative business ideas. But once you begin to add members, they help define your co-working space, hence it is important to ensure that you include them into the conversation.
Engaged, happy and satisfied members will want to spread the uniqueness of your space organically and remember, that kind of mouth marketing is very rare to see and the most efficacious. As at the end of the day, it is not purely about making money through your co-working space. You will witness most of the bang for your money by stressing and focusing on the needs and requirements of the people who actually use your space.
Binita kalpit is a free lancing writer for over an year with deep interest in Data Centers and Cloud computing. She is one those who like to share her knowledge with everyone to spread awareness. In her free time she likes to write songs.