Anyone doing the shared office thing?



Lot of great responses. I really appreciate the input.

I wrote "shared office" in my title but what I meant was co-working environment. Thanks for the link Rock.

Roger - that sounds like my ideal situation.

I guess it's different strokes for different folks.

I'm just going to go rent one. There are no long-term commitments. If it doesn't work out, I'll just stop going.
 
A friend of mine is a freelance writer and he has access to some kind of shared office space. It's like 2000 sqft of desk space, conference rooms, and a kitchenette with wifi and printer, etc. They offer "membership" like a gym.

Personally, I think the "home office" that's separate from your gaming and porn machine would help a lot. A distinct room that's for work and nothing else. Keep shit separate.

But, it's a lonely business working from home. You don't make a lot of real friends this way.
 
@ Danc1122: Maine, dude? That's tough. Are you in the boonies or a populated area? I could never do this if I wasn't right in the middle of a city. After being shacked up for a good part of the day - need to see people as soon as I step out the door.

I'm in a small town, definitely wouldn't call it a city though lol. All my friends and family live here so it's not lonely. Everyone knows everyone. But there is no one to talk to about AM or internet related gossip. I'm just the dude that mysteriously make money from his computer. I'm sure most can relate?

We should re-consider the "affiliate island" idea.
 
I had an office with a partner for a bit but things didn't end up working out. It was a pretty tit office though, it was downtown in the closest city so I often used it as an apartment on the weekends to pull girls from the bar. In the end though, parking fees, street ticketing, and commuting just got to me so I didn't renew. If i had to do it again I would get an office in the burbs somewhere, or at least a city that doesn't try to shake down their commuters through fines and fees.
 
I'm in a small town, definitely wouldn't call it a city though lol. All my friends and family live here so it's not lonely. Everyone knows everyone. But there is no one to talk to about AM or internet related gossip. I'm just the dude that mysteriously make money from his computer. I'm sure most can relate?

We should re-consider the "affiliate island" idea.

Islands for Sale, Private Islands, Luxury Real Estate
 
I tried this for a couple months last year. What I found was that I was going to an office and working and not really doing a whole lot of interacting with anyone else once we got past the first month "get to know you" stage.

^^ this
 
I agree that there needs to be a distinct, "separate" space for work. I'm lucky enough to have a detached garage for my workspace. Before this space was available I got off track pretty easily. I don't trust porn tubes, so I don't use my work computer for anything that isn't related to my sites, writing, or purchases (which increases my personal productivity).

I used to smoke a fair bit of pot before the start of the year and found that had a negative effect on my homeworking monies.
 
LOL. I've been working at home since I was 12. I've loved every second of it. I would absolutely kill myself if I had a "normal" job. But you really do need a separate place to work. For example, my home is set up on different levels. On the main level is the dining room, kitchen, and office. Upstairs there are two bedrooms and the living room (I converted the original living room that was downstairs into my office). I would hate having my office in a separate building. That would be a huge pain in the ass to keep a fast network between my personal and work computers. And it's bad enough that I keep having to go upstairs to get stuff. If I had to walk from a separate building it would really suck. 'Cause sure a shit I would lose connection to my master machine in the house and I wouldn't be able to access my files from my main office computer. Naw. I wouldn't change a thing about my work arrangements, and I'd NEVER want to go work for someone else. I've never technically had a "job" but school sucked dick and I can't imagine a real job would be any better.
 
I am amazed how well some people do at home alone all day. Ive had 3yrs of working from home and the lack of social interaction is driving me nuts. Ive looked into the shared office idea but you never know who you are going to end up with. Unless they are a friend to begin with I doubt you will be doing much talking anyway.

Try to meet someone first and then bring up the office idea. I almost had a studio space with a artist friend but she wasn't sure about the costs. Remember you don't want to just get a cubical in some big building just some where that has fewer distractions than home.
 
I gave up a small office about a year ago. At first it was good to not have all the associated bills, and spending more time at home. Now my home office resembles a war zone, completely disorganized, and I have WAY too many distractions.

So I'm looking at some new shared space sometime later this year. Plus I actually like working around other people, and getting out of the house.
 
I havn't worked with anyone around for 13 years. Don't even remember what its like.

Personally I think I would work less or be less productive working around people.

If you need structure just create it.