Anyone doing the shared office thing?

megatabbers

New member
Jul 21, 2009
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Boston, MA
Alright. After 6 or so years of working from home I think I've had as much as I can take. It definitely has its perks but a lot of drawbacks (namely, the lack of social interaction and a LOT of dicking around).

Next week I'm going across the river to Cambridge (I'm in Boston) and getting myself a shared office. It's going to suck having to get up, shower, and "go to work" after all these years but I'm sure I'll get used to it pretty quick.

I'm quite confident my productivity will increase and being around other like-minded people won't be too bad either.

Anyone else done this recently (or at all)? Interested in hearing other peoples' experiences.
 


I just did the exact oppisite. Told the company I was working for that I quit and they can hire me as a contractor if they want.

So now, I stay home 99% of my life in my PJ's.

Shit fucking owns.

How long have you being doing it? I'm asking because it was awesome at the start. Moved to Europe for the first 3 years, traveled/vacationed a LOT... but it grew tiring after a while.
 
You're right, chatting with somebody over a forum isn't the same as looking at somebody right in the eye and telling them you're banking harder than his balls.

On a serious note, I've been working from home for almost 2 years now and it's getting boring so I end up just working 1 hour per day. (Tim Ferris's 4 hour work week style)
 
I'm just south of Boston. (actually going to be in Cambridge for an event tomorrow)

I own an audio/video rental company and, for me, it goes either way. Some days, I get way more shit done by working at home and others its getting up and going into the office that gets me motivated.

Where in Boston are you?
 
I'm in the same boat as you. I've been working from home ever since I graduated high school(5 years ago). I'm just too damn lazy all the time at home.

I'm thinking about getting an office space. I think that will help increase my productivity. We shall see.

Best of luck to you.
 
After 2 years, working at home is getting very old for me. I live in fucking Maine too so that makes in person networking even more difficult.

I'd love to have an office with a bunch of other affiliates or internet marketing guys. Even if we don't work together, it would be nice to have some people to talk to who understand where I'm coming from.
 
I've traveled for work on and off for 14 years.

When I'm not traveling you couldn't pay me enough to leave the house. I have a well equipped home office.

When I quit this job (aka, get bought out by my partners which is a royal pain in the ass) I may never leave the house again.
 
@ jmizzle: Fenway, right across the ballpark.

@ 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.

As for the office full of marketers... fuck yeah - would love that. I actually met another AM a few years ago and we used to work together every day.

It was AWESOME. Unfortunately we had a big fallout. He was too into reading guru ebooks and never did any work. I on the other hand would get shit done. After a while, he felt bad so we eventually lost touch.

Sucks... those were some good times.
 
I think it's a potentially big mistake to purchase office space thinking it will somehow motivate you to work.
 
Mega that sounds pretty awesome.

Working from home for more than 2 or 3 years gets pretty old. I've been working from home since 05-06...I'm getting burned out. They say don't take your job home with you, but what do people like you and I do?

But I suppose part of it isn't where we work but how much time we work in the day and what we do when we're not working.

Leading a balanced life is something I'm trying to get better at.
 
Absolute NOT. Not fucking getting dress, commuting to the office and talking at the water coolers.

Hustle hard, get your work done, then go outside and bang that spandex sporting ho' at the park.
 
How long have you being doing it?
I've been working from home for around 9 years now. And it fucking rocks.

From time to time, the thought of renting an office crosses my mind. It happens when I hit a mental block and start looking for excuses.

Whenever I'm in such mood, I simply set an alarm clock for 7AM for the following morning, and all those thoughts evaporate before I even fully wake up.

If you have salaried employees working for you, then you might need an office (and need to be present there) just to make sure those fuckers aren't dickrolling each other on company time.

But if you are a one-man operation and only hire freelancers over the net, then fuck office.
 
It's a personal thing. You have to fucking be honest with yourself. If you're not productive at home you need to GTFO so you can make more money.

I'm in a great coworking space in NYC. Couple affiliates in there. Love it there.
 
If you want more structure during your day, an going to an office can clearly help.

Just make sure the working conditions meet your ideal set up for max productivity. For me, that mean silence when I'm trying to focus or read, and loud music when cranking through projects.
 
To the OP. Have you thought about taking your home job experience and turning into a b2b type thing. I know for myself that I could never work from home full time. I would find too much other shit to do besides work.

Besides my online gig I do some sales work. Not mlm but a legit international company. My problem is I have days where I would rather one or other but I get caught up needing to work both at the same time.
 
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.

Then, I cancelled and took the $500 the space cost and changed my office to a new, different coffee shop every few days. Spent the cash on lunch, coffee, teas and when I decided I needed a break I would just chat up someone in the shop. Met a few pretty cool people, banged a couple of new broads, and overall had a blast.

I don't know what you want to call it (the "nomad" office?) but I really enjoyed it. Not sure if I would keep it up full time for years on end though.