Do you rent an office?

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quickpost

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Nov 26, 2006
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I'm considering renting an office in a coworking space to get out of the house and be around other people a bit more. Do any of you guys who operate independently (i.e. no employees / one man business) do this right now? What's your experience been like working around other people as an affiliate marketer?

Just curious to hear people's thoughts...
 


Seeing most the pictures in the "home office setups" i would assume not. I have a "home" office, and an office. If you have the funds it works out good, plus don't get nothing too fancy unless you need it.
 
Depends on your work ethic and your ability and desire to work from home. Some people can't work from home because they get distracted by other things or don't have the contact with other people (like you mentioned).

Good thing is rental places are cheap - especially shared offices (like you said you were looking into). If you can afford it and it would benefit you, then you should think about getting one. Again, like many posts here say - this is your business so treat it like one.

Good luck.
 
I now rent an office having worked from home for the last 18 months and I've gotta say it's the best move I've made. Having dedicated space away from home where I have to get dressed and go in has restored my life back to a reasonable balance (and avoided the threat of divorce ;-) but the main benefits come from being in the kind of environment that I have been used to for most of my workling life, which has a big impact on my mental approach and focus. I find I am much better prepared to put in a full day and am much more disciplined and inclined to stick to what needs to be done just by being in an office environment.

My other half had also been complaining that she felt I was getting a bit socially isolated. Personally I think I was coping ok but I have to say its great to once again be able to swear at other drivers on the way to work, chat with someone over a cigarette break, exchange pleasantries with people in the corridoor, listen to the radio on the way home and there's nothing quite like have a couple of nice receptionists around to flash a smile/wink at in the morning.

Searching for office space was a bit of a pain (the agencies are more gate-keepers then helpful) but once I found what I was looking for, moving in has been a doddle - I even have faster broadband than at home.
 
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i have an office and just hired a full-time salary employee in september, i worked at home for a few months about a year ago and there were too many distractions. Plus i couldn't be in the same play 20 hours a day. I like to get out. Plus having an office is cool.

I'm also married with a kid so i may have more distractions at home than you. And if i had an office at home i would just never stop working...
 
Rodent said:
I now rent an office having worked from home for the last 18 months and I've gotta say it's the best move I've made. Having dedicated space away from home where I have to get dressed and go in has restored my life back to a reasonable balance (and avoided the threat of divorce ;-) but the main benefits come from being in the kind of environment that I have been used to for most of my workling life, which has a big impact on my mental approach and focus. I find I am much better prepared to put in a full day and am much more disciplined and inclined to stick to what needs to be done just by being in an office environment.

My other half had also been complaining that she felt I was getting a bit socially isolated. Personally I think I was coping ok but I have to say its great to once again be able to swear at other drivers on the way to work, chat with someone over a cigarette break, exchange pleasantries with people in the corridoor, listen to the radio on the way home and there's nothing quite like have a couple of nice receptionists around to flash a smile/wink at in the morning.

Searching for office space was a bit of a pain (the agencies are more gate-keepers then helpful) but once I found what I was looking for, moving in has been a doddle - I even have faster broadband than at home.
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This.

I moved into an office out of my apartment, room mate + guests + TV + fridge full of beer = way too easy to slack off.
 
coworking is the dumbest thing I have ever heard of.. no privacy, people looking over your shoulder at all times, web idiots asking you questions about your business every 5 minutes? yeah sounds awesome!
 
I went through this exact same thing - I built a standalone office in my backyard which has also restored my work:life balance (and ability to be on the phone w/ kids in the house!), however had I not opted to do this I would have office space- in fact prior to starting construction this was my plan.

For me however the break even on costs was about a year and I figured there was no sense in adding a commute back into my life just for the sake of it.

But I'm married and boring. If I were single I would probably have office space solely to get out and meet/talk to people.
 
Sonny Forelli said:
I went through this exact same thing - I built a standalone office in my backyard which has also restored my work:life balance (and ability to be on the phone w/ kids in the house!), however had I not opted to do this I would have office space- in fact prior to starting construction this was my plan.

For me however the break even on costs was about a year and I figured there was no sense in adding a commute back into my life just for the sake of it.

But I'm married and boring. If I were single I would probably have office space solely to get out and meet/talk to people.
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How does that make sense?

I rent out office space in a large building and I've never talked to anyone besides the secretary, and I'm a pretty sociable person. If you're getting office space in a communal building, the other people are all doing their own shit and sitting in their offices all day, they probably won't be talking to you, or at the least have no real reason to talk to you.
 
You can get land for cheap these days. I would buy some land out in the middle of nowhere. Buy one those small offices that you see on construction sites. Hire 2-4 people to run the office. Then doing nothng all day long and wait for the checks to roll in.
 
BluAffiliate said:
How does that make sense?

I rent out office space in a large building and I've never talked to anyone besides the secretary, and I'm a pretty sociable person. If you're getting office space in a communal building, the other people are all doing their own shit and sitting in their offices all day, they probably won't be talking to you, or at the least have no real reason to talk to you.
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:confused: depends very much on your office environment, i guess. the office i rent is in a building with mostly web entrepreneurs and the occasional law firm startup, and yes, while everyone has their own working day it also feels very much like a 'social network' as one should properly be. breakfast [which i have at home...] lunchtime and dinners are held in a good looking cafeteria, and if you're even one ounce of spontaneous, it'll be very easy and welcome to strike conversations with just about anyone. there is a Brazilian guy here who runs an artist management studio and i see people who own casual/learning game companies and web developers hit him up for collabs with his artists all the time. it's a great place to be.
 
evelynds said:
:confused: depends very much on your office environment, i guess. the office i rent is in a building with mostly web entrepreneurs and the occasional law firm startup, and yes, while everyone has their own working day it also feels very much like a 'social network' as one should properly be. breakfast [which i have at home...] lunchtime and dinners are held in a good looking cafeteria, and if you're even one ounce of spontaneous, it'll be very easy and welcome to strike conversations with just about anyone.
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Look dude, let me be real with ya. Getting an office, in a communal office structure, with the purpose of being more social is kind of stupid. Most of the people that work there are either startup/self business/web entrepreneurs that are focused on their own projects religiously and won't want to strike up new conversations or friendships with dudes they meet at their office space.

I consider myself pretty spontaneous, and I've been told I'm relatively easy to talk to. However, if you tried to talk to me at work, while I'm in the elevator, or while I'm eating lunch, I'd find you a little creepy. Sure, I'd smile, chat with you a little bit, but it won't get past that. I'd just be thinking, just like I treat dudes that talk to me at a party for some reason, 'why's this guy talking to me?' 'what does he want?' 'where are his friends?' unless you had something really interesting to say.

If you wanna meet friends join a club or do a sport. Don't try to chat up employees at work for a business that you don't work at.
 
that is not how i experience my workplace, at all :-P

sure, they are individual working spaces and people need their time to work on w/e their profession is. but it is a friendly atmosphere. what's the point of having good-looking and socially-designed cafeteria's and lots of green lounge space if it's not for people to be there, meet and hold conversation? if every single person in a building approached other people exactly the way you do, no one would speak, ever.. and we could throw out all sofa's at the central palm tree lol

edit: you mention 'come up to people' frequently. this is of course a ludicrous thing and does not happen around there either. people are open to interaction during proper time space. it's not hard to figure it out.
 
OP sounds like you're spending money (renting an office) to socialize.

Hustle at home and then head to the bar, or go to meetup.com and hang out.

Simplicity is key, no need to complicate shit. When you rent an office now you have to fucking commute to work like a bird.
 
Seems to be a lot of dispute over whether an office can be a place to socialise. Like evelynds, the office I am in is basically a collection of small offices stuffed full of web designers, finance people and techies. In fact they checked which sector I was in before I took the office as they like to keep it that way. They don't hassle me and I don't hassle them when in our respective offices or when busy but we say 'hi' in the corridoors and there are break areas where you can go sit to have a coffee and read a magazine for 5 minutes away from the screen, and being a smoker I pop out to the 'bus shelter' round the back now and again. In both areas there are often people who are happy to pass the time of day and, while this isn't exactly earth-shattering socialisation, it is kinda nice and much closer to what I've been used to when I was a wage slave. It's also a good networking opportunity as I have now met two web designers who were interested in the fact that I can do the hard-core, back-end programming and if the right job comes along I might end up putting some work their way as well.

The trick is probably to find the right office but the point is not the social opportunities, its the working practices that being in an office brings. If you prefer to slob around at home half-dressed and surrounded by empty beer cans and crisp packets (like I was a few months ago) then that's ok but, as I've discovered, I really benefit from the structure and discipline that having an office brings.
 
If my AM attempts ever become large enough I would def. opt for office space. Just to get out of the house. I already work from home and it's suffocating.
 
sgtryan said:
coworking is the dumbest thing I have ever heard of.. no privacy, people looking over your shoulder at all times, web idiots asking you questions about your business every 5 minutes? yeah sounds awesome!
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Pretty much depends on where you cowork. Some places are great and full of people who are mature and respect privacy. Others are full of Mary Kay and other Pyamid bullshit 'consultants' who do nothing but jack off and chat about nothing all day, then don't renew their space next month because they can't afford it, prompting a newb 'consultant' to take the space and start the cycle all over again.

Most places have strict rules about how to act after someone has declined to chat or requested a quieter environment.

pileofcrap said:
If my AM attempts ever become large enough I would def. opt for office space. Just to get out of the house. I already work from home and it's suffocating.
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I have a stay at home wife and 2 kids, suffocating doesn't come close to describing it.

Every 3 months I have to talk to the woman and tell her 8-5 means no interruptions, period. If you don't have a sitter for the kids, you can't go out until 5 when I can be done. Then of course I get to work 3-5 more fucking hours later that night because the woman 'needs her personal time'.

There is a NICE place 5 blocks from here a buddy of mine owns and will give me for $300/mo (1000sqft), and I'm seriously considering moving out. The problem is I hate getting dressed. Pajama pants and a t-shirt are my official work uniform and I kind of love that!
 
I rented a small offic with enough space for me and two others, within walking distance of my house. Costs me £175 ($260)/month and has definitely been a very worthwhile investment.
 
sleepylee said:
I rented a small offic with enough space for me and two others, within walking distance of my house. Costs me £175 ($260)/month and has definitely been a very worthwhile investment.
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Where are you based dude? That sounds quite good value. West London where I am seems to be £300~ish.

Edit: in fact for three people more like £700
 
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