Congrats!
You’ve finally joined your local coworking space and are excited to get started. But how exactly should you do that? What’s the best approach to embarking on and making the most of your coworking membership?
Here, we offer our top three tips — quick and easy steps to help you make your experience in a coworking space a success.
Check the Calendar
Most coworking spaces publish monthly calendars detailing workshops, training, and other educational opportunities. While you should be on the lookout for events to attend that will support your solopreneur or startup goals, you should also consider what wisdom you might share with your new coworking community.
Think of your expertise and how to package it into a short presentation or helpful Q&A session for coworking members who could benefit from learning more about your skill set or service. Approach your coworking space host and ask to be included in the calendar of events, which is a great way to get a jump on our next tip…
Connect with Your Coworking Colleagues
If you’re an outgoing individual, connecting with your new coworking colleagues is probably as easy as a quick chat in the elevator or while waiting for your coffee to fill from the percolator. For others, it’s just not that easy.
In either case, you should seek out opportunities to connect with your fellow co-workers that feel natural and authentic to you. So, maybe it’s offering a small workshop on best business accounting practices, or organizing a panel of associates to give a presentation on can’t miss marketing moves for solopreneurs.
You might peruse the membership listings and invite a colleague for a coffee, lunch, or one-on-one meeting to ask about their business and how it might serve yours.
Whatever aligns with your comfort zone, try to strategize how to grow your network and introduce yourself to the coworking community surrounding you.
Make the Space Yours
Consider this coworking space your home office away from home office, minus the distractions that likely brought you here in the first place. Use the amenities provided by your membership and ensure that you’re taking advantage of all that is offered.
Bring whatever you need from home to support your productivity and overall comfort. For instance, even a quiet environment can come with a level of noise pollution all its own — whether traffic, an incessant pen tapping, or just the rapid-fire clicking of laptop keys. Grab your headphones and tune into whatever white noise or preferred music gets you in the zone.
If your membership includes a private office, consider personalizing the space with a favorite plant or photo; doing so might make you 15% more productive.
Even if you don’t need dedicated private office space, choosing a common area ideal to your working preferences is key. Do you gravitate more towards natural light? A window view? Let’s say you can’t afford any distractions. Selecting a spot around the perimeter and perhaps facing a wall, rather than a window or other area of the coworking space, might prove to be your most productive solution.
Once you’ve spent some time exploring your new coworking space, you’ll find more ways to make the experience even more advantageous.
We always welcome feedback from our members, so if you have other ideas of perks or features you would like to see offered at Spark Offices, send them on over right away!
