Office? We Don't Need No Stinkin Office!

One of the biggest obstacles for the Hustler and Grinder (and their cousin, the Freelancer) is where do you actually do your work?  I'm not talking about where you live, or where you put in your grind, but where you actually sit down to do your paperwork? Brainstorm? Respond to email?  Like it or not having a business means a commitment to keeping up with the paperwork, and a thriving (or growing) business can generate a hell of a lot of it.

If you are well disciplined and have the space you can do your thing at home.  I envy you.  I have never really been able to be at maximum productivity at home, I'm surrounded by too much of my "stuff" and yes, it distracts me.

To maintain my productivity, and keep the paperwork from piling up, I needed someplace that had fewer distractions AND provided an environment for stimulating creativity.  The ideal workplace had to have access to fast internet, comfortable desks/seating and of course CLEAN BATHROOMS!  It also had to have access to good food, cause a good power lunch can really boost your productivity.  Last but not least it also had to have good coffee, cause, well coffee rules!

So I started hunting for places in NYC that had creative energy, were designed for entrepreneurs and freelancers and most importantly were affordable!  My local Starbucks served me well for a while, but it also served other people well too and has become so popular that there is a fight for desk space during prime time hours now, which totally negates it as a reliable creativity and paperwork grind spot.  Sorry Starbucks, I'll miss your iced lemon cake.

The local library?  My local library was way too crowded with people doing everything other than working, worse distractions than at home!  Plus libraries have crappy hours.  The main library at 42nd Street and Fifth?  As much as I love that place there is a LOT of foot traffic from tourists since its a major (and free) tourist attraction here in NYC.

What I needed was an office environment without paying NYC office space prices.  It should be simple to find someplace like that in New York City, right?  Not!  Not on my budget anyway.

So what's a hustler to do?  My solution was co-working spaces!

What are those you may be asking?  These are spaces that offer "virtual offices".  Virtual offices are sometimes dedicsted, sometimes shared (as in shared with other businesses and/or individuals) office spaces that offer either dedicated or "hot" desks, and (depending on the coworking space) the amenities and utilities of a modern office.  If you are wondering a "hot desk" is a first-come, first-serve desk (yea, that had me stumped at first too!).

Cowork spaces can include conference rooms, whiteboards, copiers, printers, bathrooms, coffee, kitchens and fast internet hookups.  Some even offer mailing and UPS/FedEx shipping and receving.  These services are available on an hourly, daily, weekly or monthly fee arrangement (depending on the rules, operating hours and amenities of the co-working space).

Here in NYC coworking offices are popping up everywhere and the competition among them is fierce.  Some of the more popular spots are WeWork, The Yard, The Farm, Criossant Coworking,  Recently even Staples and Office Depot are getting into the act (which is a smart move if you ask me)! 

 

Which Coworking Space Did I Choose? 

After a little research I settled on KettleSpace NY.  Why KettleSpace?  The price!  For as little as $25 a month I can work 10 hours at any Kettlespace location and there are multiple locations throughout the city and Brooklyn.  This a a bargain, in fact I'd say it was a steal!  For $2.50 an hour I get to work around other creative entrepreneurs, drink unlimited coffee and depending on the location enjoy some snacks.

 

Remember Your Taxes!

Depending on how you use coworking you can also deduct the cost from your taxes!

Some Rules for Co-Working

Interested? Curious? OK.  Before you jump into it yourself it helps to understand some basic rules for coworking.   The basic rules for working in any office apply, but there are a few extra things to keep in mind.

• Leave attitudes home! - Done right you are part of a community, act like it!  
• Be Flexible - You may not get your favorite seat regularly, but so what!
• Be Social! - It's a community.  A community of other entrepreneurs just like you.  Network!
• Bring Your Own Supplies - No one likes a moocher.  Most other community members are super nice but don't take advantage of their kindness.
• Keep the Noise Down - Remember there are other people working, keep your personal noise to a minimum.  This means your music/headphones and cell phone conversations.

My Thoughts

This is an arrangement that works well for me, I am more than pleased.  THe price, service and support from the team at Kettlespace has been excellent, you really do feel like part of a greater community of entrepreneurs

By The Way

The title of this blog post refers to the video clip I embedded here:

It's from one of my favorite movies "The Tresure of Sierra Madre" and has gone on to become a pop legend reference.  Yes, its totally politically incorrect, apologies to my Mexican brothers for that.