Since August 9, 2005, when Brad Neuberg founded the first official coworking space in the United States, the coworking movement has exploded. Several major businesses, including Instagram, Uber, and Spotify, got their start by working at coworking spaces.
Daydreaming of becoming the next Instagram or Uber? Start by booking a tour at Cohere Coworking today!
Members of Cohere Coworking, nurtured and uplifted by the values expressed by the coworking community, have experienced great successes as well. Several popular businesses, such as Akinz and The Right Card in Old Town Fort Collins, were founded by members or alumni of Cohere. Just recently, Cohere member Chrysta Bairre was featured on the front cover of NOCO Style magazine for her work with the local networking group She Goes High.
Coworking works. The reason coworking works is its adherence to the five core principles of coworking; accessibility, openness, sustainability, collaboration, and community. Here’s why.
Accessibility
The core principle of accessibility allows remote workers and freelancers the freedom they need to grow and is crucial to the success of a coworking community. It’s difficult for any type of business to succeed without access to the resources needed to get the work done.
Technological resources like Slack and Zoom allow coworking spaces to facilitate essential community interactions with members even when they are unable to attend physically. This allows coworking communities to include members from any corner of the globe, like these far-flung Coherians.
Although some coworking spaces may have limited access times, most, like Cohere Coworking, allow access to their physical space at any time of day or night. This physical accessibility allows members to attend meetings and converse with clients overseas before sunrise, or to work on their passion projects late into the night.
Openness
Coworking communities are designed for the easy exchange of ideas, an exchange that fuels growth, both personally and professionally. For an easy exchange of ideas to work, however, community members must feel open to freely share those ideas. Maintaining an open and inclusive community means more opportunities to both give and receive valuable ideas and information.
The nature of most coworking spaces also means that they are constantly shifting and evolving. You never really know who you might meet on any given day or what new brilliant tidbit of information will come out in conversation. Becoming an active member of a coworking community helps to open up the world in unexpected and empowering ways—often providing astonishing opportunities for growth.
Sustainability
When most people think of sustainability they think of green practices and environmental impacts. While we do attempt to lessen our negative environmental impact here at Cohere, when we are talking about sustainability as a core principle of coworking, we are discussing the sustainability of the community and each of its members.
This internal sustainability is achieved because the coworking model encourages members to support, nourish, and lift each other up. The relationships fostered by a good coworking community can benefit its members immensely, providing solutions for tricky problems and encouragement to get over the inevitable stumbling blocks of entrepreneurship and remote work, as well as cultivating lifelong alliances. This is especially true of the friendship-based community here at Cohere. We understand that by building and nurturing strong friendships and partnerships, we can enrich both our personal and professional lives.
Collaboration
As a member of a coworking community, the opportunities for collaboration, one of the five core principles, are countless. Need an accountant, graphic artist, or web designer to help with your next project? If one of your coworkers isn’t available for hire, there’s a good chance they know someone who is. Looking for advice on how to handle a difficult client or which program to use to keep your books in order? Ask a coworker!
Collaboration doesn’t have to stop with business-related requests either. Solve all of your worldly problems, from repairing plumbing to finding the best pizza in Fort Collins. Just ask around—someone at Cohere will know just where to go.
Community
The core principle of community is paramount in the coworking world. Just coming into the office to work without interacting with your coworkers will provide a safe, comfortable environment to be productive in, much a classroom or a library. Coworking can be so much more than just a place to do your work, though.
Coming to events, communicating on Slack, and otherwise engaging with your coworkers not only provides that safe, comfortable environment, it also provides members with answers to difficult questions, the occasional shoulder to cry on, and an enhanced sense of purpose and belonging. It’s really what it’s all about.
Joining a coworking offers you much more than a place to sit and get work done. Because of the five core principles that the coworking movement was founded on, becoming part of a coworking community like Cohere Coworking doesn’t offer your business just what it needs to get by, it gives you the tools your business needs to thrive.
Find the support you need to thrive in any situation! Sign up for a virtual or in-person tour of Cohere Coworking today.
About the Author: Cohere member Penny Leigh Sebring is an experienced freelance writer, neophyte speculative fiction author, and a gatherer of information and imaginary friends.
Photo by Hannah Busing on Unsplash