Co-working is a style of working wherein entrepreneurs working in different business enterprises share the same office space. Co-working as a concept is catching pace in India from the last 2 years. India now ranks third on a global scale with over 4000 startups. The pace at which new startups are being launched in India, there is not only crunch of finance, but also crunch of space. At such a time, co-working space takes care of a major chunk of the initial hurdles that these entrepreneurs face by offering a cheap but good office space.

Once upon a time there was a trend of having huge fancy working spaces. With the growth of the Internet, now having an online image and presence is considered much more important than having a physical presence. Bean bags, fancy decors, music, games have now become the things of the past. Today the young guns look for office spaces that are presentable and yet very affordable. The co-working spaces are now facilitating the startup with the ideas and concepts that they need to grow.  Co-working spaces have emerged as spaces for creating the right community for startups. They get to make connections and thus grow their network. Interestingly a lot of mentors and investors are also invited to meet these startups. Co-working spaces are also partnering with banks, restaurants, and insurance companies, etc to reduce the cost per seat. As per a lot of reports, the numbers of seats in shared offices are estimated to grow over five times in the coming times. There are co-working spaces that have around 2000 to 2500 seats. The cost per seat depends on a variety of factors, including location and facilities. A lot of co-working spaces offer facilities like help and mentoring in selling the products. They have a team that negotiates and closes the deal. What more a start-up wants!

Co-working spaces come in different packages based on the facilities being offered. Facilities like high speed Wi-Fi internet, landline, printing, conference/meeting rooms, receptionist, HR, admin support and so on. These spaces provide an environment which helps the young entrepreneurs share ideas and knowledge and collaboratively grow. Entrepreneurs prefer co-working spaces as a lot many times working from home leads to isolation while working from a coffee shop can be disturbing. Not only it diminishes the huge costs of renting a business space, it also offers a great networking opportunity. Getting the right advice and solutions to similar problems along with opportunities like getting access to workshops, seminars, industry leaders, etc. Co-working spaces are like communities of entrepreneurs. One does get motivated when you watch other entrepreneurs working, but most guys work out of co-working spaces because it is very affordable.

Audience: Referring to a lot of reports, co-working spaces are mushrooming across India's Tier I and Tier II cities. They have emerged providers of flexible working options at affordable prices. A lot of global giants such as WeWork and Spaces are expected to enter India soon. Co-working spaces have become a hub for freelancers, consultants, startups, millennial, business professionals, expats, etc.  

They choose these spaces because of the atmosphere, community Feeling, collaborative environment, location, networking opportunities, excellent co-workers, meeting spaces, event spaces, privacy, personalized space etc.

Reason why the growth rate of members is higher than the growth rate of facilities: Today and in the coming year, the co-working spaces are getting bigger, both in size and number of members and the new coworking spaces will be larger than older spaces. Looking at the future predictions, the existing spaces are paralelly expanding by adding more space and members. Operators are working hard towards getting better designs which serve more members per square foot of space.

Small town co-working emerging as a great startup idea

A business idea of encouraging the creation of new small businesses in your town, co-working is an idea you can focus on. In addition to the obvious benefits, there are many hidden benefits in co-working that researchers are beginning to discover. Co-working spaces are popping up in cities and towns of all sizes. Though these cities come with their own set of challenges, but are sure a big opportunity to be a big part of communities of all makeup and sizes.

In conclusion, co-working is definitely trending all across India. The credit goes to the upcoming co-working spaces that are being established and also the aspiring entrepreneurs. For startups, the entire process of starting a new business and working in a co-working space is very much similar to gardening. It is like planting a seed in the right type of soil. In India, Delhi, Bangalore, Pune, Coimbatore, Ahemdabad, Jaipur, Chandigarh, Mumbai etc are coming up with good co-working spaces. Looks like, the startup and co-working trends are going hand in hand!