There has been a significant increase in working from home, hybrid working, and coworking since 2019. Among startups, new business owners, and “solopreneurs,” coworking has grown in popularity because it’s more accessible and flexible.
Coworking spaces eliminate the divide between working from home and working in a traditional office. Businesses can rent portions of these flexible spaces to create a dedicated workspace for their staff.
How the Philippine Startup Ecosystem is Changing
The startup ecosystem in the Philippines is expanding rapidly as more and more young professionals launch their own businesses. A survey by QBO Innovation Hub and PwC Philippines showed that there are currently more than 300 companies in the nation. The majority opened between 2012 and 2017.
According to the 2017 Philippine Startup Survey, 54% of the founders surveyed continued to launch new enterprises between 2016 and 2017. This despite local and global concerns. The report said this is a sign of the high degree of trust in the nation’s economy, government, and overall business environment. It added that 86 percent of the 106 CEOs and founders polled believed that the business outlook for the nation will improve over the next 12 months.
Why Coworking Spaces are Designed for Startups
Given the research and statistics about how the Philippine Startup ecosystem is drastically changing, here are the major reasons why coworking spaces can contribute to its evolution and further development and why it’s beneficial to startups.
1. Flexibility to Grow
A number of startups generally find it difficult to expand their workforce as the business grows when confined to a traditional office. If you intend to expand your personnel in the upcoming months, signing a two-year office lease is the last thing you want to do.
Coworking spaces provide membership options that range from shared spaces to dedicated spaces and private offices. This is especially crucial during the early phases of growth when the budget is tight. Sharing a table with other companies may be used at first by a business with just two or three employees. But when the staff expands, they may move into a small office without a fuss.
2. Opportunities to Make New Connections
Developing relationships and connections to expand your business is another crucial aspect of being a startup company. But if you are new to the market, this may be very challenging. Startups can benefit greatly from the networking opportunities that coworking spaces provide. You will be surrounded by people you can learn from and who can learn from you. Whether that would be at organized networking or social events or just over coffee.
Since coworking spaces are populated by like-minded individuals, they are a perfect place to network, establish collaborations, and make valuable connections.
3. Managing Resources More Efficiently
One of the most important considerations when looking for a place to settle in for a startup company is price. Renting, running, and furnishing an office can get quite expensive. You’ll need to pay for the office equipment, amenities, maintenance, and Wi-Fi.
Coworking spaces, on the other hand, are usually rented out completely furnished and with Wi-Fi. You’ll just have to bring your business in and settle down, that’s it. Every area is planned and furnished with the typical working professional in mind. You can find anything you would need during your typical working day. Weremote Makati Cinema Square even has an entire mall waiting for you just outside its coworking doors for your work-life balance.
4. Speaking of Work-Life Balance…
So there’s work in the office and there’s work from home. Coworking spaces are ideal for people who want to combine the two types of work. While working from home has a lot of advantages, work fatigue could set in. This is because the line between your professional and personal lives become blurred. Having a location to go to work but not exactly the office is really good for people’s mental health. It makes the home a respite from the hustle again.
It’s crucial to separate your personal and professional lives, especially for young business owners or startups. A practical way to create the boundary between work and leisure is to use a coworking space for your professional tasks. Then you can go home and relax, or, in the case of Weremote MCS, you can go malling right after work to shop, dine, play billiards or bowling, or simply to unwind.
5. A Space for Sharing Bright Ideas
Coworking areas are ideal places to generate ideas. Startups operate on ideas, thus the more you have, the better your chances of succeeding. In a co-working space, people can collaborate and exchange ideas with others who share their interests.
You can talk to individuals from various industries to find out more about their companies or to see if they could be potential business partners for your own. Since co-working spaces offer more laid-back settings than traditional networking events, they can be the best place to connect with others. People find it easier to venture outside of their comfort zones and establish new connections in a shared space.
6. Promotes Better Productivity
In order to maximize productivity, coworking spaces are constructed with ideal lighting, with comfortable desks and chairs. When working from home, it is incredibly likely to become engrossed in household duties or other distractions. Working from a traditional office can sometimes be boring. But in a coworking space, individuals find themselves in the company of others sharing the same earnestness at work, which helps drive efficiency and productivity.
Amenities and Services Designed for Startups
For startups and new businesses that want to create a professional working environment for their workers without having to commit to the extensive leases of a typical office, coworking spaces are an excellent option. Coworking spaces provide companies a wealth of chances to develop their networks, gain new skills, and build stronger teams. In addition, they also provide a kitchen or pantry with usually free brewed coffee and drinking water and restroom facilities.
Final Thoughts
If you’re looking for a coworking space that is both flexible and customizable, you can check out Weremote’s private office spaces. If you want to keep exploring about coworking spaces in Metro Manila, you can learn more about hybrid work by reading this article.
Weremote stands as a community where professionals and businesses thrive, offering a dynamic environment for growth. As the coworking brand of Wrkspace Office Management and Solutions Inc., Weremote continues to foster professional development and build vibrant communities. Weremote is a portfolio company of AHG Lab, the largest independent venture builder in the Philippines.
