Spaces that work
In my long and not-so-illustrious career I’ve experienced working in a variety of spaces – in a shared office space (no partitions, just a bunch of individual desks all lined up in a big room); in my own separate ‘fish-bowl’; and in more recent years, in a quiet, suburban home office. In terms of productivity it’s hard to separate them. In a shared office the key is to be able to ‘zone out’ and largely ignore what’s going on around you. A home office requires you to do much the same, otherwise every little distraction can eat into your time (I’m talking about the cat that suddenly wants to be fed or the washing that needs to go out on the line).
Perhaps the most productive environment I’ve worked in was the Melbourne telemarketer’s office many moons ago – in my tiny booth all I had for company was a blank wall, a phone and a list of numbers. Those days were endless!
It’s only in recent times that we’ve seen the emergence of purpose-built shared workspaces that offer the ultimate in flexibility for workers, and target both large and companies as well as individual entrepreneurs.
These co-working spaces each cater for specific market niches. Some spaces are locally owned, and others have the backing of large multinationals – but I’ve yet to walk into one that has not been impressive.
I trust you find this month’s cover story on shared spaces informative – especially if you’re weighing up the pros and cons for your business. I think if the figures stack up its well worth it. Emergency Q’s Morris Pita hit the nail on the head when he told me that “over time, your networks – that you would not have otherwise formed had you stayed ‘in your lane’ – bring you all kinds of opportunities.”
On a final note, the results of the 2019 David Awards are out – you’ll find the list of winners at www.thedavidawards.co.nz. Congratulations to all the category winners and to the supreme winner The Little Bone Broth Company. We’ll bring you a full David Awards wrap-up in our December issue.
Until then, my cat is meowing – happy reading!
Glenn H Baker editor@nzbusiness.co.nz