Business In General

Just wanted to drop a little note about a new Atlanta Coworking Space downtown called the 200 Office.

As a self employed web developer and entrepreneur living here in Atlanta, it is important for me to have some kind of working space that allows me to focus on my tasks and not become distracted. If I do not finish my jobs, I do not get paid. There is no one signing off checks for me every two weeks just for ‘showing up’.

Many of you in this same situation are probably like me, currently using a space in your home to do ‘work’, meeting up with clients at their office or at the local coffee shop, etc. While this lifestyle is what many people dream of, getting outside of the office, it is not always the best place to actually get some work done.

At home, I have all my other toys staring me in the face waiting to play. My dog wants to go out, I want to pick up the guitar for just a second(always turns out to be 30 minutes or more), maybe I just step outside to work on my garden. These things all have their time and place, and that time is not when I need to get crackalackin on some jobs.

At the coffee shop, it’s loud, it’s relatively unprofessional of an environment tho can be very relaxing and a great place to meet new people, but ultimately distracting.

Over the last year or so I have seen quite a few small coworking spaces opening up and hoping, wishing, and praying for one close to my home. Finally the time has come.

What is Coworking?

Coworking is kind of like showing up to an office as you would in any regular job, but designed around the mobile entrepreneur. Everything you would need to run your business is available to you at a much lower monthly cost than renting your own office and supplying yourself with all the necessary amenities.

Think about this, you go to a coffee shop to have a meeting so that you do not have to bring your clients into your home. They don’t need to see how many dishes your family or roommates have left around, have your dog jumping on them the whole time, or generally need to know where you live anyway.

You also might hit the coffee shop just to get some fresh air outside of being in your house ALL DAY LONG.

Also, as a small business or self entrepreneur, you want to keep your overhead down, so it seems silly to spend $2,000 or more per month leasing some small office in the strip mall down the street.

Every business has similar needs, copy machines, fax machines, internet access, meeting rooms, mailing addresses, etc.

But why should EVERY business have to pay for one of their own? They don’t, and this is where Coworking comes in.

Here in Atlanta, especially after the past few years of a slow economic growth, more and more people are starting up their own businesses, which means more and more people need places to run these businesses.

Why not share a very professional environment with all of these people?

Coworking spaces allow just that, and with that comes a ton of benefits. For instance, as a web developer, almost every small business is a probably purchaser for me. Every business in this day and age needs some kind of website, and if I am working in close proximity to these people, there is a good chance I’ll be able to pick up some new jobs from them.

Another example, every business needs a lawyer at one point or another. What if there was a lawyer working in YOUR office? Knowing and working beside this person will build trust and allow easy access to take care of your needs.

My Favorite Part Of Coworking

The first time I actually stepped into a coworking space I was immediately overwhelm by the high energy that was buzzing around. Lots of other people around focusing and working on their businesses in the same room at the same time. At that point I knew I had to find one close to me so that I could begin doing the same.

Just being in that room made me want to stay on track and get my work done. Knowing that all these other people were hard at work somehow motivated me to want to work hard too. That alone is worth the price of admission for me.

Anyways, at this point in my business and my life, I feel strongly that I need to get out of the house to become a more efficient worker. When I found out about the 200 Office coworking space, I just on the bandwagon ASAP and have been anxiously awaiting it’s arrival since then.

Sub Notes

I am honored to announce that my team at Web Devils is going to the first Web Development affiliate for 200 Office. This means that I will be coworking, possible with you, a few times a week and offering my services to all members of the space. Membership is CHEAP, especially compared to some of the other already existing coworking spaces around Atlanta.

More details on this as it grows so stay tuned.

If you are looking for a coworking space in Atlanta, check out 200 Office.

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