What is Coworking. Modalities.

Definition of Coworking

The most widely accepted definition today is: "Coworking is a form of work that allows independent professionals, entrepreneurs, and small businesses from different sectors to share the same workspace, both physically and virtually, to develop their professional projects independently while fostering joint projects."

However, the concept of coworking goes far beyond sharing infrastructure and expenses. A coworking space is a "live" workspace, a place where you can have a coffee while walking around, share your ideas with other coworkers, ask for their opinions, learn from them... and who knows, maybe even find an investor who believes in your idea. It's about choosing where in the world you want to work, when, and with whom you want to surround yourself.

In this way, coworking spaces have evolved to offer not only a collaborative workspace but also a wide range of services to facilitate day-to-day operations.

Origin of Coworking

In the mid-90s, in 1995, C-Base was founded in Berlin, one of the world's first "hackerspaces." These were physical places where people worked and met. This space is a clear precursor to coworking spaces.

Bernie DeKoven is considered by many to be the father of the term coworking. He first used the term in 1999 when collaborating on tasks supported by computers and new technologies of the time.

During the first decade of the 2000s, many of these shared workspaces began to appear. In 2002, they arrived in Europe. In Austria, Schraubefabrik emerged as the first European shared workspace under the title "Community center for entrepreneurs," catering to architects, public relations professionals, freelancers, and startups. This allowed them to move from working at home to a much more professional and welcoming environment.

Despite the previous comments, the first official coworking space did not open until 2005. It was in San Francisco and was created by programmer Brad Neuberg. It started as a non-profit cooperative and offered eight desks two days a week, free Wi-Fi, shared lunches, meditation breaks, massages, and bicycle rides. A year later, the space closed, and Hat Factory, the first full-time "coworking space," took its place.

As a result, in London, a coworking network called Hub was born, and more than 40 spaces were created on five different continents. Two years later, in the United States, the term coworking was already considered a trend, which marked the success of this new way of working. From then on, major cities began to embrace this type of workspace, up to the present day.

Coworking Trend

The shared workspace model has spread around the world. In Spain, coworking is on the rise, especially since 2020, and more and more freelancers, startups, and companies are choosing to work in this mode.

The arrival of millennials has transformed the labor market and the idea of work. The pursuit of a lifelong, stable, and lasting job is no longer appealing to the younger generation. They have no fear of change and demand a people-centric, flexible, and commitment-free model. A model that improves their quality of life.

This new way of understanding the world of work has led to changing business needs. Companies need to retain their talent, and the place where they develop their projects becomes highly important. Working alone in a traditional office is not the same as working in an open space, where events and activities are organized daily, and you have a community that motivates, helps, and complements you.

Who wouldn't want an office like Google's? Or ending the workday with a swim in the sea? Or going for a hike in the mountains?

This is the trend—to make going to the office a daily motivation. To enjoy, grow professionally, and share experiences. In short, workspaces where working enhances your life.

We believe this evolution is necessary because an office should not be a place that gives you headaches but rather where you feel comfortable and inspired. New workspaces are becoming offices with services... all in one bill. So you have everything you need and can focus on developing your business.

Coworking Modalities

Hot Desk | Mobile Desk | Flexible Coworking

The flexible desk is a modality of coworking spaces that allows you to have a workspace at a desk, but it is not for individual use. Instead, it can be used by another member of the community when it's available. It's the most cost-effective option for working in a coworking space and is perfect for those who:

Only need the space for a few hours a week. Constantly travel and look for quality workspace in every city they visit. Value coexistence with other professionals, as they will have coworkers on either side and in front. Take a look at the flexible coworking options at Cowtainers.

Dedicated Desk

Dedicated desks can be reserved, meaning only the person who reserved it can use the assigned desk. Although they are still in a shared space, dedicated desks provide the coworker with the advantage of settling in and customizing the workspace to their needs.

The cost of a dedicated desk is higher than that of a hot desk.

Take a look at our dedicated desks.

Open Office

Open offices are reserved sections within the building intended for entrepreneurs with teams and companies.

An open office consists of a group of desks reserved exclusively for the team that hires it. However, they share an open space with the rest of the coworkers.

Open offices have less privacy and are more connected to the coworking environment than private offices. For team meetings, they need to reserve rooms to avoid disturbing other coworkers.

Private Office

Private offices, like open offices, are sections reserved for a work team. They offer more formality and privacy while maintaining the collaborative essence.

These offices are restricted to other members of the coworking space, and typically, access is only possible with identification.

As private offices, each team can adapt the layout of furniture and equipment to their needs. An important advantage of these offices is that team meetings can be held without reserving rooms, as separated walls prevent disturbing other coworkers.

Private offices share common areas and equipment with the rest of the coworking space, such as bathrooms, kitchen, dining area, printers, internet, etc. Depending on the coworking space and the company's needs, some of these common areas and equipment can be integrated.

The cost of private offices is higher than that of other modalities, and they are favored by companies that decide to move to shared workspaces without losing professionalism.

Here, you can learn more about the private offices offered by Cowtainers.

Virtual Office

Virtual offices allow businesses run from home, small companies, or budding entrepreneurs to create a good impression of their business at an affordable monthly cost. They provide a prestigious business address, an exclusive phone number, and management of mail and calls.

You can learn more about this model in this post.

If you're interested in this way of working, take a look at what we offer at Cowtainers.

Now that you know what coworking is, are you someone who will stay at home, or do you prefer to work, share experiences, and have fun? We look forward to seeing you at Cowtainers 😉