For small business teams in San Francisco, working in a shared workspace makes a lot of sense. Rather than dealing with things like ordering coffee and fixing the printer, small business owners can focus on building their business and utilize a San Francisco shared workspace operator to take care of the details.
Shared office spaces also offer in-house professional networks, event programming, a variety of workspace options and unlimited opportunities to collaborate. The shared workspace ecosystem is growing quickly, in part because they make sense for freelancers, independent professionals, remote workers and small teams.
Find a Shared Office in San Francisco
Finding the right shared workspace – one that fits the needs and culture of your company – is essential. Every shared space is different and you need to find the right one to take advantage of all that a shared office in San Francisco offers. Here are seven tips to help you find the right San Francisco shared office for you and your team.
1. Find a Convenient Location in San Francisco
Your shared office space needs to be conveniently located for you and your team. San Francisco has a quality public transportation network that includes Caltrain, BART and MUNI, as well as ridesharing options and a high walkability score. But the less commuting your team members have to do to get to the office, the better. Find a San Francisco office space that is close to public transportation hubs, in walkable neighborhoods, and in easy-to-access areas of the city.
2. Clarify Your Shared Workspace Needs
Shared workspaces offer a variety of memberships, from open coworking and virtual office plans to dedicated desks and shared offices, private offices, day offices, day passes and more. Clarify what you need from your San Francisco shared workspace. Do you need space to leave monitors overnight? Dedicated desks may be a good option. Would you like to share office space with other teams and professionals? Make sure the space you’re looking at has shared offices. Do you need a private office for your team? Check out your options and make sure the size and price are right for your company.
3. How’s the Noise in the Workspace?
Every shared workspace is different when it comes to noise. Some play music, some are eerily quiet and some are loud and active with people talking and collaborating. Some shared office spaces are open-ceiling while some are completely private. Which style suits the preferences of you and your team? Spend time working in a space before joining to make sure it’s a good fit for your workstyle.
4. Find a Professional Network that Suits You
One of the biggest perks of joining a shared workspace is that you’ll have an in-house professional network you can hire from, collaborate with and refer people to. Make sure the workspace network is a good fit for your company. What type of professionals would you like to connect with and what type of network can you contribute to? If you prefer suit and tie networking events to casual happy hours, find a space that offers more of the former than the latter.
5. Shared Workspace Events
Related to the professional network is the event programming in your shared workspace. San Francisco has a wealth of professional, creative, tech and entrepreneurial events, and many of them take place in shared workspaces. Take a look at a space’s event calendar to make sure event offerings are relevant to you and your team.
6. Room to Grow in a Shared Office
If you plan to grow your company, make sure the San Francisco shared workspace you choose can handle your growth. For instance, you may start with a virtual office or open coworking membership, grow into dedicated desks, then into a shared office and, eventually, into a private office of your own. Growing in-house can be far easier than relocating, and you’ll maintain those valuable network connections in your home workspace.
7. What Amenities Do You Need in Your Shared Office?
The beauty of shared workspace is that you have access to business amenities, such as a professional printer and scanner, meeting rooms, standing desks, whiteboards, media tools, and in some San Francisco shared workspaces you get additional building amenities like onsite security, or a lounge area in the building lobby. Clarify which amenities you and your team will need and make sure you’ll have access to them in your workspace.
San Francisco is a hotbed of shared workspaces. Finding the right coworking space, dedicated desk, shared office or private office can help elevate your business to the next level. Pacific Workplaces is a leader in the shared workspace industry, offering shared offices in 17 locations, including San Francisco. Find a Pacific Workplaces location near you.
Written by Cat Johnson, a content strategist and coworking member at NextSpace Santa Cruz.