Office Space News
Coworking Book Highlights Latest Office Trend
Published March 25th, 2009 by Jennifer LeClaire
“I’m Outta Here: How Coworking Is Making the Office Obsolete.” It’s a new book that backs up our prediction that coworking arrangements are poised to gain momentum in the current economic climate and establish a foothold in the office market.
Coworking facilities are about creating a culture that fosters collaboration and idea sharing. Coworking offers many of the benefits of serviced offices in an environment that is more social by virtue of open spaces. Many different entrepreneurs share the facilities, sometimes with multiple people using the same space during different times of the day. This is the alternative to working in a Starbucks without the higher price of an executive office suite.
“I’m Outta Here’s” authors Drew Jones, Todd Sundsted and Tony Bacigalupo describe the book as telling the story about the people and places that make up a workplace revolution. The trio of authors offer a telling statistic: “From a single space in San Francisco at the beginning of 2006, coworking has grown to over 70 spaces worldwide at the end of 2008, with more appearing almost daily.” The book reveals why so many talented workers have turned their backs to the office and said, “I’m outta here!”
You may recognize Bacigalupo’s name. He’s the founder of New Work City, a community coworking space in Manhattan. He is also a project manager at Desktop Solutions Software. Sundsted’s interest in coworking comes from his interest in innovation. He’s an entrepreneur, speaker and published author of computer books. Jones is an anthropologist, management consultant and former business school professor that works with Shift101.
The authors are offering a one-page cheatsheet on how to start a coworking community, along with plenty of advice on their blog.
“Starting a coworking community is just like starting a business: do your due diligence. Find out what else is out there. Find out who else in your area is doing similar things,” they write. “Meet as many people as you can, and listen to what they’re doing and what they need. Only after you’ve gotten a really good view of the landscape will you be able to know whether there is a need that needs to be fulfilled. Along the way, odds are good that you will also have encountered the people who will help you build this community, either as collaborators or as members. Keep talking to both these types of people.”
Coworking didn’t start in 2006. That’s just when it started to take off. Affinity Lab has been offering a coworking model for nearly a decade. Newer on the scene is BLANKSPACES in Los Angeles. One thing is certain: You can bet this trend will continue to grow.
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About the Author
Mike Sullivan March 25th, 2009 at 10:48 am
This book is available on Lulu. I’ll have to pick it up soon… I just read a post by one of the authors and he seems quite irreverent and passionate about the coworking subject.