How To Transform Your Office into a Coworking Space
Sharing office space doesn't have to be daunting - with our 5 simple steps, you can easily turn any office into a collaborative and inspiring coworking space.
Why are businesses renting desks in a shared office?
Businesses love renting shared office space as it saves them managing their own offices, locking in for 3-year leases, and tying up capital with bonds and advances. In many cases, it also gives them access to premium shared facilities such as break-out areas, meeting rooms, reception services, and much more. It has also become a popular solution for smaller businesses to take space in local coworking offices, rather than a large coworking provider.
It's not just large coworking operators who can make money from renting out office space, if you've got spare desks you could be earning around $700 / month per desk!
Reasons for choosing local coworking spaces over large office space providers:
- Many Guests are looking for a permanent place to work where they know the locals
- It's in a convenient location other than in the CBD
- Located in their local area, saving them transport time and costs
Read our checklist before you get started
With these five steps, you'll have your office suited for sharing in no time.
Here's our 5-step guide to help transform your office into a coworking space
1. Declutter
One of the easiest ways to make your office shareable is by having only the main office necessities such as desks, chairs, printers, and storage space in the office. Keeping the office clutter-free not only encourages guests to keep their own space tidy, but it enhances the overall feel of the space and can help boost productivity.
And with enhanced safety protocols in place during the pandemic, it's good practice to have more open space around the office to help folks keep their 2 meters of distance.
2. Furniture
Before we turned the Rubberdesk HQ into our very own coworking space, we purchased brand-new desks, chairs, lamps, kitchen appliances, and even outdoor furniture! We're now sharing our space with other businesses so know firsthand what to provide to keep our Guests happy!
To help you get your coworking space up and running, here's a checklist to get you started.
- Desks and Chairs: Furnish your space with a well-sized desk and comfortable chair.
- Lamps: Providing lamps to your guests' desks is a great way to let them control their space a bit more.
- Plants: Not only are they a great stress reliever, but it's also an easy way to add a bit of colour to the office.
- Artwork: Add a unique touch to your space and brighten up the office.
- Extra furniture: E.g. meeting room table and chairs, Outdoor furniture, lounges (if you have room!)
3. Cleaning
Regular cleaning is key for maintaining a happy, comfortable office space.
Cleaning is an absolute necessity, both before you rent the space out and throughout the period in which you are sharing the space. You as the Host are in charge of making sure all Guests feel comfortable within the space, making sure everything is up to date, and the heating or cooling system is adequate. Even the smaller details such as providing cutlery, kitchen appliances, hand washing, and personal bins for each Guest make a huge difference when sharing office space.
4. Get permission from your landlord
As a leaseholder of an office, you’ll likely have a leasehold agreement with your landlord. There’s no one leasehold agreement that covers all cases and they can be pretty varied, but there is often a clause to the effect that permission is sought from the landlord before subleasing or licensing the use of the space. (Note to reader – have a check your agreement, as we say, no two agreements are the same.)
Simply write to your landlord and get their permission to licence on a short-term basis the use of the space.
It’s pretty straightforward because happy tenants make happy landlords, and keeping you as a happy tenant increases the chances of you staying put right – which landlords love.
For more information on leasing out your office space, read: Should I sublease or license my spare office space?
5. Get your listing up on Rubberdesk
Once your space is ready for Guests, take some gorgeous photos of the office and get your listing up on Rubberdesk. Listing your space on Rubberdesk is a free and easy way to find the right business to share your space with. Not only do we provide a free license agreement, but we also handle all payments to help make sharing office space easy!
To have the best chance of renting out your space, make sure to thoroughly fill out your listing description, What's included / not included? Who is the space most suitable for? What size team and what industry?
