An article recently appearing in the New York Times examines Spacious, a startup that transforms unused space – especially restaurants between mealtimes – into shared workspaces. Here is a look at this trend from Steve King, partner in Emergent Research and a regular contributor to SmallBusiness.com on topics related to changing work trends impacting small businesses, including the on-demand (gig) economy and the evolution of co-working space.
The company Spacious is helping businesses turn downtime into co-working space time. A co-working space/spa in Kansas City is another example of how empty space and time can be turned into revenue-generating opportunities — and even more creative ideas about what co-working space can be.
New York Times key quote:
“Everything is now a co-working space, one of those shared offices that are popular among freelancers, small companies and other workers who want a change of scenery. Coffee shops are co-working spaces. Gyms are co-working spaces. Social clubs are co-working spaces. And now restaurants — but only before dinnertime.”
This is another example of shared workspaces expanding into a wide range of specialized niches.
We’ve long covered this trend, with our most favorite recent example being a combo coworking space and spa in Kansas City. Allwork’s “Generalisation Will Get You in Trouble: The Case for Niche Workspaces,” also covers this trend and points out a variety of specialist shared workspaces.
Key quote:
“With hundreds of new spaces opening every month, independent operators are urged to focus on a particular customer segment”
Interestingly, drop by workspaces such as restaurants don’t meet Emergent Research’s definition of a coworking space. This is because they don’t offer activities and facilitation that encourage networking and community.
But these new approaches are still very useful places to work that also reduce social isolation and loneliness. And while these spaces may not provide support for networking, it still happens naturally.
The trends driving the growth of niche and specialized workspaces – technology enabling distributed work, more people working outside of traditional offices, the blending of work and life, etc. – continue to strengthen.
Which means more spaces will become shared workspaces.
Photos | Spacious.com