After almost a decade of working from home and (mostly) loving it, at some point in 2012 something really changed for me. Fairly suddenly, I started feeling more trapped than liberated in my home office, and feeling like it was hard to carve out uninterrupted work time amid the myriad of household chores that needed to get done every day. In addition, my life situation is very different now than it was when I started my freelance business in 2002: my husband works outside the house, my daughter is closer to middle school than to infancy, and many of my freelancing mom friends in the neighborhood now work full time or pursue other interests like school and sports that keep them tied up during the day. So I decided to investigate the possibility of moving my office outside our house.
The quest started with a few visits to established co-working offices in Boulder, of which there are several. Stumbling block: many of them save on office rent by locating themselves in windowless basements, which is an absolute deal breaker for me (I didn’t move to a city with 300 sunny days a year to work in a basement!). In addition, there’s nothing to make you realize that you’re not 22 any more like visiting an office that’s mostly populated by tech startups. I think I’m reasonably young at heart for a 41 year old, but some of the established co-working offices reminded me of my college apartment on a bad Monday morning, complete with empty vodka bottles in the kitchen sink (actual example from one office!).
So then, I approached the all-women freelancers’ group that I’m in, to see if we could potentially put together a group of people and rent our own office together. This seemed like a great idea (cool people, we could configure the space however we wanted and one of the potential offices is about a 3 minute walk from my house). But we learned that commercial leases are tricky: most landlords want at least an 18-month lease with the first 3 months paid in advance, the office would be completely unfurnished, and the extra expenses such as liability insurance, Internet and even tea and coffee would add up. In addition, we would have to either form a corporation to sign the lease, or one person would be responsible for the entire rent amount.
Another option (if you live in Colorado) was PivotDesk, a local service that matches small companies and freelancers with office space. I would definitely give PivotDesk another try if I’m looking for office space in the future, but this time around I couldn’t find just the right match between what I wanted and what was on offer. However, in the course of tooling around downtown Boulder looking at offices, a couple of freelance friends and I found a “hidden” co-working office in a truly stunning historic building. Populated by real grownups with real established businesses, this office is a haven for freelancers who want to get stuff done in a beautiful setting without too many distractions (“…like a really, really nice library…” was the description of a friend who went to see the office with me).
I’ve been in the new office for about a week and so far I really, really, really love it. It’s about a 20 minute bike ride from my house, which gets me outside and gives me some mental space to transition from home to work and vice versa. In addition, let me tell you some things that a co-working office has: people to talk to, things to look at other than the walls of your house, different spaces to hang out in when you get sick of sitting at your desk. And let me tell you some things that a co-working office does not have: your dirty dishes, your washing machine and your cat hair-covered rugs. But all joking aside, I find that even these 5 days have really changed the way I think about work and home. I can walk in the door of my house in the afternoon and think “What do I want to do for the rest of the day?” I can avoid letting work expand to fill the available time, and instead confine work to the time I’m at the office. Instead of checking e-mail for the first time at 6:45 AM and for the last time at 11:15 PM and feeling like I basically worked for 16 hours with some extended breaks, I feel like I actually have work time and home time. Maybe this has more to do with my habits than with anything more substantive, but I do feel like this has been a fantastic change. Mostly, I want to encourage other freelancers to explore the co-working option if you want to, rather than feeling like you should be more grateful for the opportunity to work from home. If it’s not working for you, change it!
Logistical notes: The co-working office that I’m in costs US $350 per month for my own permanent desk, wired and wireless Internet access, access to multiple conference rooms and unlimited coffee and tea (priorities!). And the office managers do the dishes! The desks also have locking storage cabinets so that I can leave my laptop there if I want to. So far I’ve been toting my laptop back and forth, but I’m considering leaving it there at least some of the time, since all of my files are synced online.
céline says
I knew you’d love it! So pleased that it’s working out for you. After 8 years of non-stop coworking, I’ve been working from my spare room since… Monday and I already hate it. I’m going to see a small shared office for the second time this morning and a bigger one this afternoon.
What you say about the aesthetic quality of the space is really interesting: ideally I’d want a big space to maximise networking and the chance to meet lovely people, but the small office is absolutely gorgeous and has such a nice feel about that it’s the front runner at this stage. To be continued…
Corinne McKay says
Thanks Celine! I’m glad you knew I would love it, because I wasn’t so sure 🙂 But yes, now I see what you mean about the wonder of co-working! Let us know how your search goes!
georgiaef says
Great post and very helpful. Especially that part about the 22 year-old tech startups that may be a major letdown for freelancers over 40 seeking a peaceful and tidy co-working place. Happy new year and happy co-working Corinne!
Corinne McKay says
Thanks for your comment. Yes, somehow I was under the impression that a co-working office is a co-working office, which couldn’t be further from the truth! At least here in Colorado, they all have different flavors and target markets, so it’s important to shop around.
zoey cooper says
Very interesting, thank you! I have only been working from home for a short time (I was previously in a busy office in London), but I am already missing the office banter and a clear (ish) divide between work and home. It’s early days, and our translation business adventure is in its infancy, but I had always thought co-working would be a really good way forward. Thank you for confirming it for me.
Corinne McKay says
Thanks Zooey! I would definitely encourage you to look at co-working offices if there are any near you. For me it’s been a really positive change; at least in the US, co-working places are springing up all over. Boulder has gone from none as of about 2 years ago to 6 or 7 now.
Diana Coada says
The fake small talk, the corporate environment and carrying food to work have always been big no-no’s for me. I love working from home!
Having said that, I interpret 80% of the time, so I do get out a lot 🙂
Corinne McKay says
Thanks Diana! If you’re happy working from home, stick with it! That’s the beauty of freelancing. And I agree that for an interpreter, a co-working office would be a total waste of money.
Yana Onikiychuk says
I had a small (6-months long) experience of renting a desk in a shared office, but it was completely different from what Corinne describes. The office center had rooms of medium to small size fitted with 2-3 desks each, and it was really underpopulated. In my room I had 2 desks, and only one desk was busy (with me). After 6 months of sitting all-alone in the room I got bored and terminated my rent contract. Yes, it was a great feeling of work/home time separation, but it was not worth for money they wanted and for boredom accompanying it. Now I spent 1-2 days in my home office and 3-4 days a week in different coffeeshops with nice internet and good coffee. This works for getting out and feeling people around. And yes, with interpreting and business traveling you will not get too bored with your home office.
Corinne McKay says
Thanks Yana! It definitely sounds like your co-working experience wasn’t optimal; I agree that it’s best to either form a group of people and then look for an office, or join an office that already has a good group of people there. But coffee shops and the library can be a good solution too, at least you get out of the house and see something besides the walls of your office (and it’s free!).
Nathalie says
Thanks for sharing, Corinne! I have been thinking about this option for a while, and I think the clear divide between home and work and the exchange with other ‘colleagues’ are great for your productivity. Nevertheless, it is a bit tricky if you have customers in a different time zone. 80 percent of my clients are 10 hours behind me, so I am forced to do the 11 pm e-mail check – with or without office…
Corinne McKay says
Thanks Nathalie! Yes, time zone definitely has a lot to do with it! For me, it works out well because most of my clients are 2-8 hours ahead of my time zone. So I try to check e-mail early in the morning, but things cool down by mid-afternoon which is when I’m leaving anyway. But I would definitely encourage you to look for a co-working office if you think it would work well for you!
céline says
@Diana: Fake small talk and corporate environment have never been part of my coworking experience. Stimulating discussions and a supportive environment, on the other hand, have.
@Yana: I also had a bad experience, very similar to yours, in one shared office where I was pretty much all the time on my own. It’s important to do what Corinne did and shop around thoroughly before making a decision.
Franziska says
As most freelancers in our business, I started out working from home. But I grew sick of it rather soon and found myself a place in a shared office. We had no office managers or cleaning lady, so we “shared” those chores (well, guess who rather often took care of those empty bottles…). Anyway, I really liked it all in all. However, two of the other start-ups decided to look for something fancier soon. Since that new place reminded me of the Overlook Hotel, I didn’t move in but tried to find new co-workers to be able to keep the old place. Unfortunately it didn’t work out, especially my translator friends seem to enjoy their homely solitude, and many just wouldn’t invest the (ridiculously low) rent. So I ended up in a design firm’s office, where I had my own little room. But like Yana, I felt too lonely there, often spent several days there without seeing anyone (because they were either working from home or at their clients’). Now I’m back at the home desk. It’s all fine on busy days, but I really dread those days when business is slow and I should be doing my taxes, or bookkeeping, or marketing… anything but the dishes!
Corinne McKay says
Thanks Franziska! It sounds like your shared office was good while it lasted, but I agree that it’s hard to get people to commit and hard to find a group of people who work well together. And in our office search, the group I’m with learned that co-working offices are *really* different from each other, so it’s challenging to find just the right one. Thanks for your comment!
Sadie Scapillato says
I go back and forth between loving the peace and simplicity and solitude, and going into these forlorn and lonely funks. As long as I get out of the house daily, I’m okay. So far. We’ll see if my answer is the same after five more years of this back-and-forth…
Corinne McKay says
Thanks Sadie! I agree, working from home can be either peaceful or deadly, depending on the day. For me I think that when my daughter was really little, the peace was really important to me (when I spent the rest of my life with toddlers hanging off me!!). But now, I really like the structure and more social nature of the co-working office. And if you change your mind, you can always move your office!
patenttranslator says
I was renting an office when our children were quite small from 1990 to 2001, first two years in San Francisco, and then in Petaluma and Santa Rosa, California.
I especially loved my office in Petaluma: it was a big office with skylights in an old business building from the thirties called McNear Building. It looked kind of like Sam Spade’s office (the detective in the film Maltese Falcon), with names of businesses on frosted glass in golden script on the doors, except that my office was quite spacious.
Having an office outside your house does have a number of advantages. You get to meet interesting people, and you can for example have a hugely satisfying fight with your spouse and it should have virtually no effect on your work (try to do that when you work at home).
But still, it is mostly a waste of money in our line of business. You could have a great vacation instead for that kind of money.
I predict that within a few years you will move your office back home again.
Corinne McKay says
Thanks Steve! Your office in Petaluma sounds like heaven! I agree, the home/work separation has a lot of advantages, I’ll have to see if it works for me in the long term! As far as the money, I agree that it’s an ‘extra’ expense, but so are a lot of things (I have a prepaid cell phone and spend about $100 a year on it, versus most people who spend $100 a month, but that’s their choice!). So we’ll see how it works out, thanks for your comment!
Tony, Sweden says
Many thanks for your very interesting site, Corinne.
Like most things, there are pros and cons with co-working as you have described. Many salaried people check their emails at 6.45am and 11.15pm from home. So imho taking an office out of the house will not avoid that particular aspect of how many people work today. And many (but not all) freelancers by default do not work 9-5 or anywhere near regular hours.
Another drawback is often not having the right material in the right place. Like a freelancer might need to start early or work late to finish an urgent job, but if some of your favourite book dictionaries or reference materials are at the office rather than home, then you have a problem.
Small talk by the water cooler can be very inspiring, but otherwise I prefer to work without any fuzzy background noises like other people talking on the phone or wandering by for a quick (albeit friendly) chat.
But then I’m a very independent Aquarius, so I thrive on working alone at home. Plus a few distractions so that I don’t sit for 10 hours non-stop. Plus the convenience of own food and liquids at home. Plus getting out of the house/office for two hours somewhere around the middle of the day.
I could write much more, but that’s enough for today. Have worked from home for 15 years. It’s absolute bliss compared to commuting…
Corinne McKay says
Thanks Tony! I agree that both situations have pluses and minuses, and everyone’s preferences are different. For example I actually prefer some ambient noise when I’m working; this sounds odd but when I worked at home, I would put on public radio in another room (OK, it sounds really odd when I put it in writing!) so that I could hear the sound but couldn’t make out the words. For whatever reason, it helps me concentrate. I also agree that keeping everything in the right place is a struggle; it took me a few months to switch completely over to my laptop and sync all of my files online, but it works well now. But if I forget my glasses at home someday, I’m in trouble! Thanks for your input and stay happy!
Julian, Germany says
Interesting to read how different people’s opinions and experiences are. Perhaps it comes down to the kind of working conditions of the office and the social climate and degree of interaction one needs or likes.
I too found a room in a shared office that is within cycling distance a few years ago after working from home for nearly 7 years. It’s saved me from potentially becoming a recluse and improved my work-life balance for all the reasons you mention. I found renting a space in a shared office cheaper than a desk in a large co-working environment, but it can take longer to find one you like and is generally a more serious commitment. I also find it hard to do concentrated work when a lot is going on around me, which was often the case in the co-working places I saw. In my case, I have a comparatively small room in a charming historical building where I can close the door when I need to concentrate and leave it open when I want to be part of things. We’re 8 people altogether and we make a point of having breakfast together once a week, and do some additional non-work-related social outings – a hike, museum trip, christmas celebration… – a few times a year. It’s not too forced and helps keep things sociable.
And I agree: having one’s current work files, emails etc. synced online definitely gives you the ability to choose when to work at home, at the office or in a library. No need to feel cooped up at home or forced to stay at work long hours to meet a deadline!
Corinne McKay says
Thanks Julian! Your office sounds perfect! That is a great setup where you can keep your door open or closed, plus have a little social interaction without people being right on top of you. Thanks for your comments!
DainaJ says
Very interesting! I prefer working at home (going on 12 years now), but have considered joining my sister & paying for “drop-in” days at the local co-working office. It’s within walking distance (plus), but does sound like it’s dominated by 20-something techies (minus – she said one day there was a tech conference blaring on a screen for “everyone” to watch). Still, maybe good for a change of pace now and then.
Corinne McKay says
Thanks Daina! The blaring screen…what a nice touch! But I agree, if there is a place that you can drop in, it could be a good way to test out whether co-working is for you. For example last year, I eased into things by having a standing co-working date with a friend at our local library. I got so much done that it seemed worth pursuing it full time. Good luck to you!
Diana Coada says
Aren’t we always going against the flow, Tony? Is our independence a blessing or a curse? Greetings from a fellow Aquarius 🙂
céline says
When I read your comment about needing the radio on while working, I thought “That’s got to do with personality types, didn’t I blog about it?”. And I did, in 2008: http://www.nakedtranslations.com/en/2008/the-joy-of-coworking
Amusingly, the first comment is yours 🙂
Diana H says
Great to hear about your co-working experience Corinne (and everyone else!). I haven’t been freelancing from home all that long, but I already miss social interaction. And a new co-working space has just opened up in the next town over from me (they’re popping up all over France now!). It’s biking distance, though a big uphill to come home which I’m not always in the mood for! But it sounds great though I haven’t had a chance to visit it yet – I missed their inauguration party because of a deadline. From what I can tell in e-mails/twitter/facebook about it, it’s not a young techy crowd, but I’d have to see the layout and meet folks to get a sense of it. In any case, I don’t yet have a steady enough freelance income to afford any extra expenses. But I’ve got my eye on it, and as soon as I can I think I’ll give it a try. Hope your experience continues to go well, keep us updated!
Corinne McKay says
Thanks Diana! Well, it’s been a month and I still love the co-working office. After working from home for 10 years it has been a really good change for me, especially as my daughter is getting older and I don’t really need to be at home during the day. Maybe it’s just my bad boundaries (!) but I find that I really need a firm separation between work and home. Highly recommended!!