When we founded Work.Life Camden it was in an effort to bring more affordable and flexible workspace to the doorstep of some of the small businesses and freelancers who needed it most. Judging by the success we have had over the months since we opened, it has become clear that we were right and that Camden’s startup community was crying out for such flexibility in a professional workspace. Our problem now? It’s clear that this need extends well beyond Camden. With our aim of delivering professional and affordable workspace to the doorsteps of London’s startups, small businesses and freelancers, the answer was simple: expand. So that’s exactly what we are doing, and we’re very excited to announce that we will be opening a new flexible Work.Life workspace in London Fields!
Why use Work.Life? We’ve learned about the pitfalls of the alternatives and we worked to create a model which overcame their various deficiencies.
First, the problems. This is how a large portion of the startups and freelancers across London operate:
From Home
On the positive side, this is obviously the cheapest option. However, there are many drawbacks. Working from home a lot of startups and freelancers won’t have the space they really need to thrive, distractions will surround them – household chores that ‘just can’t wait’, and the kitchen table is certainly not a professional place to meet prospective clients. One of our members recently told us why he ditched the onesie and chose to work at Work.Life instead.
With London freelancers now making up around one fifth of the capital’s working population, and London’s startup scene booming, where should they work from if not the kitchen table or spare room? One starting point for those wanting a little less of the homely distractions is to set up shop at their local cafe. It seems a better option than sitting at home in your slippers and there is still free wifi, so cafés it is…
Local Cafés
With many taking this option, at least some of the time, working from cafés must have something going for it, and it does. Cafés can provide a lively environment, unlike the solitude of working from home, were food and drink are just a barista away. You aren’t tied to a location for any set amount of time, you have free wifi, and (hopefully) accessible power outlets.
Yet cafés aren’t without their drawbacks. A day spent working from a cafe can actually be quite expensive, unless you can make that coffee you bought at 9am last all day. While technically working from a café might be free, a day spent there will most likely cost you around £20-5 (that’s £10-5 for a few drinks throughout the day and another £10 for lunch). Not to mention how noisy cafés can be, which is part of the friendly reminder that places custom made for socialising aren’t the best working environments, let alone ideal locations to meet clients. There is also the ‘lack of security’ worry, especially if you’re a lone worker: who is looking over your shoulder while you’re working? Who can watch your laptop when you use the restroom?
The next option? That’s Work.Life.
Work life
Knowing first-hand the problems that small business owners, startups, and freelancers face, we’ve founded Work.Life. For freelancers, we have Work.Life Flex: This is a unique membership option for freelancers to join our collaborative workspaces. There is no commitment or sign-up fee, the tech behind your memberships seamlessly combines the best bits of Uber and Oyster Cards, applying them to your world of work. On a pay as you go basis (for only £3.50 per hour!), Work.Life and Flex is coming to London Fields to give local freelancers proper workspaces, 7 days a week.
Our ‘Local’ memberships build on this ideal, giving you 7 days a week unlimited hotdesking at Work.Life, which is perfect for small teams and freelancers who want all of the benefits of an office, without the over-bearing cost! You can use Work.Life as your business address (we’ll handle your mail for you) and you can even take advantage of our meeting rooms, free printing, and private phone booths. Or if you’re looking for a dedicated desk or private office, we have our Resident memberships, giving you 24/7 access to the space and making those inevitable 1am pitch preparations do-able for you! The offices come fully-furnished, while you also get free meeting rooms, unlimited printing, and guest reception.
The aim is to deliver professional and affordable workspace, on your doorstep, with complete flexibility. We keep the ninja-fast wifi, places for private and collaborative work, and everything else you need to run your business (access to printers, meeting rooms, and somewhere quiet and professional to bring clients), while you only pay for as much time as you want to spend here.
There really is no reason you have to stay cooped up at home, cramped in that coffee shop, or tied into long-term membership fees. For the price of a coffee you can have a proper workspace, with all of the perks! We know freelancing and small businesses have a large role to play in the future of work and we know that Work.Life is the perfect way to embrace that; that’s why we are bringing our vision to London Fields!
