Coworking: When the world is your office

For those who are unemployed, self-employed or starting their own business, there's much to gain from the UAE's growing coworking community

 Picture this: you have a ton of work piled up so you head to the office - but instead of a stuffy space under fluorescent light bulbs, you're met with a breezy open-plan office with pops of colour. There's the delicious scent of coffee wafting about, plenty of natural light, and the people sitting next to you are friends, not colleagues. Sounds too good to be true? With coworking, it's not just possible; it's happening.

The idea behind coworking is simple enough: it's a culture where those who don't have to abide by traditional office rules (think budding entrepreneurs, freelancers or those looking for jobs) can find a common space to work, network and bounce ideas around.

The concept came into being when entrepreneurs began to look for alternatives to coffee shops to conduct their business. Soon, coworking spaces were set up that offered everything from WiFi to unlimited coffee - with flexible monthly and daily rates, sometimes as cheap as a cuppa! It's little wonder that the idea exploded in countries like the UK and US in 2005 and has only been growing since.

Bitten by the entrepreneurship bug?
It's no secret that one of the major sectors that stands to gain from coworking is startups. The primary reason behind this is the lower cost that coworking can offer entrepreneurs as compared to traditional office setups.

"If you're new to the UAE's work ecosystem and you're still building networks, coworking spaces definitely need to be considered," says Mashal Waqar, a Pakistani national and media entrepreneur based in Dubai. "Not every startup has the funds for a proper office system. If someone is looking for reasonable, affordable options, that also give them flexibility, this is for them."
Having previously studied and worked in the US, she was already familiar with the coworking scene there but, after moving to the UAE, found that the option was not popular. That was six years ago.
"It's in the last couple of years that I've really seen it expand," she says. "I'm actually very impressed at the rate at which it has grown. I think it's because the entrepreneurship scene is still nascent in the UAE. You have options now that you didn't have six years ago. I think coworking spaces have been able to identify an opportunity to help micro-entrepreneurs. Today, there are quite a few options to choose between."

                                           MASHAL WAQAR, Media Entrepreneur

There are different types of coworking plans that entrepreneurs can take up to get started. One is a fixed plan, where the startup pays for the year for a whole floor or space. The other option is to book slots and meeting rooms as and when required.

Mashal, who has tried different coworking spaces around Dubai, says that the flexibility they offer is just a cherry on top. "Being an entrepreneur, you happen to travel a lot and meet clients are different times. You need charging ports and WiFi and a location that doesn't disrupt the workflow."

Are there any obvious cons to coworking spaces? "That depends on the kind of person you are," she says. "If you like your privacy and work best behind a closed wall, then coworking may not be the best option for you. But, personally, I think these spaces are designed in a way to ensure you don't get distracted. Many have small cubicles or blocked off spaces. If nothing else works, you can always put on headphones."

"It may not work for everyone - especially if you get distracted easily," she adds. "But it works for me."
Best use of space
When Omar AlMheiri and Hamza Khan were part of Emaar Properties' E25 entrepreneurship programme (an initiative designed for 25-year-olds), their first challenge was to find a place to work. After 'way too much time and money on coffee and overpriced membership programmes', the duo decided to take matters into their own hands - and Letswork Coworking Spaces was born. The concept is simple and yet brilliant.

Omar AlMheiri and Hamza Khan, founders of Letswork Coworking

"We noticed that Dubai has a lot of restaurants and hotels that would only open in the evenings and were just sitting empty during the day. We also saw that there were a lot of people who didn't have a place where they could work from," explains Omar. "So we decided to combine the two. Letswork is a programme that partners with specific restaurants that have the right ambience and turns them into coworking spaces during specific timings."

Customers can download the Letswork app and choose locations around town - from Rove Hotels to restaurants like Social House in Dubai Mall. When the duo began their enterprise early last year, they had 30 members and five location. Today that number has grown to 2,500 members and 20 locations. They are also looking to expand into other emirates.

"When we first began, it was obviously geared towards the startup market. We knew that people who came up with ideas didn't have offices to work from," says Omar. "It then expanded to freelancers. We then also realised that working mums are a huge community. For example, our Arabian Ranches location is extremely popular because there's a school in the vicinity. Mums get to drop off their kids, work there and then pick them up, at their leisure."

Having no infrastructure means that Letswork also offers these services for nominal rates. "A physical office in Downtown Dubai will be about Dh6,000 and, even then, you won't be getting a lot," says Omar. "Coworking spaces instead charge about Dh1,000 to 1,500 and we have memberships that are even cheaper."
 
When you're looking for work
When someone is unemployed or freelancing, an obvious question that comes to mind is, why bother with coworking at all? Everyone has a laptop - why not make your home your office?
For UAE resident Stephen King, it's all about the sense of community. In 2014, Stephen was made redundant from a large organisation in Abu Dhabi, a move that was 'a major shock' to him. It was during that time he discovered coworking space Impact Hub in Souq Al Bahar and developed a barter deal with them; he would work as a freelance PR manager in exchange for use of their space.
"It was like being back in university," he laughs. "There's a fantastic social network. People there would give each other a little boost, whether it's by helping each other with their CVs or discussing ideas and strategies over a cup of coffee. It made me realise that you don't have to be miserable alone."
The Impact Hub also organised workshops with local entrepreneurs. "The founders of companies such as Property Finder, Souq.com and Aramex would come there and give us advice and motivation," says Stephen. "You get a lot more confidence by speaking to these decision-makers."
At the time, Stephen was working on his own business idea in The Impact Hub. Is it distracting to work alongside people who aren't a part of your company or overall goal? "Absolutely not," says Stephen. "When you're an entrepreneur, you need contacts and networking. You never know where inspiration can come from and it helps to be exposed to different ideas at this stage. Also, it gives you an incentive to meet deadlines. If everyone is coming up with a marketing plan, you know that you have to have one ready too or you're going to embarrass yourself!"

Today, Stephen, now a university lecturer, is a sworn 'coworking addict'. Not only does he still frequent them, he's been to branches of Impact Hub all over the world - from Barcelona and Austria to Zurich and Amsterdam. The experience has helped me him make friends and networks he's still in contact with today.
Creating a community
The UAE may have been a bit slow to catch up to the trend of coworking, it's been growing exponentially lately, with a number of companies having opened up over the last one year alone. One of the newest to the market is One Space Dubai which opened doors earlier this year. What's unique about One Space Dubai is that it offers all the usual benefits- Internet, printers, common areas and free parking - free of cost for those who are unemployed or soon to be redundant.
"We started this because dozens of my friends, over the last year, had to go back because they left their job," says Matt Hewitt, founder of OneSpace. "No one likes to see friends go back. We realised that these people don't have cash but they need the network of people and support."
It doesn't end there - One Space Dubai is also offering free workshops in with Avatar Gill, senior partner at GGC Consultancy, to help people get back to work, with guidance on topics like approaching interviews.

Matt Hewitt, founder of One Space Dubai 
 
"I actually think the main benefit of coworking is the basic human connection," says Matt. "There is a general feel-good factor about being surrounded by people, all talking about different sectors and categories. You have the option of collaborating. In traditional offices, you don't even get to know your neighbours most of the time!"

"Dubai is the perfect place for coworking because there are so many different cultures and it is so cosmopolitan," he adds. It's true - One Space Dubai has different nationalities from Australians and South Africans to Indians and UK nationals, all working together. "Think of coworking as a train journey," says Matt. "You don't know who is going to hop on board but you do get a chance to form personal connections. You're not tied down to the shackles of an office."
janice@khaleejtimes.com