Talking Trust in the Sharing Economy with Francesca Pick

We recently caught up with Francesca Pick, co-editor of OuiShare Magazine and a B.A. graduate in Communication & Cultural Management from Zeppelin University. She wrote her Bachelor thesis about collaborative consumption and building trust in peer-to-peer marketplaces, for which she won an award from Microsoft about the potential of IT in Europe.

While the coworking and shared office space movement has gone from strength to strength over the past several years[SG1]  amassing a global membership of over 100,000 people, it has largely been the domain of creatives and early adopters.

Trust, from the perspective of protecting one’s physical and intellectual property, has been a sticking point for many, not just in the coworking space but in the broader collaborative consumption space.

We explored what factors impact adoption and how coworking spaces and shared office space platforms can, to borrow a line from Seth Godin, cross the chasm into the mainstream.

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Talking Coworking with Collaborative Lab’s Lauren Anderson

I recently caught up with Lauren Anderson, Chief Knowledge Officer at Collaborative Lab, speaker and thought leader in the collaborative consumption space. The Collaborative Lab helps businesses and governments worldwide understand and harness the power and potential of the sharing economy through strategic advisory services.

1 – Many shared office space platforms often choose between conservative or funky branding which can alienate the other half of the equation. What do you see as a way around this?

I actually believe it might be a positive thing!

While it’s good to push some people’s boundaries, it’s also true that we have very individual ways of working and we should feel comfortable to gravitate to the community that suits us best, which is usually aligned to the platform we find it on. I do think there is a grey area in between where most coworking space platforms currently sit, and the more ‘serviced office’ platforms are positioned so there is certainly an opportunity in the middle ground, but the diversity is good.

2 – Do you see this as impacting the growth rate of such platforms or is it simply a matter of picking the right battles?

I think the growth rates of these platforms will be more affected if we expect conformity in people’s approaches to working and finding work space. The different offerings appeal to different groups of people who may not otherwise try coworking, which is ultimately a good thing. Having said that, I do understand that it’s about cultivating an ethos as well, which requires people to look at the bigger picture of what they’re doing, which potentially some platforms aren’t doing as well as they could. 

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Three reasons to work closer to home

While working close to home brings with it many obvious benefits, many of us perhaps don’t fully appreciate just how large those benefits are from not only a time and financial perspective but from a mental and physical health perspective too.

A one hour commute represents about 480 hours a year in transit to and from work, that’s the equivalent to more than four waking hour weeks per year or almost 10% of your year.

The hidden dangers and pitfalls of commuting are only amplified the more time that we spend doing so, particularly if commuting by car

There’s the back pain that comes with long commutes, the high blood pressure caused by heavy traffic and congestion, the chronic stress that comes with steering through fog, rain or sudden changes in traffic and the exposure to pollutants in the air, particularly on freeways and highways.

Not only that, but the more time we spend commuting the less time we make for other habits such as getting enough sleep, exercising, preparing healthy food and perhaps most importantly, spending quality time with our loved ones.

This sets the scene nicely for our three reasons to work closer to home.

1 Save time – Even cutting down your commute by 30 minutes each way will save you 240 waking hours a year, equivalent to more than two weeks of waking time. This gives you more time to exercise, sleep, prepare healthy meals, rediscover old passions and hobbies and spend time with family and friends. 

2 Save money – RACQ[1] estimates the average running costs of a car at 50 cents per kilometer. Cutting down your distance to work by only 15 kilometres will save you $3,600 per year of your after tax income. Money that could perhaps be better invested in a holiday, a new car or perhaps invested into your mortgage which would have serious compound interest benefits over the life of the loan.

3 Be healthy – Less time in your car means less of the physical ailments that come with long commutes such as lower back pain and deep vein thrombosis as well as lower blood pressure as a result of not being stuck in heavy traffic while racing the clock to get to your 9am meeting. It also means more for personal relationships which are critical to long-term emotional and mental health.

Shared office spaces, teleworking hubs, serviced offices and co-working spaces all provide for flexible and affordable working solutions in various locations, bringing work closer to your home.

Large organisations, SMEs as well as the self employed and start-ups should consider such spaces as viable, OH&S friendly alternatives to the traditional CBD office lease, even if for only one or two days a week.

The financial, physical and emotional benefits can not be stressed enough and in the time poor, clutter and information rich digital world we find ourselves in, we need to do what we can to be not only productive but sustainable, healthy and happy.

 

Steve Glaveski is a former management consultant turned start-up writer, founder and managing director of Hotdesk.com.au, an Australian shared office space platform connecting businesses that have surplus workspace with those that need it, be it for an hour, day, week or month.

You can follow Steve on Twitter @steveglaveski

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[1] RACQ – http://www.racq.com.au/motoring/cars/car_economy/vehicle_running_costs_2013

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Co-working in Australia

Co-working in Australia

With Australia’s inaugural co-working conference set to take place in early March, it’s safe to say that the advent of co-working has truly established itself in the culture and psyche of Australian start-ups.

Like many things start-up, co-working spaces trace their lineage to San Francisco where, in 2005, Brad Neuberg opened CitizenSpace, arguably the world’s first co-working space. In less than a decade since, over 700 co-working spaces have sprung up around the United States and several hundred more have opened their doors across Europe.

At home in Australia, we have the highest number of co-working spaces in the world (per capita), with well in excess of 50 spaces having been established. Most spaces are relatively new and are responsible for driving an astonishing 555% growth rate in Australian co-working in the past two years.

Nowhere is this more evident than in the hustle and bustle of Sydney’s inner suburbs and the cafe engulfed laneways and converted warehouses of Melbourne. Together, they account for two thirds of Australia’s spaces which have established themselves as not only productive and collaborative co-working spaces, but as a home to many existing and emerging success stories, a host to weekly (and sometimes daily) entrepreneur meet-ups and talks by prominent speakers from within the business community as well as a place to knock back some drinks and build social networks in the evening.

However, it is not only start-ups who are benefiting from co-working. The BRW’s Fiona Smith ran an article on Zendesk’s Australian operations (Two worlds collide – sharing space with an alien, November 2012) whose office handed free space to the Dry July charity. General manager Michael Hansen was quoted as saying that “they (DryJuly) are great people to be around (and) they don’t just do things for profit, they do it because it is right. It is nice to be associated with people like that and I hope some of it will rub off on us as well.”

Law firms as well have been said to be playing host to all sorts of creative types in an effort to change their environment for the better, inspire and develop a different perspective for their workforce, while also gaining social karma by helping out the little guys.

The idea of businesses giving away and/or leasing out spare office space is a concept that Australia’s HotDesk is looking to tap into. The website, which is currently seeking feedback and interest via its landing page (www.hot-desk.com.au) is all about connecting SMEs and large enterprise with spare office space to start-ups and entrepreneurs who need casual space, be it for days, weeks or months – think airbnb for office space.

The business hopes to not only be a platform to help start-ups find cheap, casual and professional facilities, while increasing working capital for the advertiser, but it envisages delivering many of the benefits that come with co-working while also providing the opportunity to partner with larger businesses and gain an appreciation for and build relationships in the top end of town.

Right on time, the Coworking Conference Australia, held on March 1 and 2 in Melbourne, is set to bring together Australia’s co-working community in a celebration of all that co-working has offered and has yet to offer.

The conference will cover topics such as the history of co-working, global trends and statistics, lessons learned and the future of co-working. In typical co-working space style, there will be loads of opportunities for engagement,  collaboration and networking.

Hosting a plethora of speakers from start-ups and established businesses across Australia, Europe and the United States, this is a milestone event, celebrating the rapid growth of the Australian startup ecosystem, and is not to be missed by those with an appreciation for working smarter, not harder.

Coworking conference Australia 2013

Presented by: DeskWanted, Hub Melbourne and Inspire9

When & Where: Friday March 1 @ Hub Melbourne & Saturday March 2 @ Inspire9

WWW – http://coworkingconference.com.au

Tickets – http://coworkingconferenceaustralia.eventbrite.com/

Australian co-working spaces – http://blog.thefetch.com/coworking-in-australia  

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