When you work from home or for yourself, it can be hard to stay productive – especially without dedicated, full-time office space. Sometimes, you just need a desk and a chair in a quiet place to get some work done.

So what are your options? Set up in a coffee shop every day? Pay through the nose for a spot in an office park?

We actually have a rather interesting alternative we’d like to present. It’s shared work space, and we think it can meet your needs just fine.

Check out these four benefits of sharing work space:

• Price

Let’s not mince words: The Bay Area is expensive. Like, crazy expensive. People are setting up full-time hostel-style living in San Francisco now!

So if you want dedicated, full-time office space in the East Bay, be prepared to pay a premium. And when you consider that an office is only used for about 40 of the 168 hours in a week, it does seem like you’re spending money just to “reserve workspace.”

• No responsibilities – just work

Let’s contrast buying a home versus renting: when you rent, you don’t have to worry about a thing aside from rent. Water heater goes out? Not your problem! It’s quite liberating.

Think of shared office space the same way. No need to chip in for janitorial service or wonder what type of business internet service you require. We’ll handle all the logistics: just bring in your laptop and get to work.

• Network and connect with other professionals

When you head to a dedicated office every day, you usually develop tunnel vision: you’re focused on work and barely even notice the surroundings anymore; after all, they don’t change much.

But here, there will always be different folks milling about. And they’re business professionals just like you, so don’t worry about distraction. However, you might run into a potential business partner or even a future employee.

• We’ve got your caffeine fix

We really have tried to think of everything, including the needs of our clientele. There’s a good reason Starbucks is so popular, and it’s not just the Frappuccino’s – folks love coffee! And that’s why we have a full espresso bar in our shared office space. So when you need that 2pm pick-me-up, we’ll be ready.