Start-ups. Everyone wants to be a part of a start-up. Who wouldn’t want in on a fresh, new idea that promises to be a game changer for the way people live their lives. Start-ups are the future because, without start-ups, no new companies would exist.

How have start-ups changed the workplace?

While the term start-up is relatively new, the concept isn’t. For as long as businesses have been around, start-ups have existed. A start-up is a new, relatively small company (around anywhere from 2 to 50 employees) all fresh faced, and ready to take on the world with their new idea. The employees are probably the founders and are on a limited budget. Their home becomes their workspace, the coffee shops their meeting rooms.

So how do start-ups and their employees fix these issues? One solution is the co-working space.

What’s a co-working space?

A co-working space is an office where people go to work. Other people will also be present in the office; maybe those people work for a different company.

Many different types of employees may share one office. For example, one office building may house a team of designers, a separate team of engineers, and yet another team of writers. Not one of these teams is from the same company. The people working in the space share office amenities like a fax machine, conference rooms, and maybe even the coffee machine.

Not just a fad

More and more, co-working spaces are seen as less of a fad, and more of a place that garners collaboration and innovation. It seems that co-working spaces are not just for start-ups or freelancers anymore.

Just like start-ups are not a fad, a co-working space has gone from a new idea to one that is coveted by start-ups and corporations alike.

Co-working benefits

Those working in a co-working environment should take advantage of the many benefits that environment offers. As we mentioned before, the sharing of office amenities is a big one. Why fork over the money for expensive office equipment, when the office you rent has everything all hooked up and ready to go? Why pay exorbitant rent on an office that you can’t really afford on a start-up budget?

Saving money is just one of the many benefits of a co-working space. Another is collaboration. How frustrating would it be if you, the designer of a new video game needed something fresh for your main character to do, but you just couldn't get the code right?

Enter your co-working buddy, the engineer working on a website not 15 feet from you. You’re able to walk over to your friend, express your needs, and ask him for advice. Next time around, he needs your expert eye on app design, and you’re eager to help.

While money savings and collaboration are two huge benefits of a co-working space, it doesn’t end there.

Co-working spaces have grown and become more viable for more start-ups than office rentals.

Where the future of office space will go, no one has the answer, but the co-working space is a good indication of things to come.