How I started a coworking company in London

In 2012, I needed an office for my financial education company I had just started. I registered with a few agents and office brokers. Before I knew it I was being called and emailed by every office provider in London. The problem I found was not the location, or the size of the office but the price. Everywhere I went for a viewing the office was tiny for the price I had to pay. All I needed was a desk and an option of a meeting room. I discovered a coworking office on Cannon Street, London by chance. I was about to give up and use a serviced office. I told an office broker my reservations and he suggested I research shared office space. All of a sudden, it all became easy. I noticed a sign above an office door saying “Coworking shared office space” on Cannon Street. That was the first time I discovered the word “Coworking”. The price was affordable; the meeting rooms were free and more importantly the contract was flexible. For a startup, all these features made me excited. Why would anyone pay four times the price to be in a box on their own? So far so good, however I still felt alone. Everyone knew each other and I felt like the new guy. I made a few suggestions to the owners on how they could improve the atmosphere and make things more welcoming. My suggestions fell on deaf ears and nothing was done. The owners wanted established companies that already had a few employees and basically could pay. I asked to move to their Angel office after a year of small chat. I was fed up with trying to feel like one of the gang but felt not part of a group. Maybe a new post code will help and maybe new people would too. Unfortunately it was the same. I realised it wasn’t the concept of coworking or hotdesking, it was the company set up. It hit me Christmas 2014 when I realised I liked the flexibility and should try other spaces. Why didn’t the owners listen to my suggestions of inclusion? So many of us felt the same in the office and our loneliness gave us commonality. It bonded us together and I would often discuss how they should change the atmosphere by doing small changes. We were freelancers, sole traders, small businesses and entrepreneurs and it was sad that we were being ignored. The facilities were amazing but I didn’t want to work there.

So I tried other coworking offices. Some were exciting and friendly, while a few were boring and like a library. Most were great to work in and I made some great friends. These lively offices all had their own characters and features that made me feel I was working in the heart of London’s startup hub. Things became exciting again. Starting a company is scary enough without having the additional pressure of office politics and picking the right office made all the difference. East London had so many options and loads of coworking offices started to pop up. I began to wonder what if I started my own cowork office space, what would it be like? How do I start and can I make money from it? In January 2015 I took the bold decision of starting my own flexible office workplace.