Over the past week quite a number of people have asked me to define coworking and Coworking Belfast and explain why renting space there might be in their best interests - something I’m apparently not very good at doing on the spot. We’ve done quite well writing buzzword-rich descriptions for proposals - but I wanted to talk about what coworking means to me personally.

Coworking, at the end of the day, primarily provides workspace for freelancers. It’s basic principle is to provide dedicated workspace for those who don’t have it - which typically populates most coworking spaces with freelancers, startups and individuals working within the digital domain. The advantage of similarly minded people working vaguely within technology and the web is then the knowledge and resources everyone can share quite naturally within the space - which is what then ultimately nurtures new businesses. That is what coworking is to me - a space where small ideas become big through conversation, feedback and sharing ideas and knowledge.

The coworking space will have a open-plan office at its core, but there are other key resources that will be generally required to keep such a space self-sustaining - namely a meeting room and a “quiet” room for taking phone calls, etc. A small amount of incubation space for either ideas that grow too large for the coworking space itself or developing ventures ready to take a private space immediately would also be good to include in the geography of the overall project.

The potential coworking space that’s been identified on Bradbury Place has the ability to facilitate all of these ideas at an agreeable cost and also has the advantage of being in an immediate catchment from Queen’s University and South Belfast residential - as well as being fantastically serviced by public transport, restaurants, cafes and bars.

The project is pending in various key stages right now. We’re awaiting public funding to take the initial financial pressure off, we’re currently registering as a not-for-profit so the space exists as a separate legal entity, we’re currently still enlisting those who will definitely rent a regular space - and we’re getting a full website up and running. The frustrating part is most of those key decisions are now outside those trying to get the space up and running as soon as possible - so we’re simply playing the waiting game until the ball returns to our court.

Pre-OpenCoffee yesterday, we took another walk around the potential coworking space on Bradbury Place.

As Matt points out in his accompanying blog entry, the important questions to move forward are still unanswered - those regarding publicly financing the project. Hopefully that’s something we can move forward over the next few weeks, but in the meantime it would be nice to investigate the definite use of the space and potentially negotiating a rent-free period on the lease to get the ball rolling once we sign on the first batch of coworkers. I’m terribly impatient - and have yet to decide if that’s a positive or negative quality in this process or not.

After sitting down with the council to discuss the possibility of some cash, we’re submitting a proposal for consideration this week - and getting the ball rolling on establishing a not-for-profit as well as applying to smaller funding groups. We’re getting to the guts of it now - where interest needs to become definite answers - and money starts (finally!) playing into the conversation.

• Are you willing to take a desk full-time at Coworking Belfast?
• If not, are you interested in signing to part-time contracted hours in the space for a reduced rate?
• Are you in a position to pay up front for more than the first months rent + deposit?
• Are you willing to invest financially beyond that?
• Are you willing to provide, if not cash, but assets to the space - such as computers & furniture?

Anyone who has previously expressed interest should have received this questions in an email last night - if you didn’t please get in touch with me as soon as you can - we want to include as many names in the final proposal as possible to reflect the support the space has been receiving. If you’re planning or taking a desk or not, a few kind works in the comments that would suit quoting would be welcomed also. I’ll put the final version up for everyone to see later in the week.

In the continuing saga that is Belfast Co-Working (.com registered!) I thought it might be worth mentioning that we’re now at the viewing property stage. After identifying Botanic as potentially the best location for the co-working space - given its proximity to a plethora of cafes and bars as well as the city center - I took a look around and make some calls regarding office space in the area. Which led to me coming across this …

1900sqft. (approx. 10-12 desks)
£16,000 p.a. (£1600p.a each - £133p.m per desk)
Above Alliance & Leister - Bradbury Place.
Refurbishment pending lease. Available immediately.

In the interest of full disclosure, I also called about a 795sqft office above Ginger Tree on Donegall Pass (good location, newly refurbished but too small) and a 1560sqft space above Starbucks on Botanic (already agreed). We have a viewing arranged for 9.30am on Monday morning (any interested parties are welcome to attend!) so expect Flickr updates around 10am.

Okay, I’m going to assume most of you know I “freelance” - and I’m also going to presume that that has led you to believe I mostly work from home (those of you who know me better would answer Charlies and be correct). The office life, believe it or not, has a few qualities desirable to me. There’s a lot to be said about the motivation inherent in having a location to commute to, standard office hours, and a change of scenery. Making your home your office lacks the disconnect that a workplace provides - motivation to get out of bed, not be constantly scoffing Chocolate Digestives and also being able to mentally associate that location with work, and your home with play.

A co-working space - which is basically shared office space for freelance-types - has been on the cards for some time here here in Belfast. About a week ago, Dave brain-dumped everything thats happened in relation to the space on his blog, with the next vital step being the search for a viable location. Yesterday, I took a walk around South Belfast, the City Centre and the Cathedral Quarter to get an idea of available properties and see if there would be anything worth looking into.

One location that did hit me from the dozens I spotted was located on Hill St in the Cathedral Quarter. A first floor, 2165sq. ft office with 3 car parking spaces - right beside the Duke of York (eyo) and within a 5 minute walk of the City Centre. All in, it’s £34,000 a year - which works out to be around £200pm. at average occupancy. I’ve requested more information - and am by no means considering this the end of the search - many more properties will be investigated and viewed I’m sure before we find somewhere suitable. This post is more intended to spark the next round of discussion - where do we go, what do we want and how much do we pay?