So I just saw a testimonial video for this thing called WorkSpace and I’m impressed. The idea is to create a monthly-membership place for individuals to do their work. One of the banes of working from home, especially as an independent, is the lack of community. There is something nice about being surrounded by peers, or even just other smart professionals. The traditional solution is to sign a fairly lengthy and expensive lease and all the normal operating costs are yours to absorb. At WorkSpace they provide a cafe, internet, VOIP phones, meeting rooms, projectors, privacy booths, etc and it’s all available with just month-to-month commitments.

It just makes so much sense to me. Were I currently an independent contractor (and living in Vancouver), I would be all over this place. I bet we’ll start to see spaces like these in other cities, if they don’t already exist. Especially in the large and tech/trendy urban areas like SF, NY, & LA.

I can really see this becoming much more of the norm for all but the largest of companies (who might have enough people in an area to warrant paying for a dedicated space). But for everyone else, go to the nearest location of whatever national “work club” you’re company’s a member of. Improvements in multi-node teleconferencing could really make this feasible and nearly transparent.