Forming a community of independent entrepreneurs - Coworking concept on rise worldwide, first steps taken in Serbia as well

Brad Neuberg, a programmer in Silicon Valley, quit his job at a large corporation in 2005 and decided to pursue a career in freelancing, thus starting a new wave of doing business without having a clue he was doing that. Since he missed working with his colleagues, he established the first coworking space - Spiral Muse.

Then he wrote a blog inviting other like-minded people to join him in his coworking space, which was the first time that term was mentioned in the online world. According to the coworking community, that was also the moment when the coworking movement was born.

Statistics say that coworking space is growing at an annual rate of 400 percent. It is the most common in the USA and is still in its infancy in Serbia.

A pioneer in that business in Serbia, Miroslav Mijatov, the owner of Smart Office, opened the first coworking space in Belgrade in September 2012, and he says to eKapija that he is satisfied with the results so far and that he plans to expand the business.

- The point of coworking space is not only to rent a working space at an affordable price, but also to bring people of different professions together. It is used by entrepreneurs, start-up companies, various freelancers - journalists, web designers, interior designers, photographers, programmers, PR managers and architects, who are all independent, but can still work together and exchange ideas - Miroslav Mijatov explains.

(Smart Office)

The Smart Office space is situated in downtown Belgrade. It comprises 12 business units as well as a completely equipped office for meetings that can accommodate five people.

All that users (tenants) need to have is a laptop and a cell phone, while Smart Office provides everything else - a completely furnished air-conditioned space with security cameras, excellent lighting, Wi-Fi Internet, necessary office supplies, multipurpose copy machine and an office manager, who is at their service for anything they may need during their work.

- This type of office allows for large savings to be made as the price is fixed and there are no hidden costs. Smart Office cubicles can be rented per hour, day, week or month... Considering that our users choose between working at home and working at an office, I believe it would be good if our prices were even lower, but that can happen only if provide a bigger space, which is our next step - says our interlocutor.

The plan for the second phase of the Smart Office project is to open a bigger space with the help of the state.

- We would thus help increase the employment rate and establish a large number of enterprises. Also, we would organize lectures, workshops, courses and seminars to support entrepreneurship.

He says that they are now negotiating with the government and city authorities on prospective spaces that are now vacant. The aim is to enter into a form of partnership with them.

(Smart Office)

- We would breathe life into deserted spaces. There can be a real oasis for Serbian freelancers as well as foreigners. Low costs, support from consultants, exchange of ideas and the possibility of making contacts would motivate people to choose entrepreneurship.

For now, as Mijatov notes, their clients are mainly foreigners, but he hopes that the coworking community in Serbia will grow bigger in the future.

A recent survey conducted by the Elance web portal has shown that the Serbian freelance market has a big potential. When compared to 2011, the number of freelance workers has gone up 60 percent, whereas 71 percent of freelancers in Serbia expect their revenues to grow in 2013, with 45 percent of them expecting them to rise by more than 40 percent. Serbia ranks 12th in the world and 5th in Europe in freelancers' revenues.

Weaknesses and strengths of working in a coworking space

Aside from all the advantages of working at home, at a coffee shop or at a park over a classical office job, there are also certain shortcomings when compared to the work at a coworking space.

By working at a coworking space, people improve their social life, increase the number of their associates and boost productivity.

However, users of a coworking space have their rights as well as obligations. They must respect the right to private property as well as the rules of etiquette.

M.K.