Are you wondering How to Start Coworking Business in India? Here is How to Start A Coworking Business in India with Requirements, Features, Costs.
Before you think about starting a coworking business in India, it will be helpful to go through our guide on Ultimate Guide on Coworking: Benefits, Advantages & Disadvantages. This guide will give you unbiased information about advantages & disadvantages of coworking and help you decide whether a coworking space is essential for your business.
You can also check out our post Difference Between Hot Desk & Fixed Desk: Everything You Need to Know so that you can choose the right type of coworking package for your business.
We have also written a very detailed post on Coworking Benefits, Advantages & Perks You Should Know Before Moving into A Regular Office Space–you can quickly go through this post too.
Coworking spaces are workspaces where more than one company is working from. Apart from the electric atmosphere that is energetic, the smell of fresh coffee in the air is the second only thing that brings excitement to the occupants.
The culture of the coworking space involves a mix of both- those involved with deep focus at private desks and those who strike up engaged in conversations at a large shared table.
These coworking spaces are nothing but essentially shared work spaces. Affordable office space is offered by them to those who look for the escape of the isolation of home or office.
These places offer more office like amenities, like private meeting rooms, coffee, kitchen, hot desks and many more. They may also offer community. Start-ups, free lancers, entrepreneurs and freelancers are the general occupants who take advantage of such flexible spaces.
Another big draw apart from culture is the cost. The ability to rent only what you need is one of the big advantages of such spaces.
Cost varies and also the flexibility is there through various membership-based models. Such models include options of daily rent or monthly rent. Also, certain membership options are there, based on whether one is willing to use a shared desk or a dedicated one.
Co-working spaces have taken India’s market by storm. In recent times, it has shown a massive growth in the demand and market value. This growth has come around in lieu of rapid development of new start-ups.
In 2017, the size of the co-working market in India increased by more than 50%.
JLL India says that by the end of 2018, India’s coworking market is expected to grow by 40% to 50%, to reach over 1 million square feet of leased areas with a handsome investment of $400 million.
Co-working space providers are expected to lease about 8 to 9 million square feet of workspace by 2020.
Delhi, Mumbai, and Bangalore have the biggest concentrations of co-working spaces due to the growing number of start-ups. These three cities alone host 70% of India’s start-ups.
The demand for co-working spaces in Mumbai has outpaced its supply over the last 2 years, leading to an average of 35% increase in their rates.
The market size of co-working spaces is increasing rapidly and is expected to increase by more than 10 times by 2020.
Co-working space providers are now exploring smaller towns as well, instead of simply focussing on their services in mega cities. This is helping the co-working industry thrive better. Office providers like iKeva are readily opening new centres in different cities to cater to the high demands.
By 2025, 42% of the country’s population will be working in shared offices in urban areas.
The current potential market size of co-working spaces is in the range of 12 to 16 million seats.
Co-working market also attracts even the bigger business houses to opt for shared offices to expand their ventures.
Though coworking spaces have been around for a long time, in the last couple of years coworking spaces have emerged as a workspace you find pleasant ambience, flexible work space and opportunities to network with like individuals.
So here are the top 10 coworking space providers in India.
Headquartered in New York City, WeWork was founded in year 2010.
With a presence in about 115 cities, WeWork also have offices in cities like Gurugram, Begaluru and Mumbai. Cities like Pune, Noida and Hyderabad will be having WeWork soon.
WeWork have access to facilities like private phone booths, printers, mail and package handling, fast internet, 24/7 building access and IT support. These coworking spaces helps extending the wellness events and professional circle to strike up the perfect life and work balance.
Bombay Connect being India’s first coworking space provider is now rebranded in the name of Red Brick Offices. Space has access to facilities like Air – Conditioner with projector, WiFi, IT support and cafe.
A mini library is also placed in the space for avid readers. Foodies may enjoy the delightful food anytime as they have a kitchen available. This coworking space shows a presence across cities like Mumbai, Pune and Hyderabad. It harbours reputed companies like Airtel, Wipro, Tata Consultancy etc.
For proper seating arrangement it has wall partition. It also has facilities for job providers and job seekers. The place seems to serve as one of the ideal destinations to conduct workshops, interactive sessions and events.
Officially launched in 2013- in the state of Delhi, Springboard started out as a small space in Mohan Estate. Currently the firm shows its presence in cities like Goa, Gurugram, Mumbai, Hyderabad, and Noida. Basic amenities of this oldest space in Delhi NCR include cable internet, WiFi, Conference rooms, projectors, locker facility, medical services etc. It gives the occupants a 24/7 access with keeping an eye on security. It’s been seen involved in networking events for women.
One of the good coworking spaces spread across in North India and in Mumbai and Bengaluru is Innov8. Modern furniture, WiFi, breakout zones, recreational zones, cafeteria, power backup, community and networking events are some of the key highlights of the working space. The major attraction which truly defines the name and aim of the firm is the major attraction of the coworking space. Membership charges vary from Rs 8000 to Rs 20000.
Being one of the world’s largest space provider, Regus claims itself to provide space and solution to all business types that too in all budgets. It has multiple ways of optimally utilizing the space while offering space to a wide range of target occupants from private office space to desk space. Occupants of Regus range from freelancers to start-ups. Firm also gives you the facility to manage and book workspace from wherever you are. It also allows you to add or concise space when needed.
A collaborative work atmosphere having both work and play is created by this workspace. It believes in combining both. It has a presence in Bengaluru, Mumbai and New Delhi. Café offering a broad range of delicious hot beverage with foods and desserts is one of the major attractions of this coworking space. With a combination of both an office and a café, it is an urban styled cafe.
With over more than 23 centres in 5 cities across India, CoWrks harbours occupants from start-ups, freelancers, small and medium businesses. Some of the peculiarities of the workspace include flexible contract terms and customisable offices.
Location as well as amenities offered by the workspace is two major factors on which the annual membership fee depends.
The application called ‘CoWrks Connect’ enables the members to connect with the global community of the CoWrks.
It also has an in-house team of experts who are indulged in analysing the space utilisation. The space provider, being a fast growing one, seems to be investing in understanding of the given space used.
With about 2500 centres over 55 cities, Awfis are one of the largest space provider for coworking. More than half of its total clients comprise SMEs and corporate while entrepreneurs, freelancers and start-ups make up for 20 percent of the client base.
The colourful and playful décor is what with which the workspace is characterised. This firm also encourages collaboration through festival celebrations, fun events, musical events, stand up comedy, special food events etc.
Awfis does provide space for business meetings and centres. It also has a partnership with leading hotels such as The Lemon Trees Hotels and Hyatt.
A platform that provides mentorship to budding start-ups is Investopad. The projects which have a potential scale to new heights are also funded by the firm.
It also has an in-house expert team to give guidance to start-ups. Investopad claims to conduct seminars, workshops and meetups and knowledge sharing sessions.
It shows its presence in Gurugram, Delhi and Bengaluru. Amenities of the firm include AV interactive spaces, rooms for conferences, Optic internet, range of library including range start-ups manuals, guides to marketing etc.
It is one of the coworking spaces offering ready to use virtual space for offices with required flexible office configurations of different size businesses.
The space has the facility of high-speed internet connectivity, range of meals which are available at minimal charges.
Mail or package handling for both Inbound and Outbound handling is another key characteristic of the co working space which is beneficial for freelancers, independent workers, start-ups, consultants and emerging businesses.
Creating a brand new co-working space may seem like a very easy business for starting with a prominent real estate, including some contemporary furnishing along with an active community and that’s it? you will be a winner, that’s it? Well you have to give some pause to your thought and have to take a step back for thinking about the associated legal requirement you will need to accomplish in order to comply with.
The Building
Certain Laws specifically related to real estate can differ from one city to another, especially for those which will be involving zoning of some residential and commercial spaces. Although, there exists a few broad pointers that must be kept in mind before you decide about entering within the lease for building your co-working space
– Legal Title: Taking a thorough due diligence of the property might cost you a certain amount of money up front, but it is always suggested to know about the legal title of the property that it is free of encumbrance.
– Sanctioned Plan: You must know in advance that the building within which you have planned to build your co-working space is eventually built as per the plan sanctioned by the Competent Authority. This will guard you from future legal problems. Major violations might lead towards sealing of the properties or even in worse demolition.
– Commercial Property: Know if co-working space falls within commercial business? Well it seems so, because after it’s a space from where workers will be conducting their business, so you have to make sure that the place being chosen does not violate any zoning norms.
– Licenses: Every building requires certain local clearances such as from the Pollution Control Board, Fire safety and many more. Are they having all of them in place? Safety and security of the residents must be given required importance, for making sure that the building is highly well equipped.
– The Lease: Lease agreements have to be registered along with the local authorities for having legal sanction. The stamp duty related to these leases usually depend on the lease length and the rental. The requirement for registering can vary across states, so you have to make sure that you have in advance planned for it.
– Sub Lease / Licensing Agreement: What type of working space you have planned to build? Will there be involvement of granting long term sub-leases for your coworkers or only short-term usage will exist. Your lease agreement, including a host of other clauses, must clearly spell out that it’s legal to carry out the business of this particular nature. Adding on you have to make sure that the lessor understands your business in an accurate manner so that there will be no unpleasant surprises later on.
Every business usually consists of certain set of compliance that you have to be aware about and your business should comply with it. Ignorance of applicable law is not an excuse!
– Registration: As per State laws you will have to obtain specific license i.e. Shops and Establishment license for your co-workspace. Adding on, if you have an idea about running the workspace beyond the normal working hours and specially round the clock, you will also need consent from the relevant local authorities.
– Employment & Labour Contracts: There is no need for too many employees in terms to run your co-working space, but if in case the limit under the respective statute gets exceeded, you might need a number of registration (example PF, ESI etc). You must also be aware that even the ones who work on contractual basis are also counted towards some of these laws.
– Tax Registration: Blessing? Yes, in this case GST has been rolled out as a most needed blessing, this is the only tax registration that you will need for obtaining your transaction taxes. Although, along with this you will need your PAN, TAN for a few income tax related purposes.
– Licenses: Most of the co-working spaces provide a power back-up facility and it is powered by Diesel Generators (DG). You have to make sure that you have the necessary permission for operating a DG and to store fuel.
Technically, you will be needing just a space along with a group of people having a shared interest for getting it started. Establishing it within a proper space or even a business, however, is quite complicated.
Here are a few tips that must be taken into consideration and these will make you started towards the creation of an effective as well as an awesome co-work space. So your answer to how to start Coworking business in India is here:
Do your analysis and make sure that you simply have the demand for a co-work space. Don’t assume that “if you build it, people will start preferring your place,” as the plan of co-working is unaccustomed many folks, and a number of people can ought to be sold on the advantages. Think about hosting a number of events to determine and pull in interest.
Organize a bunch of Meetups or Facebook, and invite several colleagues and friends to hitch. Sometimes, it simply needs to find a convenient place to satisfy a number of co-workers numerous times per month. Beginning with a little and growing into one thing will be additionally impactful as well as rarely a nasty plan.
Co-work places across the cities are usually known for being highly contemporary, stylish as well as artisan, which altogether results in a wildly creative along with energetic environments.
Of course, for this you have to understand investment as well as ongoing expenses accurately before coming up with a perfect budget, but you will have to be honest with yourself and up front: Will this be a profit center or an inspiration center? Many work spaces are operated as simply to break, with the unique idea of the environment along with the benefits of bringing so many resources all together as a community.
You will need a space which is highly convenient, safe as well as easy to find. Fundamentally, co-work spaces works well with older and underutilized buildings. Look for such a space that has been vacant for a while or which is not being used to capacity. You can come with a great deal for such places with the landlord or property manager in order to secure an inexpensive lease.
Having a comfortable as well as creative environment where work is important, but along with it providing right utilities, specifically high-speed Internet, is also important to your users. Work with a few utility companies, as they can have special arrangements for co-work spaces who are intended to serve the community. Furniture, thoroughly depends upon your budget.
Even if you have not considered your co-work space as a profit center, you will still need to market it similar to a business. Coming up with the right and effective marketing strategy which will attract the right type of workers is equally important.
Do not limit yourself towards just the local advertising, because many traveling business men also look for co-working spaces in destination cities for having a place for working as well in order to network with other professionals.
Get in contact with your state as well as local chambers of commerce in order to inquire about certain help and resources they could be able to provide. A number of cities also have small-business development centers (SBDCs) along with some economic development corporations (EDCs) who have the primary goal of providing assistance and creating economic opportunities for upcoming businesses.
Well, it basic that you are not alone in the race. You will have competitions you have to work beyond them to make your own identity. Do some research, know what they are providing, their costs, why people are preferring them each and every minute detail that you can have will add on in the solution for beating your competition. You just have to come with better performance as compared to your competitors. Adding on you cannot get all that success in one day, keeping patience will act as a boon for you.
High Speed Wifi
Your co-workers simply cannot work without high speed internet service which must be available at all times. The modern offices are built with flexibility options as workers usually move about the facility. Which means you must have powerful WiFi within the conference rooms, common areas, the kitchen and even outside where your co-workers may hold impromptu business meetings.
Security
For people their amenities as well as their data is their business. Thus, personal safety along with data security always lies on the top of their checklist of reasons for picking a coworking space, you can even get blackballed if you fail to protect their assets, including:
Cleaning
Providing your co-workers clean and hygienic environment comes in the priory list. For working out and getting success they need to be healthy, and when it comes to health you must have to keep it clean all around, keep you space germs free, full of fragrance and much more.
Ergonomic Chairs
Your coworking members who are there to rent private offices will probably plan to spend whole long days at your facility, thus furnishing these spaces using all attractive and comfortable furniture becomes highly important.
Tea/Coffee/Water
Working throughout the day can make you a little bit exhausted and feel low, even sometimes sleepy. Thus, in order to keep your members full of energy and boosted up, you have to ensure that they get their tea and coffee on time so that they can come up with best results.
In order to calculate the overall operational cost of your working space you have to take certain things into consideration such as:
-Total Square Feet: total area in square feet you will require along with its per square feet cost.
-Total Number of Seats You Can Fit: Number of seats that you want to include in you workspace as well as the number of seats that fits in easily having enough space.
-Capital Expenditure: what will be the overall capital expenses
-Operational Expenditure: how much will be the operational expenses
-Pricing Seating options in Your Coworking Space: What kind of seating options will be available at you place and what it will cost to book one.
Also known as Voice Call Marketing is considered as a useful tool for targeting the audience. It generally connects millions of clients within a short time period. Voice call as well as pre-recorded voice messages which are sent to cellular phones along with landline phones tends to bring in great results.
They can be seen as an automated call and usually involves some kind of automated dialing of multiple numbers all at a time making use of computer managed lists. Such a communication technique is wide-reaching.
Email Marketing is as a fantastic way of enhancing your brand to the existing members along with remarketing to lost leads, promotion of some special offers along with discounts like meeting room coupons and free trial days and offering a number of leads all are part of your sales strategy.
The value will be added within your email database as well as your CRM should also allow you to collect, harvest these emails for numerous marketing purposes. You must ensure that the email addresses being used for marketing purposes are permission-based.
Account based marketing also termed as ABM is highly used business marketing strategy which effectively concentrates resources on a specific set of target accounts with the competitive market.
It makes use of a number of personalized campaigns which are designed to engage accounts efficiently, and usually base marketing upon specific attributes and needs of accounts.
In the digital era, where business and companies strive for their positive online presence, the usage of SEO add on in helping to gain the target and objective of ranking up high within the search results page of search engines such as Google.
This helps to increase the overall traffic over a particular website. Thus, it only makes sense about using formulated strategies that will make this happen optimally, allocating a perfect budget to digital marketing.
A number of co-working spaces are taking Google Ad words in consideration for the purpose of lead generation, making use of Local SEO that is more feasible for them. If your strategy works as per expectations, your business can create a highly dominating presence over the competitors in local search results as well as directories.
If you need any help setting up your own coworking space, do let us know and we will help you set up space, do the marketing and ensure your seats are filled in the shortest possible time.
It depends on the location and square footage you require for your space.
To make coworking profitable, you need to reduce your churn and ensure you have healthy pipeline of leads.
Yes coworking is a good business. Once you have established a brand, it will be easier to get customers and increase profits.
Yes, WeWork can be profitable as long as customers stay loyal to the brand.
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