Shared office space in Toronto can come in several forms with a variety of payment terms, overhead and types of office space being shared. The list includes:

  1. Coworking office space
  2. Traditional office space where 2 or more businesses share the office expense
  3. Semi-private Office in a Business Centre where 2 businesses share an office
  4. Team office space is a larger office shared by several employees of a single business
  5. Flexible workspaces

The Pros and Cons of Coworking Shared office Space

Coworking office space is like a business centre that charges a monthly membership fee rather than a monthly rental fee. More networking opportunities are perceived to be one of the advantage, however, at telsec we have seen that there is also a sense of community and collaboration in our business centre. The biggest advantage that coworking provides is in the low costs and use of shared business equipment and support structure.

Coworking like all shared office space has both positives and negatives. Hours of access can be a problem if your business is part time because many coworking office spaces limit access to business hours of 9-5. Although the close proximity to other business people does provide networking and collaboration opportunities the downside to that is a lack of privacy that means there is always the possibility of other coworkers disturbing or distracting you from the business at hand!

Sharing Traditional Office Space

Before there was coworking workspace it was common for 2 or more startup businesses to share traditional office space. Because of the costs and terms/liabilities of traditional office space it is difficult to find benefits that justify the extra expense. Traditional office space is often higher in cost than any other type of shared office space. There is a definite trend away from traditional office space with even large established businesses seeing coworking space as a real alternative to traditional office space.

The Pros and Cons of Semi-Private Office Space in a Business Centre

Semi-private office space is an office shared by 2 people and paid on a monthly rental term. In our experience this is an excellent rental option for freelancers and professions that generally work and meet clients in an office environment, but, do not need to work from the office every day.

The Business Centre support staff provide professional personalized call answering and reception services maintaining a professional appearance even when you are not in the office. Many business centres also include some boardroom/meeting room/conference rooms with the shared office for meeting clients.

This is by far the most cost effective office space solution that provides not only a low price but also the greatest privacy and distraction free shared office space environment. Unlike coworking workspaces a semi-private office often includes a file cabinet which can be locked saving the hassle of lugging around a lot of “stuff” you use every day.
One negative to a semi-private office shared workspace is that there is one other person in the office. This is seldom a problem because often both people are not in the office at the same time. Also in many business Centres access is 24/7 365 days of the year so if there were an issue in the workspace it is easily avoided.

Team Space the Collaboration Space

Another type of shared space is team space which is a larger office that is shared by a small group of people working on a project, a company needing a temporary office or when team space is adjacent to an executive suite with private entrance team space is perfect for a manager/staff situation. This shared office is designed to encourage collaboration and networking within a group from the same company.

Flexible Workspace

Flexible workspace is all office space that is not leased. The name comes from the flexibility of the terms! The terms and cost savings are causing a change in the way business are beginning to look at office design and management. As Enterprise businesses begin to view flexible workspace as a viable alternative to owning or renting office space.

Conclusions

Telsec Business Centres is a flexible workspace provider offering all of the above shared office solutions. Our 24/7/365 days a year access is the best offer anywhere. Business does not run only between 9 and 5 don’t let your shared office space solution limit your ability to do business.