If you type ‘Coworking in Lahore’ into Google, you will see an endless list of coworking spaces near and around you. Only a few years ago, the concept of coworking was non-existent in Pakistan. The traditional approach to setting up office in this country was to either own your own workplace or to rent the space, renovate it and run it through and through; managing all costs, bills and expenses yourselves.
The idea of coworking was still more prevalent in certain countries. Those countries that had a better grasp of facility management also tended to have a more developed coworking industry. You can find instances of coworking in the US or Germany as early as 2005, however facility management, an integral part of the appeal of coworking dates back decades.
Till recently, Pakistan has not been too keen on effective delivery of support services, especially for the organizations that it serves. Even large multinational companies such as Pepsico, Nestle or Coca-Cola have had to arrange for their own asset and facility management.
Such organization and operations come with a substantial price tag and smaller companies cannot afford this luxury. Thus, small or even medium start ups have had no other option but to cut costs around aesthetics, recreation and people to keep up with the competition.
In regards to coworking in Lahore, the playing field has been leveled. Each client in a coworking space can delegate some of their core office responsibilities to the coworking administration, namely, utilities, front office duties, cleaning and maintenance, IT services and security. Some coworking spaces, such as COLABS also offer added services such as HR, admin or financial business solutions for a nominal charge to further liberate offices from secondary responsibility.
Another overlooked and perhaps the most under rated or ignored advantage of being in a coworking space in Lahore comes in the form of community and networking. Large corporations have the size and resources to develop their own work-culture and community. When you are operating within an office of over a 100 people, you are bound to follow suit with their values and motivations. This may be much harder to muster working in a small team of 4 individuals. As a part of a coworking community, not only do you become a part of a much large drive to succeed, but you are constantly reinforced to do better, try harder and work smarter.
With the rise of coworking in Lahore, more and more industries are moving into coworking spaces. You can find advertising agencies, tech startups, international affiliations and an entire myriad of freelancers under the same roof. The experience and diversity of a coworking space far outshines many large corporations.