We Are Mobile First
At the start of 2019, we shared a post all about how we prepared our business for a new year. Moving to a new office space and joining the many businesses who are currently coworking in Barcelona was one of the first tasks we crossed off.
There were a wealth of things to consider before our move, from the location to the facilities, as well as the community and social activities on offer. After coworking in the city for nearly a year at our base of choice, Aticco MED, we figured we’d use our experience to explore the many benefits of coworking.
Coworking is a worldwide phenomenon that continues to thrive, especially in vibrant cities like Barcelona.
Coworking spaces are bases for a wide range of companies who come from diverse industries and sectors, from freelancers to digital nomads, startups to established companies, giving each a space to develop their projects and build a strong sense of community.
Since their evolution in San Francisco back in 2005, thanks to the forward-thinking of software engineer Brad Neuberg, coworking spaces have adapted over time and have begun to meet the day-to-day needs of workers.
These days they typically offer a wide range of services and facilities on top of the usual workspace, from common areas to events, cafeterias to exercise classes!
Coworking is all about turning your typical office into a well-connected, collective workspace for individuals from a range of backgrounds. These spaces, as such, are filled with potential contacts and connections in both a personal and professional respect.
Professionally, it encourages you to think outside the box and draw upon the knowledge and skill sets of individuals outside of your bubble which can have a substantial effect on projects. In a personal capacity, friendships blossom from team to team making for a more positive and welcoming working environment.
After almost a year at Aticco, we have generated a large professional network and made great friendships along the way. In brushing up on our social skills, we’ve also strengthened the relationships between the members of our team.
There’s something incredibly uplifting about working in an environment that thrives on communication and innovation.
The office is spacious and, as it’s a coworking space, we have the flexibility to increase or decrease the size of our workspace with ease. This, of course, has a positive impact on the financial side of running a business, as a cost that is traditionally fixed is transformed into one that is variable.
Coworking not only gives us flexibility in terms of the size of our office, it also offers a flexible working model. Team members don’t just occupy a space on a desk. Everyone has the freedom to work from wherever suits them at that very moment; this helps to maximize both their productivity and creativity levels.
There are times when we might want to zone out and concentrate solely on our screens from the comfort of our own spot or there are other instances where we might want to work from a more communal space where we can occupy various chilled out rooms or sofas.
Sometimes we might just want to feel a little more open to the elements and work amongst the Mediterranean breeze up on the terrace overlooking the beach.
When you work in your own separate office, it’s easy to forget about the needs of your visiting clients. It’s not always possible to make space for them.
When our clients visit us now, however, they too can find space on our desks to work from and they also have access to the communal areas and facilities, so they too can work from one of the cosy sofas or tucked away on the terrace.
Our clients, as you can imagine, are encouraged to visit us and feel more ingrained in our team, with many opting to work directly with us from our offices as opposed to theirs!
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In addition to all the aforementioned spaces, we also have the option to have private offices and meeting rooms.
We currently have two offices. One of them is a multi-purpose space that we use as a meeting and conference room. It’s also where we plan out all of our projects. This office is perhaps more akin to the traditional view of what an office should be.
Our second office, however, is where the fun happens!
We refer to it as our laboratory. It’s here that we like to work on our more out-there ideas, from electric skateboards to our ongoing microgreens project. It’s here that we keep our 3D printers where we print new parts for our drone and it also serves as storage for our paddle boards that we use in the warmer months.
It’s here where we also store all of the local craft beers for our beer tasting evenings.
It’s hugely important to stimulate our creativity, expand our imaginations and top up our inspiration pools. With such varied conversations and locations, our coworking space takes care of all of those things.
Whether we’re brainstorming ideas over coffee in the cafeteria, commenting on the latest news developments, attending the many communal events or relaxing whilst playing video games in the laboratory, we’re constantly feeding our creativity.
Our environment has been invaluable to our creative process during this last year.
If you are still not convinced, here’s an overview of the facilities and activities that we have access to here at Aticco MED.
In addition to the facilities on offer, Aticco also run a packed schedule of events and activities that we have access to, whether that’s post-work beer and chats on the terrace, or communal yoga classes to help us relax, or even boxing classes if we’re feeling particularly fired up!
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After almost one year of coworking in Barcelona, we’re still absolutely loving the experience. The more we think about it, the more positive things there are to say about it.
Working from a coworking space has allowed us to concentrate on the really important aspects of our work.
Our team members work in what we feel is an ideal working environment, free of negative distractions, that allows them to develop both personally and professionally. In giving us so much freedom and flexibility, our team have developed routines that work best for them, resulting in increased levels of productivity and creativity, ensuring that everyone is happy to come to work each day.
Friendships have bloomed, as have innovative ideas, and we’re excited to see where the future of coworking takes us.
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Have you joined the coworking movement yet? Perhaps you’re also coworking in Barcelona? Tweet us and we’ll be sure to retweet the responses!
We Are Mobile First is a digital product agency based in Barcelona helping to transform businesses in a mobile-first world. Follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn and Medium to be notified of our future posts and stay up-to-date with our company news.
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(image credit: Attico MED)