Startups and small businesses benefit from shared workspace

The sun is quite literally setting on Microsoft’s free workspace for small businesses in Whitechapel, as a week of co-working and workshops comes to an end. It’s been a thrill to share space, knowledge and experience with small businesses, and to talk about what it really means to ‘work anywhere’.

Microsoft’s free workspace was hosted at Central Working in Whitechapel, East London, between 12-16 January. It was an opportunity for small businesses, many of whom work from home, to get out of the house and share a workspace with other business owners, access free Wi-Fi and printing, as well as experts in business and technology.

Take a quick tour.... 

During the week, we ran workshops with Sophie Chappelow from Funding Circle, who talked about ‘marketplace lending’ and how it can help small businesses grow. Our own Mark Deakin and Mark Johnston were also on hand to share their tips on marketing, admin and working in the cloud.

In between these workshops and sessions, it was fantastic to hear from small business owners about their experiences of running a business and working on the move. Co-working spaces, like Central Working, have been on the rise as technology has allowed more and more people to run businesses from home and on the move. They represent a ‘third space’ that’s not home and not an office either. They’re a great place for entrepreneurs and small businesses to work alone together – in a secure and collaborative environment.

It was great to see so many people in the workspace already using Microsoft products and services, like Office 365, which allow small businesses to pick up their work on practically any connected device, and keep in touch and collaborate with team mates and customers wherever they are.

We’re sad to leave the Small Business Workspace in Whitechapel! But we’ll be getting together with small businesses again soon – at our next SMB Mini Summit on 19 March, where we’ll be discussing issues around ‘working anywhere’ in more detail.

Register for FREE SMB Mini Summit: How to Work from Anywhere

And thanks to everyone who joined us at the Small Business Workspace @ Central Working in Whitechapel!