From Free Workspace To Co-Workspace

*The four green dots are a privacy marker on the four people in this photo.

Index

Offices For You & Creative Valley

Daalsesingel 51

Spaces & The Office Operators & Regus

My Choice

Related blogs on my website

Databeet Turning 10!

Databeet, my company turned 10 this year (2022). I can say it has grown up in these 10 years. A next would be a workspace to work outside the house and is a bit flexible but not located everywhere. I have done that by using Seats2Meet, Aristo and the Library in the past. There are two blogs about these kind of workspaces: 'Working from everywhere' and 'Free workspace in The Netherlands'. I will keep using them probably besides my Co-workspace, when I am outside the city. The thing with working in the places I mentioned is that when Covid happened it was hard to book a workspace, because there were less seats available. Sometimes it is also just to busy when there are events in those places and people come earlier or stay to work.

My Search

There are lots of options for entrepreneurs to rent a space or desk at the moment. There are empty offices everywhere. The search is something I put a lot of time into to be sure I found something that was good for me. There are some big players running most of the offices offering zzp’ers workspace, which makes it easy and difficult at the same time. By contacting one of these organizations it is possible to look at a few options, but it is hard to compare between organizations. They all use different terms for the kind of workspaces they are offering. I would like to share the most important offices that I considered during my search.

SIF

SIF stands for Social Impact Factory. I used to sit here when it was part of the Seats2Meet family. They still have free spaces for the ones who want. I was looking for a permanent desk for a few days a week, which is with them in a different room. There are different membership options ranging from a few hours a week to five days a week. Some of the options even include promoting the members business on their website and social media. SIF is located in the city center in an old, renovated building near Utrecht Central and Hoog Catharijne.

Hashtag Workmode

I read good stories about Hashtag Workmode on VrijeMeid and other blogs. It is a woman only office. There are different memberships ranging from 4 days a month to a permanent desk. They have a nice garden which is used by the entrepreneurs in the summer. The memberships also include discount on events, use of the other locations in The Netherlands and the use of ‘huisfotograaf’. Hashtag Workmode is located in the old part of the city center of Utrecht and is very Instagramable.

Tribes

I looked into Tribes years ago when they had a mancave for men in Hoog Catharijne. Tribes wasn’t an option I considered this time although they have locations all over the world to use as a member. Tribes Utrecht is located near Utrecht Central.

HNK

HNK has two options in Utrecht. One is located near Utrecht Central and the other in the up-and-coming neighborhood Kanaleneiland. I know entrepreneurs who were a member with them in the past. I always see both locations from public transport. The prices are good, but I found other more interested options before having a look there.

De Stadtuin

De Stadtuin was recommended by my housing organization. It is situated in Transwijk. Not far from Nieuwegein and Utrecht Center. On Instagram and X (formerly Twitter) I saw pictures of the beautiful garden. Some entrepreneurs like VrijeMeid used the garden in the past to meet their clients. According to me it is a place for creative people. The neighborhood is getting a makeover the coming years.

Offices For You & Creative Valley

Offices For You and Creative Valley are located near each other on Papendorp, Utrecht. In 2016 I had a virtual office for a year with them. This meant my business mail (post) was delivered there and my KvK subscription was registered on the address of Offices For You. Offices For You was the first one I considered this year when looking for working space. I also looked at their neighbor Creative Valley. Both work with membership options. Both Offices For You and Creative Valley are located at the outskirt of Utrecht, but the center of Utrecht and Utrecht Central Station are near. Just across the bridge there is a shopping mall for lunch.

Daalsesingel 51

Sometimes ‘koffietentjes’ and cafes where my workspace for a few hours. I have a blog Working from everywhere where I mention a few, mostly in Utrecht. Daalsesingel 51 has a typical Dutch café, Bruincafe in basement. Daalsesingel 51 offers Co-workingspaces and offices. They focus a lot on social aspects like shared car, barista, ‘huismeester’, etc. This one is also in Utrecht Center and is well decorated on the inside.

Spaces & The Office Operators & Regus

Spaces, The Office Operators and Regus, three organizations in one at least partially. I contacted Regus. Through Regus I was allowed to look at office form all three brands. Spaces is their newest brand. I looked at the one in House Modernes. It is a good-looking location, completely renovated and in the Utrecht Center. They work with memberships ranging from a virtual office to renting an office space. Spaces membership can also be used with The Office Operators and Regus. On the same day I looked at The Office Operators in WTC Utrecht. Just a few steps from Utrecht Central Station. The Office Operators is their formal brand, and, on this location, I saw lots of nationalities working there. Their memberships can also be used at Regus. Regus is the oldest brand in The Netherlands from the three mentioned. I had the opportunity to look at two locations in Utrecht: One in Kanaleneiland and one in Utrecht Center. The Regus membership can be used also with The Office Operators. All three brands have lots of options in their memberships. I had to spend a few hours on reading and asking them about the different kind of memberships, but it was worth it till 2023.

My Choice

I chose a Co-Working space in the Regus location on St. Jacobstraat in Utrecht in 2022. My choice was based on visiting the locations, asking questions about the memberships and the past. In the past I worked for Stogo Onderzoek + Advies which was at first located in their location on Niasstraat. My new Databeet location is situated in the city center near De Wegloophuis where I lived shortly and Nederlands VolksbuurtMuseum where I worked as a volunteer in the past. I terminated my contract here and no longer use the Regus Co-Working space. After terminating my contract with Regus I tried People @ Places, which was situated between Utrecht Central and the station Vaartsche Rijn. It was okay, but I noticed that I did most of my laptop work before they opened at 8 in the morning and in the weekends. This made me work more hours or leave earlier, because the work I had planned for that day was done. So I said goodbye to all at the end of 2024!