3 months in an exciting and exotic co-working space
Canggu, Bali, Indonesia
Written on: August 31st, 2017
#digitalnomad, #newparadigm, #workischanging, #freelance, #web, #coworking, #bali, #workfree
Working in a co-working space VS working at home
I’ve worked as a freelancer for almost ten years now. Shout out to all the freelancers out there.
What I used to consider as the top 3 benefits of working at home
- It’s cheaper
- It’s simpler, no need to move
- There is nothing and no one to disturb me
However, my experience has taught me the following about the reality of working at home:
- There is a great deal of distraction at home
- Your mind can develop an unhealthy inability to separate private life and work life, especially if you do not have a dedicated room to work from – an office in your house.
- Your home office might not be that good. You might have a crappy Internet connection. You might need air conditioning or proper heating in order to work comfortably but are not investing in it. You could have crappy lighting, noise, bad desk or chair.
- It is harder to keep a strict schedule. You might start working too late, waking up too late and it might interfere a great deal with the rest of your life.
- It is harder for your partner and/or friends or family to understand when your mind’s attention is not available because it is focused on your work. As a result, this can be harder for you too.
- You could start suffering from solitude
- You will not benefit from other people’s experience as much as you would in a workspace. You might not be up-to-date with the latest practices or benefit from having instant access to contacts that could provide you with precious technical advices when you need them.
- You will not create contacts/relationships that could be a great source of new leads for your business.
The TOP 6 actual benefits of investing a co-working space
- The work environment has been designed for you. You are given access to an amazing Internet connection, good desks and chairs, different spaces that suit you at different times of the day: outside, inside, A/C, café area, Skype booths, meeting rooms, swimming pool, downstairs or upstairs, silent spaces or busy/chatty spaces.
- You make connections with all different kinds of experts in different fields. You learn. The membership usually includes access to many free workshops given by the members who share their knowledge and get exposure at the same time. You keep your knowledge of the best practices up-to-date.
- You make business connections, team connections.
Are you a Youtube Guru? There a numerous people building information products that would love to hire you! Are you a web developer looking for an SEO expert? Here is the perfect guy for you. Are you building your brand? Say hello to amazing graphic designers and social media experts.
- You now have an office. You can separate your private life from your work life. It is now easier to say, “Honey, I’m not available right now, I’m at work”.
- Get the right amount of social time. In a co-working space, you can manage the right dosage between being alone and being with people. No more solitude and no social overwhelm. You’re in control.
- And last but not least, you make friends… and if you’re lucky, you may create more intimate connections. See #dojolove for more info 🙂
DOJO BALI
Dojo Bali offers all of that and more.
Location
It is located in Canggu Bali, a beach town that has been growing exponentially for the last five years. Being one hour away from both Denpasar Airport and Ubud, its location is ideal. Canggu attracts a great deal of surfers and yoga practitioners. Just two years ago, Dojo opened. Now it is filled with Digital Nomads enjoying a very balanced lifestyle.
Weather
Except for the rainy season – November to March – the weather is perfect. 25C to 32C all year and a soft breeze from the Sea. Just wear flip-flops and a singlet, maybe a long-sleeve T-shirt at night. That’s it. You can’t go wrong!
Rent
Cost of rent is okay. Many coworkers make the choice to live in a big villa with a few housemates. Others make the choice to stay in a guesthouse or a homestay. It can cost anywhere from 5 to 9 million IDR a month to rent a room in a luxurious villa. Guesthouses and homestays cost around 5 million a month.
Transports
Forget about your car. Rent a scooter! It’s the main transport vehicle in Bali… and most of Asia actually. It’s cheap as F***K. About 800.000 IDR a month to rent the bike and don’t even count the cost of petrol because it’s really negligible.
Community
Dojo does not only provide the environment, it creates a community: business –oriented speed dating, dojo masterminds, beach & beers events, members’ lunch, barbecues, basketball field, days out to visit Bali and finally Games of Throne screenings for the fans. It also provides a digital membership subscription for those who wish to continue having access to the live streaming of all the workshops to stay connected with the community even while being away from Bali. Dojo also tries to initiate and partake in community projects for Bali. The “Dojo Hackathon” organized a few months ago was organized with the intention of helping the community with its waste management issues.
People
Meet people from all over the world. Some are entrepreneurs, some sell products online, some develop for others, some work fixed hours for a remote agency. I’ve met programmers, SEO and social media experts, email marketing experts and graphic designers and also fashion designers, bloggers, content writers, photographers and many bitcoin traders. People who hang out at Dojo usually have an interesting history; they are not the common office employee. They are well traveled and have a story that is most often astonishing and inspiring.
Staff & Services
The staff is exclusively composed of locals. Front-desk, café, kitchen, event managers, the Dojo Staff is top-notch and contribute to give a really nice vibe to the place. The café offers great meals and drinks; coffee is up to the Australian standards and prices are affordable. Dojo also offers printing services and sells accessories for laptops. In the next month, Dojo’s basketball court will be opened its doors and not too long after Dojo will be launching its own accommodation offer.
