February 7, 2017

Serviced office vs Collaborative Space – What’s the difference?

Donna

February 7, 2017

Serviced office vs Collaborative Space – What’s the difference?

Donna

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As the three founding members of The Lab Factory hit the pavement letting the Perth Business Community know about this amazing collaborative space, there was a common misunderstanding out there. Many of the business owners we talked with initially thought that a collaborative was a fancy term for a serviced office. So, what is the difference between a serviced office and a collaborative?

The best answer to that question is a story about a chicken and a pig.

One day two friends, a chicken and a pig, were walking down the street. As they were walking the chicken says to the pig, “Hey, I have this great business idea. Let’s open a restaurant together.” The pig, who was quite the fan of eating, felt himself very qualified to join the venture, so agreed. They began their planning and dreaming, and eventually it was opening day. The restaurant was full of excited patrons, waiting to order their breakfast. The first patron ordered a coffee and omelette, the next ordered pancakes, the third ordered toast with side of avocado. As each patron ordered the chicken gladly used the eggs she had produced for their meals. The chicken and pig were feeling very pleased with themselves and gave each other a high five as the next person walked up to order.  The man walked up, looked at the menu, then raised his head to order.

“I’ll have the bacon and eggs thanks.”

My question to you is, which business owner was involved in that man’s breakfast and which one was committed?

A serviced office is like the chicken. It’s a group of people who are involved. They are there to run their own businesses successfully, and use a shared space to do that. There are overarching standards and expectation that each person agrees to. Many different business owners share overhead cost across multiple businesses instead of each person having to cover those costs on their own. Essentially a serviced office serves as a great cost saving scenario. Each person is involved in fulfilling their agreed upon terms of using the space and in doing so help their business succeed through saved expenses.

A collaborative is like the pig. A collaborative is a group of businesses and individuals who are committed to creating something bigger and greater then each of their individual parts. Each person invests in the vision and in doing so their own business is fed and nourished to great heights. Their commitment to the collaboration means each person’s own business flourishes as those around them flourish.

The Lab Factory is on a mission to create a work environment that creates innovation and challenges the status quo. The way we accomplish this is by partnering with amazing, committed individuals and businesses who are game changers in their own industry. Each member has signed a 12-month commitment to The Lab Factory which means we have 12 months to work alongside each other, grow friendships, develop a deep understanding of each other’s businesses, and upskill from each other’s shared knowledge. We are all committed to each other’s individual success, which leads to our collective success.

The Lab Factory isn’t a shared office, it’s a collaborative because we aren’t involved, we are committed!

Next time you find yourself working NEXT to someone, stop and ask yourself, “How could I work WITH this person?”, and just like that you have taken the first step away from “just sharing space” and one step closer towards collaboration.

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