Last Friday at WeWork Berkeley. Unexpectedly, I forgot my laptop and iPad charger, and I ended up with such a clumsy work style. USB Type-C various ......
It's May. For those of you who have just started a new life, how are you doing this month? As a freelance writer, I haven't had many new life-like events other than the first year I started working and the sixth year I moved to the United States. , 1 year and 1 month have passed since I adopted a new workplace.
I have been working from home since I was in Tokyo. At home, I had an old 24-inch Apple Studio Display and connected my main MacBook Pro to work. Since coming to the US, I've been using it without an external display.
After five years of living in the United States, a coworking space called WeWork opened in front of the station in Berkeley, where I live. So, starting last year, I became a member of that WeWork, and for the first time since I became a freelancer, I got a "workplace" other than my home.
Softbank has been actively investing in the United States since the Trump administration took office. The company owns Sprint, the fourth largest mobile phone company in the United States, and is also known as a company that is planning to merge with T-Mobile US, the third largest mobile phone company.
In addition, in the UK, it has acquired ARM, a company that is indispensable for the processor design of modern smartphones and tablets, and has become an important company not only in Asia but also in Silicon Valley and Wall Street. In March 2017, SoftBank invested $300 million in WeWork (https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-03-21/softbank-invests-300-million-in-wework ).
Softbank's valuation of this coworking space is about 2 trillion yen. Coworking space can be translated into Japanese as rental office, so it should be classified as a real estate business.
For example, "WeWork Berkeley" in front of Berkeley Station originally started with about 3 floors including the lobby on the first floor of the building, but now WeWork occupies all 7 floors. Moreover, there are already six locations in San Francisco, and we have also expanded into San Jose, a city in Silicon Valley.
Meeting spaces at WeWork Berkeley are equipped with whiteboards and flat screen displays and can be reserved via the app
You will understand the rapid expansion and valuation just like a technology company when you actually participate and look inside. It can be summarized by the keyword "platform".
First, make an office. I have visited several WeWork offices, and I am impressed by the interior design, which is modern and stylish, and each one has its own individuality.
Furniture is made in-house, and in the case of Berkeley, it is decorated with reclaimed wood "wind" processing and colorful fabrics reminiscent of hippies. If you go to other offices, there are places that emphasize the glass more and give a strong studio-like impression with tight black.
If you hear the concept of "What a workplace that doesn't look good on Instagram...", I'm convinced that it looks stylish no matter where you cut it.
On the other hand, the office itself is designed with a focus on efficiency. Although there are slight differences in the facilities of each office, you will notice that the basic configuration is common in that even if you visit an office for the first time, you can immediately understand how it works without receiving any explanation.
The result of such ingenuity is reflected in the price.
If you rent a small studio-type property in front of the Berkeley station and open a private office, the rent is $1,500 a month, plus $80 for high-speed internet for business, and $60 for utilities, totaling $1,640 a month. It will take If you add furniture and furnishings to this and prepare a color laser printer that you don't know if you will use it, the cost will increase further.
If you rent a private room for 1 person at WeWork Berkeley, it will cost you $600. It includes everything mentioned above, plus meeting rooms with whiteboards and large displays, spacious kitchens and lounges, and unlimited coffee and draft beer.
WeWork Berkeley 5F lounge. Coffee, milk, and draft beer servers are installed in the kitchen on each floor. Each floor has a different brand, and some members go drinking while climbing the ladder...
If the equipment conditions are the same and you don't need a private room, there is also a $350 hot desk plan (you can use any available desk) and a $450 fixed desk plan.
A $350 hot desk, for example, is a bargain if you work in a cafe. Assuming 20 days of operation and 4 cups of coffee a day, that's already $16 a day, or $320 in 20 days. If you go to work on a Friday afternoon with a beer, $8 is $32 in four days, over $350 at this point.
On top of that, maybe for American reasons, standing in the bathroom with your laptop at work in a cafe is like asking you to please steal it. You have to tell people close to you to "look at me".
Also, most cafes have Wi-Fi, but it can be glacially slow even if there are not many customers. It's a lot of people who don't get a job.
In addition to the low price alone, if you include various conditions, you will soon realize that working as a freelancer in a US city is "unprecedented".