. . . Another Player In The Co-Working Scene . . .

At the start of this week, I was able to try out another co-working space in the Queen City of the South, Regus. Regus considers themselves as the leader in "the workplace revolution." It has centers in a number of locations around the world. Aside from the Philippines,

Regus has a center in nearly all seven continents ( I'm not sure if anyone would want to work with penguins who may give the Clark brothers a run for their money). If you are a Businessworld Platinum member, you can use any of the Business Lounges around the world. Since I am focusing on this beautiful island in the middle of the country that started the first bloodless revolution in the world, I'll leave those reviews to other people who have to get a new passport every month.

Image grabbed from Regus

The Regus center in the Queen City of the South is located in the 11th floor of the AppleOne - Equicom Tower. From what I saw, it occupied the entire 11th floor of the building. A number of companies are currently headquartered at the center, mostly Asian companies with a number of companies coming from the other continents. It offers a co-working space, which Regus calls the Business Lounge, shared offices, and private offices. The rates for the shared and private offices may be considered too steep for start-up companies that want to relocate in this paradise in the middle of the Pearl of the Orient. However, their Business Lounge has a competitive price tag . . . a very competitive price tag, In fact, it's probably the cheapest co-working space I found in the island.

The Business Lounge is made up of at least eight wok stations. Four are basically stools and a long table close to the window that gives the user an excellent view of the skyline of the city. The other four are 'pods' that evoke memories of  spaceship in Mork & Mindy. Getting into the 'pod' also feels like being in the cockpit of an X-Wing. I was able to try out the 'pod' and I felt like telling Artoo to prepare for lightspeed.

The internet connectivity actually impressed me. It was among the fastest I ever encountered, which give credence to what the manager told me that they were using a fiber optics for their internet connection. While the internet connectivity was impressive, there were some interruptions on the day I tested the facilities. But, this is understandable since the internet connectivity in the country is among the slowest in the world.

Although internet connectivity is considered as the most important aspect in the life of an online freelance worker, the quality of service comes in as a close second, that is, for OFWs like me who prefer working with people milling around my peripheral vision. I would give kudos to their front office staff for being very professional, especially after I was unable to take note of the code sent to me through my email. The lady, whose name I already forgot since my life just started two years ago, immediately got on her PC and gave me the code and password for the Wi-Fi. After that brief episode of not-yet-a-senior-moment, I was able to start working.

Image grabbed from Regus

My only gripe, if you can call it such, is the fact that the Business Lounge only has eight actual work stations. When all the workstations are occupied, you will have to look for a place in and around the Business Lounge to work. Although you can work on the sofas in the reception area, a desk or table or even a box to put your laptop on is really quite beneficial for online freelance workers like me. While it is called a "laptop," having the the device sitting on your lap for three or four hours is quite tiring, to put it lightly.

However, there is good news for OFWs who may want to work at Regus. The company is set to open a second center in the Queen City of the South. The second location is rather close to home, at the IT Park. The second center will be opened in a building that is currently set to open in the third or fourth quarter of this year. The building is actually owned by the family of a former student of mine. I am hoping against all hope that the Business Lounge at this location will be bigger to provide OFWs like me a place where I can work without being tempted to answer the call of Mr. Sandman and simply leave everything to Faith.

 And oh, the Business Lounge has a monthly rate of P1,290 with a minimum subscription of six months. A one-year subscription gives you a discount of one month.

Freelancing at The TIDE

I have been freelancing for the past six years. At the start, it was more of a part-time thing rather than being my main source of income. However, in the last few months, I started to work as a full-time freelancer, getting all of my income from projects I do for my clients.

My income from freelance work is much higher than the salary I used to receive when I was still working as a full-time teacher. Aside from a higher income, I also have the option when and where to work. I used to work on my projects out of coffee shops around the city. In fact, I tell my friends that my office has five branches, based on the location of the coffee shop I work out of. While I could have worked at home, just like what a good number of freelancers do, I cannot seem to work at home due to the huge urge to simply go back to bed and sleep.

The only drawback in working out of a coffee shop is the cost. I normally stay the whole day in the coffee shop and spend around P500 each day. This takes a huge bite out of my income. Then I heard about co-working spaces in the city.

I was initially introduced to the idea of co-working zones when I came across an article I read on the internet. I cannot recall anymore where the article was posted, but it definitely piqued my interest. I knew that there was a co-working space located somewhere within Metro Cebu. However, its location was not quite freelancer-friendly.  It was within an industrial zone, which means it did not have the usual establishments that cater to the needs and wants of freelancers. Another downside about the place was the fact that it was expensive. I think the daily rate of this co-working zone was around P500, which is basically the same amount I spend when I work in a coffee shop. This made me think twice in working here.

Good thing I was able to find another co-working space somewhere in the IT Park, The TIDE. I visited the place sometime in February. The place offers a high-speed internet connection and free cold/hot water to its residents. There are also several establishments around the area offering a number of food choices, albeit I could not find one that offers salads and sandwiches.

The Tide - image grabbed from The TIDE Cebu

The TIDE does offer competitive rates when you think about the number of hours they are open. The regular schedule is from 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM from Monday to Friday. However, there are some people who stay at the place there up to 9:00 PM or 10:00 PM. You can actually visit The TIDE anytime during that schedule.  The internet connection at The Tide was upgraded their Internet connection to 50 mbps. However, there are still some issues with their service provider that causes some interruptions in the connection.

The Tide - image grabbed from The TIDE Cebu

Overall, the place is good enough for me since it basically provides everything I need to finish all my work for the day. Another thing to take note of is the free trial offer of The TIDE.