Life as a Freelancer in a Coworking Space in NJ

I’ve been freelancing for two years now, as a content writer. Lots of people think that freelancing is all about working in pajamas or working out of coffee shops. While I do enjoy working from my kitchen table for some of the week, I usually do get dressed in real clothes. And when I need a change of scenery, want to meet a client in a professional environment, or just need to be more productive because of a deadline I have a secret weapon. Coworking spaces.

Before I discovered coworking spaces, I often felt guilty taking up space in a coffee shop and nursing a couple of coffees. Or I dreaded a client requesting a meeting because I didn’t have a nice office to meet them in. Discovering that I could have all the perks of an office, without the cost of leasing an actual office was a huge game-changer for me.

If you’re curious about what a day in the life of a freelancer looks like, then read on. I captured the goings-on of a random Wednesday for you; to give you an idea of what a day as a freelancer in coworking space looks like:

7:00 a.m. Get up, make breakfast, shower, get dressed. If I was working from home, I’d be tempted to stay in my pajamas, but I don’t think that would impress the client I’m meeting later on!

8:00 a.m. I’m just pulling into the ample parking at Office Evolution Hackensack, the best coworking space near me. I love how easy it is to commute here from Teaneck. It’s a great location for anyone in Northern New Jersey, and parking here is so much easier than at a coffee shop.

8:05 a.m.Pouring my first coffee of the day from the complimentary beverage bar. It tastes amazing. Not just because it’s complimentary, or because coffee is awesome, but also because it’s Starbucks coffee–much better than the coffee at home!

8:10 a.m. Networking in the café. With more coffee. I’m a writer so it’s great to speak to other professionals who might need my help. I pick up a new client–an accountant who needs someone to rewrite his website. I also find a graphic designer to help me with my new business cards. Who knew hanging around drinking coffee could be so productive?

8:45 a.m. I’m prepping for my meeting and using the community printer to print some case studies. I love how easy it is to use the printer and photocopier here. Everything I could need for my meeting is at hand in the Office Evolution Hackensack coworking center.

9:00 a.m. I collect my client from reception, where the wonderfully welcoming reception staff have greeted him. We grab a coffee and head to the professionally furnished meeting room that I was able to book for a 30 minute slot on-demand. My laptop connects to the TV seamlessly, making delivering my presentation an absolute breeze.

9:30 a.m. Meeting’s finished. I think it went well, and he seemed to like my suggestions to improve the content on his company’s website. He’s going to run it by his business partner and get back to me. In the meantime, I’ve got a deadline this week for some articles for a client. I get to work from one of the hot desks in the coworking lounge, after refilling my coffee, of course. The whole place has that buzz of a busy, productive office environment and I find that I get to work much quicker and am less distracted. I really do get a lot of work done in this environment

12:00 p.m. I take a quick break to eat my lunch at a local restaurant in the Hackensack, NJ area. There’s another content writer in the cafe, and we swap stories of deadlines and share a couple of tips for writing faster with each other. It’s nice to chat with another freelancer–working from home can get isolating sometimes.

12:30 p.m. I finished my articles in record time this morning, so I take the chance to work on some marketing and update my website with some new testimonials. I think when I first started freelancing I was surprised at how much of the work is actually marketing yourself, but now it’s like second nature. I do some online marketing, but I’ve found recently that getting new clients via networking in the community coworking cafe is more enjoyable and successful.

2:00 p.m. I use a phone booth to attend a web conference that I have booked in. It’s a really informative conference about updated SEO techniques. I’m really grateful that I can give it my full concentration, instead of trying to hear it over my upstairs neighbor’s afternoon Zumba DVD workout.

3:00 p.m.I head back to the hot desking coworking lounge and read over my notes from the web conference. After that, I check my emails. This morning’s client has confirmed they are going ahead. I can’t help but do a little fist pump and celebrate with more coffee.

3:50 p.m. I’ve sent over the new contract for the client to sign. It’s time now to answer all the emails from today and start on some articles that have a deadline of next week. Just like this morning, in no time at all I am in ‘the zone,’ and the words are flying out of my fingertips. To celebrate, I check out events in the area.

6:00 pm. Time to go home–the last couple of hours have flown by! I love how much more work I get done when I’m using a coworking space. Some days it’s great to have a change of scenery and my Office Evolution membership allows me to work out of other Office Evolution coworking spaces in the area.

Why I Love Coworking

Working from home can be fun, but it’s difficult to hold client meetings in my living room. Video calls just aren’t quite the same as face-to-face for building rapport with a client. I’m also really, really productive in a professional environment and I get way more work done than I would from my kitchen table.

I became a freelancer for the flexibility, and for me, coworking is the perfect solution to get the best of both worlds. As a freelancer working in New Jersey, the best coworking space I’ve found is Office Evolution Hackensack. It’s a convenient location in the heart of Bergen County just off Route 4, there’s ample parking, and I can rent a meeting room on-demand when I need one.

If you’re a freelancer working from home, give coworking a try, you won’t be disappointed.

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At Office Evolution Hackensack, we provide virtual office, coworking, and private office solutions at our shared office center. We offer meeting rooms, offices, a shared workspace coworking lounge, a shared reception, a business address, and virtual receptionist services. We have many options and price points, and all terms are flexible. Plus, you become part of a community of like-minded professionals.

Whether you live in Teaneck, Bergenfield, Maywood, Teterboro, Hasbrouck Heights, Moonachie, Little Ferry, Rochelle Park, Dumont, Bogota, River Edge, New Milford, Hackensack, Englewood, Paramus, Tenafly, Fort Lee, and other communities nearby in Bergen and Essex counties, choosing Office Evolution Hackensack in New Jersey will help you be more professional, productive, and profitable.