Photograph: decoist.com
http://www.decoist.com/2012-11-01/20-home-office-design-ideas-for-small-spaces/staircase-landing-transformed-into-an-inviting-home-office/
自由工作者哪裡辦公？問到這道問題，多數人的回應都是說自由工作者大多在家工作。最初開始接案的階段，這答案確實正確，但是當你慢慢有生意之後，你就會考慮其他的工作地點了。我們且來看看有哪些選擇。
第一、咖啡廳。隨著自由業者的遠距工作模式盛行，在各大城市我們都會見到自由工作者拿著筆記型電腦在咖啡廳點了咖啡和簡餐或點心就開始工作。跑咖啡廳的好處在於不需要付租金，你只需要付餐飲的費用，而且可以週一至五轉換不同咖啡廳，看看不同風景、感受不同氛圍。壞處就在於揹著筆電到處跑咖啡廳其實很疲累，而且在咖啡廳無法坐太久，我頂多只能從下午兩點待到六點，畢竟佔用人家地方太久亦不大好意思。大家找咖啡廳亦可以順便看看哪一家的充電插座比較多，上洗手間亦相對方便，如此就無須擔心筆電被人家拿走。
第二、共同工作空間。英文我們稱為 co-working space，概念跟圖書館類似，各個自由工作者拿著筆電到共用的辦公室工作，通常座位自由，有些辦公室提供較高的辦公桌，坐得累了你亦可以站著工作。共同工作空間通常有會議室，自由業者或小公司需要開會、見客戶談生意亦是相當方便。共同工作空間在臺北、新加坡、吉隆坡和雪蘭莪也很流行。共同工作空間的優點在於自由業者可以相互認識，不同產業之間亦可跨界合作，而且月租費涵蓋水電費、冷氣和網路費用，你走進去就可以登記付款成為會員使用辦公室設施了。缺點就是共同工作空間難免有人講電話、閒聊，偶爾有雜音是必然的。
第三、自家辦公室。當你的生意擴充而且時時需要數個同事一起做事，自己租用辦公室倒是個不錯的選擇。你和同事可以自己佈置辦公室，而且出入亦只有相熟的人，日子久了對於自己所屬的團隊比較容易培養歸屬感。當然，租金加上水電費、冷氣和網路費用，這個選擇的費用偏高。好消息則是，現在經濟不景氣加上樓宇蓋得太多，很多城市如新加坡、吉隆坡和雪蘭莪的租金或者出現下跌的情況，你若耐心找，或許能找到租金便宜、地點不錯的辦公室。
一個自由工作者接案愈是頻密，就愈可能建立屬於自己的團隊，愈是需要住家以外的另一工作空間，除非你的住家真的舒適到不需要離開家門，而且可以容納幾個同事安心工作，否則總有一天還是需要考慮一下哪個工作環境比較合適。
雪蘭莪和吉隆坡地區由於樓宇和店舖空間供應太多，辦公空間租金要再上升遇到不小的阻力。有些跨國公司在雪隆區設立辦事處，因為員工每個月飛往印尼峇里島旅行。若想在雪蘭莪州投資，敬請瀏覽「投資雪蘭莪」的網站：
http://www.investselangor.my/Home
The first answer to the question is that freelancers usually work from home. And that is how most of us first started our freelance business. Working from home can be the best option, if your home is quiet enough for you to focus on your work. Otherwise, as time goes by, we might find ourselves in need of looking at other options.
Option number 1 – cafes. There are numerous cafes out there with stable WiFi. While having your cup of coffee or tea, you can also enjoy a snack or two to keep yourself energetic before lunch or dinner. Most cafes don’t actually limit the number of hours of you occupying their table, but the problem is you can’t work too long. The maximum I could go was 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. at a cafe where I think going to the loo is safe enough and my laptop has very low risk of being stolen. And mind you, hopping from cafe to cafe from Mondays through Fridays is very tiring.
Option number 2 – co-working space. Workspaces are mushrooming everywhere. As freelancing culture thrives in Asian cities, workspaces are registering more and more members in Hong Kong, Singapore, Taipei, Kuala Lumpur and Selangor. Workspace is an office space where freelancers work alongside each other, with expenses on utilities being taken care of by the service provider. 24/7 workspaces are quite popular in Hong Kong, and on the mainland as well. Workspaces elsewhere usually open to members from Mondays through Fridays during normal business hours. While it is good to network with fellow freelancers, sometimes it can get slightly noisy when many people are talking.
Option number 3 – have your own office. When your business is expanding and needs several colleagues to work together in the long run, this could be the option. This is the office space for you and your team members to fully focus on your work, but you have to take care of full rental and utilities. But the good news is, a glut of office and shoplot spaces has been pressing down rental prices in many cities. Try and look around.
As your business grows and needs to work with fellow professionals, sooner or later you would still want to look for a better working place, unless your house or apartment is spacious and comfortable enough to accommodate your co-workers.
Have a great week, mates.
Rental in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor is pressurised by a glut of office and shoplot spaces. Same goes for housing rental. Which is a chance for those who wish to set up business in Klang Valley. Some foreign companies set up here so that their staff members can fly to Bali every month. Talk to Invest Selangor – a state surrounding Kuala Lumpur – for more information.