Entrepreneurs cozying up to new workspace models

After seven years in journalism, Li Ying decided to strike it out on her own.

The 35-year-old started a consultancy, and one of the first things she needed to do was to find an office for eight employees.

Li spent a whole afternoon searching and finally found a place in southwest Beijing－a room in a shared or co-working space.

She was lucky, considering how the 3,300 available spots in the area were snapped up within seven months.

"A married woman has a lot to balance when starting her own business. Co-working makes it a lot easier to access services," says Li, who is one of many entrepreneurs realizing the benefits of operating out of the community workplaces.

In recent years, the authorities have been encouraging young Chinese entrepreneurs like Li to start their own businesses and fuel innovation.

Many millennials taking up the challenge enjoy more freedom in choosing jobs and getting financial support for their ventures. But their youthful enthusiasm can often come up against real obstacles and practical considerations.

Finding a suitable place to work can be a major hurdle. Traditional office spaces can be expensive, so a number of freelancers and startups try to rent apartments instead.

IT graduate Wang Peng recalls how his first business endeavor failed: "I didn't dare bring investors to our workplace. We only met in five-star hotels, so they saw us as frauds. We didn't manage to get any financing."

Still, much commercial space remains empty. An industry report from the National Development and Reform Commission, the country's top economic-planning agency, showed how the commercial property inventory significantly exceeded the housing one.

A recent report by global commercial real estate group Colliers International also estimates that the shared office space sector is growing by 30 percent a year, amid an entrepreneurship boom and demand for flexible working situations.

One entrepreneur, Mao Daqing, saw the huge potential in unlocking all that space.

The former vice-president of Vanke, one of China's largest property companies, founded UrWork in 2015 to provide co-working spaces. He now has branches in 35 cities globally, serving 100,000 people.

Half of the 5,000 companies renting UrWork spaces are startups.

"Co-working is not simply renting workspaces," says Mao. "Our projects cater to different needs. We aim to build a community among co-workers. We often act as an incubator and accelerator for small and medium-sized companies."