DesksNear.me Virtual Workspace

The perks of being a home-based  business owner, independent contractor, or freelancer is not having heavy overhead. All you need is a desk, laptop, and wireless router and you now have the tools required to run most home-based businesses. Best of all, you do not require expensive real estate and office space like your competitors in the medium to large-sized business space. Your virtual workspace is simple and extremely cost efficient.

Occasionally, you may not want to conduct business out of your home-based cyber office. For example, you may be trying to close a deal with an important business client. Your virtual workspace is great, but does your client really need to hear Sesame Street playing in the background while you negotiate contract terms?

Or how about when you are travelling? Anyone can conduct a meeting in a fancy 5-star hotel’s lobby, upscale restaurant, or airport lounge, but make sure you plan in advance as using public workplaces can come with surprises. I recently stayed at the Conrad Hotel in lower Manhattan NY. I was speaking with a business colleague in the hotel’s lobby. To my left were two guys who appeared to be discussing business and reviewing important documents. To my right was another guy in a suit. He must have been speaking to his significant other as the conversation was definitely not business to say the least. Unfortunately, he had one of those unavoidable voices that carries and fills a room. I was having a casual business conversation and this guy’s voice added to the character of our conversation, but I remember thinking “It would be great to have virtual professional workspaces”. Its ironic that just a few weeks later, I came across DesksNear.me.

DesksNear.me is a centralized website to find and post virtual workplaces. Whether you are looking for a change of scenery, the company of others, or a virtual workspace that will woo you clients, DesksNear.me may be the perfect solution.

Creating a Virtual Workplace on DesksNear.me

The DesksNear.me site is pretty simple and minimalistic in design. Submit your company’s professional workplace by logging in via Twitter or OpenID. Fill out a quick form, select when your professional workplace is available, add a few photos, and you are done. Lastly, publicize your public workplace by sharing it on Twitter.

I created the below test virtual workplace on DesksNear.me. Unfortunately, you can create and edit a virtual workspace, but I was not able to figure out how to delete a workspace after it had been created. My apologies to the DesksNear.me staff   ( :

Finding a Virtual Workplace on DesksNear.me

Locating a virtual workplace on DesksNear.me is even easier than creating one. Simply click the “Workplaces” tab at the top of the site, allow the site to use your geolocation, and you will instantly see local virtual workplaces. Finding a virtual office and workplace couldn’t be simpler.

For those of you reading this that work and conduct business virtually, would you ever consider using a public but professional virtual workplace? Do you have experience with utilizing public workplaces? Please leave a comment below to share your experience with using DesksNear.me services or virtual workplaces in general.