When I was 29, I was living in an office in China. Literally
I had recently let my remote first start up burn to the “digital ground”. I was broke. And I ended what had become an increasingly strained 5 year relationship. I should mention I had been living in an apartment my ex was paying for. So… I moved out.
And into a co-working space on the other side of Beijing. I threw away or donated 60% of my possessions from 4 years abroad and stored the remainder with a friend I was helping work on a startup. She was also the only one who knew that most nights, I was wrapped tight in a blanket on the floor of the co-working space we met in each day. Or on the unlucky nights the office was locked before I could hide inside, I “slept” in a cafe upstairs that never closed its doors.
I had no idea what would happen next. All I believed was I was going to work on a startup in the office where I slept and
I was incredibly excited
I got to wake up every day, and go to the gym in the building (I bought a membership for the work out and shower), buy my $0.30 egg from 7-Eleven, and walk back into the office to start building. I was FREE and the office was my temple, both to work on my dream and as a place of rest that I didn’t need to worry about paying for.
As we developed our idea, tested it with users, and created the launched the initial business offering, I stayed excited to come to the office. When I got a room of my own, and saved up enough to set up a new office, the feeling persisted and grew. Now the office was where we went to pursue our purpose, where we welcomed new team members, built strong bonds with them and our customers, and had tough conversations.
Our office was a place of purpose, and I always felt incredibly grateful that we had the privilege to congregate there. Idea development was fluid, collaboration was seamless, and there was a sense of freedom that came with having the right to a private space to think and work. All this was infused with and driven by the higher purpose of building something together, and by the recent memories of transience and life in that cold basement office where it had all started.
Then COVID hit. The office closed for a short period, and our customers vanished from Beijing. Suddenly, our dream was dead, with no clear contender to replace it. For a few months from January-April, I remember struggling to survive and find meaning. Many days were spent lying on the bed lost in a haze of news and video games.
Then I got lucky enough to be hired by a gaming company that was transitioning to fully remote work. I was able to reacquaint myself to this style of working.
And within 4 months, I had traveled to 4 cities to live the work from anywhere dream. 1 year later I had the job of my dreams at the same company and couldn’t imagine going back to the office as an employee. I remember being in a German bakery, in southern China, in March 2021, and acknowledging just how much my life had changed. A few things had NOT changed: my business partner, now girlfriend, was still in my life, as was my best friend. But my former start up community, fellow foreign companies in the office sharing tips on the China market, and moments of triumph walking through the office doors with great news? They are all gone.
I realized I was totally okay with all of this
Now I was free to travel and work, something I’d dreamed of as a kid. Now I got to work with people from all over the world (30+ countries across Asia, LATAM, and Africa). Now my girlfriend and I could see places I had only dreamed of. And now I could work at the same level intensity I had in the office, but from the couch in my new apartment.
This has worked perfectly for me… as an employee. But if I ever started a new company again:
I’d for sure open and go to an office.
Because I’ve never forgotten the feeling that the office is a place where start up dreams are born and nurtured…
And while I’ve managed to build other people’s dreams, and a successful side hustle, working remotely, I still can’t imagine creating the beginnings of a start up without starting in the office. If that’s how I feel, how much does the office mean to others?
In the coming days, I will be looking to connect with others to hear and share their stories of the office.
I believe the only way we will be able to push the work from anywhere agenda forward without a lot of verbal sparring is by validating the experience of the office. And for that, we need to listen.
TLDR:
• I made an office in China my literal home to avoid being without a place to sleep in 2019.
• I was a failing entrepreneur leaving a bad relationship, and the office provided a place for me to start again and build something incredible.
• Within a year though, I was back to remote work, and I grew to love it.
• There came a day where I realized I had achieved quite a bit more by working remotely than in the office.
• But if I ever start a start up again, I’ll start it in the office. Even if I plan to go fully remote one day. I just can’t shake that incredible feeling I got and still get from the idea of working on my dream from the office.