A quarter of entrepreneurs prefer coffee shops to their office Business owners cite increased flexibility, a better work-life balance and increased productivity as the top benefits of remote working Written by Henry Williams Published on 3 April 2017 Our experts We are a team of writers, experimenters and researchers providing you with the best advice with zero bias or partiality. Written and reviewed by: Henry Williams Direct to your inbox Sign up to the Startups Weekly Newsletter Stay informed on the top business stories with Startups.co.uk’s weekly email newsletter SUBSCRIBE 27% of the UK’s small business owners have said they prefer to work in coffee shops over their usual office space, according to new research from Direct Line.Coffee shops were the top choice for remote entrepreneurs, followed by restaurants (14%), bars (11%) and parks (8%). Another 19% had worked at airports while waiting for a flight and 18% had worked on public transport.The flexibility of being able to operate from multiple locations was cited as the top benefit of remote working (35%), as well as having a better work-life balance (32%), increased productivity (17%) and lower operational and transport costs (16%).However, 35% of small business owners said limited WiFi access was a downside, with more distractions (24%) struggling to find a power source (23%) and missing interaction with colleagues (14%) also revealed to be negatives of remote working. 11% of respondents were worried clients and colleagues may think less of them for not being at the office.Jane Guaschi, business manager at Direct Line for Business, commented: “Many small business owners aspire to work in creative and engaging work spaces and the wealth of WiFi hot spots now available allows them to turn a high street coffee shop into a mobile business hub.“The research shows there are clear benefits of working remotely, greater flexibility and a better work life balance are some of the advantages of mobile working, which is why more and more small businesses are embracing it to help drive productivity and reduce operational overheads.” Share this post facebook twitter linkedin Written by: Henry Williams