Best Places to Work From and Start Your Business in Brooklyn

Starting a new business or side gig can be scary, especially if you're doing it alone. Here you'll find plenty of places, people and resources to guide you through the process. There's an old saying, "If you want to write, write what you know." Here at Subkit we believe if you want your big idea to succeed, start where you know.

Whether you’re a dog walker or a chef, whether you want to capture hearts and minds through a podcast, a newsletter or grow your subscription audience, it’s never bad to begin at home. Right here in beautiful Brooklyn. (If you're a resident of Manhattan or Queens, please follow these links to more localized Go Solo content.)

New York City. The Big Apple. The centre of the universe. The concrete jungle. From Dumbo to Park Slope, from Sheepshead Bay to Williamsburg, and everything in between in Brooklyn, the old cliché is true. If you can make it here then you can make it anywhere.

Starting a business doesn’t have to mean a huge investment of time or money. You don’t need an office space, all you need is a comfortable place with good energy and great wifi. Luckily, you can find that all over Brooklyn. There are hundreds of co-working spaces, coffee shops and bars to work from. All with the incredible advantage of connecting with other like-minded people who are also building their business and side hustles from scratch... to infinity.

Now that you’ve found your purpose, it’s time to find your people. Here are where other solopreneurs are getting sh*t done in Brooklyn, co-working, and networking over coffee and cocktails.

Co-working spaces

WeWork Brooklyn: We know this is an obvious one, but WeWork has four wonderfully functioning locations in BK. Located at the Navy Yard, Williamsburg, Dumbo and Brooklyn Heights. All with hot desk options and amenities galore.
Greendesk: This * pet friendly* co-working space is extremely reasonably priced, starting at only $250/month with 24/7 member access.

Cafés, bars + special places with good wifi

Pioneer Works: Have you ever checked out this glorious cultural hub? "Pioneer Works builds community through the arts and sciences to create an open and inspired world." The best bit, is once you're inspired (and you will be) you can sit in their garden and work using their free wifi.
Brew Memories: This place's wifi rules and it has everything. Bubble teas, hot coffee, gourmet sandwiches and house-made popcorn chicken. Popcorn. Chicken.
Bushwick Public House: Tons of outlets, strong wifi + stronger coffee. But perhaps more importantly, lots of great locals hanging out sipping whiskey and playing pool when you need lil' breaks.

Helpful tech goodness

Brooklyn Podcasting Studio: As you've likely guessed by their name, this is a studio where you canrecord a professional sounding podcast. They also offer helpful consultations, video services to go with your podcasting + reasonable rates.
The Imaging World: Professional looking photos can really up a brand's game. The imaging world has every little thing you can imagine, from backdrop paper to tripods to things for really fancy shutterbugs.

Places to create free + cheap branding

Canva: Be your own graphic designer! It’s easy to design anything your heart desires, with many free templates.
Easil: Use their drag and drop graphic design tools to create whatever visual you need to kick your business up a notch.

Personal growth + professional development

Creative Mornings: Start your morning with a dose of creativity and learning from experts in NYC (and digitally around the world). Be sure to subscribe to their (actually awesome) newsletter that will keep you apprised of all of their upcoming inspirational speakers. They’re truly worth getting up for.
Innovation Leader: Professional development for just about anything you can imagine! Be a big thinker with one of their wide array of topics, such as innovation methodologies or employee engagement. We 100% believe your little idea will eventually have multiple employees.
General Assembly: Learn UX design, data science, digital marketing and plenty of other digital skills with GA’s bootcamps, courses and on-demand learning opportunities.

Feel inspired to start, run or grow your business? Check out subkit.com and learn how you can turn "one day" into day one.

This article is meant to inspire your solo entrepreneur journey over time. Please follow current Covid-19 health and safety regulations in New York. Stay safe.