Co-working booms

He is one of a growing number of go-it-alone entrepreneurs and freelancers in Asia leaving their apartments and cafes, and settling into "co-working" spaces, according to CNN.

At these shared offices, they get to work in what is usually a laid-back but professional environment. However, almost just as important for these nomadic workers are the social and emotional benefits of mingling with their own kind.

"Coming here, you can feel supported by other people working on their businesses and feel less alone," said Chan, who goes to the co-working space CoCoon, where he works on his Internet start-up, wholedaybuy.com.

But Chan says not to underestimate the practical advantages of having actual office space in Hong Kong, where high rent makes a permanent office out of reach for many who are just starting out. "If you want to meet a client, you want to have the space. It's a physical location to gather people," he says.

Thought to have first started in San Francisco in 2005 with Citizen Space, co-working spaces are now widespread in the U.S. and Europe and are making headway in Asia, courting mostly people in their 20s and 30s working on projects solo or in small teams.

There are now dozens of such places in Tokyo, and a handful have opened in Shanghai and Hong Kong. The congested cities seem ready-made for co-working, with cramped apartments that could make working from home unpleasant -- and unimpressive for investors or clients.

And going it alone is just starting to catch on in Asia, where people traditionally strive to work for large corporations.

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