The idea of sharing office space is a growing trend, but particularly in the Bay as people move here for the lifestyle and continue to work remotely.
The number of co-working spaces around the world was estimated to have increased by 400 per cent in the past two years and Tauranga was no exception.
Co-working spaces are offices shared by a number of different businesses usually small start-up companies with a single employee.
Priority One's co-working space Ignition and Studio 64, set up by architectural designer Kyle Goldsack, both opened in late 2012 and since then sharing an office has become the trendy thing to do.
Next door to Studio 64 on Devonport Rd is 64 Bit, another co-working space set up by Sam Kidd of online project management company Teamwork in November.
Mr Kidd, whose company was based in Ireland, decided to create his own co-working space to have somewhere to work away from home.
"It's the chance for adult company because all our business is online," he said. "For me it was great to come here because it was a chance to meet business people and get connected."
Sharing office space was particularly popular in Tauranga because it was a desirable place to live, he said.
"You get a lot of people who are moving here for the first time. That was how it was for me coming here from Ireland. I could have gone to Auckland, but I've got a young family. Tauranga is a great lifestyle place," Mr Kidd said.
Priority One project manager Michelle Parker agreed it was popular in Tauranga because of the Bay lifestyle.
"One of the key reasons I think that it is so popular in Tauranga is that a lot of people choose to live here. I find a lot of people who live in Tauranga are from out of town originally," she said.
Ignition had 16 desks and 19 members who shared them, but this week began renovations to allow them to expand into a larger area with the capacity to cater to up to 70 members.
Mr Goldsack of Studio 64 said he enjoyed the flexibility of co-working. "Being able to work where you want, when you want, with the people you want.
"It's connecting you with people who are not necessarily in the same industry, but can give advice," he said. "It is like flatting."
Practically it meant the cost of renting prime office space in downtown Tauranga could be shared, he said.
Mr Goldsack said space on Devonport Rd was becoming "quite a rarity" as old buildings had to earthquake strengthened or demolished, but having an office helped give off the air of professionalism.
"One of the big things for me, because I'm young, is the credibility sort of thing. Having clients come to your home for meetings doesn't look good. I lost a couple of clients because of that."
Hairdressing salon Director's Chair has been home to numerous self-employed stylists since 1984.
Stylist Amanda Yeatman has been there five years and is one of seven hairdressers based at the salon.
"The appeal is you can all be self-employed. It's freedom," she said. "I think the general public realises we're self-employed."
While the stylists could work from home being based out of the salon made it much more professional, more enjoyable and more affordable.
Director of Envirostate Calum Revfem began to share his office space in Mount Maunganui in 2011 and has since expanded to create Gibson's Studio.
The space largely attracted self-employed men who wanted to get out of home during the day, but the appeal was the interaction with others and the advice they could give as well as having a professional space for meetings, Mr Revfem said.