Regus has been around for a long time, I worked out of one of their offices in the mid-90s.
The great thing was that shared office space was new to most people, so when clients would visit they'd be impressed with the fancy building, the marble reception, and the huge conference room, and not know we were a 2-person shop renting a 6'x8' office.
It says something about the past few years that large established companies started renting premium space in WeWork buildings so they could imagine that they were a 2 person shop renting a 6'x8' office!
The great thing was that shared office space was new to most people, so when clients would visit they'd be impressed with the fancy building, the marble reception, and the huge conference room, and not know we were a 2-person shop renting a 6'x8' office.