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New Akron business offers chance to get out of house and brainstorm with others
By Paula Schleis
Beacon Journal business writer
Published on Saturday, Sep 13, 2008
Working from home is convenient, flexible, liberating — until you realize it's 3 p.m. and you're sitting at your computer wearing pajamas.
A new Akron business is offering home-office types the opportunity to kick off their bunny slippers, sit at a real desk surrounded by real people, and maybe even brainstorm project ideas with others eager to end their own isolation.
Office Space Coworking, which has opened in the renovated Selle Generator Works on the south end of downtown Akron, is holding an open house Thursday to introduce people to a concept that has already been embraced in many other metropolitan areas.
The event runs 5:30 to 9 p.m. at 453 S. High St., Suite 101.
Co-owner Kelly Brown said the facilities target telecommuters, small business owners, programmers, appraisers, Web developers and others who do most of their work at home.
But rather than mimic stuffy corporate offices, coworking spaces offer cafe-type environments that nurture social interaction and informal collaboration.
At Office Space, people can buy a full-time membership, where $300 a month provides a dedicated desk, priority scheduling of the conference room, use of a pair of private office rooms, and unlimited visits.
Brown estimates most people will be interested in the $170 part-time membership, under which they can drop in eight times a month. Others can pay $25 a day to use the facility as needed.
A large room will be used for networking events and seminars, and
Brown expects many of his customers will also be experts willing to present programs.
There are lockers available, and Brown and his wife, Heidi, are working to add a few other amenities, like offering members an online system for reserving their favorite desks and providing secretarial and bookkeeping services.
''We're also planning little touches to help them feel like this is their company,'' Brown said, such as displaying the name of the company using the conference room on a screen behind the receptionist's desk.
There will be a refrigerator stocked with soft drinks and perhaps sandwiches and a cappuccino machine, and the receptionist could be available for lunchtime food runs, he added.
And to help turn the regulars into a true community, Office Space will host fun activities, like video game tournaments.
Brown said the business is designed around needs he experienced as a telecommuter.
Several years ago, the small publishing firm he still works for eliminated its central office, and the firm's 22 employees settled in different locations around the country, staying in touch through modern technology.
''Sometimes I would head out of my home just because I wanted to be around people,'' he said. ''Working at home is great, I love the freedom, but it can get depressing. . . . There's a morale issue.''
Tony Troppe, the downtown developer who has been renovating the former Selle factory buildings into office space, said he sees his newest tenant as being among the ''progressive thinkers who are providing the infrastructure for even more growth and more entrepreneurial activity.''
The interior of the former Selle Gear Co. has an urban chic appearance, retaining the brick walls, concrete supports and exposed pipes.
Brown said if Office Space clients demonstrate a need for day care, there is room to grow in another Selle building.
''That may be down the road. We wanted to test the basic concept first,'' he said.
Paula Schleis can be reached at 330-996-3741 or pschleis@thebeaconjournal.com.
Working from home is convenient, flexible, liberating — until you realize it's 3 p.m. and you're sitting at your computer wearing pajamas.
Get the full article here.
Comments
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Posted 04:01 PM, 09/13/2008
This business is doomed. Very few people who work from home want to pay for the privilege of being annoyed by others in an office setting. I give this concept 6 months at most, unless the owners are sitting on a ton of capital. If they are, I invite them to give it to me. Or, they could set the money on fire. At least that would be amusing.
Posted 01:23 PM, 09/15/2008
@Hank: You may want to learn more about coworking and communities like this one. The whole point is that a coworking space is *not* a typical office setting. Spaces in San Francisco and Brooklyn are coming up on two years of successful operation (Hat Factory, Citizen Space, Williamsburg Coworking), and Philadelphia's Independents Hall has been open and profitable for over a year now. Coworking spaces are opening all over the world, and are succeeding wildly. The fact is, working from home is not the ideal for most people-- we're social animals, and we need a place to go where we can focus on work and be around other people. The continuing success and growth of the coworking movement is proof. If it'@Hank: You may want to learn more about coworking and communities like this one. The whole point is that a coworking space is *not* a typical office setting. Spaces in San Francisco and Brooklyn are coming up on two years of successful operation (Hat Factory, Citizen Space, Williamsburg Coworking), and Philadelphia's Independents Hall has been open and profitable for over a year now. Coworking spaces are opening all over the world, and are succeeding wildly. The fact is, working from home is not the ideal for most people-- we're social animals, and we need a place to go where we can focus on work and be around other people. The continuing success and growth of the coworking movement is proof.
Posted 09:26 AM, 11/17/2008
I'm actually a member of Office Space CoWorking and it is one of the ABSOLUTE BEST DECISIONS I've made!!! As a Consultant and Marketing & Communications Professional, it's wonderful to be able to network with other people.
You have people who share expertise, knowledge and ideas. As with any work environment the synergy of having other creative people around you is invaluable.
I telecommute and, it does get old. We are built for interaction and you need it on a professional as well as personal level. As a small business owner building a clientele, it's also a way to share office space and share the costs associated with your business. A win-win all the way around!
On top of that Kelly (the owner) is wonderful. The space is wonderful. He's created a space that has the feel of the coffe shop but all of the hi-tech functionality of the best office environment!! I'm glad that Co-Working has FINALLY come to Northeast Ohio - spread the word!!!
Posted 11:46 AM, 11/17/2008
@Tony & @ Staci - Thanks for the kind words!
And despite Hank's reservations - we're doing pretty darn well after our first 45 days of service. We've got 12 members and a number of people using the facilities regularly for meeting space.
We're still very early -- but very optimistic.
We've got a great space and a wonderful group of people working out here.
Thanks to the Beacon and all of our supporters -- I'm confident we'll thrive in the Akron area and plan on opening additional facilities in the region within the next two years.
-Kelly Brown
Office Space Coworking
www.officespacecoworking.com
