Co-working space taps into a rising trend
Rebecca Goldfine
Peter Bass, developer of PelotonLabs on Congress Street, says he expects to see a huge market in co-working space
Rebecca Goldfine
Patrick Roche, founder of Think Tank on Exchange Street, says he thinks co-working space can help small businesses grow
Portland freelancers no longer have to slave away alone in their pajamas in cramped apartments. Two new co-working spaces that opened this winter have drawn out self-employed professionals by offering quiet work spaces, uncluttered desks and the chance to chat with people throughout the day.
Unlike a typical office, a co-working arrangement allows individuals who work for themselves or different companies to share space, desks and some equipment. The two co-working spaces in Portland -- PelotonLabs on Congress Street and Think Tank on the corner of Exchange and Federal streets -- occupy slightly different niches and have met with different degrees of success, according to their owners. But both businesses claim to be on the edge of a rising trend.
"With the Internet changing how we work, people can really work wherever they want to," says Peter Bass, the developer of PelotonLabs, adding that employers, too, are taking advantage of flexible workers to downsize their physical infrastructures.
But the allure of working from home can wear off for employees who no longer have daily company, collaboration and routine to goad them to productivity. It's those people, plus workers who need a more polished space to conduct interviews or meet clients, who seek out co-working environments, Bass says."I think Portland is a very creative town with a lot of sole proprietors," he says. "A lot of people are used to working out of coffee shops or their homes. But they need a space to show they're professional, and sometimes they can't handle the distractions of their home -- the refrigerator or the kids." He thinks "this market will be huge here." But he adds a note of worry: "I just hope I'm not too early."
According to Deskmag, an online magazine about co-working spaces, the number of co-working spots like Peloton and Think Tank has doubled over the last year to about 840 worldwide and 382 in the United States, growing 17% just between February and May. But the fastest growth is elsewhere, in Latin America, Australia and Europe, while DeskMag reports growth in the United States has slowed slightly.
Since opening in February, PelotonLabs has attracted 35 members, but Bass says he's not yet at critical mass. On a recent day, Bass and two members typed at laptops downstairs, while three more worked on the second floor, two in closed offices and one on a rug, papers strewn about him. "We need more people here more of the time to get the spirit of community here," Bass says. "We feel that is our added value; we're trying to do something more than offer a shared office space, we want to create a community of workers."
At Think Tank, located above the Corner Room restaurant in former space of the Salt Institute for Documentary Studies, founder Patrick Roche says he's close to capacity with 21 members. On a recent day, his one-floor space had about nine people typing at desks or manipulating 3-D images on computer monitors. Roche describes the environment as "youthful, hip and creative." Many members are in their thirties and work in graphic design, web development, marketing, video production and writing. They help cultivate professional opportunities for one another, he adds.
PelotonLabs rents out space to grant writers, marketers and business consultants, among others, Bass says. These jobs fit the average profile of co-workers.
According to a recent Deskmag survey, most co-workers are in their mid-twenties to late thirties, with an average age of 34. Two-thirds are men -- which is the same ratio of men to women reflected in entrepreneurial and small-business statistics in Europe and the U.S. Slightly more than half, or 54%, of co-workers are freelancers, Deskmag found, with the overwhelming majority employed in creative industries and new media. Many others work as consultants for creative industries; the fourth-largest industry in co-working spaces is public relations and marketing.
But Peloton has at least one member who doesn't fit the profile. Jacobs Glass, a small window company in Winslow, needs a now-and-then Portland base to expand its commercial business in southern Maine, according to Bradley Marin, the company's business developer. Marin says he rents a desk at Peloton for 16-plus hours a month for an employee or two to bid on local building projects. "We like the space at Peloton not so much because it's temporary, but because it's fluctuating," Marin says. "We can increase or decrease our hours there. The versatility is what we like."
Building the co-working model
Bass anticipates that in his second year, his co-working experiment will be more profitable than if he had gone the traditional route and rented the space to one client for $10 to $12 a square foot. Bass says he couldn't wait in this market to find one dedicated tenant because he wanted to take advantage of affordable building prices last year. So he settles for monthly fees: Members can rent eight hours a month for $40 or pay $200 a month unlimited access, without a dedicated desk. A dedicated desk and bookcase and five hours of conference room use costs $400. Bass says the most popular choice is 32 hours a month, with no personal desk, for $80.
He did not disclose his investment in the building, which has a bold, modern exterior designed to be "eye-popping outside on the street," Bass says. The interior is calming and sleek. Deskmag describes many co-working spaces as mimicking the aesthetic of their competitors: coffee shops.
Roche invested $30,000 to develop Think Tank, and says his co-working space is profitable at the moment while still having room to grow. Last winter, he distributed fliers and advertised Think Tank on Craigslist. "This is something I wanted to do to support the creative economy here," says Roche, of Northhampton, Mass. "There's a lot of cross-pollination of ideas. It gives people who work for themselves the opportunity to grow their business without the expense of renting their own office."
Think Tank members pay $150 a month on a month-to-month basis for 24-hour access and no dedicated desk. For more money, people can rent a private office or dedicated desk. To grow his business, Roche says he's considering offering discounted rates for weekends or late nights, when many desks are free, and he's mulling the idea of starting another co-working space in Portland, as well as branching out to other cities such as Providence, R.I., Northhampton, Mass., or Burlington, Vt.
Those cities are like Portland, with thriving creative scenes, he says. "The people drawn to co-working spaces are decent, forward-looking, cool people who want to be part of a social environment."
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