NEWS THE MAGAZINE FINDER MAKER Search SE BUSINESS NEWS BUSINESS SPIN ECONOMY SOCIAL ENTERPRISE YOUR MONEY CULTURE DESIGN LIFESTYLE TECHNOLOGY INFOGRAPHICS VIDEOS PROJECTS BUSINESS Freelancers, Alone No More: Coworking Is Going Big Business Previous Article Next Article February 8, 2012 • 5:30 am PST responses When it came time for Warecorp to finally have a physical headquarters, CEO Chris Dykstra decided against the traditional office space route. Instead, the software and web services company bought a group membership at a downtown Minneapolis coworking space for its 10 U.S. employees to use when they aren’t visiting clients. "I just thought, you know, there's really no reason why you couldn't just embed all of your infrastructure in existing coworking spaces," says Dykstra, whose office is now a “campsite,” a hexagon-shaped pod partitioned from others like it with semi-transparent screens. Coworking spaces were initially conceived to give independent workers an alternative to the coffee shop, providing reliable Internet connections, printers, meeting space and other office amenities. Today, there's growing interest in coworking spaces from larger companies as an alternative to the cube farm, as a way to lower real estate overhead, boost sustainability and stimulate workers who thrive on the spaces’ entrepreneurial energy. Dykstra's workspace sits inside a three-story-high, gymnasium-sized room shared with dozens of freelancers and entrepreneurs, giving the space a pulse that would be hard to replicate in a standalone office for ten people. It was once the trading floor of the Minneapolis Grain Exchange ; today, people call it the "brain exchange." Officially, it's the CoCo Coworking and Collaborative Space, which has fast become a social and networking hub for Twin Cities entrepreneurs and freelancers (including this writer). DAN HAUGEN Freelance Journalist 11 285 85 Recommend MOST DISCUSSED RECENT enter your email SUBSCRIBE GET THE DAILY GOOD One good thing a day. POPULAR Women Make Less Than Men at Every Education Level 1 Kickstarting Urban Renewal with an Underground Park 2 If Schools Kill Creativity, Can Toys Bring It Back to Life? 3 There Are No Ethical Electronics, So Buy Less Stuff 4 Why We Need Food Trucks in a Recession 5 85 SHARE SIGN IN • JOIN
Coworking Is Going Big BusinessPrevious Article Next Article
February 8, 2012 • 5:30 am PST responses
When it came time for Warecorp to finally have a physical headquarters,CEO Chris Dykstra decided against the traditional office space route.Instead, the software and web services company bought a groupmembership at a downtown Minneapolis coworking space for its 10 U.S.employees to use when they aren’t visiting clients.
"I just thought, you know, there's really no reason why you couldn't justembed all of your infrastructure in existing coworking spaces," saysDykstra, whose office is now a “campsite,” a hexagon-shaped podpartitioned from others like it with semi-transparent screens.
Coworking spaces were initially conceived to give independent workersan alternative to the coffee shop, providing reliable Internet connections,printers, meeting space and other office amenities. Today, there'sgrowing interest in coworking spaces from larger companies as analternative to the cube farm, as a way to lower real estate overhead, boostsustainability and stimulate workers who thrive on the spaces’entrepreneurial energy.
Dykstra's workspace sits inside a three-story-high, gymnasium-sizedroom shared with dozens of freelancers and entrepreneurs, giving thespace a pulse that would be hard to replicate in a standalone office forten people. It was once the trading floor of the Minneapolis GrainExchange; today, people call it the "brain exchange." Officially, it's theCoCo Coworking and Collaborative Space, which has fast become a socialand networking hub for Twin Cities entrepreneurs and freelancers(including this writer).
DAN HAUGENFreelance Journalist
11
285 85Recommend
MOST DISCUSSED RECENT
enter your email SUBSCRIBE
GET THE DAILY GOOD
One good thing a day.
POPULAR
Women Make Less Than Men at EveryEducation Level1
Kickstarting Urban Renewal with anUnderground Park2
If Schools Kill Creativity, Can Toys Bring ItBack to Life?3
There Are No Ethical Electronics, So BuyLess Stuff4
Why We Need Food Trucks in a Recession5
85 SHARE
SIGN IN • JOIN
Last week CoCo and five other U.S. coworking spaces announced they'veformed the League of Extraordinary Coworking Spaces (LEXC), whichmeans they will honor each other's memberships and let users reservespaces online. The move is aimed in part at making it easier and moreappealing for larger companies to get into the game.
The concept has existed informally in coworking culture from thebeginning. If you're traveling and drop by another city's coworking hub,they're likely to welcome you for the day. LEXC is an attempt to makethat process more simple and transparent, while also adding a layer offormality expected by many larger companies.
Kyle Coolbroth, one of CoCo's co-founders, says they've been approachedlocally by most of the Twin Cities' Fortune 500 companies, including USBank, which has purchased memberships and rented meeting space atCoCo, a short walk from the bank's headquarters. "They understand thatthere is a fundamental shift of culture, and they understand they need tocreate and provide a collaborative environment for their work teams,"says Coolbroth. "The problem with coworking, prior to LEXC, was that itlacked a central organization for corporations to engage in."
That culture shift is the growing expectation among employees that theybe able to work when and where they want to. More than four out of fivecompanies on Fortune's "Best Places to Work" list offer some type ofalternative workplace program. For some workers, this meanstelecommuting on days when it is more convenient. Others simply feelhappier (and more productive) working outside the traditional cube-farm.
Nine percent of regular users at U.S. coworking spaces already work forcompanies with more than 100 employees, according to EmergentResearch. But there are more than a billion mobile workers worldwide,and one study by Telework Research Network estimates that 45 percentof U.S. jobs could be done with at least part-time telework.
As the economy improves, some of the independent workers who havepopulated coworking spaces are likely to be snapped up as largercompanies begin to hire again. Co-working organizers are looking tocorporate customers to provide a longer-term revenue stream.
"I think the potential there is extraordinarily large," says Mark Gilbreath,founder and CEO of LiquidSpace, whose technology serves as the onlinereservation platform for LEXC. "There's a seismic shift underway inlarge companies with respect to how they are envisioning their owninternal real estate. That shift is toward mobility."
That new thinking is being driven by everything from real estateuncertainty to sustainability goals—shared workspaces often meansmaller environmental footprints. But above all it's being viewed as arecruiting and retention strategy.
"It's easier to recruit top talent, because they're already there," saysDykstra, referring to the freelance developers, engineers and otherskilled entrepreneurs working in these spaces. Warecorp's coworkingexperiment in the Twin Cities was so successful that Dykstra decided toconvert the company's 60-employee office in Minsk, Belarus, into acoworking space, too.
LEXC's founding members include NextSpace in Los Angeles and theSan Francisco Bay Area; BLANKSPACES in Los Angeles; LinkCoworking in Austin; WorkBar in Boston; CoCo in Minneapolis and St.Paul; and 654 Croswell in Grand Rapids, Mich. The league is looking toexpand and is already recruiting and vetting new members in the top 25metro areas in North America.
Facebook Youtube
Twitter Tumblr
1 Evy Jane - "Sayso"
2 Perfume Genius - "Hood"
3 Articles: Making Overtures: The Emergence ofIndie Classical
4 Director's Cut: St. Vincent: "Cheerleader"
5 Put Your Back N 2 It
GOOD ELSEWHERE
TODAY'S TOP STORIES FROM OUR FRIENDSAT PITCHFORK
Are Big Americans a BigBusiness Opportunity?
How Businesses AreLaunched, Big Easy Style
How To Start a CoworkingSpace
Coworking is a "radically fast growing" niche, but so is telework, saysGilbreath. A the mobile workforce outgrows home offices, coffee shopsand airport lounges, LEXC and LiquidSpace hope to be part of the newinfrastructure that will support our desire for the necessary parts of anoffice—without, you know, the office itself.
Photo by Anders Holine courtesy CoCo Minneapolis
Previous
Cuckoo for Cocoa Processing:Making Chocolate—Not Just PickingIt—Helps...
Next
Bitcoins, Back from the Crash, StillAren't as Good as Cash
MORE GOOD STUFF
responses
BUSINESSPOSTED IN:
workspaces, co-working, corporate cultureTAGS:
285
Comments via GOOD
Join or sign in to comment…
via Twitter
GOOD MAGAZINE
Join GOOD+ andget the magazine.
SUBSCRIBE
Recommendations
Women Make Less Than Men at EveryEducation Level - News - GOOD146 people recommend this.
In Washington, D.C., a Museum Gets aCinematic Makeover - Design - GOOD83 people recommend this.
Kickstarting Urban Renewal with anUnderground Park - Cities - GOOD158 people recommend this.
Kickstarting Urban Renewal with anUnderground Park - Cities - GOOD114 people recommend this.
There Are No Ethical Electronics, So BuyLess Stuff - Technology - GOOD454 people recommend this.
Kickstarting Urban Renewal with anUnderground Park - Cities - GOOD115 people recommend this.
Facebook social plugin
No Tweets
Today, 11:00:18 AM PST – Flag
February 21, 2012, 7:55:33 AM PST – Flag
February 21, 2012, 8:02:02 AM PST – Flag
February 20, 2012, 5:04:08 PM PST – Flag
MATRIX GROUP INT
#Freelancing? Consider a coworking space.
EWORKY
Coworking is going big business. With big companies.
OLIVIER BRUN
RT @eWorky: Coworking is going big business. With bigcompanies.
EMILY BOSMA
How Big Business Are Using #Coworking Spaces - Business - via @GOOD#mobileworker #in
SEE MORE
Sponsored by University of PhoenixRELATED POSTS
ENVIRONMENT !
Mines Are Still Super Dangerous(and Big Coal Is Still Making BigPR Gaffes)A moving tribute to coal miners who have died on thejob, brought to you by the industry that killed them.
by BEN JERVEY 27
BUSINESS !
Groupon Green? How SustainableBusinesses Are Using Daily DealsWith millions of emails showcasing new products,daily deals could be a boon for green business. Butit's not shaping up that way ... yet.
by ALEX GOLDMARK 68
CULTURE !
How the Film Industry's BigBudgets Are Killing Movie TheatersWith Netflix streaming on the rise, pricey movietheaters are less and less attractive. Let's lower filmbudgets and thus ticket prices.
by CORD JEFFERSON 261
DESIGN !
You Have No Idea How Big AfricaReally Is (But This Map Does)You can fit the United States, China, India, Japan,and much of Europe within Africa's borders. And KaiKrause's new map does just that.
by PATRICK JAMES 2290
BUSINESS !
Sponsored Post: How AmericanBusinesses are Rethinking theChinese MarketEconomists say that capitalizing on China’s growingappetite for items made in America (like Californiawine) will help rebalance the trade deficit.
by BEN BROCK JOHNSON 38
ENVIRONMENT !
Just How Big Is that Oil Spill?Here's an awesome, if startling, new perspective ofthe Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Because it's over theopen Gulf, it's really tough to get a...
BUSINESS !
Infographic: How Small andMidsize Businesses Are Key toGrowing the EconomyThe GOOD Company Project is focusing on mid-size
LIFESTYLE !
Watch Your Mouth: Eat Lightly andCarry a Big ForkBigger forks and heavier bowls might soundsupersized, but they could actually cut down on
by BEN JERVEY 5
companies, and this infographic will tell you why.
by GOOD 515
portion sizes.
by PETER SMITH 142
LIFESTYLE !
Chart: How Much Meat Is on aBlue Whale?A look at the size of whales versus cattle illuminatesan odd double standard when it comes to killinganimals. Should we re-evaluate what we eat?
by PETER SMITH 65
ENVIRONMENT !
How to Sell an Electric Car: ActLike It’s No Big Deal to Own OneIn Chevy’s world, Volt owners are not preeningsuper-greenies, and they don’t push their values onothers. They just want to save money on gas.
by SARAH LASKOW 70
ENVIRONMENT !
How Big is the Oil Spill in Relationto Your Home?By now, the Gulf oil spill is without a doubt the mostmonumental environmental disaster of the past year,if not the past decade. But while we...
by MARIA POPOVA 1
BUSINESS !
Would You Take a 10 Percent PayCut to Save Your Coworkers' Jobs?Would you take a 10 percent pay cut to save yourcoworkers' jobs? The Los Angeles Times columnistSteve Lopez recently posed that very question in...
by PATRICK JAMES +
ENVIRONMENT !
Green Your Workplace in Six StepsWithout Driving Your CoworkersNutsThe typical office is a battleground of personaltastes and habits. So what, then, is theenvironmentally-conscious worker to do? How couldyou...
by BEN JERVEY 1
CULTURE !
Intermission: Big Bang Big Boomby BluIn his latest stop-motion street art video, a take onthe evolution of life, Blu plays with the environmentmuch more than in previous works....
by ANDREW PRICE +
BUSINESS !
Would You Take a 10Percent Pay Cut toSave YourCoworkers' Jobs?
People Are Awesome: This CollegeKid Is an Expert at Taking BigCompanies to Court, and Winning!This college student is "on a mission to show youdon't have to pay a lawyer $225 an hour to get yourvoice heard."
by ALEX GOLDMARK 45
Big Egg Deal Gives America'sCrowded Chickens More Space toRoamA new agreement with egg farmers could usher in thefirst federal law addressing the treatment of farmanimals. This is nothing to squawk at.
by PETER SMITH 66
Big Class Takes a Big Step TowardsLiteracyThe adult illiteracy rate in New Orleans is nearlytwice the national average. A student-driven programcalled Big Class is changing that.
by NINA LINCOFF 218
BUSINESS !
Tell Us What Makes a GoodBusinessWe're launching the GOOD Company Project thismonth—tell us which medium-sized businesses areworth checking out.
by GOOD 59
NEWS !
What Water Contamination CanTell Us About IrresponsibleBusinessThe researchers at the EWG have released yetanother report about how gross our drinking water is.But before your eyes glaze over and you grumble...
