Co-Working Space

Not long ago entrepreneurs, startups, and other small businesses were faced with the challenge of working from home or a local coffee shop as dedicated office space was too large, expensive, and/or required a long term commitment. Executive office companies such as Regus came about to fill a need for these users by master-leasing a large amount of office space and providing small suites or individual offices with flexible terms. They often have shared amenities and resources of a fully operating office such as conference rooms, break rooms, and even a receptionist at essentially an all-inclusive rate. While some of these companies require yearly terms others provide ultimate flexibility with monthly, daily, or even hourly rates.

The general office market has seen a shift from spaces heavily built out with private offices to more open floor plans allowing employees to be more collaborate. The co-working model has embraced this trend to accommodate the growing number of entrepreneurs, startups, and freelancers in the workforce, especially within the tech and creative industries. These spaces allow small tenants to make connections with synergistic users and work together to grow their respective businesses in a community environment. The number of co-working companies and spaces has increased dramatically over the past couple of years. One of the faster growing co-working brands, WeWork, has over 100 locations and has expanded into 18 markets throughout the United States. Although they haven’t made it to Columbus at this point the city has more than 20 options ranging from large national providers to small incubators run by entrepreneurs themselves.