WASILLA, Alaska—
Office space is one of the biggest expenses a small-business owner faces -- one some businesses can’t afford, even when it is desperately needed. That’s why a Mat-Su Valley man’s business plan is simply to share his space.Jesse Jones has been putting in a lot of overtime over the last few weeks, putting the finishing touches on The Working Place, his new office-rental space in Meta Rose Square in Wasilla.
Starting Monday it won't just be Jones’ office, as he'll be sharing the space with at least eight other people -- even though they’ll work neither for nor with him.
The Working Place is the first business of its kind in Alaska. It’s a shared working area where people can rent desk space by the day, week or month.
Jones’ existing IT business and a magazine article on a flight to Juneau spawned the idea for The Working Place.
“We got to the point where we were needing a professional place to work from,” Jones said. “The home office and the coffee shop wasn't quite cutting it, but the costs of the lease space, plus the insurance, plus utilities, plus everything else that's involved in having your own brick-and-mortar facility was just cost-prohibitive for us.”
Jones isn’t the only one attracted to The Working Place’s business model. Doug Miller is considering renting space on a semi-regular basis while doing work for his consulting business. He's used co-working facilities in the Lower 48 and likes the convenience it offers.
“I'm mostly in home-office and occasionally on client-site, but we don't have any brick-and-mortar offices to work at,” Miller said. “The benefit to me is, you can only do so much at a home office, and there's only so many times that I have the need or the want to go into Anchorage. So this provides a good professional office space, either individually or to meet with somebody.”
In addition to letting business owners get out of the home office, saving money that would normally be spent on rent, insurance and utilities, Jones says The Working Place also offers the opportunity to consult with colleagues in similar situations.
“About 76 percent of co-workers report that they have created new projects and new ventures based on the partnerships they've created in the co-working community,” Jones said. “It becomes less like a classroom, where you're forced to sit next to somebody, or a corporate environment where you're sitting in a cubicle farm; it’s more co-workers, where you're working together in an area.”
Jones says renting a space at The Working Place could save a small business owner 50 percent or more compared to leasing a small office.
The Working Place will charge $25 a day or $350 a month for a desk with locking cabinets. Any member has access to free wireless Internet and a conference room with all the amenities.
Contact Todd Walker at twalker@ktuu.com
