Co-working spaces help foster entrepreneurship

Going to the office these days can be as simple as taking a seat at your home computer, and starting a business in this expanding electronic marketplace can be done without leaving the house.

More people than ever are capitalizing on their ability to work from anywhere, but some teleworkers and virtual entrepreneurs have found there's something to be said for the often mocked and begrudged office space.

“I missed some of the aspects of going to an office every day,” said Jacob Mishook, an Iowa City-based telecommuting senior research associate for the Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University in Rhode Island. “Primarily, it's the regular contact with other people.”

So Mishook signed up for a month-to-month membership at Iowa City's first coworking space, Busy Coworking, 218 E. Washington St. And Mishook's experience is not unique.

According to California-based Telework Research Network, the number of Americans who work from home or remotely at least once a month jumped from about 12.4 million in 2006 to 17.2 million in 2008. That's a 39 percent increase in two years and a 74 percent increase since 2005.

The telecommuting explosion has driven the popularity of coworking, which turns the idea of an office on its head by eliminating the hierarchy – because most people in the space aren't working for the same company – while capitalizing on the benefits of shared ideas, expertise and contacts.

Iowa City's Busy Coworking, which started accepting memberships in April, sits above the Chait Galleries Downtown, across from the Java House and overlooks a bustling pedestrian zone near the University of Iowa.

Mishook said the atmosphere of the coworking space aids his productivity.

“I like that it's in downtown Iowa City, which I find to be a vibrant place,” he said. “And certainly being able to chat socially with people and talk about work helps sharpen my skills.”

These spaces, which continue to pop up coast to coast, are not only productive environments for teleworkers who need access to the internet, scanners, copy machines and other standard office resources.

But, coworking spaces are driving the explosion of start-ups nationwide, according to Andy Stoll, co-owner of Seed Here, an organization geared toward fostering entrepreneurship, and co-founder of The Vault, a coworking space in Cedar Rapids.

Stoll said there are plenty of creative minds in Eastern Iowa tinkering away at world-changing or at least community-altering projects, and the coworking spaces bring those minds together.

“All of these things are going on that contribute to the culture of creating,” Stoll said, adding that Seed Here and The Vault are “trying to poke and encourage reinventing the way businesses work.”

Many of today's start-ups are totally web-based, Stoll said. They range from web application creators to online service providers. One entrepreneur in Eastern Iowa is developing a way to transmit local television on the Internet, Stoll said.

“With the Internet, location matters so much less,” he said.

And while many of the local start-ups finding a home in local coworking spaces are virtually rooted, others new businesses are more traditional – a brewery or bakery. One new business owner in Cedar Rapids, for example, is using members of The Vault coworking space as guinea pigs for his beer.

He has turned The Vault's refrigerator into a “kegerator,” Stoll said.

“We decided to create a kind of club house for entrepreneurs,” he said. “But the most important thing is creating a community of people helping each other out.”

In addition to Iowa City's Busy Coworking space, Iowa City Area Development is planning to open a coworking incubator. That space aims to combine staff offices of the economic development group with work space for small businesses and entrepreneurs.

Shiela Samuelson, co-founder of Iowa City's Busy Coworking, said she thinks the country is trending toward more telecommuting, more start-ups and more co-mingled office spaces.

“We believe this is part of the future of working,” she said.

Coming:

Starting Tuesday, a weekly feature will profile start-ups in the corridor. “From the Ground Up” will introduce you to the people behind Eastern Iowa's newest businesses – companies that have been up and running for less than a year – and talk to them about the inspiration for their business, the challenges they face and the vision for their new enterprise.