[entry points]
OFFICE appeal
Window
ofOpportunity
Co-working spaces provide amenities and networking opportunities
Clockwise from top left: WeWork, Boston; Regus, Santa Monica; Epic Space, Pasadena.
strategies to grow your business
By Gwen Moran
BY THE NUMBER S There will be more than
30,000 global co-working spaces with 5.1 million members by 2022.
—Small Business Labs
May June
14
Co-working spaces are popping up all over the place. These convenient, affordable and often stylish workspaces are one of the biggest trends in commercial real estate. Trends and forecasting firm Small Business Labs predicts that there will be more than 30,000 global co-working spaces with about 5.1 million members by 2022. For REALTORS®, co-working spaces offer a flexible home base. William Tong, CRS, broker and team leader at Golden Land Investments & Financial, Inc., in Pasadena and Arcadia, California, decided to work in a co-working space in the fall of 2017, after growing his team from three to five people. The team now has 12 associates. His team members wanted an upscale office space with access to conference rooms where they could meet clients. Originally, he looked at traditional office spaces, including one front-runner next to
The Residential Specialist trsmag.com
20 19
a bookstore. Then he began checking out co-working spaces, including those operated by Regus, Epic Spaces, WeWork and others. WeWork offered a beautiful space and the largest network of offices around the world. Golden Land serves upscale clients, investors and first-time homebuyers, so having an attractive space was important to the team. “The elegance and thoughtfulness of the designed spaces was something that we could not have implemented easily,” he says. William found a flexible and beautiful space to grow his team’s business and he was able to shift office renovation money toward serving his clients.
Amenities galore
One of the appealing aspects of co-working spaces is the amenities that are available. At 36 Degrees North, a co-working space in Tulsa, Oklahoma, a base membership is $149 per month. The space has a fresh, modern décor and a variety of workspace options ranging from workstations in an open-space floor