Agenda - Economic Development Authority - 01/25/2018

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Coworking Space The Commons The Commons is a shared workspace company with two locations: one in Minnetonka and one in Excelsior. Their Minnetonka space is primarily private offices, while their Excelsior space is primarily coworking space. The Commons first opened in 2012, and seeks to serve individuals and businesses who require either a permanent space to work from or a space to use on occasion. The Commons does not specialize in any particular industry, although the services they provide meet the basic needs of professional work. The Commons offers the basic provisions of every professional coworking space, including shared working space (non -dedicated areas and desks), dedicated desks and offices, and meeting/event space. Their meeting rooms are equipped with whiteboards, TVs, arrangeable furniture, and video/ teleconferencing equipment. They also provide on - site staff to greet members and their guests, printing and copy services, private telephone rooms, and free coffee. The Commons periodically organizes programming such as personal finance seminars, TedX salons, "Collaborative Conversations" time, "Common Connections" time, Toastmasters, and happy hours The Commons does not brand themselves the same way as many of the other coworking spaces in the Twin Cities. Often, coworking space seems geared toward millennial workers. They may offer additional "luxury" amenities such as bike storage, fitness centers, or full cafes in order to align themselves with start-up and downtown culture. Instead of this approach, The Commons makes itself a relatively blank slate in order to attract a diverse set of members and allow their members to define themselves. In a similar vein, The Reserve in Edina (previously known as Cafe Inc.) described their approach to coworking space as providing "pro -working not coworking," creating a more traditional take on the general perception of coworking. Despite their differences, the owner of The Commons suggests that the spirit of coworking remains consistent across different spaces. The Commons does not target any particular type of worker or type of company. They invest very little advertising and rely on word of mouth to attract new members. The owner expressed a lack of tangible return on investment for advertising expenses and has attributed the growth of The Commons membership to more organic factors. Their Excelsior location receives a fair amount of foot traffic being near the post office and main street, which helps increase awareness of the space. They also allow the space be used for public events and business association meetings which helps to increase awareness. The Commons can also rely, in part, on being one of the few suburban coworking spaces available in the Twin Cities for people who are not interested in working downtown. With this approach to recruitment, The Commons has attracted about half remote workers and half small businesses or entrepreneurs. While the owner is interested in pursuing some directed prospecting for new members using Linkedln, business listings, and other resources, they have not yet taken this approach. The Commons claims to have relatively high retention of its members. They believe that their suburban location attracts a slightly older member who is looking for a more permanent space. While not providing direct business development assistance like a traditional incubator, coworking space does have an incentive to support the success of their members so that they continue to be members. Business Incubators and the City of Ramsey 18