Working from home can be the dream for many self-employed professionals, however, sometimes the home and family life distractions can interfere with getting things done.
With that in mind, two local entrepreneurs decided to team up and open up 1710 Workspace in the heart of downtown Cranbrook.
Deriving the name of their business out of address—17 10th Ave. S—Lee Tengum and Nathan Troxel took possession at the beginning of 2015 year and renovated the space to include a conference room, individual desk space and a coffee bar.
While aimed at local entrepreneurs who want to grow their business and reduce the isolation and distractions of being home based, the workspace is also hoping to serve travelling outoftown professionals.
“Having worked from home in the past, I’ve found that working downtown has been great for meeting with my customers and raising the profile of my business,” said Troxel, who heads the local web development firm Breeze Web.
The workspace has couches, conference tables, individual kiosks and a large board room for private meetings with tele and videoconferencing capabilities. Of course, Internet and printing/faxing services are available.
There is also the option of renting out the entire space if businesses or organizations want to put on presentations, workshops or special events.
However, the coffee bar is one of their most prized features, with a espresso machine handmade and shipped in from Italy.
Tengum, a local software developer who has worked on projects across the globe while being based in Cranbrook, teamed up with Troxel to open the workspace.
“Being around other like minded people, who share similar challenges and struggles, makes it easy to find solutions and move forward quickly,” he said. “When working from a home office I found myself hung up on issues for far longer than I should have.”
There are a number of membership options where people can get hourly, daily or monthly rates.
Nathan Siemens, a graphic designer who works in branding and operates Slumberfight.com, says the workspace helps to get the creative juices going.
“I enjoy working here because of the flexible workspaces and unique interactions with the other members,” Siemens said.
For more information on the workspace and their services, visit their website at www.1710.ca or email joinus@1710.ca.