THUNDER BAY - The way people work is always evolving, with communication technologies making the world a much smaller place, but everyone still needs that space of their own in order to reach new levels of productivity.
An office-sharing space, popular in larger centres like Toronto and New York, is now available in Thunder Bay.
The Vault on Red River opened last spring and offers office space rentals on both a long-term and short-term basis.
“I felt that it was needed because I found a large number of single working professionals repatriating back to the city from the major centres after they gained experience and time and didn’t have a place to call home for their business or their office,” said Scott McNab, president and CEO of HPG, which operates The Vault. “They were running out of their homes, which is convenient, sometimes, but perhaps less effective than we’d like it to be.”
Located in the former TD Bank on Red River Road, the Vault, at 4,500 square-feet, offers up to 18 office spaces, boardrooms, a lounge, receptionist, and soon to be café.
McNab said the spaces are open to anyone and currently there is a nutritionist, a media artist, and a company CEO. Leases are available for as short as half a day to five years and the workspaces offer high-speed wireless Internet connections, phones, and teleconferencing - anything a traditional office space would provide.
“You can pick and choose the things you want or need and leave the things that you don’t,” McNab said.
“The value of a space like this is you get to be the professional you are supposed to be and you are selling yourself and you are billing yourself as,” McNab continued. “It doesn’t matter who is looking after the building, or the coffee machine, you get to be the sharpest edge of your own steel. You get to come to work, be that professional, and leave, and that’s it.”
A lot of people may think working from home is a viable option when office space is not available, but McNab said the home doesn’t always provide the most productive atmosphere.
“That target market of 25 to 45 is a young working profession, often with a family and children, and it’s very difficult to hide in the basement and have a teleconference when your three-year-old is having a tantrum on the second floor,” he said.
Crying children may not make for the best co-workers, but if you are an independent entrepreneur, sharing a space with people from different sectors and businesses can be beneficial.
“The concept of a collaboration centre means you don’t have to be an expert in all your fields simultaneously,” McNab said. “When you have multiple disciplines and multiple professionals working under the same umbrella, you have the opportunity to have a relationship with people who may be experts in collaborative fields.”
For more information about leasing a space, McNab invites anyone to stop by The Vault or visit their Facebook page.