Coworking: Where Collaboration and Productivity Thrive
WHAT IS A COWORK SPACE?
Unlike traditional office formats, cowork spaces provide members with access to desk spaces, conference rooms, communal breakout areas and studio space, all curated to spark collaboration and mentorship between members. This flexibility diverges from the standard operating hours and gives access to those who may be operating alongside other ventures, and finding their work-life balance.
In Lake Havasu City, the concept of cowork was piloted in 2018 by Partnership for Economic development with the creation of F106. The space currently holds ten companies in the form of solopreneurs and small businesses with three employees or less. The range of company specializations create opportunities for collaboration, mentoring and idea sharing to increase the success and sustainment of small business start-ups and solopreneurs.
WHY JOIN A COWORK SPACE?
In rural communities, cowork spaces provide benefits to professional identities able to translate to the areas in which entrepreneurs are being defaulted into creative isolation. Though competition is still a healthy pillar of business, incubator settings with collaborative efforts can breathe fresh air to unseen ventures and boost productivity.
Even beyond professional collaborations, cowork spaces provide a gathering space for creative and entrepreneurial communities to share ideas and connect with others in their areas of expertise and interest. With the F106 space, the in-house studio has provided a hub for community creative and technological groups like Havasu Photography, Geek Group, Craft Night, First Friday, Havashire Guild, and Creative Comrades.
WHAT’S NEXT FOR COWORK IN LAKE HAVASU CITY?
In 2016, Lake Havasu’s Vision 2020 plan was the second place winner in America’s Best Communities contest. A cowork space was determined to be one of the three contest funded projects within the Vision 2020 Plan and was awarded $400,000 from the ABC contest funds.
While F106 has been operating as a pilot (with a growing waiting list), Partnership for Economic Development has been designing and developing the new facility located in the heart of Downtown. The PED anticipates the new 9,000 sq ft facility will be open and operating in early 2022. Its capacity for members will increase substantially and will offer mentoring and programming specifically designed for the entrepreneurial community.
“The Better Business Bureau has been a spacemate in F106 Coworking & Collaboration for about three months now, and we’re very happy to have been invited into the environment. Programs and businesses often get into a silo when it comes to exploring collaborative efforts in Lake Havasu, and I feel that F106 is a shining example of how this concept of working together can grow ideas and create better offerings. BBB is truly excited to be a partner in this effort to stimulate trustworthy business expansion in Lake Havasu and throughout the region.”
