WeWork | Affordable, Attractive Flexispace for Your Business

October 27, 2014

Making money doing what you love in a jaw-dropping workspace with passionate like-minded people is the dream, right? Let me introduce you to WeWork. WeWork is an international membership-based workspace share for freelancers and small-business owners. Their mission is to make small businesses more successful by inspiring creativity in a space where meeting people and collaborating is organic. In just 3 years, WeWork has gone from a concept to more than 15,000 members in 26 locations and counting.

WeWork spaces are accessible by keycard 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. Amenities include fully furnished work spaces; fast, reliable internet; free coffee and fruit; lounge areas; frequent workshops and events; conference rooms; outdoor spaces; editing bays; recording studios; screening rooms; event spaces; writers' rooms; print services; mediation rooms; and much more. Membership also includes access to the WeWork online community, where you can connect with other small-business owners outside of your own city. WeWork has also leveraged the size of their company to offer great health insurance plans to their members, which is a major perk.

These spaces range from $325-$600/mo. for a lab desk to $525-$950/mo. for a private 1-person office. Prices go up for multiperson offices. These flexible month-to-month spaces are absolutely beautiful and so flexible for a growing business. Once you become a member, you have access to offices in every city.

In Washington, D.C., alone they have 3 locations in Chinatown, Shaw, and Dupont Circle. I stopped by the Shaw location, located in the historic Wonderbread/Hostess Factory and voted one of the world's coolest offices by Inc. Magazine. This 33,000-sq. foot, 2-story, uniquely designed space was absolutely beautiful and bustling with activity. While waiting in the lounge/kitchen area with a complimentary fruit-infused water, I couldn't help but notice two large glass-pained garage doors that opened onto the expansive outdoor patio. The patio was beautiful and modern and had large and small tables to work outside. There was so much natural light and so much activity happening in just that one area. After the tour started, I walked through the hallways lined with individual glass offices branded with each businesses logo, and I was able to catch a glimpse of companies hard at work. There were event planners, photographers, web developers, designers--all with various sized spaces. According to my tour guide, a lot of companies had started with a small space and had expanded at WeWork, some now even occupy 16-person offices. There are currently 300 small businesses, the majority of which are creative businesses, that operate out of the Wonderbread facility, and it's growing quickly.

WeWork is so much more than stunning offices. It's space, community, and services that help propel you to build a sustainable business doing what you love in a fresh, exciting way.

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WeWork | Affordable, Attractive Flexispace for Your Business

Studio Tour | Typecase Industries

Inspiration | Method Products

October 22, 2014

In 2000, two friends, designer Eric Ryan and chemical engineer Adam Lowry, who'd spent years brainstorming which products they could reinvent, finally made a decision: cleaning products. The two set off on a journey to recreate everyday cleaning products in a whole new way. In addition to being beautiful, they would be eco-friendly, non-toxic, and pleasantly fragrant.

Every element of their product line is carefully crafted from a design perspective. The shape of their bottles, the bright colors, and the pithy language adds an overall cheerfulness to the experience of cleaning, which would typically be a pretty uninspiring event.

In addition to their regular line, the Method guys keep it fresh with seasonal, holiday, and limited-edition products, as well as their "design for good" line that promotes awareness for causes close to their hearts.

Animal Cruelty, Breast Cancer, Prostate Cancer Awareness

Method's dedication to beautiful design is really inspiring. They've taken a pretty ordinary product and turned it into something really luxurious and gift-worthy. They continue to evolve their company and their product line, and I can't wait to see what they'll do next.

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Inspiration | Method Products

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Running a Creative Business with Lauren Paradise

October 20, 2014

Lauren Paradise is the co-founder of kelly+olive, a Chicago based interior design business. Lauren is juggling running the business while also perusing a masters degree in interior design.

What is your design background and how did kelly+olive begin?

I have always been interested in art and design, though my undergrad studies were in theatre. In 2008, while trying to work as an actor in Chicago (mostly working at an unfulfilling day job), Courtney and I began talking about creating our own home styling business. We shared a knack for and interest in interior design and had recently helped a friend redecorate her apartment on a tiny budget. The project was a success, and we worked together well so we thought this would be a fun fulfilling way to make a little money! We dove right in and things have grown bit by bit over the years.

Offering interior design through an on-line service is pretty unique, how did you decide on this format?

We were looking for a way to offer a service that would be affordable and accessible to almost anyone. Hiring an interior designer is still seen as something for the wealthy or frivolous. We know that everyone deserves and can benefit from a well-designed home, and working with clients online is a great way to reach all sorts of people while keeping costs low.

What have been the benefits of working with a partner?

For me, there are nothing but benefits. It's so helpful to have someone to bounce ideas off of, to hand projects over to when I get stuck, to split the workload of the boring stuff, to hold the other end of the tape measurer. Plus it makes work super fun because I get to do it with my friend!

What do you like best about owning your own business?

Independence and flexibility. Owning my own business lets me tailor my workload while I'm pursuing my Masters Degree in Interior Design. Courtney and I have both been able to be flexible with the number of clients we take to suit what's going on in our lives.

What is one lesson that you've learned the hard way?

Get a good accountant! We can't all be experts at everything (I have no desire to be a tax guru), but small business taxes can be really complex and you don't want a scary letter at your door.

You two have been featured in magazines, newspapers and news segments. What's your secret?

I don't know if there is a secret! Just a combination of luck and timing. We reached out to a lot of people when we first got started and got a connection that led to a magazine profile. Press people are always looking for new content, and if you can frame it in a way that seems cool and current, they'll pay attention. In that way I think the recession helped us out. We were offering a new, budget-friendly way to decorate and that really fit with current needs.

How do you stay motivated?

I've found working for myself and working from home to be a little isolating at times. It's hard to be a totally self-motivated creativity/productivity machine. In the past I've tried to schedule field trips into my week, take a walk around the neighborhood, or hang out with some other business-owner pals. Now, being in school and having new ideas, new faces, new skills around all the time keeps that part of my brain humming.

What is your dream project?

I'd love to work on a restaurant or hospitality project. There's an opportunity to do something there that is really dramatic, iconic, or thematic in a way that wouldn't quite work in a residence.

Do you have any advice for someone just starting out?

Don't be afraid to reach out. Early on, we made a list of magazine editors, bloggers, and fellow designers and sent emails introducing ourselves and our business. As long as you're friendly, professional, and don't seem to be asking them for anything, people are receptive. We made some amazing connections and got great press just from saying 'hey, I thought you should know about us!'

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