Modern, spacious, colorful, and equipped with the newest office technology
As a sole entrepreneur or a small business, one of the first things you need to determine is where exactly will you conduct your business. There are a thousand places that can become your office. Hamilton is home to many different types of workspaces and in March a new one opened up right downtown, just steps from Jackson Square.
Regus is one of the largest providers of flexible workplaces in the world. They manage three thousand locations in nine hundred cities in one hundred and twenty countries. It’s been in the business for thirty years, eighteen of which they have been in Canada, so it’s not a surprise that the company would recognize the changing nature of the economy and the upward trend of startup entrepreneurship. Workforce Planning Hamilton’s annual survey of employers released in 2017 showed that nearly 20% of respondents were startup businesses. Those businesses need professional workplaces to grow, nurture, and expand. There’s only so much you can do in a home office.
Coworking spaces offer flexible membership packages to businesses or entrepreneurs who need space to work out of and conduct meetings. Members can rent desk spaces, single-person office spaces, or various configurations of the two right up to big spaces that can be used by your own fledgling team, by the day, week, or month.
Beyond that, coworking spaces have turned into effective business community meeting places. The nature of working together, but separately, leaves room for opportunity. You never know who you’re going to meet at the desk next to yours. When business people join coworking spaces, “everyone throws ideas off each other,” Randy Bell, Regus Hamilton’s Community Manager, explains.
Regus’ Hamilton office is located at 21 King St. West. Randy loves giving tours. Located on the 5th floor, the office wraps around the building, offering views of the downtown core, from the busy James St. North and King St. West intersection to the rooftop terrace of Jackson Square, to the MacNab Street Bus Terminal. Natural light fills the floor from all sides and the office is modern, spacious, colorful, and equipped with the newest office technology. “As times change, we change,” Randy says, pointing out the television/whiteboard in the main boardroom accessible by any laptop. Club spaces are configured to host community events and partners or for coworking where people can collaborate and innovate together. You can use the space for an hour, or make that desk your home.
Wayne Berger, EVP of Regus Canada, says it surprised people when Hamilton was announced as Regus’ next co-working space. Was this city ready for a Regus co-working space? He points to Hamilton’s character as a deciding factor to opening the King St. space. “There’s no pretense (to Hamilton),” he says, “(plus), you’re getting more people who want to open businesses (in the city).”
Regus wants to offer fledgling businesses all the variables that a small business or entrepreneur needs to flourish as a business. 21 King St. gives business owners the full benefit of being in a downtown city – access to retail, food, public transit, and any other variable to make a business work, including access to City Hall just a block south of the office.
Wayne is hopeful this new space will inspire further economic development in the city, and the team has already begun to reach out to local community business organizations to let them know they are available as a space for networking opportunities, community events, educational and social events, and more. “We want to partner with them to provide a workspace where startups and established businesses can meet.”
Regus also offers more than the average coworking space – access to their global network of business spaces worldwide. Any member of Regus can utilize the club spaces in over 3,000 locations worldwide to “grow their landscape,” as Wayne describes it.
Hamilton’s ability to attract world-class development business is an indication that our economic renaissance continues to expand. And it takes one more underutilized space in the city and turns it into something useful. Welcome to Hamilton, Regus.
To celebrate their opening, Regus Hamilton is inviting Hamilton startups to participate in their Startup Alley on April 25 from 5 – 8 pm. Guests will travel around Startup Alley to hear your pitch and vote for the top two. Winners will receive either a 6 months membership to Regus Hamilton or a Businessworld Gold Card. To sign up, click HERE.
There are no comments
Add comment