Why to Pick Local Coworking Over WeWork
Keller Davis preparing for the opening of Createscape Coworking’s current location on Tillery Street in East Austin
This Friday, Createscape is hosting a celebration for Austin Coworking Day, which was declared as September 27 by Mayor Steve Adler two years ago in a city council proclamation attended by yours truly. So in observance, we will be offering free coworking all day long (9am-5pm) and hosting a community party from 4pm to 6pm on the patio and side yard, complete with barbecue, drinks, and live music.
As an innovative and creative city, Austin recognizing the importance of coworking to the changing workforce makes total sense. The coworking-space market has had incredible growth in the last few years and is projected to continue. According to Deskmag’s “2019 State of Coworking” article, almost 2.2 million people are expected to work in more than 22,000 coworking spaces worldwide by the end of the year. That said, you may have also heard a lot of negative news the past four weeks regarding WeWork’s upcoming public offering, including shenanigans from its CEO (who has since stepped down from the position) and questions about the company’s financials. While WeWork deserves some credit for generating more awareness of the coworking industry to the general public, one of the top comments we get on tours is: “I’m looking for a place that kind of offers what WeWork offers, but definitely not a WeWork.” I usually respond that Createscape is locally owned and operated, which makes all the difference.
Definately not a WeWork- Createscape’s “Groove Room” is one of a few coworking areas at Createscape that has a variety of work stations
I was born in Austin, and so was Createscape -- so the uniqueness, weirdness, and friendliness is all pretty organic. Regardless of what one industry leader is doing, including its own pitfalls, coworking is here to stay and Createscape is proud to have been a part of the local workplace revolution since 2014 (almost a year before there was even any WeWork branches in our city). Additionally, supporting local businesses is an important way to keep dollars spent within the community. So Happy #AustinCoworkingDay and we hope to see your faces this Friday!