Last week, The Launch Factory had the pleasure of hosting CharlotteFive writer Vanessa Infanzon for the day. With the increasing popularity of coworking in Charlotte, Vanessa set out to spend some time at 8 shared offices in the Queen City. Her article highlights what a great coworking community we have here, with many unique environments to fit the diversity of our workforce. Read on for Vanessa’s take on coworking and The Launch Factory, and be sure to check out her original article here!
Article (abbreviated) originally published January 26th, 2018. Written by Vanessa Infanzon for CharlotteFive.
Quick hits
Here are the highlights of my experience:
- Community managers are the resident advisors (RAs) of the co-working world. They make sure members are comfortable and have all that they need. They plan events and help members get to know one another. I connected with each one – they were all friendly, helpful and genuinely interested in what I was doing with the story. I visited two other co-working companies at the suggestion of other community managers – they seem to have their own supportive network.
- I didn’t expect to make the connections I did at the co-working spaces. I ran into people I knew, reconnected with old friends and left with multiple story ideas.
- Certain days are busier for co-working. Mondays and Fridays may be quieter. Visit on a Wednesday to truly gauge the level of noise and community interaction.
- I made the mistake of thinking that I’d go out to lunch with people from the co-working spaces, but most people bring lunch from home.
- Parking can be an issue for an Uptown location unless you plan to take public transportation. Most others have plenty of free parking. I took the bus for the Uptown locations.
- Day passes ($20-$35) can break the monotony of working from home if you don’t want to commit to a contract.
- Most spaces will let you try it out for the day to get a feel for the space. I highly recommend this!
- Each location had security – locked doors and only members have access codes or cards.
- WiFi security is taken seriously. There are passwords and special WiFi for visitors, like me.
The Launch Factory collaborative space
The Launch Factory
Location: 2459 Wilkinson Blvd., Suite 310 (West Charlotte)
Costs: Co-working $200; dedicated desk: $350; dedicated office: varies; day pass: $25
Unique amenity: High-speed and extremely secure WiFi through Securedge, its parent company
Companies include: Urban Skin Rx, Suite Plants, Janeiro Digital
Vibe: This space is in an old brick textile building in Camp Green. It’s open and inviting with natural light. They’ve worked hard to create a calming environment with a living wall, a mural by Matt Hooker and Matt Moore, and chair swings. This was the first time I brought my lunch to a co-working space, and I ate with the community manager. I had a tough assignment to finish and felt comfortable enough to ask the community manager to read it before I filed.
