Co-working spaces provide new hub for Phoenix entrepreneurs

In the Valley of the Sun, co-working spaces have become increasingly popular among small-business owners and entrepreneurs. With spaces like Startups on Central, The Department, Mod, and others, working professionals have no shortage of options for a new office.

Business workers in myriad industries have taken to co-working spaces over traditional offices in recent years. Indeed, this theme has become present in startup friendly cities like San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, and most recently, Phoenix.  

Katie May – the day-to-day manager of Mod in Uptown Phoenix explained why business owners have started to drift away from standard offices, “It’s economical. You don’t want to go and spend a lot of money on an office. The economic aspect helps small businesses grow.”

Mod, for example, has a monthly membership rate of $250. This compares favorably to a standard office space, which can cost thousands of dollars.   

But even beyond the financial benefits, these shared spaces offer a sense of community among different companies. May addressed the collaborative benefits of Mod and other co-working spaces, asserting, “It helps with productivity. It creates high-level thinking. We’re all driven to be bigger than what we are.”

Additionally, an important part about these spaces is their versatility. Mod has multiple conference rooms and private offices in addition to their open space of patio chairs, couches, stools, and long tables. The space provides the perfect environment for companies in most industries. In fact, rising mattress manufacturer Tuft & Needle first started in Mod back in 2012.

Contrarily, if companies prefer a standard office space over co-working offices, they can still utilize open atmospheres like Mod for company events. May said that one of her main duties is event-planning; indeed, they usually host four a month, with a wide variety of clients. For example, this month, they hosted real estate firm Fairway Independent. The event featured a panel of the four top real estate agents and held almost 200 people.

Finally, co-working spaces help Phoenix and its local companies grow. Mod features local companies, locally-grown coffee, as well as local breweries such as Greenwood Brewery – a female owned brewery based in Phoenix. As co-working spaces help local companies grow, they also help the Phoenix economy grow, creating new jobs for Arizona  every year.

May believes that Phoenix is the next city due for a wave of entrepreneurship, and co-working spaces like Mod will be an integral tool in driving that effort.