Being located in one of Mexico City’s prime neighborhoods backfired (temporarily) for Urban Station.
In September, 2013, the government announced that Avenida Presidente Masaryk was going to be renovated starting 2014. The renovation project was going to last a year, and it included redoing Masaryk’s sidewalks, taking electricity cables underground, topping over the asphalt, among others.
This pushed back Urban Station’s growth about a year.
Avenida Presidente Masaryk was re-opened at the end of the first quarter of last year (2015). Yet, a quick look around the area surrounding the coworking space tells you that there’s still construction going on in Polanco.
Three years had flown by before Urban Station was able to successfully break-in.
Why Keep Running With Blisters And Sores
Many coworking spaces in many countries have opened and closed their doors. Urban Station had plenty of reasons to close: an immature market, lack of traffic, lack of profit, people asking to close the open space to set up private offices.
Yet, they didn’t.
“I and the Urban Station team fully believe in the coworking concept and how it can help businesses and workers grow professionally. It’s a very noble and promising concept; it’s agile and it’s dynamic. We also wanted to keep the Urban Station brand growing, so we refused to give up.”
They were right in not giving up, and it has paid off.
There is definitely a wide market to cater to in Mexico. It was a small market in 2012, but it’s significantly grown ever since. Entrepreneurship levels in Mexico are on the rise and funding is becoming increasingly available for startups. This has helped the coworking movement grow in Mexico.
Curing and Preventing Blisters
There is no one size fits all when it comes to coworking. Each country, each market, each operator is different. Urban Station Mexico also had to adapt and change part of its operating model to meet the needs of Mexican professionals.
While Urban Station workspaces in South America are mostly open and shared workspace, in Mexico the coworking brand saw the need to incorporate and offer private and small offices.
Urban Station broke-in the Mexican market. According to them, it was worth it.
Coworking in Mexico is growing, it’s becoming a widely accepted way of working, and coworking spaces (including WeWork) are popping up left and right.
Marcela is sure the challenges aren’t over. Just like any shoes, you need to be careful not to wear them out.
“As the market evolves, we will need to reinvent and recreate ourselves, without losing the Urban Station essence. We will also reach new markets within Mexico, going to other cities as demand continues to grow.”
The lesson here is to not give up–easy come, easy go. So says the song. So goes in business.
This post was originally published November 2, 2016
