Exec Sees Plenty Of Room For Growth In Valley Market
Jan 2, 2019 – My Office, a Phoenix-based coworking company, is converting its four Arizona locations to Office Evolution franchises.
Shelley Bade and her business partner, the late Jill Pogrant, began My Office nine years ago, and opened four locations in Arizona, including one in Peoria, one in Surprise and two in Phoenix.
“We saw efficiencies with Office Evolution that we didn’t have because of their size,” Bade said. “They have an awesome digital marketing platform nationwide.”
Each of Bade’s locations has 20 to 40 private offices, and users can choose from packages including hourly, daily, month-to-month and long-term rentals.
Unlike some other types of co-working companies that have grown in the Phoenix area recently, Office Evolution focuses mostly on locations in suburbs. The Colorado-based company has 57 locations across the country, most of which are franchises, said Mark Hemmeter, founder and CEO of Office Evolution. Office Evolution has 12 co-working locations in the Denver area, according to Denver Business Journal research.
“Our typical client is a lawyer, accountant or insurance broker,” Hemmeter said. Including Bade’s locations, there are now five Office Evolution locations in the Phoenix area, but there could be room for growth.
“The Phoenix area for us could have about 15 locations,” Hemmeter said, adding that it costs between $350,000 to $500,000 to open a location.
Now, Bade rents space in buildings for her Office Evolution locations, but it is her goal one day to own a building and operate an Office Evolution from that location. She said she hopes to add another franchise location in the next 12 to 24 months.
