Published: Monday, August 27, 2007
The everywhere office
Wireless Web means coffee shops and libraries can serve as no-cost places to do business.
-
Dan Bates / The Herald Christopher Fotos, owner of Clix portrait studios in Mill Creek, gets some office work done at the nearby Spotted Cow Ice Cream and Coffee Co., which has wireless Internet access and table space. At the table in the background, John Chandler (left), Josh Williams, Dean Kuest and Andy Smith, all staff at Pathways Church in Mill Creek, hold one of their twice-weekly meetings. "It's our office," Kuest says.
MILL CREEK - When Shawn Haynes launched Seattle Timberworks of Monroe, he didn't have an office.
So he worked out of the public library across the street.
Heidi Happonen uses Spotted Cow Ice Cream and Coffee Co.'s store in Mill Creek Town Center as her office.
With coffeehouses, libraries and other spots offering free wireless Internet access and quiet corners, many entrepreneurs and business people have embraced them as their alternative offices.
It's not a unique trend, but it's something that Steve Oleson, co-owner of the Spotted Cow, has seen grown at his business.
"There are people working in here all day long. In the morning, you might have your business people working and ministers from the churches," Oleson said. "In the afternoon, you have more of the people who work at home and want to get out to get a coffee and some work done. It's a real range."
Christopher Fotos used the coffeehouse as his office while waiting for the completion of his photography shop space across the street.
"All my employees were interviewed there. It was perfect for that," said Fotos, who opened his Clix shop on Aug. 3.
He didn't use the Wi-Fi access there, but that's a draw for other businesspeople. Joseph Fehlen, senior pastor at the Word of Grace Foursquare Church in Everett, uses both Spotted Cow and his neighborhood Starbucks for that reason.
"I have an office at the church, but we don't have wireless or Internet here," he said. "Plus, I prefer being out in the community, being out with people instead of squirreled away in my office."
He said the background noise at the coffeehouse helps him stay focused.
"I get more done there," Fehlen said. He's not the only clergy hanging out there, either, adding that sometimes pastors compare notes on their sermons.
Happonen, who left a mortgage company job earlier this year to start her own public relations business, said Spotted Cow's play area for children makes it an attractive alternative to working at home.
"Now, especially during summer vacation, I've got my four-year-old at home. But he can play for hours in their little play area," she said.
Both she and Fotos also mentioned the Spotted Cow's meeting area, which includes a whiteboard for spelling out discussion points.
Happonen said she typically fills up her Spotted Cow commuter mug with coffee to sip while she works. Sometimes, she and her son share a pastry or some ice cream.
Oleson said he appreciates those who get work done at the coffeehouse buying food and drinks, he's not overly worried about it.
"We're not going to stand over you and require you to buy something," he said. The shop wants people to treat the shop like a community center, and driving away customers from returning and buying things in the future just doesn't make sense, he added.
When Haynes and a partner started Seattle Timberworks in 2005, they also found themselves without a office for months.
"We had a building, a warehouse, but the landlord didn't have the offices built out for us the first six months," said Haynes, whose company specializes in high quality, rustic-style furniture.
So they went across the street to Monroe's library, part of the Sno-Isle Regional Library System. There, Haynes said, they could research building codes, check e-mail and search the Web on the computer terminals and get basic printing and copying services. They held meetings and interviews in the conference room that the public can reserve.
"It was great for what we needed," he said, adding that his young children could easily visit him "at work" in the library.
Mary Kelly, Sno-Isle's community relations director, said all of the system's libraries now offer free Wi-Fi access, and she suspects other small business people, especially in south Snohomish County, use them as "virtual offices."
Oleson said he's also happy to provide a popular virtual office spot. When he was doing the startup work for the Spotted Cow, he added, he logged time in the local Tully's, Starbucks and McMenamins.
Reporter Eric Fetters: 425-339-3453 or fetters@heraldnet.com
So he worked out of the public library across the street.
Heidi Happonen uses Spotted Cow Ice Cream and Coffee Co.'s store in Mill Creek Town Center as her office.
With coffeehouses, libraries and other spots offering free wireless Internet access and quiet corners, many entrepreneurs and business people have embraced them as their alternative offices.
It's not a unique trend, but it's something that Steve Oleson, co-owner of the Spotted Cow, has seen grown at his business.
"There are people working in here all day long. In the morning, you might have your business people working and ministers from the churches," Oleson said. "In the afternoon, you have more of the people who work at home and want to get out to get a coffee and some work done. It's a real range."
Christopher Fotos used the coffeehouse as his office while waiting for the completion of his photography shop space across the street.
"All my employees were interviewed there. It was perfect for that," said Fotos, who opened his Clix shop on Aug. 3.
He didn't use the Wi-Fi access there, but that's a draw for other businesspeople. Joseph Fehlen, senior pastor at the Word of Grace Foursquare Church in Everett, uses both Spotted Cow and his neighborhood Starbucks for that reason.
"I have an office at the church, but we don't have wireless or Internet here," he said. "Plus, I prefer being out in the community, being out with people instead of squirreled away in my office."
He said the background noise at the coffeehouse helps him stay focused.
"I get more done there," Fehlen said. He's not the only clergy hanging out there, either, adding that sometimes pastors compare notes on their sermons.
Happonen, who left a mortgage company job earlier this year to start her own public relations business, said Spotted Cow's play area for children makes it an attractive alternative to working at home.
"Now, especially during summer vacation, I've got my four-year-old at home. But he can play for hours in their little play area," she said.
Both she and Fotos also mentioned the Spotted Cow's meeting area, which includes a whiteboard for spelling out discussion points.
Happonen said she typically fills up her Spotted Cow commuter mug with coffee to sip while she works. Sometimes, she and her son share a pastry or some ice cream.
Oleson said he appreciates those who get work done at the coffeehouse buying food and drinks, he's not overly worried about it.
"We're not going to stand over you and require you to buy something," he said. The shop wants people to treat the shop like a community center, and driving away customers from returning and buying things in the future just doesn't make sense, he added.
When Haynes and a partner started Seattle Timberworks in 2005, they also found themselves without a office for months.
"We had a building, a warehouse, but the landlord didn't have the offices built out for us the first six months," said Haynes, whose company specializes in high quality, rustic-style furniture.
So they went across the street to Monroe's library, part of the Sno-Isle Regional Library System. There, Haynes said, they could research building codes, check e-mail and search the Web on the computer terminals and get basic printing and copying services. They held meetings and interviews in the conference room that the public can reserve.
"It was great for what we needed," he said, adding that his young children could easily visit him "at work" in the library.
Mary Kelly, Sno-Isle's community relations director, said all of the system's libraries now offer free Wi-Fi access, and she suspects other small business people, especially in south Snohomish County, use them as "virtual offices."
Oleson said he's also happy to provide a popular virtual office spot. When he was doing the startup work for the Spotted Cow, he added, he logged time in the local Tully's, Starbucks and McMenamins.
Reporter Eric Fetters: 425-339-3453 or fetters@heraldnet.com
Comments
(
