A new coworking space is opening in a vacant building near me.

Coworking is several start-up sized businesses sharing space and resources, and usually has space on a drop-in basis. It’s actually something I’ve been watching for a few years, now. I could see doing a web-design business out of it.  (Pay no attention to the theme here) Or I could see it being a great place to get away from the daily noise and go work on a novel when you’re on a deadline.

Thoughts have fluttered through my head.

None of them involved co-working space in my own town, though.

I always thought of it as a larger city thing, and maybe a way to start a business “in” a larger town without dropping a fortune on rent. (The thought of starting a business that’s anchored to a dying town does not appeal to me.)

So, one of the local realtors is starting a co-working space.

That’s not how the places usually start, of course. It’s usually more of a start-ups getting together thing. Maybe let’s call that a cooperative. There’s usually a list somewhere on the co-working website. And the community involved is a big part of the sell. (Work on your own projects, but get the interaction of a more varied workplace.)

Okay. So, we all know the reason for it is that realtor has a butt-load of empty storefronts, and no one to rent them to. And this is one of the bigger empty buildings, so just filling it will give the town more curb-appeal. (It used to be a movie theater.)

It makes sense. You fill the space with start-ups who couldn’t rent an entire office or store front on their own, and then–eventually–some of them get big enough to move into other space around town. Maybe you make a little money, and maybe you just make enough to cover the taxes, but either way…

This is the first time in a while, though, that I’ve seen a new business come in and actually believed that it had a chance of 1.) Succeeding and 2.) Succeeding without shutting down some similar business.

I’m excited to see how it works, even if I’m not actively thinking of using the service. Pricing will be coming out soon, so we’ll see how it compares to my get started in a bigger town idea.