I love working from home. I've done it for 9.5 years, and it's hard to imagine ever going back to…read morean "office". I think I might be broken. I had a co-working space that I loved before the pandemic began, but we've just moved to Edmond.
There is a lot going on at our house. The other day, we had three kids, four dogs, two WFH parents, a grandparent, two housekeepers, a piano tuner, a torrential downpour keeping everyone firmly inside, and a random drop-by by an aunt and uncle. Somewhere, in this chaos, I was expected to put in eight hours of productive work. Needless to say, it was a late night for me after everyone went to bed an I tried to shore up the missing hours of my day. I also started looking for co-working options in Edmond.
Enter Vault 405, a product of Citizen's Bank of Edmond, intended to be a resource for small businesses and entrepreneurs who don't need traditional office space.
You can purchase a day pass for $20. That doesn't seem too high a price to pay for my sanity. A co-working day pass will run you $175/month and I may do that some month when I'm really going to be in town more, especially in August when my kids will be home a lot. A dedicated desk (which includes mail service and locked storage) is $275 per month, and a private office (with a door that closes and locks) is $499 a month.
Unlike some of the coworking spaces I've visited, there seems to be lots of room for people to spread out. Dedicated desks and offices, communal spaces, break rooms and more. I had a big room to myself on the day I was here (I assume summer Fridays are not as busy as some of the days).
I think this must be one of the benefits of a co-working space with lots of capital behind it. I've been in some really scrappy co-working situations, (including a basement in Automobile Alley with bad lighting and a cricket infestation) and though I respect the hustle, they all left a lot to be desired in terms of infrastructure, ergonomics, lighting, sound dampening, parking, etc. This space has the money to back it up, so you're not dealing with someone's well-intentioned handyman husband to fix the leaky sink in the breakroom.
They also have presentation rooms, large and small conference rooms, a podcasting studio and more. I've done some voiceover work in the past, but I don't currently have a studio, so I can definitely see using this sometime if that work were to present itself.
With a membership, you'd be able to have 24/7 access, which is pretty baller. Add a break room and nice restrooms, and I think this is going to be a great option for me. Free parking, walkable to all manner of lunch options, and just a few miles from home - it's pretty perfect.
I definitely don't need an office every day, but the next time I look at the schedule and see that it's going to be a nightmare at home I'll just repeat my manta: have laptop, will travel.