Business Spotlight on Windham Work Lounge

By Gayle Plummer

Windham Work Lounge, Windham’s first co-working facility will be opening soon! A growing Windham will soon have space to offer people, with creative business ideas; a place to go to develop their businesses without necessarily taking the large financial risks of renting individual office spaces. 

 “We want people envisioning a comfortable, stylish business community atmosphere with amenities rather than thinking about office cubicles. Co-working spaces are the next logical progression in evolving an ideal work environment and we are pumped to be creating one for Windham” stated Kate Hebold, start-up manager for Windham Work Lounge. She continued, “The hours will vary depending on the membership type that one purchases. Our Basic Members will have key fobs (small security key device) that grant access from 6 am to 6 pm. However, we have great private offices available as well, and those tenants will have increased accessibility to their suites. Along with more accessibility, they will also be entitled to the same basic member benefits such as booking conference rooms, a kitchen, the co-working area and the outside patio. The private office suites upstairs are ideal for people who are more established in their business fields but still would like to walk out of their offices and feel the energy of being amongst their creative peers, all pursuing their own unique goals.”

Dennis Strout, (Contact/Team Member) has a recently vacated building that wasn’t being utilized.  After some discussions with locals and friends, such as Thomas Bartell, Director of Economic Development in Windham, Dennis realized how much enthusiastic support and input was forthcoming and it didn’t take long to start working on this concept, due to this motivating idea that Windham could definitely benefit from such a place.

Kate Hebold

The team that has been putting all the pieces in place consists of Strout, Hebold and Andreas Aronsson, who is the web site creator.

And now, this team is setting up for their open house scheduled for Wednesday, February 27 from 1 pm to 5 pm and they are located at 102 Tandberg Trail, Windham.

Strout and Hebold agreed that the agenda of a co-working venue is not really to be standing around talking; yet there is always going to be a natural type of networking that will be taking place that can help, inspire or connect some of the folks within the co-working facility.

As an example Hebold shared that she and her brother did exactly that in another co-working facility. “My brother and I are business partners in an asset management company and we frequently book times to catch up, at a private conference room in the Portland co-working facility, Cloud Port; I highly recommend folks check it out. A conference room there can easily be booked remotely; and this is a service that we will also have available at Windham Work Lounge. It feels great to just roll in, grab a free coffee and have a private room all reserved for your business needs. While we were there, my brother met an individual who was a great web designer and a creative thinker. We liked connecting with him immediately, both in passing and during lunch. My brother really appreciated his ideas and his vibe, so it was effortless to ask if he could assist us with a website and ad campaign.

Andreas Aronsson

Knowing this person up front took the sting or risk out of commissioning a site blindly or via the arduous process of: finding someone online, setting up a meeting, then hoping it was a fit; if it wasn’t a good match, then one would have to find a diplomatic way of saying ‘we are not interested or this is not a good fit.’ A co-working atmosphere can lend itself to some simple networking that will take some of this kind of stress off.”

Strout and Hebold feel that the Windham Work Lounge will play to its strengths of being located in a rural town. For instance, there is the large, backyard patio area where folks can work, meet or run workshops. The more secluded area will lend itself to a membership application process where the team will accept a limited number of folks and create a more robust intake process that will provide harmony and safety. The team is also looking to acquire some local artisan furniture and artwork that will harmonize with their theme. They would like to offer the furniture for sale by consignment as well. They are motivated by the area’s talent and feel they want to promote local folks to get their crafts out into the world.

Strout and Hebold agreed that, “Mainly, we just want Windham to have what most cities have access to: an affordable space for a diverse group of people who are just looking to foster their ideas in a professional, comfortable, sustainable atmosphere.”

To learn more about this new work space, contact Dennis Strout, Windham Work Lounge, 102 Tandberg Trail, Windham by calling 207-712-7889 or email at workloungemanager@gmail.com or visit their website, which will soon be found at windhamworklounge.com