Today we’d like to introduce you to Lauren and Luke Brewer.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Lauren and Luke. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
Around the time my husband Luke and I got married, I was looking to make a career change. My background is in hospitality, event planning, and marketing and I’ve worked in various settings like hotels, a luxury townhome community, and even for the Texas Rangers. I was feeling a little burned out and being newly married, I wanted something new. So, I started searching for a new job. Around that time, coworking began gaining traction in DFW and my husband mentioned that I’d be great at running a space. I set down the path of learning about coworking and interviewed with a couple of the big ones in Dallas. Since we live in Arlington, working for one of those coworking spaces would just have created a miserable commute. As I was thinking through making that leap, my husband just kind of said, “Arlington needs one of these, someone should open one. Should we open one? Can we open one?”
Once the idea was planted, it became more and more obvious that this venture was a great fit for us. With my husband’s background in IT, my hospitality background. And the overall need for coworking in Arlington, the stars seemed to align for us.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
It hasn’t been totally smooth, but we never really expected it to be. We tried to minimize our risks and prepare for the hiccups. Ultimately though, starting something from nothing is a hard, hard undertaking. Everything takes longer than you hope. Plans, Drawing, Permits, Bankers, Brokers, Landlords, Contractors… it all takes longer than we ever expected.
For us, the road to opening our doors wasn’t filled with large potholes and roadblocks. More like a bunch of tiny speed bumps and slowdowns that all build up to test your will to follow through and can cause you to question why you’re doing this crazy life-changing thing, to begin with. We had to confront all of that before we could open our doors and get to the real job of providing a great experience for our members.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Union Worx Coworking – what should we know?
At the core, Union Worx Coworking is a shared workspace in Downtown Arlington. We offer private offices, dedicated desks, social coworking, and unique event space. Our emphasis is offering memberships that fit the way you want to work, whether just time to time drop-in or a private office with 24/7 access.
We try very hard to make a space that is inviting to our members and their guests and energizes them to do their best work. We are dedicated to fostering an environment that creates opportunities to meet collaborators from inside the space and around the community. It’s imperative that we get to know our members and their business on a personal level to understand their goals and help facilitate that growth. We’re always looking to host unique workshops, coaching sessions, meetups and classes that inspire this kind of mingling.
Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
Our families have been huge supporters and cheerleaders. My parents went with me and Luke to tour several coworking spaces while we were deciding if we could take the leap into entrepreneurship. Their message was always, “If you’re going to do it, now is the time.” My Uncle has owned his own business for serval years as well and has been very supportive and always available to lend an ear. Luke’s father was our go-to expert during our buildout. He did all the walkthroughs with us and put in countless hours helping us build everything we could. Several of our friends were our sounding board for all kinds of decisions, from deciding on a name to what scent we have in our defusers.
We can’t forget to mention our first few members who took a chance and signed up with us during our soft opening. Before there was much life in Union Worx, they saw the value of what we had built and could see the vision of where we wanted it to go. Without all of these supporters, big and small, it would have made this journey a lot less fun and more lonely and scary. We’re incredibly grateful for all the support.
Contact Info:
- Address: 500 East Front Street
#160
Arlington, TX 76011 - Website: unionworx.com
- Phone: 817-864-1818
- Email: hello@unionworx.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/union_worx/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/UnionWorx/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/Union_Worx
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/union-worx-coworking-arlington?osq=Union+Worx
- Other: https://www.instagram.com/laurenworx/
Image Credit:
Danielle Jenkins
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