Couple find niche with shared space
IT’S one of the fastest growing segments of the Australian commercial property market and, according to a Burleigh married couple who recently decided to give it a try, it’s tailor-made for a small-enterprise rich environment like the Gold Coast.
Nikol and Jack Rorvik, she a former interior designer and he an information technology worker, have tapped into the trend of co-working space on the Gold Coast.
They recently opened the doors to Fleks Workspaces at Burleigh Heads, a boutique professional workspace that caters for customers ranging from private consultants requiring shared desks to small businesses needing larger serviced offices.
And despite having been open for less than two months, the couple has seen occupancy grow to between 50 per cent and 60 per cent.
Ms Rorvik said they had considered expanding their offering with another property but wanted to concentrate on getting their Burleigh facility right.
“We are the regular mum and dad, the IT nerd and the interior designer,” she said.
“We’ve both worked in the corporate world previously but we wanted to take on the challenge of running our own business and this has become more than just a business.
“The nature of work environments is changing so we wanted to set up a local professional space designed to inspire and foster connections while at the same time support local entrepreneurs, businesses and individuals.
“Opening a flexible office environment is really something we believe in.”
And they are not the only ones, with co-working spaces in Australia growing 300 per cent since 2013.
Mr Rorvik said he believed the rapid growth of co-working spaces on the Gold Coast was due to the city’s fastgrowing economy, rapid population growth and the increase of entrepreneurs and small-to-medium enterprises.
He said he expected demand for flexible work environments to continue to grow.
“We’ve noticed that businesses are changing the way they operate and owners, employees and freelancers are all becoming more entrepreneurial and collaborative,” he said.
“With the population on the Gold Coast continuing to grow, the subsequent boom in start-ups and even interstate workers who base themselves on the Gold Coast part-time during the week means there is growing demand for people requiring flexible tenancies.
“We provide a turnkey solution for those people via cost-effective and flexible leasing arrangements.”
WE WANTED TO SET UP A LOCAL PROFESSIONAL SPACE DESIGNED TO INSPIRE AND FOSTER CONNECTIONS NIKOL RORVIK