Founder Shelley Delayne opened Orange Coworking in April 2015 on Slaughter Lane.[/caption]
Orange Coworking in South Austin was born in April 2015 out of a personal need to reconnect with people, founder Shelley Delayne said.
Delayne, her husband and young daughter had just moved to South Austin. She did not know anyone while working at home as a graphic designer, she said. Delayne looked for co-working spaces in her neighborhood as she was once a member of one near her previous home.
“It shocked me that there were so many co-working spaces in Austin, but none of them anywhere close to our neighborhood,” Delayne said. “The next closest one was a 45-minute drive in traffic, and they had a waiting list.”
Delayne then explored opening a co-working space of her own, she said. While conducting research, Delayne realized her favorite part of her graphic designer job was not creating the product itself, but helping entrepreneurs, artists and business people to accomplish what they need to complete next.
C3Nami, a four-person marketing team, works together at Orange Coworking.[/caption]
At Orange Coworking, Delayne introduces members to one another.
“Watching members grow from an idea to an actual business with employees is the most awesome thing in the world,” Delayne said. “Opening a co-working space lets me focus on just that.”
Also before and during her first year of operating Orange Coworking, Delayne met neighbors who worked from home for years and do not have any work colleagues and professional relationships. They all felt isolated, disconnected and did not know anyone in their neighborhood, she said.
“We don’t need to be at home being the only person in the world working when we can all just be in the same space and have the benefits of knowing each other and having those community connections and roots,” Delayne said.
Life coach Meshell Baker works at her desk.[/caption]
Member Lauren Leiker, a business coach, said she had been working at home for almost 20 years, but became a member of Orange Coworking right after it opened. Leiker said a co-working space has a different vibe than working at home, as members feed passion into one another.
At Orange Coworking, members pay a membership fee for access in time increments from one day to a month. Amenities at the site include traditional desks, computer desks, standing desks, team tables, lounge areas, gigabit fiber internet, whiteboards, printers, a break room, meeting rooms and a conference room.
In addition to member services, Orange Coworking hosts a number of free and open-to-the-public events, including the monthly citywide Conversation Corps. meetings hosted by Leadership Austin.
Orange Coworking hosts a real estate investment luncheon on Wednesdays.[/caption]
Member Claire Weber, a business development strategist, said an Orange Coworking membership has been the best investment she has made for her business.
“I’ve continued to get business through Shelley,” Weber said. “She’s an amazing connector.”
Co-working expansion
Orange Coworking founder Shelley Delayne said she plans to open a second location somewhere in Austin, or possibly in other suburbs and cities.
Most co-working spaces in Austin are downtown, east or north, while Orange Coworking is the sole space in South Austin, Delayne said.
“That’s deliberate,” Delayne said, referring to Orange’s location. “This is my neighborhood and I wanted this in my neighborhood. But as I look around, there are so many neighborhoods where you have the issue of people moving to the suburbs, working at home and they never developed the same social fabric they had in an urban area, working everywhere.”
Orange Coworking, 2110 W. Slaughter Lane, Ste. 160, Austin 512-887-4469 www.orangecoworking.com Mon.-Fri. 8:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m.
