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Floating office space lands in Ashland Photo by John Darling Shared work-space tenants go about their business in the Coworks space on Pioneer Street. Tuesday May 1, 2018 at 8:29 PM May 1, 2018 at 8:29 PM By John DarlingFor the Tidings In the burgeoning “gig economy” where temporary, freelance jobs become more common than years of steady employment, workers trying to get a lot of work done on their various screens, phones, networks may find home or coffee shops boring, distracting or isolating. Co-work spaces are sprouting up to fill the need for a floating office space, including Ashland’s Rogue Coworks Shared Office & Meeting Space on Pioneer Street downtown, just steps from East Main Street. It’s a quiet, cozy and friendly space where workers are surrounded by busy, creative people working at their desks, but still free to talk and get to know each other, if they want. “Our mission is to present a shared, collaborative, comfortable workspace where all kinds of people can exchange ideas about their business experience and other various issues of their work lives or sometimes even personal lives,” says owner Jacek Zagorski. Rogue Coworks offers a dedicated space for $255 a month, $75 a week, $35 a day or $10 an hour. It has 16 desks. An upstairs lounge takes five people and is above ground, with natural light. The conference room is $45 an hour, seats eight and has a 55-inch wireless screen, Chrome Cap, MacMini and all the gadgets for presentations or conference calls. It’s a hub for entrepreneurs, small business owners, grant writers, freelancers, filmmakers and sales people who can (in the conference room) be on the phone and talk louder than normal, he says. Many needs can be served, he says, including attorney-client talks, presentation platforms and work on client-building websites. The options are many and include a counter where people can work, grab snacks, make a latte or stash beer in a fridge. Coworkers can grab deeper convo at several nearby restaurants, with Ruby’s and Taqueria Picaro just steps down the street. It’s open about from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., but there’s a smart-phone app available to open doors and bypass security. Web and logo designer Troy Flowers notes, “It gives me a place to come to, where I’m able to have that co-worker camaraderie, so it’s not just me all alone at home with my computer machine. I have people to say ‘hello’ and ‘goodbye’ to, and to fulfill that need to have people around you. It’s much easier to focus than in a noisy coffee shop.” Flowers makes a chess move at the counter and points out a “coworker” who is an independent contractor in animation — and wanders up to the counter once in a while to make his next chess move in a game with Flowers. Flowers quotes the old saw, “You become the average of the five people you spend the most time with,” and notes, “In a coffee shop, you might send one email and have five conversations, but here you get things done.” The shops have become popular in big cities, with WeWork now a billion-dollar corporation found all over the world. The shop’s one-sentence description at gorogue.com says, “Work in a quiet, relaxed, inspiring atmosphere with like-minded, passionate freelancers, entrepreneurs and telecommuters who work hard and want to get things done.” He adds, “It’s like working at home but without the distractions.” Zagorski is a Polish immigrant who grew up in Philadelphia, He and his wife Michele, who owns Zagorska Oasis Spa next door, came to Ashland 20 years ago and raised two children here. He is owner-president of Shasta Networks, which creates communications software for hospitals and radiology clinics. It has eight employees (six in Ashland) and hundreds of clients, most out of the valley. The shop is open, with live music and refreshments, on the First Friday art walk. — John Darling is an Ashland freelance writer. Reach him at [email protected].