Jodi Schwan

jschwan@sfbusinessjournal.com

I remembered at about 7:30 a.m. Monday that I probably should tell my bosses they wouldn't be seeing much of me this week.

To be fair, they don't see a whole lot of me normally. Fortunately, they think — as I do — that good journalists do their best work by spending plenty of time outside the building.

But this week was a long overdue foray into the world of co-working, and a follow-through on a commitment I made to Kim Bartling earlier this year to spend a week at her new business and write about the experience.

Bartling and Cody Bozied run Meso, which was founded in 2011, as a unique office model in the heart of Phillips Avenue.

Meso was named after Mesopotamia, an ancient land where many cultures blended together. In the Sioux Falls version, entrepreneurs and small business owners share open office space that invites collaboration and relationship-building.

The downtown storefront leads to an urban-looking space with bright colors and modern furniture. For $275 per month, workers receive a cubicle-style spot and have access to shared conference rooms, break areas and a board room. There is free WiFi, free coffee and secured access.

For $125, an individual can buy a Nomad membership to Meso, which provides use of the common spaces.

Co-working spaces are becoming more common in large cities. Last year, Forbes ran a story with the headline, "Why co-working spaces are here to stay."

The publication noted how young entrepreneurs, with the freedom provided by technology, are finding they can work anywhere but are choosing to work in places where they're surrounded by like-minded people.

Sioux Falls has several co-working spaces, and each serves a certain niche. Some are geared toward creative workers. The global chain Regus entered the market this year, offering small individual offices with access to the company's network of office space in other cities.

To fully experience this new phenomenon, I spent much of the week at Meso.

To be candid, here's how I envisioned this "working."

I deliberately waited until the forecast called for cooperative weather, so I could take full advantage of my new Phillips Avenue office space.

And I had a plan to work ahead enough so that I wouldn't be on deadline in my co-working space and could wander around downtown, chat with my new office-mates and see what kinds of new stories I could unearth.

None of that quite worked out.

Monday, I arrived about 9:30 a.m. following my weekly staff meeting and segment on KELO-AM's "It's Your Business" show.

Jeremy Brown, owner of Throne Publishing Group, greeted me and showed me around. Brown is one of about a dozen people who use Meso at various times.

Each has access 24 hours a day. The group is an eclectic mix. Among them: a designer, a tax attorney, a couple photographers and a real estate agent.

Bartling compared the model to a small-scale version of Google, "where we all do different things, but we get along and there's a playfulness to it."

To be honest, I came in figuring lots of people in an open office probably led to chatter and distractions.

I called that wrong.

While there were short breaks and occasional conversations, there never were that many people in the office at once, and generally, everyone was focused on work.

That meant I was, too, and I found myself becoming more productive than I typically would be in my newsroom.

Bartling agreed.

"I get a lot more done here than when I'm at home or even in a coffee shop," she said.

I probably could have gotten even more done had I not thrown up a few of my own obstacles. To start, I forgot a power cord for my laptop, so the battery died 90 minutes after I started working on Monday.

Then I wound up with a cold for a couple days, so in spite of the beautiful weather, I was dragging too much to enjoy my anticipated downtown strolls.

The first day, I forgot about my car at a meter and got a parking ticket.

The second day, I forgot where I parked in the First Avenue ramp and scrambled to get to my 5 p.m. segment on KSFY-TV.

Along with the little learning experiences, however, came some great new perspective.

I ended up reporting a story that I literally looked at through my window across Phillips Avenue when the historic Carpenter Building went up for sale.

Numerous sources stopped by, and many people I didn't know stopped in to introduce themselves.

I quickly got used to walking out for a midafternoon caffeine break and stopped to check in with several downtown retailers.

Inspired by the creative vibe around me, I decided to check Kickstarter to see if there were any new entrepreneurial ventures seeking funding in Sioux Falls — and I found that there were. Stay tuned for that story this week.

My Sioux Falls Business Journal and Argus Leader co-workers also helped ease the experience, as they adapted to email and text communication and even relocated our weekly "100 Eyes" broadcast to Meso. While I couldn't help but prefer the decor and atmosphere of my new downtown space, there was a definite void when I was unable to turn around and ask a co-worker a question or discuss an idea.

But more than anything, the co-working experience validated some truths I already believed about business. We benefit from stepping outside our own, generally small, universes. There is value in surrounding yourself with different perspectives. And there is no substitute for in-person interaction with colleagues and customers.

Thanks for sharing your space, Meso members. Don't be surprised if I stop back.

Jodi Schwan is the editor of the Sioux Falls Business Journal. Reach her at jschwan@sfbusinessjournal.com.