Churches Aren’t Just For Church: Enter Church Sharing

Listen up, my fellow entrepreneurs

You are the embodiment of a true entrepreneur. You are organized and don’t crumble under the heavy weight of risk. You might be in a business on your own, like a masseuse or baker, or maybe you are growing a strong team for the business you’ve been dreaming of. Either way, you’ve got the dream, the plan, and the motivation. The thing you’re missing? A place to make these things happen.

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A lot of people in your position feel stuck--I see it all the time. If you’re a baker, you know that you can’t operate out of your own kitchen forever. If you’re a small business leader, you know your home office won’t cut it for the whole team. But, doesn’t that mean you have to sign a lease that will trap you with a soul-crushing rent for five years? Not necessarily. It’s okay to not be ready for that yet. I’m Chaney from SpaceTogether, and I’ve helped a lot of people find options better suited for them than traditional commercial agreements.

Think about what you really need

Start with the basics. A baker needs a kitchen; the small business leader needs an office. Now, let’s narrow in on those needs a little bit. Think about the things that you or your team needs to consider when choosing a space: location, equipment, budget. Those can be limiting factors, especially budget. Picture your ideal space and think about the things that you realistically need and the things you can do without (beer on tap in the kitchen).

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Once you have a good idea of what this space and your budget look like, you might find that the two don’t coincide; this is normal. So don’t panic because you’re not nearly as stuck as you may feel. In fact, you’re not stuck at all. Let me drop a little knowledge on you.

Church sharing

If you’ve never heard of church sharing, or if you have and you’re skeptical, give me a few minutes to convince you why it’s the best option you didn’t know you had.

Churches aren’t just for church, believe it or not. We’ve had numerous churches sign up with us because they found that they only used their facility one to two days a week. This leaves five to six days of an empty facility--yikes. Out of this dilemma, the concept of church sharing was born.

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Potential renters, as in you, my entrepreneurial friends, have a need for space, and churches have said space. There are offices, kitchens, meeting rooms--you name it--that already exist within churches. You don’t have to rent it out 24/7, like a house. You can rent for hours, days, or even months. It’s flexible, unlike a commercial lease. Renting space for the amount of time you actually use it means buildings don’t sit empty, and you don’t get stuck in an expensive lease for an extended amount of time.

If you’re still not convinced, I’ll give you an example of this relationship at work. A church in Colorado Springs had an empty office in their building that they weren’t using. With SpaceTogether, they found a renter to run a business out of said office. The renter was a real estate business, and successfully operated out the facility, without having to be tied down to a long-term commitment.

All right, I’m convinced. Now what?

I knew it--anyway, the next steps are easy. This is where SpaceTogether comes to the rescue. You, awesome potential renter/ successful business person, create an account with SpaceTogether and fill out your profile. You’ll specify those needs you thought about and begin your hunt for the right place to begin the next step in growing your business. Maybe you found a church in the perfect downtown location with an open office--exactly what you were looking for. You’ll send the space provider a message, meet, talk, whatever, and thus, a new business relationship begins.

Long term commercial space is not your only option. Grow your organization with space sharing. From finding good, reliable shared spaces to handling logistics along the way, SpaceTogether is here to help you. See if there’s space for your organization at this link!

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