Online businesses and start-ups can be run from anywhere these days, thanks to the modern world of technology.
The Queensland Government has teamed up with entrepreneurial support company, Advance Queensland to create ‘The Precinct’.
Based out of Brisbane’s Fortitude Valley, ‘The Precinct’ is a communal space of offices, conference rooms and everything a small business needs to get off the ground.
The days of personal office spaces have been replaced by ‘hot desks’ and communal workplaces.
Check out new look @RiverCityLabs @ The Precinct
Come down Friday https://t.co/vmg9VkWgKO @AdvanceQld @RCLaccelerator @QChiefEntrepren pic.twitter.com/ecHlrNlx9N— Steve Baxter (@sbxr) April 30, 2017
River City Labs is an anchor tennant at The Precinct, brought in from its old space on Wickham Street.
Run by CEO Peta Ellis, RCL also rents out office spaces to small tech start ups and offers support and coaching to its members.
“We foster the growth of start-up companies solving big problems,” she says.
“The entrepreneur journey is a tough one, so it’s really important for individuals to be around like-minded people and a support network of mentors that comes with spaces like this.”
Companies running out of River City Labs can choose between casual or permanent memberships, giving them 24-hour access to desks, internet and all the facilities a small business needs to grow.
“In addition to the desks and communities, they have meeting rooms, a board room and also event space.
“Members are welcome to host activities or board meetings, meetings with potential staff members and they also have access to a kitchen, phone booths and all the essentials,” she says.
Alex Brown runs his online rental marketplace out of River City Labs with his permanent membership and ten casual staff members.
“Before I joined RCL I was running the business by myself, but once I came into the community it opened me up to all of the different sub-communities here,” says Alex.
“From then on, the team just kept growing and had I not joined the start-up community at River City Labs, we wouldn’t be where we are today.”
Researchers at the Harvard Business Review say levels of productivity, measured on a seven-point-scale, have increased to six in the US.