Let’s make room.

How We Started: We started small in big spaces. 

Since 2017, our team has been operating 3rd Space, a traditional 10,000 SF coworking facility located in Newark. However, in 2020, the arrival of Covid-19 drastically transformed the landscape of office space and in-office work, posing new challenges for us even as we approached 80% occupancy. As the world began recovering from the pandemic's effects, we shifted our focus to attract potential tenants to our larger, conventional office building of 100,000 SF in East Brunswick. In April 2021, we introduced a new initiative called "Small Officer," an innovative incubator program offering hourly office rentals. This program aimed to drive incremental revenue and increase foot traffic to the building.

Unlike 3rd Space, Small Officer was designed as a compact 1,000 SF coworking space featuring two private offices and two hot desks. The key distinction was its emphasis on providing small, affordable, and ready-to-use office spaces, tailored specifically for hourly private office rentals. This model allowed us to cater to a different market segment and meet their unique needs effectively.

Small Officer Incubator (Small Officer East Brunswick):

The first few months in Small Officer East Brunswick was trial and error as we determined the right combination of hourly bookings and monthly tenants. After four months, we achieved market value rent and by eight months, we more than doubled the footprint by adding a second space within the building. 

We quickly found that the value of Small Officer was twofold. One, it drove over 300 business owners and workers to the building, nine of which moved into their own spaces and signed longer term leases. Two, current tenants who needed more space but were reluctant to commit to longer leases in larger spaces, started using Small Officer as overflow. It functioned both as a lead generator as well as an amenity. Currently, our building proudly boasts a 90%+ occupancy rate.

As a result, we decided to open another Small Officer suite in 3rd Space, our traditional coworking space in Newark. 

Coworking Incubator (Small Officer Newark)

As the program developed, it became obvious that Small Officer provided many benefits including steady and incremental revenue and opportunities for our overall business. We inserted Small Officer suites into vacant spaces in our buildings and were easily able to move and expand the model, as needed. At 3rd Space, we started modestly with one private office. We then expanded to multiple offices, hot desks, conference rooms and an event space. Overtime, as Small Officer Small members became familiar with our product, they asked for private, dedicated offices and longer term contracts. As a result, Small Officer became an incubator for 3rd Space.

Satellite Incubator and Satellite Office Expansion (Small Officer Hoboken, Union City, Summit and Edison)

During this time, we began receiving requests from landlords who wanted the Small Officer Incubator in their buildings. Currently, we are partnered with landlords in Hoboken, Union City and Edison. In addition, we opened Small Officer Satellite spaces in Summit and Montclair. We consistently perform, driving more revenue than what local market rent would gain in otherwise unused spaces. Small Officer suites are adaptable and can easily relocate or expand, as needed. The program drives incremental, steady revenue, increases foot traffic and and incentives tenants to move into larger spaces.

Secret Sauce

How do we do it? 

• Simple process for members to easily book and pay through our custom built app

• Turnkey and technology enabled spaces, from doors to WiFi to HVAC to cameras, the member never has to worry

• No onsite staff but staff is always accessible through our app messenger

• We can manage 100% of daily operations and customer service

• Ability to open 24/7/365, expanding our hours beyond what competition can

• Overhead is extremely low keeping us flexible, affordable, and local 

• We adapt to local conditions, focusing on hourly and monthly optimization 

• Our offices are clean, modern and target the hyper local market

Due to our secret sauce, we are more than just a “coworking” company. We can turn any space into an hourly rentable (down to a chair!). We are an incubator that drives opportunistic foot traffic and has the ability to move to new and underutilized spaces. 

Most importantly our pricing is low and members only pay for exactly what they need. Many competitors want to rent a private office for $25+ an hour because their overhead is high and requires $.30-$.50 PSF in revenue daily. But this is more than the market wants to pay. We stay affordable because our model only requires approximately $.05-$.08 PSF in revenue daily (based on $20-$30 PSF), which translates to $6 -$14 hourly for a private office. Our price capitalizes on what the local market is willing to pay.

To summarize, Small Officer spaces are flexible, affordable and tech enabled. Small spaces have minimal risk and make revenue quickly achievable. Small Officer currently operates out of seven cities in New Jersey, has over 1900 members and has rented more than 18,000 hours. At the core, we are an incubator program that rents out unused spaces by the hour resulting in members converting to longer term tenants.