The directors of Mildura’s first coworking space hope it will help local small businesses embrace the ‘entrepreneurial spirit’ of the region. Tucked away in a laneway in the city’s centre, UpStart was officially launched in February 2016 by the Victorian Minister for Regional Development, Jaala Pulford. The project, designed to bring people together to share skills and knowledge, is the brainchild of Mildura locals and co‐directors James Price and Deborah Bogenhuber. 

Mr Price said while coworking spaces had been popping up in metropolitan areas for a while, the venture was completely new for Sunraysia. ‘A coworking space is an open plan space for people who are working on start‐up businesses or social enterprises to work in a collaborative space,’ he said. ‘People who are staring out in business might not always have the capital behind them to take out a lease on an office . . . or on a shopfront of their own.’ 

Located in an old warehouse building, the concept follows other Mildura initiatives, including the Empty Space Project, which filled vacant shops in town with installations and artwork. ‘Our city was kind of developed and founded on entrepreneurialism,’ Mr Price said. ‘If you think about the Chaffeys, when they came here and settled, it was a pretty big punt that they took and they had some entrepreneurial spirit. ‘We know that that spirit still does exist here in our community. It’s not always embraced anymore, which has been a little bit sad, so that’s what’s kind of exciting in starting this space. ‘It’s creating not just a place for people to come and physically work, but a place for people to come and share ideas, to be encouraged, to take that punt, to be entrepreneurial.’

Place of inspiration and collaboration

Paul Dorotich is a Mildura entrepreneur, who is designing a new type of motorcycle helmet. ‘Ten years ago, I realised that motorcycle helmets hadn’t changed . . . so I decided to try to think of a better solution, and it wasn’t until I was riding through Mexico on a motorbike that I thought up my new design,’ Mr Dorotich said. ‘It’s only been the last two and a half years that I’ve been working on it fulltime. When my grandfather passed away, the last thing he said to me was to keep going with it.’

Mr Dorotich said shared working spaces were ideal for people like himself. ‘I was losing motivation — I’d spring out of bed to get to work, but sitting in a shed talking to the dog was getting uninspiring,’ he said. ‘I needed somewhere to meet with other people who were on the same journey as myself. ‘I said there must be other people who don’t know how to write a business plan or other people who don’t know how to get a patent protection, so we can help each other out with things like that,’ Mr Dorotich said.

Ms Pulford said she hoped the project would help to encourage small business growth in regional areas like Mildura. ‘This is exactly the type of innovation and creativity that creates a strong future for any rural community, and this is the kind of thing that the Victorian Government is delighted to lend its support to,’ she said. ‘[It’s] a fabulous space, it exudes energy and I think it’ll be a great little incubator for people who want to take their first tentative steps into creating small businesses.’

QUESTION

What are some limitations of using a coworking space when starting a new business venture?