WOTSO has refreshed its brand around a simple idea that has been there from the beginning.
Work Local is WOTSO’s new tagline, neatly capturing both its approach and the benefits local coworking spaces bring to members by cutting the commute while enabling them to connect with other local businesses and community.
CEO Jessie Glew says WOTSO’s strategic focus on suburban and regional locations began in 2014 when WOTSO, opened its first coworking space in Neutral Bay quickly followed by another at North Strathfield.
“We had vacancy in our own buildings and needed to activate space so we tried something different by creating the WOTSO coworking brand and opening it in suburban locations,” Glew says.
“What we quickly realised was that there was, and continues to be, a growing number of people who want to work near home – near their kids’ schools, near the local café, near the local gym.
“People want to stay connected to their own communities, so we kept building in the places where people live.”
WOTSO now has 39 locations; 34 of which are in suburban and regional communities across Australia and New Zealand.
“Some are in buildings we own, others are in partnership with third party landlords,” says Glew.
“Every opportunity looks different, but we ask the same question each time, does this place need a local coworking space and can we make it work?”
Glew says Work Local simply puts words to what WOTSO has been doing for the past dozen years.
“Work Local is about giving people back time. It is about walking to work, knowing the businesses around you and hopefully seeing your family more often,” she says.
The strategy also works from a commercial perspective and provides a clear point of difference.
“It’s the major differentiator between WOTSO and other coworking brands, which focus on CBD or city-fringe locations, and an advantage is that typically there’s less competition, it’s where people live and we feel there is stronger demand in the suburban areas where we operate,” says Glew.
“The local areas also benefit from our coworking spaces because when people work locally they spend locally. They collaborate locally. They build relationships with other small businesses in the area. Over time that strengthens the communities around them.”
She says WOTSO has supplemented this strategy with CBD locations in Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Hobart and Auckland so members can work from the city using WOTSO’s Passport Program when they need to.
“But the focus remains firmly on suburban and regional locations, because that is where demand continues to build,” says Glew.
New locations opening in the coming weeks include Gregory Hills in southwest Sydney, Tea Tree Plus in northeast Adelaide and South Melbourne.
