Let’s Imagine Together
Sierra Shared Spaces has a vision for a new way of building community and community-led economic development in the Kern River Valley. Imagine you are new to the Kern River Valley, and you are thinking of starting a business. Based on advice from local business owners, you decide to visit the shared space facility in the center of town.
Arriving at the location, you walk through a well shaded courtyard, where you see people gathered together at tables and benches, having conversations, eating, and drinking coffee. The greenery and communal atmosphere sets the tone as you enter the main building. You are greeted by a helpful staff member, who is genuinely interested in you and the journey that brought you to the space. Upon learning that you’re thinking about starting a business, she offers to show you around the space and connect you with some of the resources that may help you.
Near the entrance is a full service printing and shipping center, a helpful resource given the lack of available printing and shipping options in the Kern River Valley. As you pass you are led through well designed office space. In the center there are a variety of private offices, with some being suitable for individuals, while others are inhabited by teams ranging from 4 to 8 team members at a time. You notice that many of these offices are occupied by nonprofits, many of them being local nonprofits addressing a wide variety of issues, from food and housing insecurity to education, conservation to arts and culture. There are also several local companies with offices, from professional service providers to tech providers, along with a few startups. There are meeting rooms of various sizes, and as you walk by you see a board meeting happening in one, while in the next meeting room there is a group of students in a leadership training.
But what stands out is that around these spaces are open office space, where desks and tables are being used by solo entrepreneurs, students, remote workers, and contractors. The layout and indoor plants makes the space feel more like a cafe than an office, but the ergonomic seating, acoustic dampening, and productive atmosphere provides a sharp contrast from coffeeshops that you’ve tried to work out of in the past. Having the open office space along the exterior means that much more natural light from the windows is able to filter into the interior of the building. You note that the window and corner positions, typically reserved for executives and spacious yet lonely office suites, are instead provided to the community to enjoy.
Most of the people in the open office space have an affordable monthly membership, which allows them to work in comfort with reliable internet, good coffee, and allows them to connect with others throughout the workday. This would certainly be an upgrade from the isolation you’ve felt at the desk in the corner of your dining room. Some of the folks working in the space used a day pass, allowing them to share the space when they are in town visiting friends or enjoying the outdoors.
Your host tells you about the pricing for all of the options. Utilizing the desks in the open area is incredibly affordable, but even the private offices and office suites are way lower than you would expect. It turns out that sharing resources like wifi, coffee, printers, and meeting rooms is much cheaper than traditional standalone offices where nothing is shared. The companies and nonprofits love renting the offices here because they know exactly how much they’ll be paying every month - no surprises in your electricity bills, or scrambling when your printer stops working.
As you walk by, you notice that while most of the people you see are in deep concentration, there are also conversations happening. A web developer is asking a marketer about a tricky issue that they need help figuring out, and an accountant is showing off some of the newest AI tools for financial forecasting to an entrepreneur working on starting their next venture. You wonder if any of these conversations or connections would have happened if these people hadn’t chosen to work in a shared space like this.
Even with these side conversations, the space doesn’t feel loud. There are people on conference calls throughout the space, but most of them are in “phone booths” - small one person micro-offices where workers can hop in to take their calls in quiet and privacy.
As you’re walking through the space, you come across a communal kitchen area, where people are refilling their coffees, heating up their lunches, and sitting at shared tables to eat and chat. This area seems to be the center of connection and gathering, where people from all corners of the building convene. You see business owners, tech workers, creatives, and employees all connecting with each other. Ideas are being shared, and you get the sense that these people from different backgrounds are learning that they have a lot more to learn from each other than they thought.
You also see special spaces that are set up as artist studios, with amenities such as paint sinks and supply cabinets that create a convenient space for unleashing creativity. You recognize the work of some of the artists you see at work as their artwork has been on prominent display throughout your tour. Though reluctant at first about working alongside each other, the professionals have learned that there is a lot of the creatives’ work that they can incorporate into their companies, and the creatives have learned that they are in fact entrepreneurs after all, and there is a lot to be gained by learning from the professionals.
At this point the tour slows down as you are introduced to support providers that can help you on your entrepreneurial journey. Representatives from Bakersfield-based support providers such as the SBDC, Kern Women’s Business Center, Kern Community Foundation, and many more are here. They find that the affordable space makes it easier for them to have a physical presence in the community, and being colocated in a central space makes it easier for community members to discover them and utilize their services. This place has clearly earned a reputation of being the place to go if you have a need.
On your way out, you pass by a beautifully built event space. It’s clear from the design that this was meant to be used for many different purposes. In fact, looking at the posted schedule of events you see dance classes, seminars, community meetings, musical entertainment, improv classes, meetups, and private events. Every day people are passing through the space as they come in and out of these events. The path they take doesn’t disturb the work that is happening, but it’s clear that these visitors will see the space for themselves and learn about what it has to offer.
As you leave the building, you turn and look at it once more. The building itself is striking and modern, yet seems to embody the beauty of the mountains and forest that surround it. The building used to be surrounded by vacant and run down businesses, but the creation of this hub has spurred the creation of new local businesses, including restaurants and shops frequented by the inhabitants of the building as well as the community. These businesses aren’t impersonal chains that are seen in every other town across the country, but instead they are created from within the community and supported by the community. The money they earn gets spent in the community. What used to be a depressing sight that reminded the community of their struggles is now a beacon of hope and transformation.
The neighborhood around the building used to be associated with poverty and struggle. These inhabitants haven’t been forced out, nor has gentrification threatened their existence. Instead they have benefitted along with the rest of the community. Being adjacent to organizations that are willing to support them and invest in them as individuals has given them the tools to thrive, and resources such as job training and remote work placement provides opportunities that weren’t accessible to them before.
Join us in building our vision
- Email your thoughts on our vision to justin@sierrashared.space
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- Support us by donating to the cause. Donations are generally tax deductible
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