We sat down with St. Charles Resident Paul Dinkins. Paul is the owner of The Commons—a shared office and event space in the business district of New Town.
Happenings: Hi Paul, thank you for taking the time to meet with us. Tell us a little about your background and how The Commons came alive.
Paul: Absolutely. I have lived here for sixteen years and I became intrigued with the co-working concept in 2006 from a space that I saw in Seattle. When this building came available, I was in a place to try to create a co-working space in the business district of New Town. I have a passion for this community and my primary motivation was to utilize this space in order to make a local impact.
Happenings: That certainly is a great motivating factor. And, what have you done to this space and the interior to help facilitate that vision?
Paul: Well, I do not have the term co-working in my description as it is not a concept that is as familiar in the St. Charles area—so I call it a shared office and event space to be more descriptive. I did not have to do anything in regard to the interior structure and was able to immediately start adding to the space. I came across the idea of referring to the space as “The Commons” and the logo from a photo that depicted an aerial view of Vanderbilt University. With that in mind, the brand really incorporates greenery. This is expressed through a turf wall, hedges around the cubicles, nature photography from local photographer Stephen Cox and local wild flowers included on the exterior mural of the building.
Happenings: With the idea of a greenspace, growth and sustainability, how does that help members with their own business and networking goals?
Paul: Sure. Coworking spaces, such as Regis—one of the larger brands—do differ in the fact that people tend to be more isolated. So, there are intentional collaborative spaces when you walk in— including on of my favorite spaces which is a conference room ping pong table. At the same time, we do have private offices and a phone booth for zoom or teams meetings. I would say that a lot of serendipitous things have happened due to the collaborative nature, though. The space naturally attracts individuals that have a community-driven mindset. This causes conversations to occur organically —leading to new ideas and referrals between small business owners, corporations and independent professionals.
Happenings: The community mindset is certainly a major factor for innovation and making connections. For someone who is looking to operate from this space, what are some of the options you provide?
Paul: We have anything from day passes, to a $99 per month option for remote workers that may want to be in a more productive space to business owners and entrepreneurs that can utilize conference rooms and have a dedicated business address.
Happenings: It is nice to have a full range of offerings for both individuals and corporations. As far as your future outlook for the shared office—including any upcoming events on the radar—what does that look like for both individuals looking to get into this space or those
that have been well-established for some time?
Paul: A couple months ago, I started the HUB, which is a separate $29 per month fee and acts as a community business association. There is a large value proposition for that—including two networking events per month that includes lunch and after hours meetups. It also includes a single month day pass that people can pass along to friends or other business partners that might be interested in trying out the shared office. We are also doing a lot of advertising, including in magazines like this one. We are not just limited to New Town, but cater to the entire 94 North and 370 Valley. The networking events have been really positive and have led to new customers and referrals already. The HUB is still in its infancy, but I see that as a huge area for growth.
Happenings: It is great to see this vision come alive. Lastly, for the area, what do you enjoy about living in the North 94 and 370 Valley region?
Paul: I think it is such an awesome community for families, with all of the free parks and recreation in the area—not only in New Town—but also the park at Dusable and Lakeside 370. The residents of the area have such a strong community mindset, as well. That coupled with the Orchard Farm School District make this an enticing place to live and an area that I have called home for sixteen years.
Happenings: That’s wonderful. Thank you for taking the time to sit down with us today. We wish you all the best with your future endeavors and are excited to see the future events and collabs that come out from this space.