Intro:
Broadcasting live from the Business Radio X studios in Detroit, Michigan. It's time for Detroit Business Radio. Now, here's your host.
The Mag
Lee Canter here, another episode of Detroit Business Radio, and this is going to be a good one. Today we have with us Karen Burton with SpaceLab Detroit. Welcome, Karen.
Karen Burton:
Thank you. Thanks, Lee for having me on today.
The Mag
Well, I'm excited to learn about SpaceLab Detroit. Tell us what you got going on over there.
Karen Burton:
So Lee, SpaceLab Detroit is a shared office, co-working, and meeting space. We have two locations in downtown Detroit and in northwest Detroit. We offer desk space, private offices, meeting and event space. And we have a special focus on the built environment industry. So many of our members are architects, real estate developers, contractors, interior designers, people who design and build the places where we live, work and play.
The Mag
So how did you get into this line of work?
Karen Burton:
So my background is in architecture, I have a degree in architecture from the University of Michigan Go Blue. And I freelanced as an architectural designer for many, many years, got to work on some great projects here in the city of Detroit. And I found that I and many of my colleagues who were freelancing or had their own small businesses needed a place where we could collaborate on projects together. Those of us who were sole proprietors, or single business owners needed a place where we could plot construction drawings and where we could meet with our clients outside of a coffee house or somewhere like that, a place where we could spread out our drawings and documents and do presentations. So in 2017, my husband and I came together as business partners, as well as life partners, and built out this co-working space for people who were like-minded professionals.
The Mag
Now, when you did that, was it kind of a big decision? Like was this a big kind of shift for you personally, and as a family to kind of work on a project like this? You know, there's a lot of unknowns, and doing a business like this from scratch, and especially you're serving a niche that probably hadn't previously been served in this manner before?
Karen Burton:
Certainly, certainly. So we saw the need. Before we jumped into it, we did. We surveyed people to find out if this really was a need for them, and where they would like to be. And then the city of Detroit has a program called Motor City match, where they help businesses to get started in the city of Detroit or to build a business in the city of Detroit. So we applied for that program and received a grant. And we took that as a sign that we should be moving forward. And yes, being a husband and wife team comes with sometimes comes with its challenges as well. But we balanced each other very well. My husband Bobby is the accountant and IT person and I am the creative and we work well together in building the business.
The Mag
So when you launched, was it something that was embraced by the community?
Karen Burton:
Oh, very much, so very much. So our grand opening was in June of 2017, we had about 180 or 200 people to come to our grand opening of the space. And we've gotten a lot of positive feedback from the city of Detroit, and from other entities in the region. And a lot of professionals who are members of our space and who utilize our space for meetings and events. And when you have the act of necessarily not necessarily in the built environment industry, we have nonprofits, other professional service providers that use our space as well, tech companies, FinTech companies.
The Mag
And that's a great example for entrepreneurs, you might have started out focusing on one niche, but you know, there's other people that want to play too, right. So all of a sudden you started late.
Karen Burton:
So you know architects need people to design their websites and contractors need people to help them with social media and things like that. Nonprofit organizations can work with a real estate developer so there's always some type of synergy and businesses can find ways to work and collaborate with each other.
The Mag
Now, any lessons you can share about building a robust community like that, like what are some do's and don'ts, if folks are out there trying to build a community of their own,
Karen Burton:
Be a good listener, that's, that's a thing that I found. I always have been a good listener, though, and I like to hear people's backstories I like to understand why they built their business and why they've gotten into the profession that they have. So being a good listener is one thing, especially so you can understand what the needs of the professionals are, who are using your space or who are part of your community, the community is huge, we have something here, or I should say, we had something here pre-pandemic, called Celebrate the Win. So every first Thursday of the month, all of our members will gather around the kitchen counter here, the community kitchen, and we will talk about our successes for the past month. You know, if you're a small business, you may not have someone to celebrate your success. And all of the great things that you've done with your family may not always understand what you're doing in business. So we like to support and celebrate each other. And, you know, we look to provide the services that small business owners and medium-sized business owners need.
The Mag
And that's a great creative way to help your clients kind of mental health because a lot of times you're so busy grinding and working, you don't take that moment to really celebrate what you've accomplished thus far.
Karen Burton:
Certainly, certainly I know, when we're building this business, and it took a lot more effort than I originally had anticipated. And I noticed that I really was not taking the time to celebrate those little things, you know, when when we got new members in the space, we always needed to look at getting more members or more event space but just taking the time to celebrate those little things that come around.
The Mag
So now how did COVID impact your business where it was difficult for people to get together and gather. And, you know, there had to be a lot more precautions did this? How disruptive was COVID for you?
Karen Burton:
So just about every commercial office space, you know, has been impacted by COVID. We shut down for a few months, as was mandated by our state government. And even before then we know that some of our members are going to work from home. So that impacted us, we lost a few members. But we also noticed that we've gotten, we have several members who need to have a business address and downtown Detroit. So we've gotten a little uptick in that. But just the fact that we don't have as many members working out of the space, as we used to a lot of people are still working from home, we do have people that come in, you know, that want to get out of the house and work. They want a change of scenery, or they need to collaborate with some of their team members. So we do have people coming in for that. But it's just we don't have the row as robust of a physical community as we used to have. We're trying to do more events and have more activities online for our members so that we can keep that community feel, even when people are working from home.
The Mag
Right. And that's something that's important when circumstances change, you have to change too. You can't just hope that things go back to the way they were because, you know, time keeps on ticking.
Karen Burton:
Sure, certainly. And just like other businesses, you know, we've had to pivot and look at our business model and look at the different offerings that we're giving to the business community.
The Mag
So now let's talk a little bit about diversity, equity, and inclusion. Why was it so important for you to kind of be a home for people of color women, business owners, and women entrepreneurs?
Karen Burton:
Well as a woman of color, a black woman in the architectural field and in construction. There were times when I did not feel welcome. There were times when I could have used some assistance in navigating the system and learning how to get projects. It's not always equal. It's not always equitable. When people of color are and women are looking to get business in the construction and real estate development In industry, the financial access is not always there, the networking access has not always been there. So that's very important to me reason one reason for having the co-working spaces is so people can collaborate and work together to get bigger projects. As you may know, the city of Detroit is, has been undergoing a resurgence of construction and development. And we wanted people of color to be a big part of that the city of Detroit is 80% African American. And we think it's important for African Americans and Latin Xs and people of color and women to get a big piece of the work that's going on in the city.
The Mag
Well, congratulations on being the change that you wanted to see in the world, you take an active part and are trying to be part of the solution. That must be very rewarding.
Karen Burton:
Oh, it's great. It's great I love the organizations that I work with. I've been a charter member of national organizations and minority architects, the National Association of Black women in construction, been a board member of the National Association of Women and construction. And now I'm happy to be a co-chair for Pathways to inclusion with the Urban Land Institute, Michigan chapter. So we're really working hard here in the city of Detroit to get people of color and women involved in building our communities.
The Mag
And that's an important lesson for young people out there that there are a lot of resources out there now that maybe when you were starting out, there weren't as many, but now it seems like a lot of people are picking up the mantle and really trying to be a good community member and steward and help the others give them a hand up so they can learn and don't have to go through maybe the learning curve you had to go through.
Karen Burton:
Exactly. We want people to recognize their power, that they are powerful. And we want to make sure that there's equity there that people have the opportunities that are available, and that is equal.
The Mag
So now, can you share a success story, maybe somebody from your community that because they were part of SpaceLab that they were able to maybe collaborate and maybe take their business to the next level? I mean, you don't have to name the name of the company, but just maybe a story that illustrates that.
Karen Burton:
Okay, so we have, oh, we have lots and lots of our businesses that are working together. Just a couple of days ago, one of our members who have a construction management company, I walked in, and he was meeting with someone who has a real estate development project on six-mile in northwest Detroit. That person is not a member here at SpaceLab, but they have collaborated with us on some things. And they have been a part of our community. So I was happy to see that they're working together on this project on six-mile and northwest Detroit. We have our architects who work with our construction managers, we have our business organizations that come together and work with many of the members in our co-working space. We have our nonprofit organizations that work with work on doing meetings and events here in our space. So we have lots of collaboration going on all the time here at SpaceLab. And we're really proud of that. We're proud of the fact that their organizations are able to come together, such as a business that just recently formed a collaborative that comes together. And they the partners, and other professionals come together to work on bigger projects than they could work on their own. So they're coming together to work on larger projects and do infrastructure projects as well as buildings in the city, in the city, and across the state.
The Mag
Well, congratulations on all your success. I mean, you're really making an impact in the community. And that just has to feel good.
Karen Burton:
Well, thank you, Lee. It does, it does. I'm originally from Flint, Michigan, and I looked I aspire to come to Detroit to be part of the change and the resurgence, and the Renaissance. I'm happy to be doing that and I hope that we can take SpaceLab and some of our members and community to Flint as a next venture.
The Mag
So now if somebody wanted to learn more and become part of your community, what's the website?
Karen Burton:
The website is www.spacelabdetroit.com.
The Mag
Good stuff. Well, again, congratulations on all your success, Karen. And what do you need more of? How can we help?
Karen Burton:
Um, well, I appreciate being on the podcast, and welcome to Detroit. We're glad to have you here. And just keep in touch with us, you know, we like to promote our members as well. So if at any time you need somebody to be on the show, we would be happy to put you in touch with our SpaceLab Detroit members as well.
The Mag
Well, we're always looking for interesting stories. And I'm sure at SpaceLab. There are lots of those going on.
Karen Burton:
Lots of them here.
The Mag
All right, Karen, thank you again for sharing your story. And that website is spacelabdetroit.com.
Karen Burton:
Yes. Thank you so much, Lee.
The Mag
All right. This is Lee Canter. We will see you all next time on Detroit Business Radio.
Image source: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karenadburton/
