Battle Creek's co-work space helps fledgling businesses grow

Innovative products and services are finding a home in downtown Battle Creek.

The three-story building at 26 Michigan Avenue that the owners have named Inge’s Place and building locals have referred to as Ermisch Travel, is the city’s first co-work space. It has 15 entrepreneurs who sell everything from food products to soaps to clothing.

Adam Heikkila, one of the co-work space’s first tenants, says he was looking for a space where he could meet clients. But, as an entrepreneur trying to get his electronics repair business started he didn’t have a lot of ready cash on hand.

In March he began renting office space at Inge’s Place. Heikkila’s niche business is repairing cell phones. He says there is a market for this in Battle Creek, but he also works electronics such as personal computers and laptops.

"Most of my customers feel more comfortable coming to a meeting space," he says. "I’ve been meeting people all over town including gas stations. They feel more secure if they can meet at a place so they know I’m not just trying to scam them."

For $145 a month Heikkila, owner of the Phone Guy, gets a desk on the second-floor, the use of the building’s address as his business location, Internet and Wi-Fi access, the use of a copier and printer one floor down, and a large meeting space where he can meet clients.

Turning the majority of the 15,500-square-foot building into a space for fledgling businesses was the idea of Atlee McFellin, who was born and raised in Battle Creek and is the grandson of the building’s former owners.

McFellin, is a co-founder and principal of SymCenter, an organization which specializes in the creation of innovative economic development strategies and programs, headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio.

The building was initially the headquarters for the Battle Creek Gas Company, which supplied all of the city’s gas-powered streetlights. McFellin’s grandparents purchased the 111-year-old building and a travel agency, both owned by the Ermisch family, in 1963. Ermisch Travel continues to be operated by McFellin’s mother, his aunt and uncle.

"A lot of local entrepreneurs don’t really need office space," McFellin says. "What they really need is a place to sell those products because they can’t afford a store of their own in downtown Battle Creek."

The deal is sweetened by the fact the building’s 15 local business tenants don’t have to be there in person to sell their products and services. McFellin’s mother, aunt and uncle are there to help out. The majority of the business owners are from Battle Creek, but they also come from Grand Ledge, Kalamazoo, Marshall, and Tekonsha.

McFellin says when people look at Battle Creek they don’t think of it as a place with a strong entrepreneurial culture. He says he doesn’t think there are enough support mechanisms to assist fledgling businesses.

"There are not a lot of avenues for them. Battle Creek Unlimited has some incubator space out at Fort Custer, but they’re focused on middle-market companies that could spin out from there," McFellin says. "Our niche is get to people who can afford affordable space to give them a launching pad.

"It seemed to me that a co-work space could fit well in Battle Creek and work well for startups and nonprofits to their have own space to work without paying a lot and using the space to grow."

After his grandmother, whose first name was Inge, passed away two years ago, McFellin says he wanted to find a way to honor her and find a way to extend the life of the building.

"What I had seen was that the travel agency shifting with the market. It had 20 or 30 employees back in the day, and now there are about five, because most of the market has moved to online sites like Kayak or Expedia," Mcfellin says. "This is a great historical building, which has a lot of available space, like a lot of properties in the downtown area. Because Battle Creek didn’t have a co-work space, I thought that was a good way to breathe new life into the building."

Inge’s Place officially opened last year. In addition to Heikkila’s business, original tenants included Sprout Urban Gardens, Allstate Insurance Co., the Calhoun County Arts Council, and a graphic design business.

The majority of these tenants are paying $145 a month to rent space which gives them their own key and 24-hour access to the building. McFellin says he also is planning to offer a $75 monthly cafe rate, which would give tenants an office space on the first floor with access during normal business hours.

Organizations renting multiple desks receive a bulk discount and those tenants with bigger budgets pay more than the $145 monthly rent.

There are three offices on the second floor and two of them could accommodate four or five desks and one located in the middle has space for one desk. The second floor is about 3,800-square-feet. The bulk of the space hasn’t been renovated since the 1960’s or 1970’s as evidenced by wood paneling, a lack of natural light, and linoleum and carpeting on the walls.

McFellin says he’s putting together a budget to renovate the second floor.

The third floor remains vacant and McFellin says he doesn’t think anything has been done to it since 1915. He says he thinks about $250,000 would need to be spent to make it rental-ready. As the tenant numbers increase along with cash flow, McFellin says renovations will be made.

"Because we didn’t have any space available on the second floor for the Arts Council my mom put them on first floor with the travel agency," McFellin says. "We’re hoping to get more people into the first floor."

Stephanie Breitbach, McFellin’s mother, says she likes the building’s new direction.

"It’s so wonderful because of of the energy, increased traffic flow and creativity. It keeps growing and getting better," Breitbach says. "It’s all people-oriented and it’s wonderful to see that energy and new faces."

Heikkila says being in the buiIding gives him structure and gets him out of his house and into a different environment. He says he also likes the impromptu brainstorming sessions with his fellow tenants.

David Mandell, co-founder and CEO of PivotDesk, says knowledge sharing across organizations is a huge win since getting answers to questions in a few minutes can make a significant difference to early-stage founders.

"As the company evolves and founders start hiring additional employees, developing the company culture becomes critical," Mandell writes in a Huffington Post article. "While large, shared spaces might seem appealing, they also tend to be culturally overwhelming, making it difficult to focus on company needs."

McFellin says Inge’s Place is his way of bringing a new way of doing business to Battle Creek.

"Having a co-work space can actually fit well in the ability to attract and retain businesses in Battle Creek," he says.

Jane C. Parikh is a freelance reporter and writer with more than 20 years of experience and also is the owner of In So Many Words based in Battle Creek.

Photos by Susan Andress.