A Workplace Manager’s Perspective of Growing Professionally Within CommonGrounds

Author: Estefan Galue, Workplace Manager | CommonGrounds Carlsbad

“With great power, comes great responsibility.”

This widely recognized and timeless quote can be true in many cases and relevant to many different scenarios. During my time with CommonGrounds Workplace, I have not only experienced wonderful memories with the members of the space, but also significantly matured my work ethic.

Initial Role: Workplace Coordinator 

In truth, with transitioning to Workplace Coordinator at a coworking start-up, I did not know what to expect or even understood what the role entailed. The concept of coworking was more than foreign to me.

After a quick dive on Google for more information on coworking, I still did not exactly feel confident on my knowledge of coworking/commercial real estate. But before I realized it, I was picking out a “professional, yet laidback” outfit to wear on my first day as Workplace Coordinator.

At this point in time, our Workplace Manager in Carlsbad was also the Leasing Manager for another property on site called BluWater Crossing. Due to their overseeing the entire property, while also being the Manager for CG, two Workplace Coordinators (me being one of them) were brought on board to assist our members with day-to-day requests/tours.

With the ability to think on my feet and the knowledge that I can navigate anything handed to me, I kicked off my first day hungry to learn; not only about what coworking truly was, but everything related to CommonGrounds Workplace.

Due to our extraordinary team and a strong attention to detail, I was able to grasp the true concept of coworking rather quickly.

I was able to transfer the skills acquired from my background in the hospitality/food industry at INVITA Café,into my daily interactions with our members and during tours. I found that within coworking there is an aspect of hospitality that carries and pushes each distinct location forward. It’s a major contributing factor in the success of our business!

Since I was new to the company, I shadowed my superiors who had done the job, and done it well! I was trained on tours, sales pitches, and how to offer help to my teammates if there was too much on anyone’s plate. I wasn’t in the spotlight running the show, but I also wasn’t “on the bench.”

Luckily, I was able to understand all that I could in a 10-month period before transitioning into a new role.

Current Role: Workplace Manager 

Returning to CG as a Workplace Manger felt natural, but also terrifyingly exciting.

“This time, I have no room for error, and if there is any, I will learn from it as much as I can and grow alongside my mistakes.” This was my mantra as I experienced becoming a manager for the first time in my life at the age of 23. The feeling was sweet, but nerve-enticing – knowing that the site’s progression was ultimately a reflection of my actions.

When I returned to CommonGrounds, everything felt familiar with a touch of new. There had been many upgrades in our software, sales, and operations processes. Not only were there technical changes, but there were new members in the space as well; many whose businesses were just getting started now that they had found the right workplace solution.

Excited and nervous to dive into all these changes, I began to understand the true logistics of how and what it takes for a successful and growing start-up company like CommonGrounds to make it in this industry. Working with my own budgets, vendors, brokers, and numbers, I felt as though I had been contributing all that I could to help make this location thrive.

I am fortunate to have the freedom to explore many different alternatives on what works and what does not in this unique space and location. I have begun developing my own “tried and true” spreadsheet of my success stories, and what the members want.

At the end of the day, this is why CommonGrounds Workplace exists in the first place; to take care of our member’s wants and needs entirely so that they may focus exclusively on their job at hand.

In my four months being back on the site, I’ve realized that I have even more to learn than what I thought it took to run a successful location, and it has been a joy to conquer each day.