In June of 2009, C4 Workspace opened in the King William neighborhood of South San Antonio.
This Friday, San Antonio’s only full-time dedicated co-working space closes.
The business, originally located at 108 King William, fell into debt and never gained enough customers to meet its expenses. C4 Workspace moved into cheaper headquarters this year at 1001 S. Alamo St., next to Madhatters Teahouse. But it still wasn’t able to make ends meet. Its expenses totaled $4,275 a month, but it had only $1,000 in revenue coming in, according to a post on the C4 Workspace Facebook page.
C4 Workspace catered to digital nomads like consultants, freelancers, home-based business owners and others. C4 Workspace rented desks by the day or month. It also offered a conference room. People would drop by to use a desk, plug-in and use the Wi-Fi, but they also met for coffee and networking.
Co-working is thriving in areas that have a robust entrepreneurial base. That does not bode well for San Antonio that it cannot provide community support for one dedicated co-working space. Meanwhile, Austin has more than a dozen co-working sites. In fact, The Atlantic, in a special labor day report, called freelancing the industrial revolution of our time. The nation has undergone a sea change in the way it does business from desk-bound office workers and factory workers to freelancers and telecommuting, according to its article.
Todd O’Neill and his wife Debbie Curtis poured their life’s savings into the business. Perla Escobar was also an investor. They worked hard to make a go of it. Unfortunately, the community support was not there in the end, according to O’Neill’s Facebook post.