Personal experience leads to launch of Liberty Lake Coworking

Matt Plughoff had worked from home, at airports, coffee shops and even in a converted electrical closet since launching his sales and marketing company, Arrow & Fletching.

But now Plughoff is a member of the recently-opened Liberty Lake Coworking, with a private office that provides space to livestream videos and record podcasts for his business.

“I looked at other coworking spaces, but they didn’t have the privacy that this office has, so this was just a great fit,” he said. “It’s a quiet space. We have a 5-year-old and dogs (at home), so it’s hard to concentrate for me. I need to have space, and this is just perfect.”

Liberty Lake Coworking, which opened Thursday at 23505 E. Appleway Ave., is a membership-based, shared office for freelancers, remote workers, entrepreneurs and startups. It offers a mixture of flexible office space, dedicated cubicles, private offices and larger team suites for startups.

Flexible office space starts at $75 per month, while private offices cost $465 a month. A team suite is $1,305 a month.

“I felt there was a big need (in Liberty Lake) due to a lot of industry here and a lot of remote workers here,” said Ann Long, who launched Liberty Lake Coworking with her husband, Stephen. “We’re bringing the office to the people out here in Liberty Lake, and it’s also a good meeting spot for people who are working between Coeur d’Alene and Spokane.”

Long’s idea for Liberty Lake Coworking sparked after starting a consulting business, The Vision Group, a year and a half ago.

“I thought, ‘How cool would it be to have a space where I could host my clients and do my training?’ ” she said. “I started going to a few coworking places across the country as I was traveling and thought this would be a great way to provide a service to people just like me who were consultants or have their own small businesses but aren’t quite ready to rent a storefront or their own commercial space.”

Although StartUp Spokane and Fellow Coworking operate in downtown Spokane, there wasn’t a coworking space in Spokane Valley or Liberty Lake, Long said.

After considering a site in Spokane Valley, Long signed a lease on the building in Liberty Lake. Construction of the office space – which features elements of Liberty Lake history through vintage photos on the walls – took about three months.

The coworking space also features a podcast room, and meeting and conference space that is available for rent.

Mica Koefod, owner of Vermilion Auto Group, discovered Liberty Lake Coworking through Facebook and signed a lease for a private office.

“The price point here is excellent and it’s a new, nice building,” he said. “It’s just a pleasant atmosphere for people to visit and provides good networking opportunities.”

Long is planning to host monthly “lunch and learn” events at the coworking space, which is celebrating a grand opening Jan. 15 with a ribbon-cutting ceremony 3-6 p.m.