Café makes a difference for mobile entrepreneurs

Dubai: Sandwiched between the Jumeirah Beach Residence high-rises is a new space designed specifically for roaming entrepreneurs. The Make business hub, which opened on January 22, offers an airy and functional space to conduct business in an environment surrounded by like-minded individuals.

In creating the space, Leith Matthews took inspiration from the art-centred entrepreneurial space to the more office-based enclosures. In the end, he came up with one aimed specifically at the mobile worker.

He looked at what an entrepreneur would need in terms of hard facilities — such as desk space, wi-fi or lighting — and went about setting it up with the profile in mind. "If you're an entrepreneur in a space like this, you might meet someone who can inspire you and help you grow your business," said Matthews.

"Or you could help them to grow theirs. This is organic networking."

Industrial tinge

The space's location bordering Dubai Marina and JBR automatically tapped into a receptive community. Its position near Media City means Make also gets a lot of traffic from people who have work there.

The space offers a workspace with a funky, industrial tinge. "More than anything we are a start-up; I have a limited budget," he added. "So the exposed cement plays a big part in the finish of the venue, but it also saved a lot of money."

The desk space varies, depending on the needs of the person, from communal desk clusters to individual window seats. Alongside are meeting enclaves and a meeting room complete with a blackboard.

A cafe offers an organic spread of breakfast to dinner as well as the much-needed coffee.

"We are working towards minimum consumption," said Matthews. "There will be an expectation where you need to spend a certain amount per hour on coffee or food to pay for your stay here.

"It'll be done for two reasons; one of them is to ensure a revenue. It's a business so it needs to be profitable. The other reason for this is that we want a turnover of people so the community doesn't become static."

The venue is relying on the local entrepreneurial community to carry out its marketing by connecting with them and tapping into their networks.

Guru project

As part of its campaign, Make has introduced a Guru project involving people who fit its profile, which Matthews defines as "anyone who's bold, brave and who would make the decision to give up that monthly pay-cheque to follow something they believe in, big or small."

This group can join in on an awareness campaign where they post a message of support in the form of a photo with some words of advice or some mantra which keeps them going in their endeavour.

"We've got about 25 really cool and interesting companies who have all given their message of support and we use that as a social media and awareness campaign," said Matthews.

"In turn they build a social awareness campaign by tapping into our following."