There are over 27 million individual small businesses in the United States. Within the first five years, roughly 50% of these businesses fail. Between lack of planning, bad choice in location and a limited amount of capital to spend; businesses fail for many reasons.
Santiago Rivera is now tackling all of these issues when planning to open his own co-working business.
Co-working is an up-and-coming idea that embraces individuals’ ideas and provides the space and creativity to morph these separate ideas together. A relatively newer concept, co-working is a growing movement of independent collaboration spaces for freelance professionals.
Santiago Rivera has fully embraced the idea of co-working and is working on opening Bethlehem’s first co-working space on 4th Street, SoBeCoWorks.
“Meeting up with others that are into the same ideas that you are is just rejuvenating, you just feel better about what you’re doing,” said Rivera.
Rivera has decided to open SoBeCoWorks in the 800 block of 4th Street to help benefit and restore the sense of community in the 4Blocks area of the south side of Bethlehem.
“I want to make the neighborhood where I live and do business in better, it’s that basic.”
Along with benefiting creative entrepreneurs at SoBeCoWorks, Rivera intends to benefit surrounding small businesses within the 4Blocks International Neighborhood area.
“Co-working tends to be very community. As I bring those entrepreneurs into 4Blocks… you have more feet on the street, more buyers and those buyers will frequent these local shops; it reinforces the walk-able community,” Rivera said.
According to Rivera, SoBeCoWorks is economic development at the community level.
Rivera said he and his wife decided to embrace entrepreneurship in 2002 and have been financially independent ever since.
“The new technology economy allows people to break the chain of the industrial revolution… I don’t have to punch a clock. I can live my life how I want to.”
Because of his interest in small businesses, his community in Bethlehem and his love of entrepreneurship, Rivera decided to take a Community Action 16 week course on starting your own business in Bethlehem.
“(The course) takes people off the street and gives them the tools to become entrepreneurs.”
Because of his inspiration from the course, Rivera decided to pursue SoBeCoWorks and help fellow entrepreneurs.
According to Rivera, he is the first business owner in his family and his happy to be breaking the mold of the 9am-5pm jobs.
“A lot of the thinking that industrialization and education created have you thinking of punching the clock in the morning and the afternoon, go home, that’s all you need to think about… I had to seek out other entrepreneurs to be able to say ‘Hey lets match up thoughts, lets math up ideas to see what makes sense and what doesn’t make sense.’”
Rivera completed his associate’s degree but because he started a family, did not continue with school. After September 11th, Rivera was laid off and unemployed before becoming financially independent.
According to Rivera, owning his own business is rewarding but is his entire life. Rivera says it’s a lifestyle choice and a second love.
SoBeCoWorks was scheduled to celebrate its ribbon-cutting ceremony on April 16th. Because of difficulties with zoning permits, Rivera had to delay the opening but is hoping to open the business sometime in later April.
SoBeCoWorks’ is designed to assist and further other people’s creative ideas. Rivera is excited to enlighten others with the troubles he’s had as a business owner and to collaborate ideas.
“We all work together to bring each other up. How can we help you?”
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