Fixed costs, rents, heavy investments, appointments impossible to fit into a predetermined day : some freelancers and entrepreneurs can escape the economic rigidity imposed by renting an office, by resorting to coworking . Before the crisis, Brussels welcomed 10 to 20% of new centers each year. A pooling of spaces hitherto reserved for trades requiring nothing more than a computer. But what about hairdressers, therapists, helpers, beauty professionals and other foodies looking for professional spaces to share?
Especially since these professions have suffered greatly from the long periods of total cessation of their activity and are struggling to get back on their feet.
Nathalie Kockaerts, a Brussels entrepreneur specializing in space management in events, herself in retraining, has decided to act by opening a shared space dedicated to the medical, paramedical and well-being sectors. “I know many of these professionals : young people who cannot get started because they cannot find a flexible place that corresponds to their real use : that is to say appointments often in the early morning or in the evening and everything throughout the week", describes Nathalie, "Or even therapists who have had to leave their fixed professional space because of the pandemic and who no longer have the cash or the desire to recover fixed costs, a lease hard to break and a cash advance,” she continues.
Smart Rooms, not far from Flagey in Ixelles, intends to help start or relaunch all those professionals who can do good for others. “It can also be useful for complementary freelancers”. The entrepreneur has thought of everything: we rent by the hour, for a minimum of 10 hours valid for three months and we reserve her place in a schedule in 15-minute increments “Often, the sessions last more than an hour but less than 2, I wanted to offer flexibility in line with the professions”. The therapist receives an email and when he is in front of the door, he clicks on the link contained and the door opens. Inside, several spaces with a treatment table, two armchairs, a table for coaching, floor mats, a futon, a desk, gel: the practitioner only has to settle in the space previously disinfected by the user before him and by a complete cleaning every morning. “All for a price range between 14 and 20€/h, VAT included and an annual fee of 75€”.
Nathalie Kockaerts currently offers two spaces open from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. and she intends to extend this solution to other Brussels municipalities and then to other cities. “It is also useful for professionals who want to give occasional consultations elsewhere than in their region, without committing to a firm”.
Laurence Idezak, reiki and well-being practitioner, did not hesitate for a single second to go through Smart Rooms to finally launch her consultations in addition to her yoga classes : “I had to be flexible, outside the offices community I was offered a fixed ½ day for 250€/month or even 500€/month for a day. However, physio tables are often much too narrow to perform massages there and without a car, I couldn't see myself bringing my table back! Here I took 200€ of hours over three months, it is extremely reassuring and the space is very pleasant”, explains the therapist who had cold sweats at the idea of paying rent without having a precise idea of his returns...
>www.smartrooms.be
Things are going full steam ahead at The Wave. Customers leave very happy and in this hive, professionals of all ages are smiling. A new store? No, a completely innovative and unique concept of shared space for hairdressers. “When I saw the wave of bankruptcy and despair that affected the contact professions and particularly the hairdressers, I felt that there was something to do”, explains Ludmila de Moffarts. This young woman in her thirties has always had the business in her blood. She left her job in retail, marketing and sales at Philip Morris and went looking for a room in Brussels spacious enough to install all the equipment necessary to accommodate 14 hairdressing chairs. Hairdressers, colorists, specialists in extensions or curly hair who only have to bring their own small equipment. All for a maximum of 6.95€/h without rent and without charge. The packages are flexible from 10 to 200 hours and consumable over 3 months.
Full and direct success: Ludmila will soon open a space in Saint-Gilles, another in Woluwe before developing The Wave. Hair in Liège, Antwerp and Charleroi for the last quarter ! “It took off right away and many of my clients were relieved, sometimes on the verge of hanging up,” recalls the founder. “The collaborative economy is the future. No more having to embark on a rental that gets stuck, with paperwork, investments that never stop. I wanted to make my contribution by bringing certainty. Here, everything is clear: the fixed price per hour, the wide schedule, there are no commissions, no administrative hassles. And then this pooling is also good at the environmental level : 10 hairdressing salons consume much more than 10 freelancers in a single space !”
The space is warm, design and the hairdressers, happy to no longer be alone in their corner, exchange many tips. The objective is to develop The Wave in aesthetic professions. For the moment, the Chaussée de Boondael space offers a private cabin.
>thewavecoworking.com/
Philippe Thewissen and Sara Dirkx have done it with the enthusiasm of enthusiasts who believe in their project. With BeCook, they offered prepared dishes and desserts without allergens. A project that they wanted to be as virtuous as possible for the environment, for customers and for themselves of course. But at the time, it didn't take. Instead of putting the key under the doormat of their immense very modular workshop where they had invested enormously, the couple decided to change their business model. Their experience setting up their company, the pitfalls they had to overcome, their knowledge of administrative processes and standards, their well-designed place, all of this they capitalized on to share with those who wanted to set up their food- business. And who are more and more numerous, often with small budgets and a lack of knowledge of the constraints they will face.
That was three years ago. Now BeCook welcomes nearly 10 projects a year in its 4 spacious kitchens, in the Tour&taxis district. “The goal is for them to be able to test their concept and get started quickly, at a lower cost in business. And otherwise it doesn't cost an arm and a leg to opt out, nor too much administration and paperwork,” explains Philippe Thewissen. That said, it is in 90% of cases the success that is at the rendezvous of the start-ups and caterers who push the door of BeCook.
To get an idea : “Renting a kitchen here to test your concept costs €15/h excluding VAT, or around €1,000 per month. Thanks to this, we can in particular have access to professional ovens whose capacity is 20 times that of a domestic oven : this changes everything to consider his model launched in his kitchen”, describes Philippe Thewissen who estimates that equipping a workshop costs on average €80,000.
BeCook's customers: producers selling their products directly (such as dark kitchens) or indirectly via a network of shops (not belonging to them).
Chefs, caterers, pastry cooks, processors, food-tech entrepreneurs have access to kitchens 24 hours a day, which they share according to a schedule drawn up in advance. The young shoots supported all have one thing in common with BeCook, which is a Good Food ambassador: they are projects that work organically, locally and want to be socially responsible. “No one comes up with the idea of making Tricatel !” smiles Philippe Thewissen, and that's good for us, potential customers!
> becook.be
