Office Evolution Seeks Qualified Franchise Operators to Grow Existing Boston Presence

The concept of shared office space has taken off as small business owners and start-ups recognize how much more affordable these services can be when compared to renting or purchasing real estate in major metro markets. But now, supply is struggling to keep up with the growing demand.

Denver, Colorado-based concept Office Evolution is seeing this shift firsthand. Founded in 2003, the company created a culture around private and virtual office space, managing to grow from one to more than 50 units in just 15 years. While locations are spread across 25 states, there’s a need for continued expansion in most existing markets, one of which is the greater Boston area.

Office Evolution opened its first Massachusetts location in Burlington in 2016, located less than 20 miles outside of downtown Boston. The face of the business, office manager Mary Gould, decided to join the company after meeting the team and recognizing the value of the business model. Formerly a business development specialist where her primary mission was to boost sales, the jump to face-to-face personalization was a welcomed change.

“I spent eight years taking incoming calls, following up on internet web leads and cold calling. While my ultimate goal was to drive results, my favorite part of my job was always meeting with my clients” said Gould. “I loved identifying their needs to figure out how we could better serve them. It was really rewarding.”

Gould sought out an opportunity that would allow her to spend more time with customers and further strengthen her relationship building skills, leading her to a position with newly opened Office Evolution.

“As a Business Center Manager, my primary responsibility is to interact with members. Face-to-face relationship building is critical in this role because you are the main point of contact for members and their customers,” she said. “Being personable and naturally curious about what people do and how Office Evolution can help address any challenges they’re facing has helped me build great rapport with our clients. It’s also one of the key reasons we stand out from our competitors.”

Another reason is their centralized location in Burlington. First, the city is located just west of Boston, making it convenient to those located in the Metro-West area and for those coming from the north or south shores. The thought was also that the concept would drive traffic from students attending prestigious universities in the area.

“We have great schools around here – MIT, Harvard, Boston College. These graduates have advanced degrees and are doing things that are contributing to our future, from healthcare IT to alternative energy,” said Gould. “To me, they are what makes this business worth coming to every day and what makes my job incredibly interesting.”

Business has been booming in Burlington for Office Evolution as a result of those advantages coming together. Since opening, the facility has steadily increased its occupancy and is now regularly running at full capacity. They also have more than 40 members currently taking advantage of their virtual office space, which is nearly the same amount as their office members. The hope now is that Office Evolution will saturate the market to bring more recognition to the brand name.

“The more locations we have in a market, the more our members find value in what we bring to the table,” according to Gould. “Our clients love convenience and affordability. If we’re able to open facilities across the greater Boston area, they’ll have the opportunity to be closer to their customers without the cost of having to sign a seven-year commercial lease. There’s a lot of competition in this area and we’d love to prove why we’re the best.”

With growth in mind, Office Evolution aims to more than double its existing presence within the next five years. Founder Mark Hemmeter has been committed to eastern expansion since opening the first East Coast location in Somerville, NJ in 2014. Since then, the company has opened locations in Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, Virginia, Florida, Georgia, North and South Carolina, with as many as 12 new locations expected to open before the end of the year.