Title: The PowerLab Brings a Much Needed Sense of Family and Community through Co-Working

Overview: the PowerLab, a coMmunity CoWorking and incubator. The first of its kind at a time where CoWorking facilities are everywhere. Our unique selling proposition of differentiator, the dedication to increasing financial literacy education and programs designed to create small businesses to combat the lack of economic resources in the southwest corridor of Yonkers.

Integrating social enterprise and impact was an important factor incorporated into the business model. Providing the community with these resources has proved successful birthing more partnerships; at this point the PowerLab is primed and prepped for expansion into a bigger facility allowing for more impact.

Approach: At the height of the booming Coworking industry, we noticed the lack of similar resources offered in these types of facilities, here in Yonkers. Upon doing extensive research and development, Ray and his team created the PowerLab; mirroring the business model and offerings similar to a WEWORK. While we understood the benefits of such a facility, the plan was always to provide resources to those in our COMMUNITY.

Challenges: The City of Yonkers has experienced a variations of shared-space work experience. However the new business and sharing model wasn’t adopted by the public as fast as it would in surrounding cities. The space soon closed and relocated. The challenges faced, similar to that of the previous iteration of a Coworking space, during inception, was the nuances and hurdles in marketing our model to the people, small businesses, and brands here in Yonkers. The ongoing stigma here in the city is that business owners and startups should seek resources outside of the city to develop. And this is true even with all of the new luxury apartments being erected in Downtown Yonkers.

Solution: Implementing a strong relationship with the community through engagement and strategic outreach enabled the PowerLab to find success. We’ve created programming that would be beneficial to startups, brands, and non profits centered around financial literacy, tech, and STEAM offerings. These programming opportunities created at The PowerLab were able to assist in the development in the individuals of each cohort and our in-house tenants.

KPI: The PowerLab has been able to grow exponentially over the course of three years expanding on our community engagement and outreach. The Lab has grown into ‘THE’ Coworking facility of Yonkers and has deep ties and relationships with the community. The space has no more availability, along with an anchor tenant that has grown into multiple spaces. The brand has created enough brand equity to garner maximum support efforts via our partnering foundations.

Conclusion: The integration of a strategic marketing plan, incorporating true branding and community engagement allowed for the growth of the PowerLab to transcend just office space. TheLab now has a deeply rooted relationship and connection with the City. And is now prepped for expansion as the next phase of the brand’s development. TheLab has increased its virtual offerings to sustain awareness and visibility. And will continue to expand on programming opportunities throughout the expansion process.

The City of Yonkers for YAW

Yonkers Public Schools for Empire