Why Coworking Matters in Glens Falls, NY
Every August, people around the world celebrate International Coworking Day. We celebrate it here in Glens Falls, too.
Today, that gives us a good excuse to talk about why coworking matters to you, to your business, and to this region.
Coworking changes lives. That may sound like a bold statement, but we've watched it change how people work, how businesses grow, and how a local economy holds together.
What it does for people working from home
Working from home sounds perfect. No commute. No dress code. But for a lot of people, it slowly turns into a kind of quiet isolation. It shows up in decisions you make and then second-guess. In the distractions that keep you from your task list.
A recent study covered by NPRfound that people working at home report higher rates of loneliness, anxiety, and depression than people working in person, including a 72% higher chance of going an entire day with zero human contact.
People try to fix it with coffee shops or libraries around Glens Falls. Those places feel lively, but they weren’t built for work days. The WiFi drops. Outlets are scarce. And underneath those practical annoyances is something heavier: you can sit there for hours, surrounded by people, and still feel completely invisible, with no one who knows your name or cares what you're working on.
That's why coworking is different. It's not about amenities; it's about being known. It's the moment when someone new walks in and the room notices.
One of our members, Corine, put it better than we could: "Without WorkSmart, I don't think I'd be where I am. Professionally, it has impacted me, but also personally. Mental health-wise, it has helped me so much to just have other people around."
That's the shift a coffee shop can't offer. Not because coffee shops aren't nice, but because nobody there is wondering who you are, or hoping you'll come back.
What it does for people building a strong business
That same need to be known and seen doesn't disappear once you're running a business. It just shows up differently.
For entrepreneurs and small business owners, growth is hard to do alone. When you're starting something from scratch, you spend a lot of time trying to figure things out by yourself.
You make decisions without a sounding board. You celebrate wins quietly, and you carry setbacks alone. Most of us in coworking spaces know that feeling. We lived it before we found this.
In bigger cities, proximity to other business owners happens naturally. Here, it has to be created on purpose. That's what a coworking space is. A place where you sit near someone who is hiring when you need a subcontractor, or someone who already solved the permitting issue you're stuck on, or someone who knows a person you should meet.
Coworking spaces are true business incubators. Here in Glens Falls, that's what WorkSmart is for the people growing something inside it. They get feedback from others who understand this region and what it takes to start a business in it.
They talk through ideas with people who have already navigated the same hurdles, and connect with resources like The Grove Center for Entrepreneurship, a local nonprofit built around the same thing: helping people get unstuck.
There's also accountability. When someone at the next desk asks how the pitch went, or notices you've been quiet for a week, you show up differently than you would alone in a spare bedroom.
Tracy, another WorkSmart member, put it simply: "Since becoming a member at WorkSmart, they've been instrumental in helping me grow the company I work for. It's a supportive community filled with people who genuinely want to see each other succeed."
What it does for the economy
That accountability and momentum don't stay contained inside the walls of a coworking space, either. Coworking expands what’s possible for Warren County.
Every person who can start a business without signing a long-term commercial lease is someone more likely to actually be successful. That matters in a county where entrepreneurship often runs into the same barrier over and over: the gap between “I have an idea” and “I have the headroom to try it.”
A visible, active coworking space also changes how a town reads to outsiders. People considering a move here, or a business here, notice whether a place looks like somewhere things are happening. A room full of people running companies is part of that picture.
When solo workers and small business owners choose to work here instead of driving to Albany or Saratoga, they keep their working hours, their spending, and their presence in Glens Falls.
They buy lunch and coffee downtown. They run errands here. They stay connected here. We often see members and guests step out for lunch or a walk and come back with a bag from a downtown shop. That daily activity is some of what makes coworking part of the economic backbone of this region.
Join the people shaping what’s next.
Maybe the quiet of a home office has started to wear on you. Maybe you’re trying to grow a business without anyone nearby who understands what that takes. Or maybe you simply care about what Warren County becomes next and want to be part of building it.
WorkSmart is a place where you don’t have to work alone, where ideas don’t stay stuck, and where being around other people doing hard things makes your own work feel more possible. When people choose to work here, they keep their time, their talent, and their momentum in Glens Falls.