In this episode, I sit down with Desire’ Stewart of Stewart Law and The Paper Clinic in Viera Florida. Stewart Law focuses on business law and contracts, and when they needed to find office space for the law firm, decided to create a co-working space for professionals on the Space Coast. The Paper Clinic was born to house both their offices and offices for others in the area. Co-working spaces cater to individual business owners, sales people, and small groups who don’t want the overhead of long-term leases.
She and I talk about their journey into this business along with some fun events that they host at the location.
Listen to My Interview with Desire’ Stewart
Upcoming Events at The Paper Clinic
Never tried a co-working space? Looking for fun, business events on the Space Coast? The Paper Clinic hosts events including a Monthly Mixer, Open Co-working with Workshops, and Women’s Networking. Visit their website for more information.
Links and Images from My Interview with Desire’ Stewart
The Paper Clinic offers access to a modern building and office space without requiring long-term leases. And the coffee, is included.
Visit them in person at 7341 Office Park Place, Suite 202 Viera, Florida 32940, and find them online at: https://thepaperclinic.com
Once you enter, you’ll likely be greeted by Mary, and possibly R2D2.
Complete Transcript of My Interview with Desire’ Stewart
Kim: 00:01 You’re listening to Space Coast Stories, a podcast with interviews and stories from people and businesses on Florida’s Space Coast. I’m your host, Kim Shivler. Thanks for joining me.
Kim: 00:16 Hey everybody on the Space Coast. Welcome back to Space Coast Stories. I’m your host Kim Shivler. And today I am interviewing Desiree Stewart from Stewart Law and The Paper Clinic right here in Viera. And we’re going to talk about both their law practice and The Paper Clinic, which is what’s called a co-working space. And if you haven’t heard of co-working spaces, really you have to, you have to jump on this because you know, if you’re an entrepreneur or you’re out there, maybe you’re a solo salesperson and you need to have an office to go to. You’re tired of hanging out in coffee shops. That’s what a co-working space gives you. And you have a spot. You can come and be professional, meet with people and the coffee is included. Welcome, Desiree.
Desiree: 01:06 Welcome and hello world.
Kim: 01:09 So first tell us a little bit about Stewart Law because my understanding is this kind of started as the law practice and melded into The Paper Clinic also.
Desiree: 01:18 Correct? Absolutely. Um, so my husband is an attorney and he practices business contracts and construction law. Um, and when I met him, he was working for a fortune 500 company and commuting an hour each way. And so we decided like, Oh, I had my business background and he had his legal and he’d tried this solo practice thing before and it’s not too good at it. Even though you practice business law business is not as forte at times. He’s really good at protecting them though. Um, but so we looked at each other and we’re like, well this is horrible for newlyweds and only seeing each other, you know, one hour a day. Um, so we started Stewart Law and we started home base and it worked out pretty well. And so Paper Clinic grew out of that pain cause we started when we were home-based. Out of coffee shops and it was horrible and we were spending a lot of money at, uh, we love Dunkin and Starbucks, but we don’t want to eat there and drink there every day.
Desiree: 02:20 And, um, it didn’t seem as professional for our clients as well. But then finding the right fit for an office space that let us grow and let us grow and grow mentally rather than having it goes straight from home to that 1500 square foot office and having to get that full time secretary to man the desk and the answer our phones and be there because as soon as you have a brick and mortar, people expect you to be there from that nine to five, they want to drop things off. And so I was like, man, it would be so great to have a professional environment where we could maybe start out home base and just use it and be familiar, have a nice scanner when we get those hundred page contracts rather than working with my desktop, which I did take a sledgehammer to after we got it. Nice ones. So I totally pulled a office space and I love our current scanner now. But um, but and then as we needed private offices or more team members, we could kind of expand and have them come here. So that’s exactly what The Paper Clinic does. Not trying to do anything fancy or spiffy is just for, um, professionals, accountants and attorneys to start their space, feel like their clients’ information is safe and not compromised and to have a good environment to work with them.
Kim: 03:41 That’s another really good point because coffee shops, you know, you don’t know who you’re sitting next to and who’s listening in as opposed to here where we’ve got conference rooms space where if you need to meet with a client about something, you know, proprietary, you don’t even have to sit out in the main area. Correct.
Desiree: 03:58 Correct.
Kim: 03:59 And along those lines, you have something special this summer that’s a little bit different than just professionals. What are you offering?
Desiree: 04:08 So for anybody with an active high school or college ID, we’re having a free study program here. So that would get you our, um, we call it our Connaisseur Membership, which its access unlimited access from nine to five to our office space and um, free coffee that we brew on site. Um, for them just to come and crack open that SAT workbook or if they’re signing for the MCAT or LSAT or are taking an online course, you know, and then all of us have had that same pain where you’re taking that online course and you’re tired of studying in your bed or being bombarded by your siblings or your dog or that Xbox calls to you sometimes and maybe you’re not getting it done. So for me, I would have really benefited going somewhere else to study and, and do that. And another added benefit is we do have, I think four or five attorneys that frequent here, people in the insurance, um, mortgage industries, marketing, some really proven entrepreneurs, uh, that access, the space. So they’re going to get that mentorship just by rubbing elbows, you know, waiting for the coffee to brew in between those study breaks.
Kim: 05:27 That’s nice. And having a place to go. I know that, uh, I did my studying at the student union between my bachelor’s and master’s and, uh, having that place to go where you can focus is really nice. But when you’re trying to do it out of your house or even in a coffee shop, sometimes that’s not a good focus area.
Desiree: 05:46 Exactly. I mean, I do really well working from home. My husband does not. And even though we have the brick and mortar, Blake likes to try to think that he can go and work off of our kitchen Island and you know, but there’s always Netflix in the background and he’ll even confess, he’s like, well if I were to stay at the office, I would have been able to get everything I got done within an hour and yet I’m here for six hours working. I’m like, well that’s not really good for home life balance. You know?
Kim: 06:17 So if you’re studying this summer or if you are an entrepreneurial looking for office space, come check out The Paper Clinic. Absolutely. And particularly if you’ve never seen a co-working space. One of the challenges for most of us when we go into business and for example, I’m a solo shop myself and I work well out of my house, but I don’t want clients to come to my house.
Kim: 06:42 I want to have my meetings in a professional environment. And it was always a challenge to go out and to find a lease. You know, you’ve got like a three year lease and it’s expensive. Even for a very small office it can be very expensive.
Desiree: 06:55 Or your security deposit.
Kim: 06:57 Yeah, exactly. You’ve got the security deposit and you know, like I said this longterm and one of the nice things with the co-working spaces are that it’s not a longterm lease and you have different options too for what people’s needs are. Would you tell us a little bit about that?
Desiree: 07:15 Absolutely. So first off, all of our contracts are month to month at the current pricing. So for our suites, sometimes we will offer them a little bit lower, but then that requires a year commitment since we’re giving the discount, but for just stopping in or for our monthly members.
Desiree: 07:32 And those are the collaborative members that make up most of our workspace. Those are month a month. So say you move or you change jobs, you’re not committed to anything. You’ve only paid for that month and you can, you know, wipe your hands clean and move on to the next endeavor. Um, but sorry, memberships, they started out as low as 25 bucks a month. So we call that our Jet Setter. And that’s meant for people who really do love their home office and are not interested in working anywhere else. But you can, you know, have your mail forwarded here. Our reception office will accept packages that are dropped off by your clients and then give you a call like, Hey, some of them do every year, but so we very much, it looks like your storefront. So can the virtual office type deal. And then for 100 bucks a month, that’s exactly what we’re offering to the students.
Desiree: 08:18 You get to use our collaborative space unlimited from nine to five, I believe there’s four conference credits in there. So we have three conference rooms, um, or the classrooms that you can kind of rent out for whatever your purposes are. And then for 24, seven access. So for those night owls or weekend warriors, we call those the Power House Membership. And so that’s $200, but you have your own key card access to the building, 24, seven and all that jazz. And then for the dedicated workspaces, we have a series of tall and short cubicles. And I hate that word because it has such a negative connotations in office space that you know, but you know, people really decorate them and like having their own space. Cause even though it is kind of open, you know, there are locking drawers, but people respect that. Like they’re not going to enter into the HIPAA goal without your permission or being invited. And so it’s kind of a cool culture and knowing that this space is mine, that this is what I work out of. We have that going on, um, at $450 a month all the way to the private suites, which are at $930. But I think we’re, there’s one that might be open, might not be open. So, but, uh, so it’s pretty good that we’re staying full, but we can always use monthly members to kinda contribute to our culture and kinda share the collaboration spirit with us all.
Kim: 09:41 And when you talk about your culture and you talk about mentorship, you also have days where you actually, anybody can come in, you have seminars, that type of thing. Training days. Tell us about those.
Desiree: 09:54 Right now we’re in a rebranding, so it was called T-Werk on Tuesday. And some of the professionals, you know, their eyebrows raise like I’m not working, you know, but if you see it in writing, it’s literally like T dash working to come into work here we go into work. So that wasn’t coming off. So we’re rebranding and we’ll have some new stuff. But it’s basically just a way to get people in to try out the collaboration space for their working. Um, some months we do have a scheduled curriculum and speakers to kind of talk about things that startups or entrepreneurs are want to think about. Um, Alan Bernstein with HR office savers has given plenty of, um, presentations. Um, Blake’s , Stewart Law gives a lot of presentations. And then, um, we used to have ideal impact media and they would give some as well. Kinda like how did you video marketing and all that fun stuff. So you kind of get to hear from the experts of each individual field, talk about what’s going on. And then, um, and then also Jesse Hall, so he was in here for a while as well. So kinda shared how, you know, his marketing of these guy, um, his entertainment company and then also his a podcast as well. So, or podcast channel. So he produces them, he has his own, but he really wants to produce them and help people, you know, bring things like this to light.
Kim: 11:21 Absolutely. And so what you have here, and some co-working spaces don’t have that extra mentorship aspect. It’s just more of, you know, you might meet somebody at the copier, but here they actually a those open days. So if you’re an entrepreneur out there and you know, you need some of those training, uh, you need to understand more about business, definitely check out. We’re gonna have all the links to her website and everything in the show notes so that you can check out the website and find out when these things are happening. Because that’s huge value. And it’s something that a lot of us when we go out on our own, initially don’t have. And we don’t sometimes know what we don’t know until we get into trouble, whether it’s with our legal contract or we go to hire those first people. That’s a scary time. I again, I am solo shop, but in the past when I had employees, you know that that’s a whole business takes on another view.
Desiree: 12:19 Exactly. And like, you know, we call people members here, but very shortly they become an a family. You know, my mother is the receptionist, so she is typically the first face that everybody sees here. But we form relationships and we look out for one another and uh, but it’s something really special that we have here and I love it. Then it’s nice coming to work with people who, you know, have your back all the time. So, um, you know, so here’s a funny story. Me and my mom, Mary were in the back working on something for Stewart Law. I think we were looking at invoices and we didn’t know that my Uncle Brook was gonna stop in and he was gifting us a candy dispenser for the space, still need to fill it, but we have it. But my uncle, he’s like, he likes his biker’s stuff and you know, Harley Davidson.
Desiree: 13:08 And he came with his friend. They looked like they could be really mean men. So they, they come in and him and his buddy and, um, Allen walks in and he’s like, Hey, can I help you? And they’re like, yeah, where’s that fiery redhead Mary? I need to talk to her. And if you know, my Uncle, Brook, that’s just how he talks. And you know, he’s, he’s just poking fun but Alan’s like I’ll see where she’s at. So he comes back and he’s like, there are some really mean looking men up there, uh, asking for you, Mary, to need me to accompany you. I’m going to stay here and listen. And so my mom walks in and then just gives them the biggest hug ever. So, you know, but you wouldn’t get that elsewhere. You know, it’d be like, Hey, someone’s up front for you. But you know, here we look out for each other. Like, do you need support, backup, I’m here if you need something. And that’s, I think it’s great.
Kim: 14:04 That’s very nice. And that that is something special to have. Again, when you’re an entrepreneur, one of the things you mentioned and, and this is something I work with with all of my business coaching clients, if you are a solopreneur, do not use your home address as your mailing address. When someone looks you up and then it’s the Google street map of your house. That’s not good. I mean, it, one, it doesn’t look professional, but two, you don’t want salespeople showing up at your house because they pulled the records from, you know, businesses exactly. Or your business card. So having, even if it’s that basic where you can have mail here or packages here, definitely gives you one, the professional side, but to the protection that people you don’t know aren’t trying to show up at your house to sell you business services, et cetera.
Desiree: 14:57 oOrr better yet people you do know. I mean, one of the hardest lessons to learn in business is you’re not going, you can’t please everybody. Unfortunately, there’s gonna be some customer client that you don’t see eye to eye with. You’ve given it your all and it’s still not good enough for them. You really want them to know where you live, you know, like, or, or even if you know, you someone in passing, here’s something that you said at a networking function, they just didn’t like it. And people are crazy these days, you know, so you gotta take the precautions to protect yourself. And part of that is, you know, don’t advertise your home address everywhere unless you’re welcoming a party every day and you like that type of mischief.
Desiree: 15:39 But it’s very, it’s too easy and affordable to have a PO box or to have a, you know, we’re one of many that offers that type of membership. So definitely look into that. Who’s around you and what would be most convenient for you?
Kim: 15:53 Well, let’s go ahead since we’ve told them all about the greatness here and we’ll have some pictures of the space too on the website. Go ahead and tell them where you’re located so they can come find you.
Desiree: 16:03 Of course. So we’re located in Viera. Um, the actual address is 7341 Office Park Place, Suite 202 Viera, Florida 32940. We’re on the corner of Wickham and Murrell behind Perkins. So afood is always walking distance from you, which is always great. And we’re two blocks away from I-95, so it makes it really convenient for the professional.
Desiree: 16:28 Like our attorney’s love it here cause we never, you know, the Viera courthouse is up the street or if you need to go to Titusville, you just hop on 95 and you could be there in 20-25 minutes. And then also with, you know Melbourne, right?
Kim: 16:42 So it’s very centrally located. So even if you needed to, you know, if you’re a sales person, you need to meet with clients. This is very centrally located in the County. Like you said, you can come from Melbourne pretty easily across from Eau Gallie and down from Titusville, even Rockledge anything like that. You’re just right here.
Desiree: 17:01 Exactly.
Kim: 17:02 Very centrally located. And the one thing I will say, she is on that corner when you pull into the area, there are a lot of little buildings here so that can get a little confusing. What building number are you?
Desiree: 17:15 7341
Kim: 17:17 So that’s what we would see on the top of the building.
Desiree: 17:19 Absolutely. So I’d like to say we’re the most modern in the complex. We got a lot of a good facade, things working out, big circle in the glass. Um, you know, forward looking, um, area and we have a fountain right in front of ours too, so, and it leads right up into our building with the walkway. So it’s very beautiful. A lot of our members, they said the reason why they’ve chosen us like over competitors or having a suite elsewhere was just kind of the distinction of walking into our building.
Desiree: 17:50 It is kind of awing. For lack of words.
Kim: 17:53 It is, it’s nice. It’s a, you know, the glass modern building, a lot of light, which we, you know, we like, you don’t really want to be in a dark, dark area. So in the, in fact that’s, I think sometimes what people think when they think of cubicles. Yeah. Well at the space around here, there’s a lot of windows so you’re not running into feeling like you’re going into a dungeon. Like you are in some offices.
Desiree: 18:13 Correct. I’ve, trust me, I’ve had a lot of arguments. Taking a lot of care to make sure that the area for the collaboration is bright and has natural sunlight for that reason because we don’t want anybody to feel like they’re in a cave when they’re here working.
Kim: 18:29 Thank you so much for being here with me today. And are there any last thoughts?
Kim: 18:34 You just want people to think of all the than guys come in, check out the space and you know, if you are a student, really take advantage of this free study option for the summer.
Desiree: 18:46 Absolutely. This is where the professionals go to work. Come to The Paper Clinic located in Vieira and I’d love to give anybody who’s interested at tour and if maybe a second Tuesdays aren’t good for you to try out this space for free. Come on in. I’d love to um, show you around and let you try it out for a day.
Kim: 19:04 Great. Thank you so much. That’s a very generous offer. Again, if you are a entrepreneur needing the space, if you’re a traveling sales person, you know where you’re all commission and you don’t have a home office to go to, this is a great way to come get your paperwork done and, and again meet potentially with potential clients more, uh, much more professional than the coffee shop. Yes. Great. And of course all of this information will be in the show notes at SpaceCoastStories.com. I’ll be back next time with another interesting business person here in the Space Coast. Bye.
Kim: 19:43 Join us next time for another episode of Space Coast Stories. You can find the show notes and other information at SpaceCoastStories.com. The views of the guests on this show are their own and don’t necessarily represent the views of the show owners, host or company. Thanks for listening to Space Coast Stories.