Today we’d like to introduce you to Sandra Plata.
Hi Sandra, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I was born and raced in Mexico. I came to California right after graduating from college, so I didn’t have the opportunity to work on my field back home. When I got to LA I worked in the service industry as an hourly employee, soon enough I got involved with Administration, Branding, Customer Service, Employee development and Event Planning. I have always been passionate about sales and entrepreneurship. I consider myself people person so that was a fun job to have, but I always knew I wanted my own business. A dear friend of mine invited me to be part of this creative concept Coworking Spaces so I went to visit a few locations in different cities and I loved the concept.
Even though I was two months away from having my secondborn baby, I said yes to the partnership and the adventure began. We started building COWORK South Bay in 2015 while my baby was newborn. The concept was new to me so I had to learn so much and still learning. I was in partnership during five years. Then COVID happened, even thou it was chaotic, somehow things lined up to where I was able to remain in business but this time as the only owner. When I cofounded COWORK South Bay I had a full-time job, that job helped me found the business. It was in 2020 when due to the pandemic, I was off work and took the decision to work full time on developing my coworking space. I enjoy meeting new people and learning about their creations.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
Definitely opening a new brand business is never smooth, at least I don’t think so, to reach goals we need to work hard for them and for me it was very challenging, learning and building a new brand business while having a teenager at home and a newborn baby, it was just crazy! There are so many things that as an entrepreneur you need to learn and so many areas that we may not be familiar with. One of my big struggles was finding a team that would support my projects with a low budget. Learning the software that supports my coworking space was another big moment. In my full-time job, I worked for big corporations so I was used to systems and good structures. Putting systems in place and creating operational structures for your own business is huge, sometimes I look back and I question myself how did I do it. I think the challenge is consistent when you know you have to update and adjust to the changes that our community wants and needs, and there is not a big corporation behind it is just you and the team you created, this can be scary but if you have your priorities straight, it’s much easier. For me, there were so many skills that I had to learn so I could balance as much as possible my personal life with business-like time management and organization. There is a lot of overhead owning a business but at the end, all is worth it! Owning my time is priceless.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about COWORK South Bay?
COWORK South Bay is a shared office space that provides a casual business environment for entrepreneurs, startups, employees working remotely and creatives. Our members get flexible 24/7 secured access so they can focus on working and being Productive. We not only provide a dedicated workplace, we focus on building and reinforcing our community, we promote Networking and Collaborations. Our Culture: Create. Connect. Be Productive.
We provide different types of memberships; Flex Desk, Dedicated Desk, Private Offices, Meeting Rooms, Multimedia Rooms and Virtual Offices. Our members have the opportunity to choose what works best for them and our flexibility of month to month gives them the freedom to change the type of service any time. We also have day passes for those that need a dedicated workspace for the day. Our fast Wi-Fi and plenty of outlets let you start being productive right the way. Our super power is community.
We empower productivity and create wow moments, everyone in our coworking space shares the same mind-set, get things done!
Providing value to our members is a top priority. We take pride in being a 5-star coworking space in the South Bay.
Are there any important lessons you’ve learned that you can share with us?
I have learned that opportunities are endless and that being consistent works better than pushing hard a few months and relaxing the others. I learned that there are many sources that support small businesses and mentor entrepreneurs, but you have to be open to listen, learn and adjust your ways. If you have a dream, keep working for it, if your mind sees it then it can be yours. Failing is part of the journey. Be faithful of your passion and don’t let others discourage you because it’s not their dream it’s yours. When I started my business the only people that believed I could make it happen were my parents, my brother and my husband and that was enough to keep me going. I trust God in my journey and my family is my inspiration.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.coworksouthbay.com
- Instagram: @coworksouthbay
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/coworksouthbay/
- Youtube: www.youtube.com/channel/UC88nOsnY3lWS2YiOx3QyRFA
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/cowork-south-bay-torrance?osq=cowork+southbay
Image Credits
All credits belong to COWORK South Bay
