Professionals Tamborine Mountain 
Our Space is one of the most unique business models on the entire mountain, offering a collaborative workspace for (predominantly female) entrepreneurs to work on themselves and network with each other. Owner Louisa Trevethan shares her visions for this one-of-a-kind location and muses on the necessity of such a space during the pandemic.
by Kyle Hitchmough
For those who might not understand, can you describe what it is you offer here?
Basically, I run a travel and events company. When we took a hit in that industry with COVID, I really focused on ways I’d be able to maintain our space. What I did was open up the events office and turn it into a collaborative workspace. It is available for people to come and hire a desk. You can either make a permanent booking or come in more casually. It is very much marketed to women and mums in business in particular. Oftentimes that 9-to-3, trying to get something done in between dropping your kids at school and picking them up can be really tough. It’s a really beautiful collaborative space where people can come together and share their ideas and thoughts. Not only does it provide people with a workspace that’s not at home, it also provides that extra bit of community that comes with a combined community workspace.
How has this business model evolved over the time you’ve been here?
We’ve been going for about two years. We got a website together quickly, you can actually go online and book the space, it can be a casual booking or a weekly booking. We also offer the space as a workshop venue, that’s been excellent. We’ve done some workshops with Tash next door from Butler + Grace, we’ve done floral workshops, some Christmas-themed wreath workshops as well, so the two spaces work together. And just this week I had the place booked out for seven days and they had a neurolinguistic programming workshop training in here. It’s given the opportunity to other people on the mountain who might be working from home but need a workshop or office space to do more things and not have to have those things happen in their own houses.
You also sell a variety of items through your online store. Can you tell us more about that?
We also do retail, doTERRA essential oils as well as Rodan + Fields skin care. We have a very strong online presence, but the ability to be able to come and touch and feel the products within a retail space seems to really work with customers when they just want to pick something up straight away.
What goes into an average day of work here for you?
Generally, I’m running my travel and events business as well as running the doTERRA and the Rodan + Fields side businesses as retail businesses. On top of that, I do external events. I actually assisted the Tamborine Mountain Wedding Group in running their wedding expo, and any of the more local events that happen I can be contracted out to. On a given day, really, it’s quite diverse. We also do psychological services that come out of Our Space as well, there’s a psychologist who rents Our Space and they do assessments, educational assessments as well as psychological services from here. So, it’s managing all the people coming through and making sure that when people are in here they’re getting the service provision they need, as well as just managing the bookings and the shuffling around of different people and what they need within Our Space.
Are there any particular trends in your clientele?
One thing that astounds me is the amount of incredibly clever women who are on this mountain and some of the wonderful businesses that actually do happen up here already. Eco Print is one of the people who are permanently here, and they run an eco-printing business but also graphic design. We have another lady who comes through and she runs yoga workshops and also does business training. We have another lady who’s a business strategist, and she works with all these clients all over Australia, and they’re all here on the mountain. It’s quite amazing when you provide a space like Our Space how you can draw in all of these wonderful women who ultimately are working independently, but when you pull them all together it’s quite incredible the breadth and the scope of what women up here on the mountain are doing in the workplace.
Are you a local? What’s your opinion on the Tamborine Mountain area and community?
I am! I can’t imagine being anywhere else. I love the notion that it is a true community, I love knowing the names of the people at the post office or whenever you go. I really love the seasons, the idea that I get a proper summer and a cold winter with the fires on. We go on holidays and then we come home and think “Why did we go on a holiday? We live in Paradise.” It’s a beautiful place to live and to work, too. To be able to work up here is quite a privilege and a gift. The drive down to Brisbane or commuting doesn’t sit well with everybody and I think that kind of person is who Our Space works really well for.
What do you enjoy most about doing this?
I like the people! I love the pop-ins, the people who pop their heads in to have a chat. Main Street has really found its feet since COVID, I think a lot of people have come back to the sense of community and the fabulous offerings that are here. I enjoy having the collaboration of other women in the workplace. On the days that I’m here by myself I really don’t enjoy it as much. I like having everyone around, sharing ideas and lifting other women up to achieve the best businesses and their best selves in whatever channel that is.
We are always looking for new topics for our blog. If there’s something you like to see more of, email your suggestions to: social@professionalsserendipity.com.au, or email the writer at kyle.hitchmough@hotmail.com.
