Faces Behind the Facades: Fokus Coworking Space
Author: Wendy Russell-Sheppard
In this blog series, we’ll pull back the entrepreneurial curtain to meet the faces behind the façades in our Downtown District.
Welcome to the mood-swing month of March, the season of transitions and new growth, the perfect time to introduce you to Fokus Coworking Space at 233 Front Street in the Downtown District. The brainchild of entrepreneurs Curtis and Mark Vreugdenhil, it opened in November, 2021.
Can you imagine opening a business with your sibling? How about a second one?
Curtis and Mark are two of three brothers who grew up in Frankford. With inquisitive minds, a love of math, and a dad in the construction business, civil engineering degrees were a natural progression for the duo whose first joint business venture was Three Hills Engineering, located upstairs from Fokus. It took all of 2019 to renovate their stunning space in the Downtown District. Why downtown? They live nearby and appreciate the charm and amenities offered here.
Office manager Alexandra Bell has worked with the brothers for four years. Referred by the former bookkeeper, she thrives on the problem-solving and people skills her role requires. She feels privileged to watch the business evolve and expand to twelve employees, some Loyalist College grads with STEM skills. Wrangling “the boys” is not a concern.
Creating and maintaining a trusting, healthy team is at the heart of both businesses. Everyone has easy-going personalities, knows when to defer to each others’ specific strengths, and respects family time. Problems are brought forward routinely to safeguard the wellness of the group.
With city folks traveling through or moving to Belleville, and the need for freelance work space away from home during the pandemic, Mark and Curt jumped at the chance to provide a flexible alternative and become part of a global phenomenon. Research into the coworking project included state-of-the-art spaces in Picton, Kingston, Toronto, Australia, and Europe. Fokus Coworking Space offers a flexible venue to do business without the traditional commitment to a bricks-and-mortar location. It’s a place for individuals and work teams who seek to learn, innovate, collaborate, and work.
“At Fokus we don’t just provide spaces to help you build your business, host your events and meetings or give you a great place to study, but we are also building a community of like-minded individuals who enjoy working together.”
Fokus offers many amenities: reliable Wi-fi, a telephone booth, team table, collaboration areas. The team has to be nimble to meet the emerging needs of a diverse clientele: door lock scanners and integrated software, for example.
Let’s talk about the “Quiet Room”. Its purpose is one-on-one meetings for private conversations, job interviews, Zoom calls. It’s also a nice, quiet enclosed space where you can simply “be”. Imagine that—another oasis in the Downtown District. Students, take note.
Space can be rented by the day, week, or month—whatever works for you.
FOKUS is available on the weekends to meet the needs of volunteer groups and provide a gorgeous venue for social gatherings. Tours will be available during future downtown events.
Check out their elegant websites for all the details.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Wendy’s creative non-fiction work is featured in an American publication “Tales2Inspire: the Opal Collection” edited by Lois Stern. Her most recent publication is “Storied: Chronicles by the Circle of Six”, a memoir collaboration with five other local authors, available at the Bazaar Artisan Market in the Downtown District. As an editor, Wendy worked with Belleville author Connie Carson who self-published “Sharing Belleville Memories”, available at the Chamber of Commerce Log Cabin. Right now, Wendy is offering writing workshops to an enthusiastic group of retired teachers.
