Meet the Member: Emma Partridge, Cooperative Venture Workspace

Emma Partridge’s view from her desk at the Cooperative Venture Workspace is representative of her dual role here.

From her seat, she can see the hustle and bustle on Maplewood Avenue and its intersection with Hanover Street in downtown Portsmouth.

From her view inside the Workspace, she watches the comings and goings of its members, an eclectic collection of entrepreneurs. As the Workspace’s Member Relations Coordinator, “I am the point of communication for current members and potential new members. I’m with them from the beginning.”

Also included in her role is marketing. She is engaging with the outside world through Facebook, Instagram,and LinkedIn, using the social media tools to promote and enhance the Workspace as a place to work on a full-time or part-time basis.

Emma has been with the Workspace since it opened at 36 Maplewood Avenue in downtown Portsmouth in the late spring. In fact, she came on board just two weeks after her May graduation from Plymouth State University, where she majored in professional communication and minored in both marketing and dance.

She multi-tasks both the member relations and social media jobs.

For potential members, she is often the first point of contact for individuals wanting to take a tour. And, once they’ve signed on, she steps them through the process of becoming a member and settling into their work space. Day to day, she’s answering members’ inquiries, juggling the schedule for the four conference rooms, and making sure the facility is operating smoothly and efficiently.

“It’s different every day,” said Emma. “The conference rooms are getting more use, now that we have new members, and I’m making sure everyone has the right needs for their space.”

Also at certain times during the day, Emma will hop on the Workspace’s online accounts to showcase the Class A work space and the kind of jobs and activities in which its members are engaged.

She had done some social media for her dance troupe at Plymouth State and was happy to extend that role here. “I was really excited about the opportunity because I was able to kick start the social media efforts,” Emma said.

She takes a more formal tone on Facebook and LinkedIn than she does on Instagram, which she sees as a place where she can show what she described as “the fun side, the behind the scenes aspect.” Both she and Scott Blidberg, the Workspace managing director, update the web site.

She sees the Workspace as being attractive to a certain kind of business man or woman.

“The person I see in the Workspace is a go-getter. They are looking for a space where they can be a professional and have a great space to show off to their clients and customers,” she said.

Mostly made up of one- or two-person businesses, the membership looks to the Workspace, she said, “as a professional, productive space,” which she sees too from where she sits, looking out and looking in.