ACE Trafalgar Grand Opening

ACE Trafalgar Grand Opening

Launch Party and Open House at ACE Coworking this summer – successfully making more and more connections among entrepreneurs and professionals around Halton!

Oakville Office Launch Celebration!

Oakville’s newest shared offices are at ACE Coworking’s second location, 132 Trafalgar Rd, in the heart of downtown. Although ACE Trafalgar has been partially open since Spring 2022, the official grand opening celebration took place in the facility’s stylish lounge on August 9th.

The date was chosen to coincide with International Coworking Day, a holiday in which coworking space operators around the world pause to celebrate and showcase this flexible, collaborative and ever-more relevant style of working.

The event featured delicious food by Parlato’s Catering, an open bar, new and old friends connecting, and “good vibes” all around. ACE founder, Nancy Fornasiero, said “It’s just our small way of saying thanks to the wonderful people who make the ACE community awesome,” adding: “It’s also a nice way to celebrate our continued growth here in Halton.” It was also a chance to publicly acknowledge the creative work done on the office renovation by Deb Richmond Designs.

In addition, an Open House was held on August 8 through 10 at the original ACE location (295 Robinson St). It was an opportunity for locals who had always wondered about coworking to try hot desking at no cost for a few days.

Several local businesses supported ACE Coworking during their Launch Party and Open House, including:

– Flourish & Bask: a charming neighbourhood shop that sells everything needed for home bartending and entertaining.⁠ Owner, Chantal Ingram, treated guests to a specialty mocktail featuring Flourish & Bask ingredients.

– Crank Lite Lager: created by a couple of young local entrepreneurs, this beer is perfect for those in search of a lighter style brew.

– Zirkova Vodka⁠: Ukrainian-Canadian premium vodka makers whose administrative headquarters are at ACE Coworking. (Zirkova send a portion of all profits directly to Ukraine’s humanitarian aid programs.)

– Mary’s Muffins⁠: Local baker making all-natural, super tasty, wholesome treats. (Try them with this 10% discount code – MUFFINS10)

– Oakville authors: Catherine Harrison, Three Colours, Twelve Notes; Siobhan Kukolic, The Treasure You Seek

– Downtown Oakville Business Improvement Association

        If you’d like to get more inspiration and education from the staff and partners of ACE Coworking, sign up for our monthly newsletter. You’ll also stay up to date on the events we run and the amazing promotions we often offer!

        Coworking Day 2022 at ACE

        Coworking Day 2022 at ACE

        by Nancy Fornasiero

        Every year on August 9th, coworking space operators everywhere celebrate International Coworking Day. It’s a chance to educate the public about coworking and the benefits of flexible work options. We also get to say thank you to the awesome people who make up our communities.

        At ACE Coworking, we’re excited to be celebrating our industry’s 17th birthday along with our coworking friends around the world. We are all grateful to have survived the recent tough pandemic years, and feeling very optimistic about a future that is embracing hybrid and flex-style workplaces.

        What exactly is International Coworking Day about? It marks the anniversary of the day Brad Neuberg first brought modern-day coworking into the world. You can still see Brad’s original blog post announcing the first North American coworking space here. Coworking has come a long way since then – with ups and downs – but the spirit of collaboration and connection is as strong as ever. 

        This year at ACE we will be marking the occasion in a couple of ways:⁠


        1️⃣ OPEN HOUSE! ⁠

        If you have always wondered about coworking, or what it’s like to work with us at ACE, then please come try us out for FREE on Monday August 8th, Tuesday 9th, and/or Wednesday 10th. Day passes are normally $25/ea, but for these three days we are holding a no-cost Open House just for YOU.⁠

        Claim a hot desk spot by emailing us at info@acecoworking.ca. Please indicate which day(s) you are coming. (Multiple days are okay too! Just let us know when to expect you.)⁠

        While at ACE, drop your business card in our raffle box for a chance to win one of our door prizes – including a gift basket for coffee-lovers, gift basket for book lovers, Zirkova Vodka gift box, or even a one-month ACE membership!⁠ (You might even score a free donut or two.)

        2️⃣ PARTY! ?⁠

        Current ACE Coworking members are in for a treat. We’ll be hosting a member appreciation event at our newest ACE location: 132 Trafalgar Rd. There will be food, cocktails, friends and good vibes from 5 to 7pm. It’s our way of saying thanks to the wonderful people who make our community awesome. 

         

        WANT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT COWORKING FACILITIES NEAR YOU?

        WONDERING IF / WHY YOU SHOULD JOIN A COWORKING SPACE?

        CHECK OUT THIS VIDEO FEATURING OUR MEMBERS AND OUR COWORKING COLLEAGUES AROUND ONTARIO. YOU’LL GET IT!

        ACE Coworking Cares

        ACE Coworking Cares

        We are always amazed at the sheer number of local organizations and volunteers hard at work to make Oakville and Halton Region a better place for us all. Recently we’ve had the privilege of partnering with some of these amazing groups and/or participating in their fundraising efforts. We’d like to continue to help them raise awareness for the important work they do, so here’s a little run-down of what we (and especially THEY) have been up to…

         Grief Support for Families

        The Lighthouse for Grieving Children & Families is an organization that provides support programs for local children who’ve lost a parent or sibling.⁠ We have a long association with the Lighthouse; we’ve helped to raise funds and raise awareness, and on occasion we’ve donated space for their meetings. Most recently, “Team ACE” participated in their Annual 5KRun4LH. We had a great time (coworkers bonding!) and our $1300 raised helped to contribute towards the event’s grand total of $245,000. Thanks again to our members and friends who donated!⁠ Your contributions will help ensure that Lighthouse’s grief counselling services stay free for local youth in need.⁠ More info about this annual event here.

        Conservation & Environment

        If you are not yet acquainted with Oakvillegreen, we recommend that you check out their website right away! They are a non-partisan charity that has been helping protect and restore nature through community education and local action since 2000. Working with thousands of local volunteers, they protect and restore the ecological functions of Oakville lands and water, creating a more resilient and healthy community for us all. Their site is full of opportunities for you, your kids, or your workplace to get involved with their important initiatives. 

        Oakvillegreen’s most recent board meeting – their first in-person one since before the pandemic – took place in our brand-new ACE Trafalgar boardroom. We were delighted to be able to support their efforts by donating our brand-new functional space to them.

         

        Youth Mental Health

        The 2nd Annual Camaraderie of Hope Golf Tournament took place last month at the Granite Ridge Golf Club in Milton. It was a fabulous day raising $12,000 for Bridging the Gap Halton. Bridging the Gap supports young people in our area, aged 16 to 24, who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. ACE Coworking donated a membership as a silent auction item, and was among 15 other local businesses who sponsored or supported the event in some way. Congrats to the Camaraderie of Hope organizers for a job well-done!

        If you’d like to get more inspiration and education from the staff and partners of ACE Coworking, sign up for our monthly newsletter. You’ll also stay up to date on the events we run and the amazing promotions we often offer!

        Coworking Office: Secret Weapon for Employee Retention

        Coworking Office: Secret Weapon for Employee Retention

        Here at ACE we are always amazed at how our members utilize our space and leverage our community to help them and their companies grow. Lately, we are hearing more and more of our members with staff tell us that ACE is one of the best employee-retention tools they have.

        By now everyone has heard of the difficulty companies are having finding, hiring, and holding onto great employees. A good pay package, time off, and benefits isn’t enough to make a company stand out when they are looking to fill empty positions these days; there are just too many job vacancies and not enough workers. For small and medium-sized businesses, especially with limited resources, it can be difficult to offer those little extras to a potential hire.

        Employee Perk

        Our members report that being able to offer our great-looking space to their employees as a place to work from is a huge benefit to their businesses. “Not only have we successfully hired from within the ACE community, but I am 100% convinced that one of the reasons we’ve retained our people is thanks to the camaraderie and positive atmosphere around here,” says Karie Miller, Director of Client Success for Boutique Growth.  

        Our offices are bright, modern, perfectly equipped with super-fast and reliable internet, offer free coffee, tea, and filtered water along with multiple places to sit at during the day: shared desks, lounges, standing desks, private phone booths, private meeting rooms and offices. We have that sought-after urban vibe, although we are conveniently located in the ‘burbs.

        Coworking Culture

        ACE takes care of holiday parties, professional development sessions, and details like that. It saves me a lot of time and effort, and my employees get a richer work environment” explains Jiwan Thapar, CEO of JTE Claims Consultants. We hear this a lot. Since ACE offers a full menu of curated monthly events (happy hours, learning workshops, networking events, book groups, and more) managers and employers don’t need to worry about creating those types of experiences themselves. 

        Savvy business owners know that a strong company culture helps them attract, and hold onto, great talent. We know how to nurture that culture in our coworking spaces and our member companies get leverage it into their own businesses.

        That Coworking Vibe

        Smaller companies get a lot of the benefits of a corporate environment thanks to flex use of a shared space. Rutendo Chidovi, Senior Client Manager at Nacora Insurance Brokers explains it this way: “Working at an office within ACE gives that exciting feeling that you would get in a larger company where there are a lot of diverse people around to talk with and learn from, but at the same time I still get to work for the small boutique firm that I love.”

        Rina Carlini, CEO of Optimal Innovation Group, who chose to relocate her team as soon as our new ACE Trafalgar location opened up, cites the atmosphere as something she knew her employees would appreciate. “No one on my team was truly happy working from home, because it felt like ‘living at work.’ ACE’s warm and welcoming community feel helps my team feel great as they go about their work in a beautiful environment.”

         

        Whether you’re in start-up, scaling, or somewhere in between, ACE has a membership plan to suit just about any company and budget. A coworking office rental or membership may be just that little extra benefit you need to help find, and keep, your next hire.

         

        Learn more about ACE membership plans here.

        Want to check out our two locations in person? Book a tour here. 

        Second Ace Location, Opens Doors March 1!

        Second Ace Location, Opens Doors March 1!

        ACE Trafalgar opening March 1, 2022. 23 Brand new bright and renovated private offices in a stylish downtown address.

        Welcome to our second location!

        We are so excited to be opening our doors to our second downtown Oakville location at 132 Trafalgar Road, just a few minutes walk from our flagship location on Robinson Street.

        Our bright newly renovated furnished offices feature super-fast reliable WIFI, desks with ergonomic chairs, file cabinet, waste baskets and dedicated ethernet ports. We have also ensured that the offices are lit by natural white LED lighting and have excellent ventilation.

         Our second location features stylish common spaces, a huge boardroom and equipped breakout rooms and lots of flexible space for growing businesses. We haven’t compromised on any of our great office amenities including that special ACE community vibe.

        Membership at either location allows access to all ACE perks and community events

        Come and visit for a tour of our new digs!

        ACE is setting the mood to become downtown Oakville’s most stylish, flexible and functional office space — for the second time!

        ACE TRAFALGAR — OPENING SPRING 2022

        A freshly renovated workspace with upscale design at the corner of Church St and Trafalgar Rd.

        23 Bright and Spacious Private Offices!

        Onsite Parking! – Limited Spots Available

        If you’d like to get more inspiration and education from the staff and partners of ACE Coworking, sign up for our monthly newsletter. You’ll also stay up to date on the events we run and the amazing promotions we often offer!

        ACE Is Growing! Brand New Downtown Private Offices

        ACE Is Growing! Brand New Downtown Private Offices

        New office spaces are availailable at ACE Coworking Trafalgar. Offices at ACE Trafalgar are turn-key and have sunny exterior-facing windows. The new location will be a sister space to the original ACE Coworking Robinson, just two blocks away. Members from both locations will join together to create one fluid community – with a members’ event calendar and multiple conference rooms accessible to everyone.

        ACE is setting the mood to become downtown Oakville’s most stylish, flexible and functional office space — for the second time!

        ACE TRAFALGAR — OPENING SPRING 2022

        A freshly renovated workspace with upscale design at the corner of Church St and Trafalgar Rd.

        23 Bright and Spacious Private Offices!

        Onsite Parking! – Limited Spots Available

        Our second location is coming this spring!

        January is here and it’s a great time to think about fresh starts and the steps you might take to reach your goals for 2022. Here at ACE, we are well on our way to achieving one of our big goals: the launch of a second location!

        ACE Coworking Trafalgar will be a sister space to the original ACE Coworking Robinson, just two blocks away. Members from both locations will join together to create one fluid community – with a members’ event calendar and multiple conference rooms accessible to everyone. Offices at ACE Trafalgar are turn-key and have sunny exterior-facing windows.

        Our new property (132 Trafalgar Rd., former home to BMO-Nesbitt Burns) is undergoing an extensive renovation and will be ready for occupancy in early spring 2022. It’s comprised of 25 state-of-the-art private offices, meeting rooms, and a comfortable and stylish members lounge. There’s onsite parking for several of the units too. Hot desks, dedicated desks, and virtual plans will still be available at our original location.

        Mood board created by Deb Richmond of Colourful Notions

        If your 2022 goals include any of the following, then you’ll want to give us a call asap. Are you aiming to…

        • gain increased productivity & focus?
        • create better boundaries between work life & personal life?
        • finally get your team back together in person?
        • step up your networking game?
        • gain a much-needed change of scenery after WFH?
        • have more human-to-human connections?
        • trade in a traditional long-term lease for a flexible modern solution?
        • treat yourself to a well-deserved luxury?

        An ACE Coworking office membership can offer you all of the above, plus much much more.

        Three of our largest units have been snapped up already by the fabulous folks at Zirkova Vodka, Nacora Insurance Group, and MyCourier Inc. Don’t miss out on your chance to claim an office too!

        Call 289-801-8731 for more info

         

        If you’d like to get more inspiration and education from the staff and partners of ACE Coworking, sign up for our monthly newsletter. You’ll also stay up to date on the events we run and the amazing promotions we often offer!

        Tech Entrepreneurs Compete at Hi5

        Tech Entrepreneurs Compete at Hi5

        ACE Coworking is excited to partner with HALTECH to support local tech innovators through the 5th Annual Hi5 pitch competition. Learn more here… 

        ABOUT HALTECH

        Halton’s Regional Innovation Centre, HALTECH, formed a close alliance with us at ACE Coworking ever since we first opened our doors in 2018. We’ve partnered with them to present several educational workshops and seminars at our own space. In addition, our members – especially those who work in tech – have benefitted from the many resources and events provided by Haltech at their Burlington-based HQ. It has been a great symbiotic friendship!

        Never heard of HALTECH? If you live in Halton and work in technology, you must check them out!

        Haltech’s staff and team of experienced advisors work hard to help advance local tech-based innovators in businesses of every size – from start-ups to global corporations. They offer free business advisory services, learning workshops on entrepreneurship and commercialization, assistance in forging strategic connections, and supports for corporate innovation programs.

        Hi5’s PITCH COMPETITION

        For the past five years, Haltech has hosted the Hi5 Pitch Competition – this year ACE is proud to partner with them to bring this exciting event to life! Hi5 features five of Haltech’s most promising clients: each is given five minutes to pitch for a winning prize of $5,000. In addition the winner will receive $1200-worth of access to ACE Coworking’s meeting space.

        The competition is a valuable opportunity for local tech start-ups to generate awareness about their projects, while building the vital skills needed to present in front of an audience and investors.

        HOW TO REGISTER

        The pitch event takes place on Thursday, November 25 from 3–5pm, and will be held in a virtual format. More information and registration here. Plan to arrive early for open networking and a chance to meet the Hi5 contestants.

        ICYMI: 10TH ANNIVERSARY

        In July, Haltech celebrated their tenth anniversary! We were delighted to be part of the event which commemorated a decade of the organization’s commitment to local innovators. If you’d like to learn more about Haltech, this anniversary video gives an overview of how they’ve influenced and supported industry leaders across the local ecosystem. 

         

         

        If you’d like to get more inspiration and education from the staff and partners of ACE Coworking, sign up for our monthly newsletter. You’ll also stay up to date on the events we run and the amazing promotions we often offer!

        Announcing partnerships: Deskpass & Flexday

        Announcing partnerships: Deskpass & Flexday

        ACE Coworking is pleased to announce that we’ve recently partnered with two exciting companies that support the coworking industry…

        DESKPASS

        Firstly, we are pleased to announce that we’ve joined the Deskpass family. Deskpass, a digital platform from which thousands of coworking spaces can be accessed, has been around since 2017. They’ve recently expanded from the US into the Canadian market, and we are excited to be with them for their launch on the north side of the border!

        ACE was recently featured in this Deskpass round-up of “the most collaborative and creative coworking spaces” the GTA has to offer: https://blog.deskpass.com/news/deskpass-comes-to-canada-12-toronto-workspaces-to-reserve-now/

        FLEXDAY

        In addition, we have re-activated our partnership with Flexday, after a hiatus due to the pandemic restrictions. Flexday is a Canadian-owned app that has been providing access to 90+ coworking spaces around Ontario since 2017. If you are a Flexday client, look for us on their app.

        We look forward to welcoming both Flexday and Deskpass clients to our friendly Robinson Street location in the weeks ahead!

        If you’d like to get more inspiration and education from the staff and partners of ACE Coworking, sign up for our monthly newsletter. You’ll also stay up to date on the events we run and the amazing promotions we often offer!

        3rd Annual ACE Golf Tournament

        3rd Annual ACE Golf Tournament

        Oakville Small Business Award Winner

        Tuesday, August 31, 2021 brought ACE Coworking members together for a day of outdoor recreation and bonding at Milton’s Wyldewood Golf & Country Club. Our annual best-ball tourney always results in new friendships being formed among our members, and this year was no exception. (Plus a few members brought along their kids, so we got to meet them too!)

        Aside from the fun of golf and friendly competition, we are always impressed by the way events such as these give us a chance to flex our collaborative muscles: member Thom Leiper (Deluxe Canada) coordinates the event; member Peter Pereira (WHYDEA Inc.) procured the venue and printed the materials; Taylor Wade prepped our prizes; Charlene van Niekerk took photos; everyone pitched in to make it a fabulous day! Thanks to all.

        After our rounds, we gathered on the Wyldewood patio to for some “cold ones” and to enjoy their delicious pizza. (Great food and service at Wyldewood, btw!) Prizes were distributed to the winners. Highlights: David Love (Nacora Insurance Group) took the prize for closest to the pin, Mike Rodger (Auberge Resorts) took longest drive for men, and our staffer Charlene had the longest drive for women. 

        Here are just a few photos to give a taste of the day. (Are we creating FOMO for you ACE members who couldn’t make it out this year?) We’re looking forward to seeing even more of you for the 2022 event!

        If you’d like to learn about more events run by ACE Coworking, sign up for our monthly newsletter. You’ll also stay up to date on the the amazing promotions we often offer!

        International Coworking Day 2021 – Giveaway

        International Coworking Day 2021 – Giveaway

        by Nancy Fornasiero

        Every year on August 9th, coworking space operators all around the world celebrate International Coworking Day. It’s a chance to appreciate our members, educate the public, and amplify our message about how great coworking is.

        In the past here at ACE we’ve marked the occasion in several ways, most notably by opening up our doors to offer free Hot Desks all week long to anyone in the area who wanted to give coworking a try. We’ve also hosted an open house breakfast, a member appreciation lunch, and invited our community partners to come by to help us celebrate (see above). There was lots of great food, fun door prizes, and amazing in-person connecting. You can guess where this is going next….

        Last year, sadly, all the above wasn’t possible with the COVID situation not yet under control. So in 2020 we hit pause for our Coworking Day activities and promised to be back in 2021, better than ever. Here we are, though: close to the pandemic finish line, but not quite all the way there. With our safety measures in place – capacity restrictions, screening protocols, physical distancing – our traditional Open House just isn’t possible. 

        That said… we do love a good “pivot”!

        So, this year we’re celebrating in a new way: by organizing an AWESOME GIVEAWAY!

        Grand prize is ONE YEAR of Community Membership at ACE, value: $1200

        This type of membership includes a year of discounted prices on our meeting rooms, access to our exclusive members’ online portal, mail handling, and entry into our amazing community of professionals and entrepreneurs. More details about the membership here.

        PLUS, we have 4 other amazing prizes donated by our members and partners:

        • Printing Services: 500 premium stock business cards or postcards, Courtesy of  WHYDEA Inc.. Design service included. Value $400
        • Entrepreneur’s Bundle: Website Audit by Piece of Cake Digital Marketing + 2 ACE Hot Desk Day Passes + Office Supplies. Value $375
        • Floral Inspirations! Framed mixed media illustration by local artist and ACE Coworking member, Cleo Lant. Value $120
        • Oakville Gift Basket: Gourmet teas from Christa’s Tea ShopThe Treasure You Seek, by local author, Siobhan Kukolic + Oakville tote bag & mug. Value $70

        CLICK HERE TO ENTER!

        If you’re already receiving our news and updates by email, then do this: invite a friend or colleague to sign up and let us know who you referred. (Text 289-801-8731) If they subscribe, you’ll both be entered to win. The more people you refer, the more times you get entered!

         

        No purchase necessary. Items won are transferrable. Open to Ontario residents until August 12, 2021 at 11.59PM EST. Not open to current ACE Coworking members. Winners will be randomly selected and contacted by email by August 13, 2021 at 8PM EST.

         

        We’re excited to be celebrating our industry’s 16th birthday along with our coworking friends around the world. Curious about how this holiday was born? It marks the anniversary of the day Brad Neuberg first brought modern-day coworking into the world. You can still see Brad’s original blog post announcing the first North American coworking space here. Coworking has come a long way since then, but the spirit of collaboration and connection is as strong as ever!