What’s your name?

Natasha Mohan

And what do you do?

I’m the owner of WorkSocial.

What is WorkSocial?

WorkSocial is a shared and co-working space right here in Jersey City.

Awesome. Tell me more about the space!

We have created an environment of inspiration, motivation and a little bit of fun.  We have fun games to play such as Scrabble and Chess for a little more intellectual game.  These activities allow other members to get to know each other on a social level.  We have a kitchen which is stocked with water, drinks, espresso machine, tea and healthy snacks.  We put out platters for lunch a few times a week.  This is all included in our fees.

It’s all about keeping a positive and healthy environment for our members.

I love it!

Next is our Regeneration Room. We have Friday chair massages for all our clients. It’s also a 60-minute room, which is like a phone booth. People can come in here, have a quick conversation or meeting, and walk out. It’s on a first come first serve basis. There’s a dividing wall that closes and opens, and it’s acoustical so it creates two separate rooms or one big room for a networking event. On the other side of the wall is the Creative Lounge space. We just put in the 75-inch TV, so clients can do webcasting from here and connect wirelessly for a presentation. They can open up this wall and the whole team can be here.

We have guitar lessons here on Thursdays!

That’s awesome! It’s very random. Why guitar lessons?

Music is inspirational, and that’s what WorkSocial is all about. If we can provide outlets to create inspiration for people, that’s what we’re going to do. I’ve seen more and more people get into guitar. It’s easy, it’s something they’ve wanted to do for years, but they don’t get the chance. Here, you can learn and go.

That’s great. What times are the lessons?

Every Thursday at 5PM, and we’re going to have yoga at 3PM.

Where do you do yoga?

Right here. It depends on how many people. These tables can move, just in case everybody else wants to join.

So these are open spaces where people work?

That’s right! We also have a conference rooms with top-of-the-line full video and audio conferencing systems and glass white boards. There are plants, of course. It’s a very necessary factor in offices. It just brings nature indoors so people don’t feel claustrophobic. We’re at the little design stages. I’m adding pieces of art all around, but I want to make sure that every part of the office sends a message of happiness and wellness.

Nice, I love it!

Adding color in a conference room also inspires people, so we use these colors in different spots to create that happiness factor. Our full company name is actually WorkSocial: A Happiness Company. We’re just trying to inspire happiness, wellness, and leadership in an office space.

Are there other offices?

We have another suite, which we are going to make into a training center. We’re doing the same concept, so you’re not just sitting in a dull little room.

Awesome. This is nice! It’s convenient.

The PATH is right there, and it’s so convenient to New York. You also have the view of Jersey City and New York. We have a lot of people who are always visiting clients during the day, and they just leave their stuff, go, meet their client, and come back.

That’s great. How many offices are available?

We have a few offices available at the moment. A lot of the companies we have here are second-stage companies. Some are established internationally, some are building their brands in the U.S., and a lot of them are actually into their sales and just want a more mature work environment. Here, you learn from the people around you, which is great. I learn from my clients! I’m an entrepreneur myself, and it’s been a year. We opened in February of 2016.

How did this whole concept start?

It was my husband’s vision, to be frank. We created the space as a team. He works in a corporate environment and even though the place he works in is beautiful, there’s no synergy between the people, and that’s what we’re trying to do here. We want to create that collaboration between everyone and see everybody happy. They’re happy to come to work! There are people coming from Long Island, Manhattan, and all over New Jersey because they love the space. The clients who come and visit often ask us to build this space in their cities! It’s a great compliment.

We’ve had clients leave for personal reasons and come back because they’re missing the connection that they had over here. We give that personal one-on-one attention. We’re actually sitting down and having conversations, and seeing where we can provide help. There are so many entrepreneurs and start ups that actually don’t know what’s the next step, and we’ve been in the real estate business for about 18 years, so we’ve learned a lot. Our backgrounds are in hospitality, and we try to keep that hospitality with WorkSocial. We’re welcoming and we provide so much to people that they can’t even believe a work space could provide this. You pay one price and it’s all-inclusive.

So what are your plans?

We’re looking to expand this year. Our landlords are just wonderful and so accepting to what we’ve created here, to the environment, and the connection we have with the management themselves. They haven’t seen that kind of connection, and that’s what we want to do with every building. We want to connect with management and build our relationship with them. Right now we are looking at growing in Exchange Place and the Grove Street area.  And eventually who knows we could expand to other states, as well.

Great! There are a few other work spaces in the area. What makes you guys different?

It’s not just a business center. You’re not just coming in here and getting a space, you’re coming in here to create a whole different culture for your company. We’re creating a culture of wellness, of happiness, and of leadership. Those are our three core principles that we base everything on, and we build on each one. We’ll have small networking events, either hosted here or offsite, and we’ll just have a good time. We play games and get to know each other because, as we were growing, people asked for that. They wanted to be connected with everybody and learn from each other because they see each other every day.

That’s super important. Do you live in Jersey City?

Yes! I’ve lived here for the past 13 years. We live in Paulus Hook.

How do you feel Jersey City has changed in the last few years?

Oh my gosh, it’s been amazing. I think the mayor has done a great job in helping to develop Jersey City to look like what it is today. He’s always very receptive. Even if we have an issue in our area, I would email him and he would guide me, which is really great. That connection was never there before Mayor Fulop was on board. What we’ve seen is the growth of real estate and of the people, especially with people from New York moving into Jersey City.  Just by walking around, I’ve seen a change.

Do you have a favorite Jersey City hangout spot?

We love to eat at Shanghai Best. We also like White Star, which is a great spot to meet up with friends. I love this little a Lebanese restaurant that just opened up, Dolma. He’s a good friend, and we’ve known him for a while. We actually have grown to know so many people in the community that it really feels like home here. I can’t see myself anywhere else. We’ve invested in Jersey City, and then we decided to go bigger and do this with actual commercial space to create a cohesive environment where we’re learning from what we already had. I appreciate all of the feedback we get.

I love it. It seems like you have a lot of pride in what you do.

There’s a lot of thought. I just want it to be perfect, inspirational, and motivational. We play some happiness music at the entrance, and we also have scents when you walk in certain areas so it’s somewhat of a home environment.

I love this space! Is there anything else you want people to know?

We are here to create an environment of purpose.

You can check out WorkSocial on their website, Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook! They’re located at 111 Town Square Place, Jersey City, New Jersey 07310.