Connected Communities Help to Grow Businesses & Commerce


A few years back as I was really starting to get my photography business off the ground, I had an idea about a location I wanted to start my business out of. A friend I play volleyball with was working out of a coworking space called BLANKSPACES, and suggested I work out of the shared work space.

Coworking spaces, if you’re not familiar with them, are a shared work space where individuals can run their own business. So I decided to set up my business Steven Hankins Photography out of BLANKSPACES in Santa Monica.

The benefits of working out of a shared space is that I was able to mingle with other people in the office and offer my photography services to them. In working out of BLANKSPACES, I quickly realized that there was a community connections platform called Bailiwik that also worked out of the shared office space.

Bailiwik is a platform (available on iOS, Android and for use on the web) which helps connect people that either live or work within walking distance of each other. What appeals to me about Bailiwik is that it allows me to chat with the community around me, offer my photography services and find deals from other local businesses.

Since Bailiwik already aligned with the desires I had for the community, I started working for them.

As I started working for Bailiwik, I was tasked to meet all of the other members of BLANKSPACES, plus reach out to businesses to see if they wanted to be part of the community and might want to offer deals…and who doesn’t like a good deal right? In meeting BLANKSPACES members and businesses, I was able to use Bailiwik to promote my photography services.

In closing, I’m thankful for the community that Bailiwik has helped me develop and how I’ve brought in new photography clients.

If you’re interested in connecting more to the community around you, join one of our existing Bailiwiks if you live in the area. Or start your own and invite your neighbors and local businesses to join.