STORY AND PHOTOS BY KAREN BOSSICK

It started when Chip Fisher lost his cell phone.

That lost phone led Chip Fisher on a journey that materialized this week as Ketchum Works.

The new facility is designed to provide flexible work space and a social environment catering to the needs of the local work force, second home owners and vacationers.

The office, which offers a variety of work situations from an office to a desk to plug in a laptop, occupies the former US Bank building at 191 Sun Valley Road in Ketchum. And it comes with the motto: “Plug yourself in...”

“I realized the need for something like this when I left my cell phone behind,” said Fisher, who has served as vice president for Head Skis, founder of Snug and a Ketchum restaurant owner over the years. “Without my cell phone I was naked--I couldn’t answer emails, get news or talk with people. I couldn’t function.”

“It got me to thinking how there’s been a paradigm shift in how and where people work during the past five years.”

Workers are in constant touch, even when on vacation, thanks to the cell phone and high-speed internet, Fisher said. Big offices with long leases are giving way to shared office environments, as the traditional 9-to-5 office feels stagnant. Shared offices, by contrast, offer mental stimulation and geographical flexibility.

By 2020 freelancers, contract workers and solo entrepreneurs will comprise 40 percent of the U.S. workforce.

“Emerging is the need to network and collaborate on a personal level. People want to engage with others outside their fields. They want to network, collaborate, co-mingle and socialize,” Fisher added.

Co-working, as it’s called, is trending, growing from 1,130 shared workspaces in 2011 to about 14,000 worldwide today, according to Global Co Working Survey.

Aspen, Chamonix, France, and other ski resorts have co-working spaces. North Lake Tahoe has The Tahoe Mill; South Lake Tahoe, the Tahoe Mountain Lab, and Mammoth Mountain just opened The Fort.

“Often, it’s a coming together of people working on their own,” said Fisher. “They want to get away from spouse and children. They want a co-working environment where they can share ideas and network.”

Ketchum Works boasts six office suites, six desks, four cubicles and nine hot desks where workers can plug in from an hour or longer, away from the hubbub of coffee shops. Spaces and meeting rooms can be rented by the hour, day, week, month or year. Hot desks, for instance, go for $20 a day or $75 a week.

Rolling lockable filing cabinets sit against the wall, ready for use by out-of-towners who want to store papers between visits.

Members will have 24/7 access and priority usage of meeting spaces holding up to 16 people.  There’s a printing and copying room and video conferencing capabilities.

There’s also a full kitchen, which will be stocked with free coffee, popcorn and other snacks, and will have an egg cooker, juicer and large soup kettle boasting the soup du jour.

Members will have an opportunity to mingle around Happy Hour and Wine Fridays and may receive discounts at events held at Ketchum Works, such as the MtnLogic trunk show scheduled for Feb. 22,

Those who wish to ski for an hour or two can step outside and onto the bus, which will have them at River Run Lodge in four minutes—faster, certainly, than having to walk from the parking lot to the lodge.

Among Ketchum Works’ prospective tenants is a Realtor and a nonprofit women’s organization.

Aimee Christensen, who heads up Christensen Global Strategies and Sun Valley Institute, said she’s excited about the opportunity Ketchum Works provides, as she has enjoyed shared workspaces elsewhere.

“As our lease winds down in our existing space, we are keen to move Christensen Global Strategies and the Sun Valley Institute to a collaborative space, such as Ketchum Works,” she said. “Shared space enables chance meetings that can lead to unexpected opportunities. And I hope it will attract others seeking to make a difference in our community and beyond, making it easier for us to collaborate and increasing our impact.”

Posters from various Olympics hang throughout Ketchum Works—testament to Fisher’s involvement as with the Salt Lake City Games, as well the Special Olympics’ World Winter Games held in Sun Valley and Boise in 2009.

“They remind us of the value system you find in the Olympics and the Special Olympic games—ambition, commitment, dedication, perseverance, sacrifice, humility,” said Fisher, who was invited to help carry the Ukrainian flag for the assistance he gave the team. “They remind us what it is to be an Olympian in life and work.”

Fisher would like to see Ketchum Works become a hub for business people and government and nonprofit representatives: “It’s my dream this will become a place for everybody to come and make Ketchum work.”

WANT TO KNOW MORE?

Ketchum Works is offering free daily passes for those who want to try it out. Email info@ketchumworks.com.  Or, visit www.ketchumworks.com.