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BizVoice/Indiana Chamber – July/August 2017
Marion Caters to Entrepreneurial Diversity
Finding a new use for a building that once housed
a pool hall could be considered a challenging
endeavor.
But The Refinery Business Center, a co-working space that
opened in 2015, is racking up members and opportunity for Grant
County entrepreneurs. Founder and executive director Shelby Bowen,
a real estate development veteran and Marion native, took a cue from
Launch Fishers after seeing it in operation. The Refinery, however,
serves a different type of clientele than the archetype to the south.
“Our core demographic is an older group of people,” explains
Jessica Holland, director of community relations. “We don’t have a lot
of young people saying, ‘This is my first job and I’m going to start a
business.’ When you walk into a place like Launch Fishers, you think,
‘Oh, these guys are hip and cool.’ But here, we have some members
working traditional jobs.”
The Refinery’s first member, in fact, was a cleaning company. It
now caters to about 40 members in a variety of fields.
Getting over overhead
Leah Lanning stands next to a tall table covered in a pile of
clothes, wrapping up a phone conversation. She then reveals she’s
setting up a show for her 10-year-old daughter, who just launched a
boutique and also uses The Refinery.
But sorting clothes is just one of Lanning’s duties within The Refinery’s
walls. She’s an account executive for Burkhart Advertising, for whom
she manages billboards in Grant and Wabash counties. Furthermore,
she also serves as a marketing consultant for The Refinery itself.
She explains many of Marion’s business professionals don’t have
funding for overhead expenses and using The Refinery for work and
meetings relieves that pressure. Lanning has also run a photography
business for 15 years and learned that lesson firsthand.
“I had a 3,000-square-foot studio in downtown Marion and was
working myself to the ground just to keep my storefront open,” she
recalls. “I was reluctant to join for about a year because I was worried
about the professionalism, wondering how my clients would perceive
me in a co-working space when they’re investing $6,000 in their
creative portraiture. I got over that quickly because of how well
REFINED
CO-WORKING
By Matt Ottinger
COVER STORY
Jessica Holland chats with intern Micah
Hamsher in the open meeting space of
The Refinery, which was once a pool hall.