12 | SUMMER 2010

Facebook friendship sparks new businessWhen Milligan alumnus John Searby (’98) began a new job lastyear, he looked forward to the flexibility he would have workingfrom home.

Searby, then assistant athletic director at Bradley University in Peoria,Illinois, was offered a job as a regional sales manager with XOS Digital, asports digital media company. Although XOS is headquartered in Orlando,Florida, Searby and his family were able to remain in Peoria, where he wouldwork from home and travel several days a month.

The situation seemed ideal at first, but it didn’t take long for Searby tolearn there is also a downside to working from home.

“After about five to six months, I started to realize that the isolationwas tough,” Searby said. “I loved having flexibility, but I am a social personand I missed the social interaction of an office.”

Searby took his laptop to Panera Bread or a local coffee shop a coupleof days a week, but most of these were difficult places to work. As thelunch crowds came and went, it became impossible to conduct conferencecalls and concentrate on reports.

“I kept thinking, there’s got to be a better way to do this,” Searby said. So on a whim one day last fall, Searby posted this Facebook status:

“Looking for a new way to work from home.” That is when he discovered an unexpected source of encouragement

and ideas.

A SPARK OF INSPIRATIONMore than 600 miles away in Johnson City, Tennessee, Jose and

Shannon (Tolson ’96) Castillo were growing their successful new coworkingbusiness, Spark Plaza (http://sparkplaza.com).

Coworking is an emerging trend for work-at-home professionals,independent contractors or people who travel frequently. Coworking allowspeople, who work independently, to share the same work space and enjoythe social interaction that comes with working alongside like-mindedprofessionals.

Launched in April of 2009, Spark Plaza was born out of many of thesame frustrations Searby experienced with his work situation.

Jose is a technology consultant who often travels and works from hotellobbies, airports and coffee shops. Shannon, who majored incommunications and business at Milligan, is a pharmaceutical salesrepresentative ! always on the go.

“Jose and I thought there was a need for people to have a shared officespace, so we invested our own money to open a business and created SparkPlaza,” Castillo said.

Located in downtown Johnson City, Spark Plaza is an all-inclusiveshared office space that provides laid-back meeting and work space, socialinteraction and a professional atmosphere for freelancers, entrepreneurs andother work-at-home professionals.

The concept of coworking, usually found in larger cities, has taken offin Johnson City.

“We used social media to create a buzz before we ever opened,” Castillosaid. “We created a fan page on Facebook, a Twitter account and advertisedour events on social networking sites. Within six months, we were in theblack and we just celebrated Spark Plaza’s first anniversary.”

Coincidentally, it was also social media that caused Castillo and Searby’s paths to intersect again ! almost 15 years after they wereclassmates at Milligan. Ar

chive

d ph

otos

from

thei

r day

s as M

illig

an st

uden

ts

SUMMER 2010 | 13

“While we were at Milligan, Shannon and Ibarely knew each other,” Searby said. “In fact, Idon’t think we had one conversation. But we kneweach other’s names and had become friends onFacebook. And she saw my Facebook message andreplied, ‘Check out coworking.’”

Her reply was the beginning of a series ofFacebook messages, email messages and telephoneconversations between Castillo and Searby.

GOING WITH THE WORKflowSearby was sold on the idea of coworking, but

he had a problem ! there wasn’t anything like SparkPlaza in Peoria.

“Shannon helped me see it from a servant-leadership perspective,” Searby said. “I had a needand could start a business that, at the end of the day, isnot just meeting my need, but the needs of other people.”

After months of research, Searby opened his own coworking space,WORKflow Peoria.

WORKflow Peoria (http://workflowpeoria.com) offers members aconvenient place to work, conduct meetings and enjoy social interaction.It’s located in a historic 1837 building, the second-oldest residence in thecity of Peoria. Searby chose a convenient downtown location, with plentyof parking for members.

“Shannon instilled the confidence in me I needed to take on thisbusiness,” Searby said. “One of the most important pieces of advice shegave me was location is key. Part way through this process, I thought I hadfound a location, but it fell through. I was very disappointed, but Shannonencouraged me to stay patient and not stop until I found the rightlocation.”

Searby also borrowed Spark Plaza’s business model, including the useof social media to create publicity and interest in coworking beforeWORKflow officially opened in May of 2010.

“I visited coworking spaces across the country, in places like Chicago,

Philadelphia and Salt Lake City,” Searby said. “But I modeled WORKflowon Spark Plaza because there were so many similarities between the Tri-Cities and Peoria.

“WORKflow is still a work in progress, but I have been pleasantlysurprised at how it’s gone so far.”

Although WORKflow is his first business venture, Searby has gained alot of leadership experience throughout his career, starting with his years atMilligan. While at Milligan, he played on the basketball team and wascaptain of the Buffaloes’ NAIA National Tournament team.

He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in history and English and wenton to earn his master’s degree in English from Tennessee Tech University.He has coached basketball or served in administrative roles at severaluniversities, including Auburn University and Lincoln Christian University.

While Searby has created a large network of friends, it was an unlikelyFacebook friendship with a Milligan classmate that sparked his inspirationto create WORKflow.

“All those years, our paths never crossed at Milligan,” Castillo said.“But here we are, 14 years later, making the connection.” !

A L U M N I f e a t u r e

Shannon & Jose Castillo

John Searby