When Springfield native and clinical psychologist Michael Craven left academia, he didn’t necessarily expect to return home to run a family business — let alone to launch a hub for small businesses downtown.
But a series of turns and a clear vision for community revitalization led him to co-found
The Hive. Located at 50 W. High St., it’s a thoughtfully designed office and co-working space that’s quickly finding its footing since opening in November 2024.
Craven moved away for college and grad school and most recently, was a professor at Miami University Hamilton. After his father died, he returned to his hometown to take over the family bail bond business.
Along the way, he and his brother John began dabbling in real estate.
“We really wanted to do a small office, small business type of center,” he says. “That’s where The Hive came about.”
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Andy GrimmThe Hive, 50 W. High StreetCraven’s motivation is rooted in the Springfield he remembers from his youth — one that was struggling when he was in high school and is now on the upswing.
“I grew up when everything was closing downtown,” he says. “When we moved back, we saw signs of redevelopment happening. We wanted to do our small part of that.”
The concept was simple and deliberate: create a place where many small businesses, including solo operators, startups, and remote workers, could have a professional home and meet one another.
“We didn’t want a single tenant,” he says. “We wanted a space where a lot of different small companies could come together.”
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Andy GrimmThe Hive features a coffee bar, an espresso machine, snacks, and a drink fridge, inside its office and co-working spaces.As it turns out, a building on High Street fit the plan. Today, the Hive includes eight individual offices, a co-working area, and space for small professional events.
“We’ve done everything from CPR classes to a home builder education event,” he says. “It’s for people who don’t need 5,000 square feet. They’re just getting started, or it’s just them.”
Pricing is built to lower the barrier to entry. The eight individual offices are year-long leases and range from $450 a month for a small office to $800 a month for a larger one with two private bathrooms. Utilities and internet are included, and Craven furnishes all the units with artwork, chairs, and desks.
The lowest membership tier, co-working, costs $50 a month. There’s no long-term commitment, and that flexibility is built in by design. The idea is that people can start and stop as they want.
Day passes are $25. Event space rents for $25 an hour. The Hive also offers virtual offices, along with mail handling and a professional address, for $100 a month.
Craven contends the tenant mix reflects Springfield’s entrepreneurial diversity, a facet reflected in the business’s name. Much like a beehive, the idea was to have a place where different workers and businesses come together at a central point.
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Andy GrimmCo-working space at The Hive“We didn’t know what to expect,” he says. “Right now we have an attorney, a massage therapist, a couple of work-from-home people, a realtor, and a photography studio.”
The Hive leans into the little touches that make community possible. For example, they have a kitchenette downstairs and, upstairs, you’ll find a coffee bar, an espresso machine, snacks, and a drink fridge.
“You walk in the front door and that’s in the middle, and the offices kind of surround it,” he says. “There are plenty of interactions that happen there.”
While there’s good energy in the space now, getting to full occupancy took time and patience.
“From a paying-the-bills standpoint, the first thing was getting all eight units leased,” Craven says. “It took about eight months from when we launched in November [2024] to get fully occupied.”
Now, the focus is on growing the co-working side of the business. Craven has set a limit of seven members because it’s a small space. Right now, they have two people committed. To get more people in the door, Craven has taken a pragmatic and hyperlocal approach to marketing.
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Andy GrimmInside The Hive“We use social media, and paid ads have done better than organic,” Craven says. “But honestly, a sign in the window has been huge. Probably 80% of people who reached out or became a member saw the building downtown.”
The road to growth has been defined by lessons. For one, growing a business of this kind is about nurturing prospects.
“It wasn’t an instant rush of tenants,” Craven says. “Demand comes in waves. January is big with people motivated to start businesses, then you have lulls. You have to be patient, keep marketing, and stay in front of people until it’s the right time for them.”
Craven acknowledges the element of friendly competition. The Hive shares downtown with
COhatch, a larger, corporate-owned co-working brand. However, instead of a threat, Craven sees the relationship as cooperative.
“We wanted a different vibe — lower price point, more low-key,” he says. “We’ve been very collaborative with their local manager. We even refer people to each other if we don’t have what someone needs.”
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Andy GrimmThe Hive features office and co-working space.Programming is part of the plan to spark more connections among members. To that end, they’ve partnered with
Rick Slark, a well-known small business coach in Springfield. Slark hosted a workshop on scaling businesses and is planning more throughout the year. At one point, there was a discussion about the book Atomic Habits. The idea is to make sure people are in the same room and forging connections.
Continuing that momentum, Craven wants to host workshops on practical topics with broad appeal.
“Search engine optimization is important for everyone in business,” he says. “If we host an SEO session with a local marketing company, it helps them get their name out and helps attendees grow their business.”
Speaking of growth, if year one was about stability, year two is about momentum. His goal is to have enough demand to have a waitlist. He also wants to get the word out about their event space so they can host more professional networking events.
“We’re 85% of the way there,” he says. “Getting that last 15% is the main thing.”