» Fort Lauderdale
White Table Foundation offers 24/7 access to its signature white conference tables, along with high-speed wi-fi, a Las Olas mailing address and other benefits, for $200 a month. One-day co-workers can pop in for $15.

» Lake Mary
Orlando Office Center offers co-working in a private office with wi-fi and long-distance phone service for $15 an hour or $50 a day.

» Miami

Brikolodge, Miami

Brikolodge has a resident membership for $300 a month that includes a desk and chair, access to amenities that include a gym and parking and dibs on the conference room. A shared-space membership, with room at shared tables three days a week in addition to the other amenities, is $150 a month.

Miamishared.com

Miamishared.com offers traditional private offices but also caters to co-workers with modern white workstations ranging from $50 for two days a month to $175 for 12 days.

Latitude One International Business Center offers traditional executive suites but has virtual-office packages starting at $90 a month.

» Orlando
Located in the historic Angebilt building downtown, CoLab Orlando has traditional suite rentals, as well. Its co-working membership buys access to a common work area, conference rooms and business equipment, including $100 a month for two days a week and $200 for full-time membership.

» Tampa Bay

IdeaField, Tampa

Co-working rates at IdeaField start at $49 month for part-time use one or two days a week. Five-day-a-week co-working is $99 a month. The co-working space is made up of individual desks — with hardwood floors and coffee, shared with Davie McLean advertising in Ybor City.

» Panama City
Co-workers at frshnk have their own desks, wi-fi and coffee for $175 a month. They share an artful, light-filled space with the frshnk ad agency.

Self-Employed Trends

» Self-employment hit a high point in Florida and nationwide over the past three years, says Gene Fairbrother, lead small-business consultant for the National Association for the Self-Employed. Driving the trend more than any other factor is the economic downturn, he says, but the shift toward internet-based commerce and communication also plays a big role.

» New-business creation nationally climbed during the recession, with startups reaching their highest level in 14 years to exceed the 1999-2000 tech-boom peak, according to the Kauffman Index of Entrepreneurial Activity. The index shows Florida was among the most active states for new entrepreneurs, with 440 out of every 100,000 adults who did not previously own a business launching one in each month of 2009.

» The number of women-owned businesses in Florida grew 84% from 1997 to 2006, the highest figure in the country, compared with a 42% increase nationally.

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Small Business Friendly

The Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council’s “Business Tax Index 2010” ranks the states on the costs of their tax systems to entrepreneurs and small businesses. The index combines 16 tax measures — including corporate income tax rate, income tax on S corporations and consumption-based and personal income taxes into one tax score that allows the 50 states and District of Columbia to be compared and ranked.

According to the study results, these states ranked highest for small-business entrepreneurs:

1) South Dakota
2) Texas
3) Nevada
4) Wyoming
5) Washington
6) Florida

Safety Resource

Operating out of the University of South Florida’s College of Public Health, USF SafetyFlorida is Florida’s official OSHA safety and health consultation program dedicated to serving small businesses. The program has 12 consultants statewide who conduct confidential on-site safety and health consultations. The free service isn’t enforcement, but rather meant to help business owners and safety managers. Businesses must request the service. See www.safetyflorida.usf.edu.