How The Farm Generates 30% of Its Revenue from Virtual Mailbox Solutions

Our case studies showcase how flexible office space operators worldwide leverage iPostal1 and iWorkspaceMail to generate new revenue streams. 

The challenge: a growing coworking space needed diversified revenue streams 

Six years ago, Lucas Seyhun—serial entrepreneur, U.S. military veteran, and founder of The Farm—discovered virtual mailbox services and recognized an opportunity to generate new revenue streams for his coworking space. 

“I’m part of a group called LExC,” explains Seyhun. “We’re a collective of coworking operators who exchange ideas, share insights, and support each other’s success. While attending a LExC conference back in 2018, one of our members gave a presentation about digital mailbox services. He explained how it works and shared his mailbox revenue.”

He continues, “I’m all about having multiple revenue sources—private offices, day offices, conference rooms, and whatnot. So, after watching his presentation, I realized we needed to add digital mailbox solutions into the mix.”  

Digital mailbox service is a major advancement beyond traditional virtual mailbox service. Users view and manage their mail with an app from anywhere. With a few taps, they can forward, scan contents, shred, discard, or pick up their mail.

With that, Seyhun put the wheels in motion.

“Once the conference was over, I got started,” he says. “I learned about 1583A forms, completed mine, went to the post office, and registered The Farm as a Commercial Mail Receiving Agency.” 

Based on his own research, Seyhun devised and independently launched mailbox services at The Farm’s then-sole location.

“For a year or two, we didn’t really think much of it,” he admits. “Our mailbox services brought in maybe one to two percent of our total revenue.”

Seeing an opportunity to increase its value, Seyhun decided to enlist some help. 

Solution: expanding the scope of The Farm’s digital mailbox services and revenue potential 

To help expand The Farm’s virtual mailbox revenue, Seyhun enlisted The Farm on iPostal1. This made his coworking space available as a digital mailbox provider to an even broader customer base, driven by the millions of dollars iPostal1 spends on internet advertising and SEO. 

“Over time, our mailbox revenue started growing,” says Seyhun. “But as time went on, we began to realize digital mail was unstoppable as a service. It was cost-effective, profitable, and easy to scale. It’s really simple to train staff to oversee the process. It only takes a day or two, and then they’re up and running.”

As The Farm grew as a business, its digital mailbox services grew with it, proving to be a lucrative facet of its product mix. 

Seyhun puts it simply: “Revenue speaks for itself.”

The outcome: virtual mailbox services account for 30% of The Farm’s revenue

Today, The Farm has three locations in San Francisco and New York, each offering digital mailbox solutions. In total, he provides virtual mail services to around 10,000 customers. 

“In the beginning, growth was steady but slow,” Seyhun shares. “We didn’t think it would increase to this magnitude. The pandemic seemed to boost the trajectory of virtual mail services as a revenue opportunity—it appears to be growing much more quickly now than it was before.”

He elaborates, “Early on, virtual clients and mail services accounted for around 2% of The Farm’s revenue. Six years later, it ranges from 25% to 35%, providing a meaningful boost to our business.” 

For his fellow coworking space operators, he offers a word of advice.

“You’ve probably heard people say how the best time to invest in real estate was 20 years ago, and the next best time is right now,” he says. “The same goes for digital mailbox services at your coworking space. Don’t wait any longer. It’s an incredible opportunity to create revenue in a simple and efficient way.”

He adds, “The Farm should have started with iPostal1 sooner because their revenue growth is among the highest of all our partners. We recently opened our San Francisco location, and iPostal1 has outgrown all our other revenue-generation partners, including our advertising.” 

Key highlights

• Since 2018, The Farm’s virtual mailbox services have increased from 2% to 30% of its total revenue.

• Implementation and scaling of The Farm’s digital mailbox services with iPostal1 has been simple, seamless, and efficient.

• iPostal1 digital mailbox services enable customers to view and manage their mail and packages with an app from anywhere.

• As of 2024, The Farm provides virtual mail services to 10,000 customers across its three locations in New York and San Francisco.

Ready to get started? Contact us today to start building two new revenue streams for your workspace with digital mailbox solutions.