Great comments here. Gotta go and get it. So, 5 years later from this post, what's changed? I'm guessing, to attract commuters, one will need to educate them on the value of NOT commuting. I've been researching commuting costs and it's insane. Between the auto wear-and-tear and the time (assuming an hourly rate equivalent to the person's wage) it's thousands/year, in my case, WAY more than the annual cost of the coworking membership. That said, coworking is still new, and commuting has been part of our culture since the past WWII boom, so folks need to be told about it.
There's an emotional component here. For people that drive an hour round trip, with a family or other things close to home they'd like to do, what's the value of more easily getting to a kids' soccer game or a friend's dinner party? Ditching that time spent in the car for either productive work OR being with friends/family. I'd say that part of your outreach and market assessment is to meet with the employers themselves to understand their needs and concerns. The trends underlying the rise of remote work (high speed web, younger folks more comfortable with amorphous work/life overlap, sharing v. owning, etc.) are not going away. The way we work has changed, and the way we "office" is catching up. Oh! And there are environmental benefits too. And, both the employer and the employees can claim that for personal satisfaction and marketing. Here in VT, that's important. On Wednesday, September 14, 2011 at 10:33:53 AM UTC-4, Alex Hillman wrote: > > Tip #1: Go outside. > > This isn't the field of dreams, it's a new business, which means you need > to go out and find your customers. They don't know they're looking for you. > > Normally, I'd suggest walking into a cafe or bookstore, look for people on > laptops. Go say hi. Don't sell them on coworking, instead, have genuine > interest in why they're working in a cafe or a bookstore. Find out what > problems that solves, and what problems still exist. But since you're > looking for commuters, you need to figure out where they hang out - and > then hang out there. > > Get involved in the local community. Be a friendly face, a supporter and a > connector. Get known as the person who people want to be around to get > things done - and be known as the person surrounded by people who get > things done. > > -Alex > > > > /ah > indyhall.org > coworking in philadelphia > > > On Wed, Sep 14, 2011 at 9:05 AM, CK <cra...@gmail.com <javascript:>> > wrote: > >> You could title this reply "Bought the furniture, built the web site, >> hung the sign - now what?" We too are finding it difficult to get >> traction in a small town, although in our case our proximity to a >> decent size metro area led us to believe that there were people >> commuting into the city that would find they preferred to work here >> (Anoka, MN) instead. Mark - we're interested in your article too. >> Niki - we've been considering trying several ideas that you mention >> but I think for us part of the challenge is that we are trying to draw >> in commuter traffic rather than "locals" that live/work in the small >> community where we are located. >> >> We don't have much available to spend on advertising or the like, but >> if folks have found that a particular formula seems to work well, we >> would certainly put some money behind it. Any suggestions on where to >> put our scarce dollars? >> >> CK >> >> On Sep 13, 10:54 am, "Mark W. Kidd" <m...@stardart.net> wrote: >> > Hi Niki, >> > >> > I've been involved in some of the same kinds of conversations in small >> > communities, and I've got a forthcoming article which is my attempt to >> > synthesize what I've learned about how to talk about rural coworking. >> > I'll send you the manuscript off-list. >> > >> > Best, >> > Mark >> > >> > On 9/13/2011 11:37 AM, Niki wrote: >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > > I look forward every day to seeing what new posts show up here. >> > > Everyone is so interesting and seems to be so knowledgeable about >> > > coworking. I want to thank you all first for giving of your expertise >> > > and time. I ran an executive suites in Washington, DC years ago that >> > > really had the soul of a coworking space. We had parties, networking >> > > events, meetings, and fun. It was great and I loved every minute of >> > > it. However, due to life circumstances, about three years ago (right >> > > in the middle of the economic implosion) my husband and I moved back >> > > to Michigan where my parents live and where I grew up. Boy is life >> > > different here! I've tried for three years (in different iterations) >> > > to create a business here (education/training programs, virtual >> > > assistant, etc.) with the newest being a shared desk/cowork center. >> > > It's in a small town (there are such organizations in some of the >> > > larger cities but most people have no idea what I'm talking about); >> > > when I share the idea people say wow, how fantastic. I do have a >> > > weekly group that has started to meet and seems to be growing, and >> > > I've had one person come in and rent the conference room, but my >> > > "security cats" and I get lonesome most days of the week. I'm really >> > > struggling to find the energy to continue. As a side note, I am >> > > disabled with fibromyalgia and rheumatoid arthritis and while I'm >> > > working really hard at trying to get business in, it's really wearing >> > > on me. >> > >> > > I have flyers, pr in local papers, have talked personally with every >> > > business I can think of in the local community. Every month I get >> > > notices of new DBAs and send them invitations to a FREE networking >> > > session, or day at the center. I have joined the local chamber, the >> > > downtown merchants, Rotary and several other community groups. I go to >> > > meetings and get involved. I just don't know where else to turn. I'm >> > > hoping that some of you who may have experience in rural coworking >> > > centers, and in psychology of small towns might be able to share some >> > > insights that I'm just not seeing. >> > >> > > Thanks guys for spending some time thinking about this for me. I >> > > really appreciate it. >> > >> > > Nancy Becher >> > > Business Success Unlimited >> > > challenge -- motivate -- collaborate >> > >www.success4biz.biz >> > > 269-858-3431 >> > > -- >> > > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google >> > > Groups "Coworking" group. >> > > To view this discussion on the web visit >> > >https://groups.google.com/d/msg/coworking/-/Jl1J9gJferMJ. >> > > To post to this group, send email to cowo...@googlegroups.com >> <javascript:>. >> > > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to >> > > coworking+...@googlegroups.com <javascript:>. >> > > For more options, visit this group at >> > >http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en. >> > >> > -- >> > Mark W. Kidd >> > Roadside Theater - Thousand Kites - Appalshop >> > >> > 606-536-0115 (cell) >> > roadside.org >> > thousandkites.org >> > appalshop.org >> >> -- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >> "Coworking" group. >> To post to this group, send email to cowo...@googlegroups.com >> <javascript:>. >> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to >> coworking+...@googlegroups.com <javascript:>. >> For more options, visit this group at >> http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en. >> >> > -- Visit this forum on the web at http://discuss.coworking.com --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Coworking" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
