RE: [Coworking] Re: Hello!

[Wendy]

I opened the first co-working space in Denison, Texas, January 18, of this 
year.  Very few people had even heard of the concept before.  We are about hour 
north of Dallas, Texas, so I was a little surprised by how few people were 
familiar with co-working.  

I started with prayer, lots and lots of prayer!  Then I kept talking and 
explaining to anyone who would listen.  Come up with a good way to explain what 
a co-working space is…”A co-working space is the antidote to having to work 
from a noisy café/coffee shop.”  I also signed up with the Small Business 
Development Center of Texas at our local community college.  I was matched with 
a local business woman who helped me with my business plan, thinking out loud 
process, research on what office rent was going for in my area and so many 
other things.  It was helpful having someone to be accountable to. 

I found out that I spent too much money on my website.  If I had kept asking 
around I would have made a better decision.  Lesson Learned.

I am on Main Street so I participate in all the Main Street Activities wither 
or not they have a direct impact on my business.  Mostly they do not because I 
am not retail, but it is great exposure.  Just last week I had a member join 
who had come by during a festival in March that I was helping with and had a 
quick tour.

Two local chambers of commerce host a weekly pop up.  The members meet at 8am 
at a local hotel with coffee and pastry, you put $1 & your business card in the 
bowl and when your card is drawn you get 30 sec to stand up and talk about your 
business.  If your chamber doesn’t have something like that it would be a good 
program to host at your co-working space.

Wendy


Sent from Mail for Windows 10

From: Trevor Townsend
Sent: Thursday, September 13, 2018 1:18 PM
To: Coworking
Subject: Re: [Coworking] Re: Hello!

BNIs are a great option, and I'm joining the one in my area here in Aylmer, 
Quebec.

Best,
Trevor

On 13 September 2018 at 12:49, Katrina Dye  wrote:
Thank you Paula!!

On Thu, Sep 13, 2018, 10:14 AM  wrote:
I opened the first co-working space in the Tampa suburbs, and ran into the same 
challenge.  You have to teach the communities about coworking before you can 
start talking to them about the value it'll add to their life!!!  I joined a 
Business Network International group (BNI).  It was a way I could multiply my 
voice by 45 people.  Look online for a chapter in your area.  If you don't find 
one, let me know and I'll get you to the right people to help you.

Paula Blair
SOAR Co-Working
Tampa, FL

On Friday, September 7, 2018 at 8:15:46 AM UTC-4, Katrina Dye wrote:
Excited to put my ideas into action and pioneer the first ever Co-working space 
in Alexandria, LA.  We are perfectly located and there is nothing here like 
this today which I think is a big advantage.  The challenge in this area is 
finding my market when I have been working from home for so long!  I've met 
with the Economic Development Center, Chamber of Commerce, and Small Business 
Development Center and I've received GREAT feedback.    I turned to social 
media exposing my vision and am fearful the local business folks I've shared my 
idea with jump to it before I can get it off the ground.  Any recommendations?  
As soon as I start talking about it, they seem clueless, follow up 
conversations become something more like, "I was also thinking of this"

I don't want to rush the process!  How can I grow my interest, and identify my 
market without losing valuable time.  Great spaces, but the rent is ridiculous!

Anxiously, terrified!

Katrina :)


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-- 
Trevor Townsend

Aylmer, Quebec
CANADA
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Re: [Coworking] Nice to "virtually" meet you guys!

[Margo Aaron]

Thank you, Alex!

Ye omg so *backstory:* this grew out of my marketing consultancy. I was
getting requests for marketing help and every time I'd get on the phone
with founders, I'd discover that they didn't *really* have marketing
problems.

They had self-doubt problems.

Most of these people knew what they needed to do to grow, but would get way
too in their head about it. I tried giving them marketing advice and
services, but it didn't fix the problem. My hypothesis was that they needed
businesses owners *like them* to talk to about this stuff.

They were spending all day alone or talking to their spouses or "normal"
friends - not business owners who understood what they were going through.

That's when I realized the thing missing for them was *COWORKERS. *

Which is why I built the space. I live just outside of NYC so it's easy to
meet like-minded people here, but it's not so easy when you're in other
parts of the world. That's why I made the space virtual. I wanted to
connect founders with people like them so they could get out of their own
way and start getting work done.

*Most surprising lesson:* I thought people were going to experience massive
business growth. And while businesses DID grow, that's not why people
reported staying and loving the space. They said their marriages improved.
WHAT?!?!

Turns out having a community of people - coworkers - to brainstorm with and
talk through stuff *on your level* helped people be better in other parts
of their lives because they got the business stuff out of their system.

Isn't that nuts? I was blown away.

Anyway, happy to share more but this email is getting really long...haha

Tell me more about your space and how people are interacting online! Are
you facilitating the interaction or is it all them? Slack? Details please!

Best,

Margo

PS: Sorry if this reply-all is annoying...I figured this might be useful so
I'd keep us in the group thread. But LMK if it's not...dont' want to be
"that person" #sorrynotsorry? haha

On Thu, Sep 13, 2018 at 11:09 AM, Alex Hillman  wrote:

> Hey Margo, welcome! I'm a huge fan of online community building, it's
> always been a large component of what we do at Indy Hall and more than 50%
> of our members almost *exclusively* interact online. I took a peek ta
> your website and it looks like you've created something pretty cool!
>
> Is there any backstory or lessons you can share about how you got started?
> Or interesting surprises/experiences along the way?
>
> -Alex
>
> --
> *The #1 mistake in community building is doing it by yourself.*
> Better Coworkers: http://indyhall.org
> Weekly Coworking Tips: http://coworkingweekly.com
> My Audiobook: https://theindyhallway.com/ten
>
>
> On Wed, Sep 12, 2018 at 11:57 AM  wrote:
>
>> Hi! I'm Margo and I just stumbled upon this group and am really excited
>> about it.
>>
>> I run a virtual coworking space for location-independent
>> solopreneurs called The Arena The Arena
>> . We dont have the benefits of a
>> PHYSICAL space, like a desk or mailbox or wifi. But we do have what a lot
>> of physical spaces are trying to do a better job of: Community.
>>
>> If you need any help with building community, HMU and I'd be happy to
>> answer any questions you have. Im curious to learn more about you all and
>> what you're struggling with as you grow your spaces.
>>
>> Reach out any time!
>>
>> - Margo Aaron
>>
>> --
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>> "Coworking" group.
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>> email to coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com.
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>>
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>



-- 
Margo Aaron
That Seems Important 

Want smart people to bounce ideas off of? I have some.


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Re: [Coworking] Re: Hello!

[Trevor Townsend]

BNIs are a great option, and I'm joining the one in my area here in Aylmer,
Quebec.

Best,
Trevor

On 13 September 2018 at 12:49, Katrina Dye  wrote:

> Thank you Paula!!
>
> On Thu, Sep 13, 2018, 10:14 AM  wrote:
>
>> I opened the first co-working space in the Tampa suburbs, and ran into
>> the same challenge.  You have to teach the communities about coworking
>> before you can start talking to them about the value it'll add to their
>> life!!!  I joined a Business Network International group (BNI).  It was a
>> way I could multiply my voice by 45 people.  Look online for a chapter in
>> your area.  If you don't find one, let me know and I'll get you to the
>> right people to help you.
>>
>> Paula Blair
>> SOAR Co-Working
>> Tampa, FL
>>
>> On Friday, September 7, 2018 at 8:15:46 AM UTC-4, Katrina Dye wrote:
>>>
>>> Excited to put my ideas into action and pioneer the first ever
>>> Co-working space in Alexandria, LA.  We are perfectly located and there is
>>> nothing here like this today which I think is a big advantage.  The
>>> challenge in this area is finding my market when I have been working from
>>> home for so long!  I've met with the Economic Development Center, Chamber
>>> of Commerce, and Small Business Development Center and I've received GREAT
>>> feedback.I turned to social media exposing my vision and am fearful the
>>> local business folks I've shared my idea with jump to it before I can get
>>> it off the ground.  Any recommendations?  As soon as I start talking about
>>> it, they seem clueless, follow up conversations become something more like,
>>> "I was also thinking of this"
>>>
>>> I don't want to rush the process!  How can I grow my interest, and
>>> identify my market without losing valuable time.  Great spaces, but the
>>> rent is ridiculous!
>>>
>>> Anxiously, terrified!
>>>
>>> Katrina :)
>>>
>>>
>>> --
>> You received this message because you are subscribed to a topic in the
>> Google Groups "Coworking" group.
>> To unsubscribe from this topic, visit https://groups.google.com/d/
>> topic/coworking/wKf1wQRqAMA/unsubscribe.
>> To unsubscribe from this group and all its topics, send an email to
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>>
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-- 
Trevor Townsend

Aylmer, Quebec
CANADA

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Re: [Coworking] Opening a Space, have many questions!

[Alex Hillman]

>
> The repeats have been really awesome and want to work together and maybe I
> should focus on them and find out what gauges their interest rather than
> focusing so much on looking for more people.


I'd bet that the folks who come back also have had opportunities to meet
other people within the group and felt connected, while people who aren't
coming back didn't feel the click. That's okay!

Not everyone's going to click just because they do similar work (in fact,
it's a pretty lousy leading indicator). Shared worldview, goals, and even
interests other than "the work" are where most of the real bonding happens.
Focus there.

-Alex

--
*The #1 mistake in community building is doing it by yourself.*
Better Coworkers: http://indyhall.org
Weekly Coworking Tips: http://coworkingweekly.com
My Audiobook: https://theindyhallway.com/ten


On Thu, Sep 13, 2018 at 1:25 PM Jesse Flores 
wrote:

> Thanks to everyone for their responses! I just bought my copy of the
> Coworking handbook, should arrive today! I am doing a weekly event now
> however I don't think it's consistent enough and I feel I have a lot of new
> people everytime but not a lot of repeats. I am jumping between different
> venues and probably should stick to one and have it more regularly. The
> repeats have been really awesome and want to work together and maybe I
> should focus on them and find out what gauges their interest rather than
> focusing so much on looking for more people. I re-read all your responses
> probably twice a day, I know I can build this. Thanks again!
>
>
>
>
> On Friday, September 7, 2018 at 10:47:40 AM UTC-7, Alex Hillman wrote:
>>
>> I'm trying my best to figure out that my "onramps" are as accessible as
>>> possible but I feel that it isn't. Maybe it relies too much on when I can
>>> host an event and people might lose interest. I have a coworking meetup
>>> tonight at wework and hopefully if all goes well I can have someone host
>>> another sooner than next time I originally wanted to host (scheduling
>>> conflicts).
>>>
>>
>> Consistency is a LOT more important than how often.
>>
>> Doing small, low-impact gatherings (happy hours & pot luck dinners, demo
>> nights & casual coworking sessions) more often is ultimately more valuable
>> than big, complex events that have lots of dependencies (special event
>> spaces, speakers/presenters, etc).
>>
>> Deep connections are more valuable at this stage than a large audience.
>>
>>
>>> The connecting members is another one, maybe I should have people offer
>>> if they'd like to post their personal portfolio being we are mainly
>>> artists, I do sometimes get the "how can I keep in touch with everyone that
>>> came?" chat.
>>>
>>
>> That's a good sign! Give people a place to connect online in between
>> events. I strongly prefer email discussion lists over social media
>> platforms, but anything is better than nothing. Encouraging people to have
>> discussions that are productive and valuable, e.g. asking for
>> help/recommendations on how to solve a problem, or sharing/celebrating each
>> others' work.
>>
>> The continuity of online interaction between offline events is a HUGE
>> part of how we got started, and our online community is still larger than
>> our active day-to-day coworking by more than double. This episode has a
>> bunch of examples of how we use Slack
>> , but they could easily be
>> applied to any platform and should inspire more that are relevant to you
>> and your community.
>>
>> I definitely think it's way too early to open a space and the
>>> funding/sponsors question is mainly for networking events I throw and
>>> hopefully I can generate interest from nearby companies/organizations
>>> (autodesk, adobe, wacom, ves society) to help with cost / promotion of the
>>> event, this being a digital artist networking event. Is this too much of a
>>> reach? haha. I been to successful events in NYC and LA where I've seen this
>>> happen, why not here?!
>>>
>>
>> It can never hurt to ask (and I know personally that Adobe is generally
>> interested in supporting local community efforts). My only advice here is
>> to make sure you don't get sucked into serving sponsors more than the
>> members. It's not hard to make an event that benefits a sponsor and the
>> community without it becoming an advertisement. It just means keeping your
>> members first, *always*, and showing sponsors how to "show up" in ways
>> they aren't always used to 
>> .
>>
>> -Alex
>>
> --
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Re: [Coworking] Opening a Space, have many questions!

[Jesse Flores]

Thanks to everyone for their responses! I just bought my copy of the 
Coworking handbook, should arrive today! I am doing a weekly event now 
however I don't think it's consistent enough and I feel I have a lot of new 
people everytime but not a lot of repeats. I am jumping between different 
venues and probably should stick to one and have it more regularly. The 
repeats have been really awesome and want to work together and maybe I 
should focus on them and find out what gauges their interest rather than 
focusing so much on looking for more people. I re-read all your responses 
probably twice a day, I know I can build this. Thanks again! 




On Friday, September 7, 2018 at 10:47:40 AM UTC-7, Alex Hillman wrote:
>
> I'm trying my best to figure out that my "onramps" are as accessible as 
>> possible but I feel that it isn't. Maybe it relies too much on when I can 
>> host an event and people might lose interest. I have a coworking meetup 
>> tonight at wework and hopefully if all goes well I can have someone host 
>> another sooner than next time I originally wanted to host (scheduling 
>> conflicts). 
>>
>
> Consistency is a LOT more important than how often. 
>
> Doing small, low-impact gatherings (happy hours & pot luck dinners, demo 
> nights & casual coworking sessions) more often is ultimately more valuable 
> than big, complex events that have lots of dependencies (special event 
> spaces, speakers/presenters, etc). 
>
> Deep connections are more valuable at this stage than a large audience. 
>  
>
>> The connecting members is another one, maybe I should have people offer 
>> if they'd like to post their personal portfolio being we are mainly 
>> artists, I do sometimes get the "how can I keep in touch with everyone that 
>> came?" chat.
>>
>
> That's a good sign! Give people a place to connect online in between 
> events. I strongly prefer email discussion lists over social media 
> platforms, but anything is better than nothing. Encouraging people to have 
> discussions that are productive and valuable, e.g. asking for 
> help/recommendations on how to solve a problem, or sharing/celebrating each 
> others' work. 
>
> The continuity of online interaction between offline events is a HUGE part 
> of how we got started, and our online community is still larger than our 
> active day-to-day coworking by more than double. This episode has a bunch 
> of examples of how we use Slack 
> , but they could easily be 
> applied to any platform and should inspire more that are relevant to you 
> and your community. 
>
> I definitely think it's way too early to open a space and the 
>> funding/sponsors question is mainly for networking events I throw and 
>> hopefully I can generate interest from nearby companies/organizations 
>> (autodesk, adobe, wacom, ves society) to help with cost / promotion of the 
>> event, this being a digital artist networking event. Is this too much of a 
>> reach? haha. I been to successful events in NYC and LA where I've seen this 
>> happen, why not here?! 
>>
>
> It can never hurt to ask (and I know personally that Adobe is generally 
> interested in supporting local community efforts). My only advice here is 
> to make sure you don't get sucked into serving sponsors more than the 
> members. It's not hard to make an event that benefits a sponsor and the 
> community without it becoming an advertisement. It just means keeping your 
> members first, *always*, and showing sponsors how to "show up" in ways 
> they aren't always used to . 
>
> -Alex
>

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Re: [Coworking] Re: Hello!

[Katrina Dye]

Thank you Paula!!

On Thu, Sep 13, 2018, 10:14 AM  wrote:

> I opened the first co-working space in the Tampa suburbs, and ran into the
> same challenge.  You have to teach the communities about coworking before
> you can start talking to them about the value it'll add to their life!!!  I
> joined a Business Network International group (BNI).  It was a way I could
> multiply my voice by 45 people.  Look online for a chapter in your area.
> If you don't find one, let me know and I'll get you to the right people to
> help you.
>
> Paula Blair
> SOAR Co-Working
> Tampa, FL
>
> On Friday, September 7, 2018 at 8:15:46 AM UTC-4, Katrina Dye wrote:
>>
>> Excited to put my ideas into action and pioneer the first ever Co-working
>> space in Alexandria, LA.  We are perfectly located and there is nothing
>> here like this today which I think is a big advantage.  The challenge in
>> this area is finding my market when I have been working from home for so
>> long!  I've met with the Economic Development Center, Chamber of Commerce,
>> and Small Business Development Center and I've received GREAT feedback.
>> I turned to social media exposing my vision and am fearful the local
>> business folks I've shared my idea with jump to it before I can get it off
>> the ground.  Any recommendations?  As soon as I start talking about it,
>> they seem clueless, follow up conversations become something more like, "I
>> was also thinking of this"
>>
>> I don't want to rush the process!  How can I grow my interest, and
>> identify my market without losing valuable time.  Great spaces, but the
>> rent is ridiculous!
>>
>> Anxiously, terrified!
>>
>> Katrina :)
>>
>>
>> --
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> Google Groups "Coworking" group.
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[Coworking] Re: Hello!

[paula]

I opened the first co-working space in the Tampa suburbs, and ran into the 
same challenge.  You have to teach the communities about coworking before 
you can start talking to them about the value it'll add to their life!!!  I 
joined a Business Network International group (BNI).  It was a way I could 
multiply my voice by 45 people.  Look online for a chapter in your area.  
If you don't find one, let me know and I'll get you to the right people to 
help you.

Paula Blair
SOAR Co-Working
Tampa, FL

On Friday, September 7, 2018 at 8:15:46 AM UTC-4, Katrina Dye wrote:
>
> Excited to put my ideas into action and pioneer the first ever Co-working 
> space in Alexandria, LA.  We are perfectly located and there is nothing 
> here like this today which I think is a big advantage.  The challenge in 
> this area is finding my market when I have been working from home for so 
> long!  I've met with the Economic Development Center, Chamber of Commerce, 
> and Small Business Development Center and I've received GREAT feedback.
> I turned to social media exposing my vision and am fearful the local 
> business folks I've shared my idea with jump to it before I can get it off 
> the ground.  Any recommendations?  As soon as I start talking about it, 
> they seem clueless, follow up conversations become something more like, "I 
> was also thinking of this"
>
> I don't want to rush the process!  How can I grow my interest, and 
> identify my market without losing valuable time.  Great spaces, but the 
> rent is ridiculous!
>
> Anxiously, terrified!
>
> Katrina :)
>
>
>

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[Coworking] Small Business Saturday (Nov 24) Special Ideas

[paula]

Hi Space Managers!!

I'm working on our marketing plan, and want to offer a special to sell on 
Small Business Saturday (and later for Christmas).

What successful discount campaigns have you run for Christmas in the past?

Thanks in advance for sharing your successes!!!

Paula Blair
SOAR Co-Working
Tampa, FL

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Re: [Coworking] Nice to "virtually" meet you guys!

[Alex Hillman]

Hey Margo, welcome! I'm a huge fan of online community building, it's
always been a large component of what we do at Indy Hall and more than 50%
of our members almost *exclusively* interact online. I took a peek ta your
website and it looks like you've created something pretty cool!

Is there any backstory or lessons you can share about how you got started?
Or interesting surprises/experiences along the way?

-Alex

--
*The #1 mistake in community building is doing it by yourself.*
Better Coworkers: http://indyhall.org
Weekly Coworking Tips: http://coworkingweekly.com
My Audiobook: https://theindyhallway.com/ten


On Wed, Sep 12, 2018 at 11:57 AM  wrote:

> Hi! I'm Margo and I just stumbled upon this group and am really excited
> about it.
>
> I run a virtual coworking space for location-independent
> solopreneurs called The Arena The Arena
> . We dont have the benefits of a
> PHYSICAL space, like a desk or mailbox or wifi. But we do have what a lot
> of physical spaces are trying to do a better job of: Community.
>
> If you need any help with building community, HMU and I'd be happy to
> answer any questions you have. Im curious to learn more about you all and
> what you're struggling with as you grow your spaces.
>
> Reach out any time!
>
> - Margo Aaron
>
> --
> 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.
>

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