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

[Alex Hillman]

>
> My challenge is to define my target member and understand what I could
> offer them that is unique as an experience.  Any suggestions?


What communities do you already belong to? Start there :)

If you're not already involved in the kinds of communities where people
work from home, cafes, etc.now's a great time to start getting to know
people.

Do I need to already have members enrolled to start lease a space?


Signing a lease is the easy part - you've gotta find members either way!
Waiting until after you have a lease just means that you've got a ticking
clock and rent to pay while you're building that community. You can't avoid
the community building part, and it's 1x easier to do it without the
burden of rent to pay or the feeling of "this space is empty!"

--
*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 Mon, Oct 1, 2018 at 5:01 PM  wrote:

> Hi Alex,
>
> Just joining the group and found lots of interesting information.  I am
> considering opening a coworking space and love the ideia o creating o
> community.  My challenge is to define my target member and understand what
> I could offer them that is unique as an experience.  Any suggestions?
> also, how to start a community from zero?  Do I need to already have
> members enrolled to start lease a space? as you can see lots of questions!
>
> Em terça-feira, 4 de setembro de 2018 12:30:39 UTC-3, Alex Hillman
> escreveu:
>>
>> *How did you market to begin growing your community?*
>>>
>>
>> Your best "marketing" will be direct invitations, in two forms.
>>
>> 1 - you reaching out to specific people and inviting them to come, and
>> 2 - you encouraging your existing members to do the same!
>>
>> Also, don't feel like everything needs to be run by you. Are there other
>> things that are going on that your community could attend/participate in
>> together?
>>
>> *How did you keep the community engaged? *
>>>
>>
>> Engagement is a lousy metric IMO. It tends to lead to all kinds of stuff
>> designed to distract and demand attention, and inevitably burn people out
>> (including yourself).
>>
>> Instead, the one main metric I focus on is that people feel connected.
>> - What "onramps" to interacting with other members do you have? Are they
>> tied directly to things that your members already do, or want to do?
>> - Are your "onramps" accessible? To who? Who are you leaving out,
>> intentionally or accidentally? (Not saying you have to include EVERYBODY at
>> once - but I've learned to recognize my blind spots for people who'd love
>> to participate but, for instance, don't like going to bars.)
>> - Is it easy for new members to connect with existing members, even in
>> small group and 1-1 settings?
>> - Is there some regular rhythm of support and encouragement for these
>> kinds of interactions? i.e. if people miss one opportunity, is there
>> another one coming up again soon?
>>
>> Any advice on events I should host in order to keep momentum?
>>>
>>
>> Consistency.
>>
>>
>>> Is it too early to look for a space?
>>>
>>
>> Are your members ready to put their money where their mouth is? How many?
>> Would they write a check for 1-3 months of membership today?
>>
>> If so, then maybe...but don't forget to do it WITH them.
>>
>> If not, then yeah it's too early.
>>
>>
>>> Funding? Sponsors?
>>>
>>
>> For what?
>>
>>
>>> What did you do for social media outreach?
>>>
>>
>> Talk to people like a person. :)
>>
>> -Alex
>>
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Re: [Coworking] Re: Building A Community

[Michael Jon]

Thanks, Margo.  This does help.  I did end up creating a "meetup" group 
that has grown to about 40 members within several days.  What would you 
recommend as our first "meetup?"  

I truly believe a coworking space will be successful in my area and I do 
have a building that I have my eye on, however, I am trying very hard not 
to put the cart ahead of the horse.



On Monday, October 1, 2018 at 1:41:56 PM UTC-4, Margo Aaron wrote:
>
> Hey Michael,
>
> My coworking space is completely virtual, so we're almost *entirely*
>  community. 
>
> What's worked:
>
>- Personal introductions and taking the time to get to know everyone 
>in the space 
>- Exclusivity: stressing this is for "people like us" and having some 
>common thread that connects your members. In my case, it's solopreneurs 
>with online businesses. For other coworking spaces, it could be that you 
>all live in XYZ city or are trying to raise venture capital.  
>- Having a forum for members to meet each other
>
> What hasn't worked:
>
>- Oversharing articles or business opportunities - There is NOTHING 
>that will kill community quicker than interactions like, "Hey Guys! Will 
>you share this post I wrote! Thanks!!!" You want to push for substantive 
>conversations that build relationships instead of creating transactional 
>ones. 
>
> That's not to say our members don't do business with one another, they do. 
> But it comes up organically. And it's sprinkled in between adding genuine 
> value to each other. 
>
> We use slack for most of this. And Zoom.
>
> Hope this helps! 
>
> - M
>
> On Mon, Oct 1, 2018 at 12:14 PM Angel Kwiatkowski  > wrote:
>
>> I wrote a step by step book on how to do this. Find it at 
>> https://diycoworking.com.
>>
>> Angel
>>
>> On Thursday, September 27, 2018 at 2:17:47 PM UTC-6, Michael Jon wrote:
>>>
>>> Hello, all!  I've recently begun the journey to open up a coworking 
>>> space in my city.  After reading through various postings, books, websites 
>>> etc...it seems that many owners stress the importance of building a 
>>> coworking community BEFORE opening a space.  What are some key 
>>> recommendations on how to build this community.  Very curious to hear what 
>>> worked/didn't work.
>>>
>>> Thank you!
>>>
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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: Building A Community

[Margo Aaron]

Hey Michael,

My coworking space is completely virtual, so we're almost *entirely*
 community.

What's worked:

   - Personal introductions and taking the time to get to know everyone in
   the space
   - Exclusivity: stressing this is for "people like us" and having some
   common thread that connects your members. In my case, it's solopreneurs
   with online businesses. For other coworking spaces, it could be that you
   all live in XYZ city or are trying to raise venture capital.
   - Having a forum for members to meet each other

What hasn't worked:

   - Oversharing articles or business opportunities - There is NOTHING that
   will kill community quicker than interactions like, "Hey Guys! Will you
   share this post I wrote! Thanks!!!" You want to push for substantive
   conversations that build relationships instead of creating transactional
   ones.

That's not to say our members don't do business with one another, they do.
But it comes up organically. And it's sprinkled in between adding genuine
value to each other.

We use slack for most of this. And Zoom.

Hope this helps!

- M

On Mon, Oct 1, 2018 at 12:14 PM Angel Kwiatkowski 
wrote:

> I wrote a step by step book on how to do this. Find it at
> https://diycoworking.com.
>
> Angel
>
> On Thursday, September 27, 2018 at 2:17:47 PM UTC-6, Michael Jon wrote:
>>
>> Hello, all!  I've recently begun the journey to open up a coworking space
>> in my city.  After reading through various postings, books, websites
>> etc...it seems that many owners stress the importance of building a
>> coworking community BEFORE opening a space.  What are some key
>> recommendations on how to build this community.  Very curious to hear what
>> worked/didn't work.
>>
>> Thank you!
>>
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-- 
Margo Aaron
That Seems Important 

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


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[Coworking] Re: Building A Community

[Angel Kwiatkowski]

I wrote a step by step book on how to do this. Find it at 
https://diycoworking.com.

Angel

On Thursday, September 27, 2018 at 2:17:47 PM UTC-6, Michael Jon wrote:
>
> Hello, all!  I've recently begun the journey to open up a coworking space 
> in my city.  After reading through various postings, books, websites 
> etc...it seems that many owners stress the importance of building a 
> coworking community BEFORE opening a space.  What are some key 
> recommendations on how to build this community.  Very curious to hear what 
> worked/didn't work.
>
> Thank you!
>

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[Coworking] Re: Crowdsourcing ideas for the Ultimate Leasing checklist/procedure/strategies

[Ramon Suarez]

Tony Bacigalupo has made a really great coworking community toolkit 

. 
[image: folder-structure-community-coworking-toolkit]

A list of common legal documents for coworking spaces 

.

There's a lease contract list in the annex of  The Coworking Handbook 
 (page 179). 


On Sunday, September 30, 2018 at 11:52:44 PM UTC+2, Michael Ma wrote:
>
> Hello everyone,
>
> We just opened a coworking space here in Wichita, KS where we remodeled 
> and turned 10,000 square feet of previously empty office space into a 
> coworking space with about 30 offices.We have 2-3 people in the 
> community that are willing to do an exchange a couple of hours a day in 
> exchange for office space.   These folks have no experience leasing office 
> space though.The one gal we worked a deal with we sent a friend to be a 
> secret shopper of sorts, and she talked more about her own business and an 
> mlm opportunity while showing the space than about us.So I realize i 
> need to come up with some training/process for when I have someone else 
> other than me showing the space.  
>
> I was wondering if anyone has put together any kind of a training 
> document/checklist/procedure/list of questions for their staff in terms of 
> leasing.I'll be happy to gather up all the information and put 
> something out to the group.
>
> I'm also wondering if anyone has a similar arrangement worked out and if 
> you offered your "volunteers" any leasing incentives.
>
> Thanks,
> Michael
> Elevate Coworking
>
>
> This is what i came up with so far, for people visiting for the first time.
>
> -  Introduce yourself and Welcome them to ___Coworking space 
> - Have them fill out card with Name, Business, Email, Phone number.
> - Offer them water, coffee or tea 
> - Share the story about our community, what makes us unique, and what we 
> are intending to build here.
> -  Ask them how soon they want to move in and what size office they are 
> looking for
> -  Show staged offices and different options
> -  Review plans that best meet their needs
> -  If they do not sign up right away, thank them and offer them a free day 
> pass to try us out. Ask them when is good for us to follow up
>
>
>
>
>

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[Coworking] Re: Building A Community

[Qtime Space]

Hey.
It all depends on the size of your coworking

I started with anticafe (room in 60 sq.m.), it's easier to attract people. 
And gradually grew to two floors of space (almost 700 sq. M.) And still 
growing further.

четверг, 27 сентября 2018 г., 23:17:47 UTC+3 пользователь Michael Jon 
написал:
>
> Hello, all!  I've recently begun the journey to open up a coworking space 
> in my city.  After reading through various postings, books, websites 
> etc...it seems that many owners stress the importance of building a 
> coworking community BEFORE opening a space.  What are some key 
> recommendations on how to build this community.  Very curious to hear what 
> worked/didn't work.
>
> Thank you!
>

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Re: [Coworking] Re: Crowdsourcing ideas for the Ultimate Leasing checklist/procedure/strategies

[Ten Below]

Angela,

Thank you for sharing. This is a great resource and conversation starter
for advisory members and evangelists.

On Mon, Oct 1, 2018 at 10:12 AM, Angel Kwiatkowski 
wrote:

> Here is a better link for the community cultivator training we use at
> Cohered. Clearly trying to share via the app on my phone at 6am was a
> mistake!
>
> https://docs.google.com/document/d/1rmg2hUbpGpQLFfgG1oZtsYmWdpyAr
> -AOOgGumOtv_Vs/edit?usp=sharing
>
>
>
> More resources at https://diycoworking.com
>
> On Sunday, September 30, 2018 at 3:52:44 PM UTC-6, Michael Ma wrote:
>>
>> Hello everyone,
>>
>> We just opened a coworking space here in Wichita, KS where we remodeled
>> and turned 10,000 square feet of previously empty office space into a
>> coworking space with about 30 offices.We have 2-3 people in the
>> community that are willing to do an exchange a couple of hours a day in
>> exchange for office space.   These folks have no experience leasing office
>> space though.The one gal we worked a deal with we sent a friend to be a
>> secret shopper of sorts, and she talked more about her own business and an
>> mlm opportunity while showing the space than about us.So I realize i
>> need to come up with some training/process for when I have someone else
>> other than me showing the space.
>>
>> I was wondering if anyone has put together any kind of a training
>> document/checklist/procedure/list of questions for their staff in terms
>> of leasing.I'll be happy to gather up all the information and put
>> something out to the group.
>>
>> I'm also wondering if anyone has a similar arrangement worked out and if
>> you offered your "volunteers" any leasing incentives.
>>
>> Thanks,
>> Michael
>> Elevate Coworking
>>
>>
>> This is what i came up with so far, for people visiting for the first
>> time.
>>
>> -  Introduce yourself and Welcome them to ___Coworking space
>> - Have them fill out card with Name, Business, Email, Phone number.
>> - Offer them water, coffee or tea
>> - Share the story about our community, what makes us unique, and what we
>> are intending to build here.
>> -  Ask them how soon they want to move in and what size office they are
>> looking for
>> -  Show staged offices and different options
>> -  Review plans that best meet their needs
>> -  If they do not sign up right away, thank them and offer them a free
>> day pass to try us out. Ask them when is good for us to follow up
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> --
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> "Coworking" group.
> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an
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> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
>



-- 
Richard Stuart
*Ten Below Coworking*
p: (218) 464-9724
w: 10belowcoworking.org  e: i...@10belowcoworking.org





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[Coworking] Re: Crowdsourcing ideas for the Ultimate Leasing checklist/procedure/strategies

[Angel Kwiatkowski]

Here is a better link for the community cultivator training we use at 
Cohered. Clearly trying to share via the app on my phone at 6am was a 
mistake! 

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1rmg2hUbpGpQLFfgG1oZtsYmWdpyAr-AOOgGumOtv_Vs/edit?usp=sharing



More resources at https://diycoworking.com

On Sunday, September 30, 2018 at 3:52:44 PM UTC-6, Michael Ma wrote:
>
> Hello everyone,
>
> We just opened a coworking space here in Wichita, KS where we remodeled 
> and turned 10,000 square feet of previously empty office space into a 
> coworking space with about 30 offices.We have 2-3 people in the 
> community that are willing to do an exchange a couple of hours a day in 
> exchange for office space.   These folks have no experience leasing office 
> space though.The one gal we worked a deal with we sent a friend to be a 
> secret shopper of sorts, and she talked more about her own business and an 
> mlm opportunity while showing the space than about us.So I realize i 
> need to come up with some training/process for when I have someone else 
> other than me showing the space.  
>
> I was wondering if anyone has put together any kind of a training 
> document/checklist/procedure/list of questions for their staff in terms of 
> leasing.I'll be happy to gather up all the information and put 
> something out to the group.
>
> I'm also wondering if anyone has a similar arrangement worked out and if 
> you offered your "volunteers" any leasing incentives.
>
> Thanks,
> Michael
> Elevate Coworking
>
>
> This is what i came up with so far, for people visiting for the first time.
>
> -  Introduce yourself and Welcome them to ___Coworking space 
> - Have them fill out card with Name, Business, Email, Phone number.
> - Offer them water, coffee or tea 
> - Share the story about our community, what makes us unique, and what we 
> are intending to build here.
> -  Ask them how soon they want to move in and what size office they are 
> looking for
> -  Show staged offices and different options
> -  Review plans that best meet their needs
> -  If they do not sign up right away, thank them and offer them a free day 
> pass to try us out. Ask them when is good for us to follow up
>
>
>
>
>

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[Coworking] Crowdsourcing ideas for the Ultimate Leasing checklist/procedure/strategies

[Angel Kwiatkowski]

Here is a link to the doc I use to train Cohere’s community cultivators 
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1rmg2hUbpGpQLFfgG1oZtsYmWdpyAr-AOOgGumOtv_Vs

More resources at https://diycoworking.com

Angel

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