In this episode, we talk about:
Why your coworking business needs to focus on solving a problem for a customer that they are aware they have.
Why your solution set should be grounded in solutions that they are already aware of.
Everything Coworking Featured Resources:
Save 50% on your first year with OfficeRnD Flex and grow your coworking space. Apply now!
Masterclass: 3 Behind-the-Scenes Secrets to Opening a Coworking Space
The Everything Coworking Academy
Creative Coworking Partnerships: How to negotiate and structure management agreements from the landlord and operator perspective
Ryan Simonetti is the CEO and co-founder of Convene.
Convene is a leading hospitality company founded off the simple question: “What if you ran an office building like a hotel?”
Convene’s model is more relevant than ever in a post-COVID world…I think it’s interesting to focus on how they are serving today’s modern landlord.
We talked with Ryan about
Convene’s recovery from the pandemic.
How the reception to Convene from landlords has changed over the past few years.
Convene’s recent acquisition of etc.venues and what that means for their high-end meeting business.
How Ryan’s mom’s love of antiques and his dad’s entrepreneurial drive shaped his journey.
Convene supports modern landlords by offering flexible workspace solutions that meet the evolving needs of tenants and the market. With a focus on creating modern, flexible, and tech-enabled spaces, Convene helps landlords optimize their real estate portfolios and attract top tenants.
Through its partnerships with landlords, Convene also helps drive demand for the building, increasing occupancy rates and revenue for the landlord. With a focus on creating flexible and dynamic spaces, Convene helps landlords future-proof their portfolios and adapt to the changing needs of the market.
Resources Mentioned in this Podcast:
Masterclass: 3 Behind-the-Scenes Secrets to Opening a Coworking Space
The Everything Coworking Academy
Creative Coworking Partnerships: How to negotiate and structure management agreements from the landlord and operator perspective
The LiquidSpace Hybrid Workplace Index provides unique insight into actual employee behaviour when afforded the freedom to work from anywhere.
The LiquidSpace user-base is comprised of organizations of all sizes - F1000 multinational enterprises, dynamic startups, small businesses and solopreneurs - representing a diverse cross-section of industry verticals – including federal, state and local government, finance, insurance, real estate, healthcare, technology, professional services, legal and education.
The report explores:
Continued employee engagement with flexible working
Collaboration driving hybrid workplace spend
The average cost of flexible workplace transactions and how they are trending upwards
The shift in bookings from Central Business District to the suburbs
Hybrid workplace activity by day of the week
Resources Mentioned in this Episode:
Everything Coworking Featured Resources:
Masterclass: 3 Behind-the-Scenes Secrets to Opening a Coworking Space
The Everything Coworking Academy
Creative Coworking Partnerships: How to negotiate and structure management agreements from the landlord and operator perspective
There’s a “typical” model in Coworking that, when combined with a great location, design, product mix, and marketing that aligns with a clearly defined ideal member, is optimized for profit.
A lot of folks drawn to starting “Coworking spaces” are inspired by a shared workspace model centered around a thriving community….but they have a specific end-user in mind that is not your typical freelancer or remote user. They are serving a unique audience. Their offerings will be “different.” We see a LOT of those folks in our Coworking Startup School and Accelerator program.
There’s so much room for diversity of spaces and approaches in coworking. But there’s also a lot of room to end up with a model that isn’t financially sustainable.
In this episode, we talk about how to pursue a variation on the “typical” Coworking model and find success.
Everything Coworking Featured Resources:
Masterclass: 3 Behind-the-Scenes Secrets to Opening a Coworking Space
The Everything Coworking Academy
Creative Coworking Partnerships: How to negotiate and structure management agreements from the landlord and operator perspective
How much focus should you put on creating a “unique/different” Coworking space? While some differentiation can be helpful in attracting customers, it's not the factor that will drive success. A coworking space that differentiates itself with unique features or services may attract some customers, but if those features or services aren't aligned with the needs and preferences of the target market, the space may struggle to attract and retain customers.
On the other hand, a Coworking space that has a strong product market/fit, even if it doesn't differentiate itself much from other coworking spaces in the area, is more likely to be successful. By offering the amenities and services that its target market needs and wants, and by creating a sense of community and collaboration, the coworking space can build a loyal customer base and stand out from competitors in the eyes of its customers.
On this episode, we talk about why “different” doesn’t matter…what does matter is getting the model right.
Everything Coworking Featured Resources:
Masterclass: 3 Behind-the-Scenes Secrets to Opening a Coworking Space
The Everything Coworking Academy
Creative Coworking Partnerships: How to negotiate and structure management agreements from the landlord and operator perspective
David Andras is a serial entrepreneur who, like many of you, opened a Coworking space to solve a personal pain point. He opened it right next to a gym that he owns…and then he added a public-facing coffee kiosk that adds a service for members as well as a meaningful revenue stream on top of the typical Coworking sources of income.
David shares how he balances operating and innovating, running multiple businesses at once (and starting new ones!) and how he keeps his coworking spaces lean and profitable while providing a great member experience.
Resources Mentioned in this Episode:
The Coffee Kiosk Licensing Info
David’s Podcast - Scaling your Business
Everything Coworking Featured Resources:
Masterclass: 3 Behind-the-Scenes Secrets to Opening a Coworking Space
The Everything Coworking Academy
Creative Coworking Partnerships: How to negotiate and structure management agreements from the landlord and operator perspective
Alex Neil was early to Coworking…fuelled by his desire to work for an Indianapolis company…in Denver.
He worked on the operator side for about 7 years and then joined Proximity.
Alex spends his days talking with operators and finding solutions to their challenges through technology.
Alex shares his behind-the-scenes perspective on what Coworking trends are starting to bubble to the surface in 2023.
Resources Mentioned in this Episode:
Everything Coworking Featured Resources:
Masterclass: 3 Behind-the-Scenes Secrets to Opening a Coworking Space
The Everything Coworking Academy
Creative Coworking Partnerships: How to negotiate and structure management agreements from the landlord and operator perspective
Creative Cubes is the model for the future of work.
Tobi and his team have created an ecosystem that delivers great design, high-end design, unparalleled workplace hospitality, the hottest fitness options, event space, and more. I predict that what Tobi is already doing at Creative Cubes is where most of the industry will ultimately go. I don’t think there’s a long-term desire for “just office space.” In the age of the experience economy, we simply want more.
On this episode, Tobi covers:
Resources Mentioned in this Episode:
Toby’s visit with Shaquille O’Neil
Everything Coworking Featured Resources:
Masterclass: 3 Behind-the-Scenes Secrets to Opening a Coworking Space
The Everything Coworking Academy
Creative Coworking Partnerships: How to negotiate and structure management agreements from the landlord and operator perspective
On this episode, I share what I’m thinking about/what questions I’m asking at the beginning of 2023.
What are the big themes in flex/coworking this year?
How will we see these trends play out?
How will these trends impact operators and other flex constituents?
How can I embed more access drivers into my curriculum?
And more!
Resources Mentioned in this Episode:
Mark Gilbreath’s “Postcard from the Future” blog post
Everything Coworking Featured Resources:
Masterclass: 3 Behind-the-Scenes Secrets to Opening a Coworking Space
The Everything Coworking Academy
Creative Coworking Partnerships: How to negotiate and structure management agreements from the landlord and operator perspective
Dorothy had to talk Dan into turning the building they had just bought from Skidmore College into a Coworking space. It took convincing over one, maybe two, bottles of wine….and then it took six months to get members. But here they are, a few years later, filling up space #3, and this one is another addition to their LL portfolio.
Insights from Dorothy and Dan:
Resources Mentioned in this Episode:
Everything Coworking Featured Resources:
Masterclass: 3 Behind-the-Scenes Secrets to Opening a Coworking Space
The Everything Coworking Academy
Creative Coworking Partnerships: How to negotiate and structure management agreements from the landlord and operator perspective
Everything Coworking Featured Resources:
Masterclass: 3 Behind-the-Scenes Secrets to Opening a Coworking Space
The Everything Coworking Academy
Creative Coworking Partnerships: How to negotiate and structure management agreements from the landlord and operator perspective
Resources Mentioned in this Podcast:
John Wallace, Co-founder and CEO at Workbox, started his real estate career on the asset management and investment management side. Now he’s on the operating side, betting on an asset-light model differentiated by a platform that provides services to growing companies.
John shares the Workbox journey to date, how the Workbox team executes its asset-light, service-heavy model, his vision for Workbox for the next few years, and how they’re differentiating themselves in the flex industry.
Everything Coworking Featured Resources:
Masterclass: 3 Behind-the-Scenes Secrets to Opening a Coworking Space
The Everything Coworking Academy
Creative Coworking Partnerships: How to negotiate and structure management agreements from the landlord and operator perspective
Resources Mentioned in this Podcast:
In this episode, I recommend three books that will impact your coworking business or your entrepreneurial life.
Unreasonable Hospitality - The Remarkable Power of Giving People More than They Expect
Quit - The Power of Knowing When to Walk Away
Four Thousand Weeks - Time Management for Mortals
Everything Coworking Featured Resources:
Masterclass: 3 Behind-the-Scenes Secrets to Opening a Coworking Space
The Everything Coworking Academy
Creative Coworking Partnerships: How to negotiate and structure management agreements from the landlord and operator perspective
Resources Mentioned in this Podcast:
Alathea Hankins is the VP of Operations at CommonDesk. She started as a part-time Community Manager after surviving six interviews and a happy hour to get the job.
Through Alaethea’s six-year tenure, CommonDesk has grown to 20+ locations and been acquired by WeWork.
In this episode we talk about:
….and more.
Everything Coworking Featured Resources:
Masterclass: 3 Behind-the-Scenes Secrets to Opening a Coworking Space
The Everything Coworking Academy
Creative Coworking Partnerships: How to negotiate and structure management agreements from the landlord and operator perspective
Resources Mentioned in this Podcast:
Peter Chee founded Thinkspace in 2008. He had bought a 40,000-square-foot building with his dad and wanted to re-create the collaborative environment he'd enjoyed during his startup days.
He turned half of the building into the original Thinkspace location. He now also leases space in Redmond, Washington for his 2nd location.
His spaces focus mostly on the tech startup community and are office heavy because that's what his members want... but they're also modern and community-focused.
Peter recently had some reckoning to do with himself about where to focus his time and he decided to get some perspective, he'd buy one-way flights to different cities until he was tired of being on the road. He worked from coworking spaces around the US for three months with a stopover in Chicago to run a marathon.
He shares his story, what's working today in his business model, and his unique approach to getting clarity on what's next.
Everything Coworking Featured Resources:
Masterclass: 3 Behind-the-Scenes Secrets to Opening a Coworking Space
The Everything Coworking Academy
Creative Coworking Partnerships: How to negotiate and structure management agreements from the landlord and operator perspective
Resources Mentioned in this Podcast:
Everything Coworking Featured Resources:
Masterclass: 3 Behind-the-Scenes Secrets to Opening a Coworking Space
The Everything Coworking Academy
Creative Coworking Partnerships: How to negotiate and structure management agreements from the landlord and operator perspective
Resources Mentioned in this Podcast:
In today's business world, more and more people are working remotely. And while this can have its perks, it can also be quite isolating. That's why coworking spaces have become so popular in recent years. They provide a place for remote workers to come together, share ideas, and collaborate.
But what if you could take the concept of a coworking space one step further? That's what Ben Wales is doing with his new project, which combines a coworking space with a gym. By providing members with access to both physical and mental health facilities, Wales is hoping to create a space that will not only boost productivity, but also promote wellness.
So far, the response has been positive and Wales is optimistic about the future of his hybrid model.
Listen in to our conversation to hear Ben’s lessons learned in his first few months of business.
Resources: Please list these at the top of the Libsyn Show Notes
Everything Coworking Featured Resources:
Masterclass: 3 Behind-the-Scenes Secrets to Opening a Coworking Space
The Everything Coworking Academy
Creative Coworking Partnerships: How to negotiate and structure management agreements from the landlord and operator perspective
Resources Mentioned in this Podcast:
Workspace Collective on Instagram
Chelsea Siver is the long-time Community Manager at Workspace Collective in Ocala, Florida.
She’s been in the role for just over three years and loves it because she gets to help people every day.
She shares:
Everything Coworking Featured Resources:
Masterclass: 3 Behind-the-Scenes Secrets to Opening a Coworking Space
The Everything Coworking Academy
Creative Coworking Partnerships: How to negotiate and structure management agreements from the landlord and operator perspective
Resources Mentioned in this Podcast:
William’s email address: williamledmundson@gmail.com
William Edmundson brings a unique background to today’s coworking industry. He has roots in hospitality, he’s been deeply involved in C-Suite level operations and marketing for leading hotel and coworking franchise brands. William was recently the COO of Office Evolution, one of the largest operators in the coworking industry, and the Global Workspace Association Executive Director.
One of his passions, which grew out of the success he had with the system at Office Evolution and the GWA, is growing businesses using EOS.
In this episode, we get into:
Looking for simple software to run your coworking space that was built by coworking space operators for coworking space operators? Reach out to Proximity today
Everything Coworking Featured Resources:
Masterclass: 3 Behind-the-Scenes Secrets to Opening a Coworking Space
The Everything Coworking Academy
Creative Coworking Partnerships: How to negotiate and structure management agreements from the landlord and operator perspective
In this episode, I walk through a 9-step framework for 2023 planning for your coworking business.
If you'd like the accountability of planing with friends, join us for a two-part live workshop series in early December 2023.
If you are an Everything Coworking Academy member, you’ll get an invitation to the workshop via email.
Everything Coworking Featured Resources:
Masterclass: 3 Behind-the-Scenes Secrets to Opening a Coworking Space
The Everything Coworking Academy
Creative Coworking Partnerships: How to negotiate and structure management agreements from the landlord and operator perspective
Everything Coworking Featured Resources:
Masterclass: 3 Behind-the-Scenes Secrets to Opening a Coworking Space
The Everything Coworking Academy
Creative Coworking Partnerships: How to negotiate and structure management agreements from the landlord and operator perspective
Resources Mentioned in this Podcast:
To be featured in the Noumena community and give your members access to a whole library of entrepreneurial resources and financial education programming, all at no cost to you by the way, visit noumena.pro/coworking to fill out an interest form
Learn more about SUCCESS Space, a coworking franchise model with three revenue streams; recurring and on-demand revenue from coworking memberships, a full-service cafe, and Success Certified business coaching.
Scott Chambers is the COO of Pacific Workplaces. PAC (for short) has locations all over the San Francisco Bay Area and has recently expanded to Las Vegas, NV and Phonix, AZ.
Scott has been in the industry for 20 years.
I asked Scott to share his experience on how to grow a team to support location expansion while maintaining profitability. But we covered a number of topics including:
Everything Coworking Featured Resources:
Masterclass: 3 Behind-the-Scenes Secrets to Opening a Coworking Space
The Everything Coworking Academy
Creative Coworking Partnerships: How to negotiate and structure management agreements from the landlord and operator perspective
Resources Mentioned in this Podcast:
To be featured in the Noumena community and give your members access to a whole library of entrepreneurial resources and financial education programming, all at no cost to you by the way, visit noumena.pro/coworking to fill out an interest form
Learn more about SUCCESS Space, a coworking franchise model with three revenue streams; recurring and on-demand revenue from coworking memberships, a full-service cafe, and Success Certified business coaching.
We are well into Q4 with the end of 2022 right around the corner.
On this episode, we dive into three things you should get done before the end of the year:
Everything Coworking Featured Resources:
Masterclass: 3 Behind-the-Scenes Secrets to Opening a Coworking Space
The Everything Coworking Academy
Creative Coworking Partnerships: How to negotiate and structure management agreements from the landlord and operator perspective
Resources Mentioned in this Podcast:
To be featured in the Noumena community and give your members access to a whole library of entrepreneurial resources and financial education programming, all at no cost to you by the way, visit noumena.pro/coworking to fill out an interest form
Learn more about SUCCESS Space, a coworking franchise model with three revenue streams; recurring and on-demand revenue from coworking memberships, a full-service cafe, and Success Certified business coaching.
Dana Bergrenn opened her first coworking space, The Coop Cowork, in 2017 - 4,000 square feet of primarily offices with some community space. In December 2021, she closed her agreement for her second space which is just over 20,000 square feet.
We talk about:
Everything Coworking Featured Resources:
Masterclass: 3 Behind-the-Scenes Secrets to Opening a Coworking Space
The Everything Coworking Academy
Creative Coworking Partnerships: How to negotiate and structure management agreements from the landlord and operator perspective
Resources Mentioned in this Podcast:
To be featured in the Noumena community and give your members access to a whole library of entrepreneurial resources and financial education programming, all at no cost to you by the way, visit noumena.pro/coworking to fill out an interest form
Learn more about SUCCESS Space, a coworking franchise model with three revenue streams; recurring and on-demand revenue from coworking memberships, a full-service cafe, and Success Certified business coaching.
Coworking spaces have become a popular option for hosting events. These versatile venues can be easily customized to accommodate a wide range of events, from small team meetings to large corporate functions. These spaces offer several advantages over traditional event venues, such as hotel meeting rooms.
First, Coworking spaces are more flexible and can be customized to meet the specific needs of each event. Second, Coworking spaces are designed to promote collaboration and creativity, making events more productive and enjoyable. Finally, these spaces are typically more affordable than traditional event venues.
In this episode, we cover how Coworking spaces are an increasingly popular option for businesses of all sizes!
Everything Coworking Featured Resources:
Masterclass: 3 Behind-the-Scenes Secrets to Opening a Coworking Space
The Everything Coworking Academy
Creative Coworking Partnerships: How to negotiate and structure management agreements from the landlord and operator perspective
Resources Mentioned in this Podcast:
To be featured in the Noumena community and give your members access to a whole library of entrepreneurial resources and financial education programming, all at no cost to you by the way, visit noumena.pro/coworking to fill out an interest form
Learn more about SUCCESS Space, a coworking franchise model with three revenue streams; recurring and on-demand revenue from coworking memberships, a full-service cafe, and Success Certified business coaching.
One important factor in determining the success of your coworking space is the real estate model you choose. There are three primary models for coworking spaces: lease, buy, and management agreement. Each option has its own pros and cons, so it's important to carefully consider your options before making a decision.
The lease model is often the simplest and most straight-forward option, but it also comes with the highest risk. If your coworking space doesn't succeed, you could be left with a large rent bill and no tenants.
The buy model gives you more control over your space and can be a great long-term investment, but it requires a significant amount of upfront capital.
The management agreement model is somewhere in between, giving you more flexibility than a lease but less control than owning your own property. Ultimately, there is no right or wrong answer when it comes to choosing a real estate model for your coworking business - it all depends on your specific situation and goals.
In this episode, we dive into each model and review the pros and cons.