Everything Coworking Featured Resources:
Masterclass: 3 Behind-the-Scenes Secrets to Opening a Coworking Space
Creative Coworking Partnerships: How to negotiate and structure management agreements from the landlord and operator perspective
Examples mentioned in the podcast:
Ampersand Studios in Miami Beach - Space for Creators
Blue House Wellness in Atlanta
Residence Coworking (not a niche space but fantastic copywriting)
What drives success for a niche coworking space
- You can design the space exactly for your ideal member
- You can message about the space exactly for your ideal member
- You can stand out in a market that has a strong supply of “generic” coworking
Make sure…
- You don’t want to be niche, but speak generically to avoid turning away leads
Today more than ever, smaller towns and even rural areas want to support local entrepreneurs, business owners, and even remote workers, with the workspace, amenities, and community they need to be productive and stay connected. But it’s hard.
Brian Watson - Co-founder of Proximity and now Co-founder of Alt Space, shares his thesis on how to make small-town coworking work by using automation to build the first sustainable rural coworking brand.
Alt Space exists to connect small businesses, entrepreneurs, and remote workers to the tools, resources, and people they need in order to be successful. We believe in the power of community and collaboration, and know that by working together we can accomplish the impossible.
In this episode, we talk about:
- Catching up with Brian - leaving Proximity, moving to Telluride, co-founding Alt Space
- The problem Brian is solving with Alt Space
- The economic development opportunity in small towns/rural areas (esp. post-COVID)
- Why grant-funded spaces aren’t sustainable (most of the time)
- How the Alt Coworking model is set up to be an automated workspace
- The Alt Coworking tech stack
- What the digital layer of programming and community will offer to the network of member spaces
- What type of space this model can work for
- What’s working well with the model
- What are the challenges that they’re still solving
- Brian's 5-year vision for the platform
Everything Coworking Featured Resources:
Masterclass: 3 Behind-the-Scenes Secrets to Opening a Coworking Space
Creative Coworking Partnerships: How to negotiate and structure management agreements from the landlord and operator perspective
Resources Mentioned in this Podcast:
Proximity space management software
With 3300 locations worldwide, IWG, a public company, is by far the largest flexible workspace provider in the world. They have locations in 120 countries and serve over 8 million members under a broad array of brand flags including Regus, Spaces, The Wing, and The Clubhouse.
Wayne Berger, Chief Executive Officer, The Americas at IWG plc, has been on a wild ride since he joined 8 years ago. He joined just as startup WeWork was taking the space-as-a-service industry by storm, going from 0 to 750 locations in less than 10 years, and then making a move to go public. Wayne also managed a global portfolio during a global pandemic and has a birds-eye view of how the recovery is unfolding.
My cohost for this episode, Giovanni Palavicini, Principal- Flexible Office Solutions Avison Young & GWA Board Member & Worked at Regus in their Real Estate Dev Group from 2012 to 2016.
Giovanni and I talk with Wayne about his predictions for the next 5 years in flexible workspace, what he’s seeing globally as markets recover, and how IWG will add 1,000 locations a year over the next few years.
Everything Coworking Featured Resources:
Masterclass: 3 Behind-the-Scenes Secrets to Opening a Coworking Space
Creative Coworking Partnerships: How to negotiate and structure management agreements from the landlord and operator perspective
Resources Mentioned in this Podcast:
Michelle Talbert, a recovering corporate attorney, opened the doors to Her Power Space on January 12, 2020 and, due to the pandemic, locked them on March 31, and didn’t return to the Space until May.
Michelle talks us through this challenging beginning to her business, how she recovered, her unique blend of digital and physical business support for her members, and how she got her email marketing superpowers.
Everything Coworking Featured Resources:
Masterclass: 3 Behind-the-Scenes Secrets to Opening a Coworking Space
Creative Coworking Partnerships: How to negotiate and structure management agreements from the landlord and operator perspective
Resources Mentioned in this Podcast:
Michelle Y. Talbert on LinkedIn
Michelle's Free Business and Marketing Resource: Make It Rain Customers
The space-as-a-service industry is evolving rapidly post-COVID. We asked five thought leaders in various industry roles to share their perspectives on what 2022 will look like for coworking.
In this episode, you’ll hear from:
Nicole Vasquez, Deskpass Co-Founder & Chief People Officer
Laurent Dhollande, CEO, Pacific Workplaces and CEO CloudVO
Kayley DiCicco, Enterprise Account Solutions for Expansive
Hector Kolonas, Co-founder of Syncaroo
Everything Coworking Featured Resources:
Masterclass: 3 Behind-the-Scenes Secrets to Opening a Coworking Space
Creative Coworking Partnerships: How to negotiate and structure management agreements from the landlord and operator perspective