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Everything Coworking

The Everything Coworking podcast shares trends and how-tos for coworking operators and anyone following this exploding trend. Jamie owned and operated coworking spaces in Chicago and Palo Alto for eight years under the brand Enerspace Coworking. She was also the Executive Director of the Global Workspace Association for five years.
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Now displaying: Category: general
Mar 13, 2024

John Egan Director of Operations at Lucid Private Offices, shares:

  • His approach to hiring, including specific questions he asks

  • How he screens for “joy” in his hiring process

  • How his career as a Camp Director and an Insurance Advisor prepared him for his role at Lucid Private Offices

Resources Mentioned in this Episode:

John's LinkedIn profile

Lucid Private Offices website

Everything Coworking Featured Resources:

Free Masterclass: 3 Behind-the-Scenes Secrets to Opening a Coworking Space

Coworking Startup School

Community Manager University

The Everything Coworking Academy

Follow Us on YouTube

Mar 6, 2024

This episode is all about testing the conversion rate on your offer/landing page before scaling up the traffic to the campaign. We talk about:

  • The Importance of Marketing Conversion for Coworking Spaces: We define marketing conversion in the context of coworking spaces and discuss the significance of setting clear conversion goals for each campaign.

  • Landing Pages Explained: Discover what a landing page is, its role in your marketing strategy, and best practices for creating landing pages that convert.

  • Best Practices for Effective Landing Pages: Learn the key elements of high-converting landing pages, including clear headlines, compelling calls to action, benefit-oriented copy, high-quality imagery, social proof, mobile optimization, and the importance of speed.

  • Introduction to Testing and Optimization: Understand the basics of A/B testing and other optimization methods to improve your marketing campaigns' conversion rates.

  • A Case Study on Facebook Ads: We walk through a hypothetical case study of a coworking space testing its Facebook ad campaigns, emphasizing the importance of starting with a small budget and gradually increasing spend based on performance.

  • Key Metrics to Watch: Learn about the crucial performance indicators for digital marketing in the coworking sector, such as cost per lead, conversion rate, and return on ad spend (ROAS).

  • Scaling Up Successful Marketing Efforts: Tips on how to scale your marketing efforts once you've identified successful strategies, including reallocating budget and exploring new platforms.

Episode Resources:

Everything Coworking Featured Resources:

Free Masterclass: 3 Behind-the-Scenes Secrets to Opening a Coworking Space

Coworking Startup School

Community Manager University

The Everything Coworking Academy

Follow Us on YouTube

Feb 28, 2024

Want to make sure you get access to our special Community Manager University offer on March 4th? Go to the bottom of our home page and opt-in to our mailing list!

 

This week I dive into the art of creating urgency to boost sales and memberships in the coworking world. Inspired by the annual Container Store's 30% off Elfa sale, this episode explores how similar strategies can be effectively applied to coworking spaces, especially when launching a founding member campaign.

Here's what we covered:

  • The Psychology Behind The Container Store's Elfa Sale: An overview of the Elfa sale and why it's so successful at driving purchases.

  • Principles of Creating Urgency: How urgency influences customer behavior and decision-making.

  • Applying Retail Strategies to Coworking Spaces: Insights into adapting retail marketing strategies, like The Container Store's Elfa sale, for coworking spaces.

  • Launching a Founding Member Campaign: A step-by-step guide to creating an effective founding member campaign for your coworking space.

  • Case Studies and Success Stories: Real-world examples of coworking spaces that have successfully implemented founding member campaigns and other urgency-driven promotions.

Key Takeaways:

  • Creating urgency can help convert indecisive potential members into members.

  • Founding member campaigns, when executed well, can build a strong initial community and ensure your space's success from the start.

  • The principles of urgency and scarcity, common in retail, are also powerful tools in the coworking industry.

Resources Mentioned in this Episode:

The Container Store

Get on our mailing list to get our special Community Manager University Offer on March 4th! Go to our home page, scroll to the bottom, and opt-in!

Everything Coworking Featured Resources:

Masterclass: 3 Behind-the-Scenes Secrets to Opening a Coworking Space

Coworking Startup School

Community Manager University

The Everything Coworking Academy

Follow Us on YouTube

Feb 21, 2024

Seth Rosenblum is the Managing Director at Hone Coworks & Principal at The Rosenblum Companies. He considers the Rosenblum Companies to be “operators” at heart. Yes, they own the underlying real estate, but their business is to create the solutions that their customers are looking for…which has led them to create their own coworking and co-warehousing brands.

Here’s what we covered in our conversation:

1. Seth’s team understands the need to diversify real estate assets for sustainability. 

2. Seth’s team believes that traditional long-term office leases need to evolve to cater to immediate space needs. 

3. Landlords face challenges with funding tenant improvements….every 5 years.

4. Space Readiness: The trend towards providing furnished, serviced office spaces. 

5.'Hospitality Focus: The importance of incorporating hospitality into real estate operations. 

6. Accountability Standard': Implementing standardized operations across various business types. 

7. Team Development: Building an efficient team to manage diverse property types. 

8. Operational Evolution: Continuous improvement and operational flexibility are critical. 

9. Leadership Growth: The necessity for leaders to adapt and grow within a changing industry. 

10. Community Engagement: Engaging with the community to successfully adapt to market needs.

Resources Mentioned in this Episode:

Seth's LinkedIn profile

Hone Coworks website

Rosenblum Companies website

Launchbox website

Everything Coworking Featured Resources:

Register for our upcoming class: Funding a Coworking Space in 2024

Masterclass: 3 Behind-the-Scenes Secrets to Opening a Coworking Space

Coworking Startup School

Community Manager University

The Everything Coworking Academy

Follow Us on YouTube

 

Feb 7, 2024

Dr. Christina Hansen was on what seemed like a fruitless search for office space for her therapist practice when it suddenly hit her on her drive home one day that she could solve her own problem and create a shared office space designed for mental health practitioners.

On this episode, we talk through her journey from concept to one year after opening.

  • How she serves her unique Ideal Customer Avatar
  • How she got a turn-key buildout (and funded some upgrades)
  • How she staffs her space
  • The tech she uses to support her members
  • What her member event approach looks like
  • and more...

Resources Mentioned in this Episode:

Everything Coworking Featured Resources:

Register for our upcoming class: Funding a Coworking Space in 2024

Masterclass: 3 Behind-the-Scenes Secrets to Opening a Coworking Space

Coworking Startup School

Community Manager University

The Everything Coworking Academy

Follow Us on YouTube

 

Jan 31, 2024

We get into A LOT of details on the childcare + coworking model:

  • Combining Childcare with Coworking: A discussion on the integrated model of co-working and childcare.

  • Marketing Approaches: The importance of social media and referrals for business growth.

  • Business Model Considerations: Balancing challenges in child safety with coworking space demands.

  • Expansion and Community Presence

    • Le Village's plans for growth in Chicago, Austin, and Atlanta.

    • Targeting neighborhood markets for localized presence.

  • Demographic Impact and Social Goals: The increase in father participation, and tackling the motherhood penalty.

  • Financial Viability and Real Estate: Addressing the intertwining of profitability with real estate and labor costs.

  • Structure and Curriculum: Details on the childcare layout, staffing, and standardized curriculum.

  • Compliance and Operations: Emphasis on regulatory knowledge and compliance for franchisees.

…and more!

 

Resources Mentioned in this Episode:

Daniella's LinkedIn profile

Le Village website

Everything Coworking Featured Resources:

Register for our upcoming class: Funding a Coworking Space in 2024

Masterclass: 3 Behind-the-Scenes Secrets to Opening a Coworking Space

Coworking Startup School

Community Manager University

The Everything Coworking Academy

Follow Us on YouTube

 

Jan 24, 2024

On this episode, I nerd out with my favorite Google Product Expert Amy Toman, as we dissect the fine print of Google listings and the importance of accurate information - both for #coworking spaces and small businesses alike.

This episode dives into real-world SEO strategies, the challenges of business listings, and the power of authentic visuals in the digital arena.

Episode Highlights:

- The interplay between local rankings and business hours.

- The intricacies of listing multiple businesses at a single location.

- The significance of human-centered visuals in online business profiles.

 

Resources Mentioned in this Episode:

Amy's LinkedIn profile

Digital Law Marketing website

Everything Coworking Featured Resources:

Register for our upcoming FREE masterclass: Funding a Coworking Space in 2024

Masterclass: 3 Behind-the-Scenes Secrets to Opening a Coworking Space

Coworking Startup School

Community Manager University

The Everything Coworking Academy

Follow Us on YouTube

Jan 17, 2024

What’s on the horizon for 2024? We don’t have a crystal ball, but we do get pretty deep exposure to what’s going on in the industry through the work we do with operators all year long. So, we think we have some pretty good insights into 2024!

What does Gio do all year? Gio is a commercial office leasing broker focusing exclusively on coworking/flex deals for operators and landlords. He has the largest coworking industry network of anyone I know (besides me) and therefore really has his pulse on how markets are performing, deals getting done, and industry innovation.

What does Jamie do all day besides keeping up with two podcasts a week? She manages the Coworking Startup School, and Community Manager University, and works with asset owners on the feasibility of adding flex to their own portfolio.

Resources Mentioned in this Episode:

Register for our upcoming FREE masterclass: Funding a Coworking Space in 2024

 

Everything Coworking Featured Resources:

Register for our upcoming FREE masterclass: Funding a Coworking Space in 2024

Masterclass: 3 Behind-the-Scenes Secrets to Opening a Coworking Space

Coworking Startup School

Community Manager University

The Everything Coworking Academy

Follow Us on YouTube

 

Jan 11, 2024

Resources Mentioned in this Episode:

Register for our upcoming class: Funding a Coworking Space in 2024

 

Everything Coworking Featured Resources:

Masterclass: 3 Behind-the-Scenes Secrets to Opening a Coworking Space

Coworking Startup School

Community Manager University

The Everything Coworking Academy

Follow Us on YouTube

 

Jan 3, 2024

In this episode, I walk through 10 criteria that should be considered by a buyer of a coworking space....and by an operator that wants to build to sell...or that want to run a profitable coworking space that cash flows for their financial benefit.

Everything Coworking Featured Resources:

Masterclass: 3 Behind-the-Scenes Secrets to Opening a Coworking Space

Coworking Startup School

Community Manager University

The Everything Coworking Academy

Follow Us on YouTube

Dec 6, 2023

 

Everything Coworking Featured Resources:

The Flex Academy Coworking Bootcamp - Unlock the full potential of Your Coworking Space With Proven Insights from Industry Experts in This Exclusive Video Series.

This episode on YouTube

Masterclass: 3 Behind-the-Scenes Secrets to Opening a Coworking Space

 Coworking Startup School

Community Manager University

The Everything Coworking Academy

Follow Us on YouTube

 

Nov 29, 2023

Every coworking space has (hopefully great) coffee, but most spaces don't have a coffee business in their coworking space. This concept is becoming more popular as coworking spaces focus more on hospitality and integrating a food and beverage offering.

Jace is a Coworking Startup School™ alumnus so I got to be a part of his coworking journey and in this conversation, we get into the details and go behind-the-scenes on his coworking + coffee shop business model.

Resources Mentioned in this Episode:

 

Everything Coworking Featured Resources:

 

Nov 22, 2023

We originally aired this episode in 2022…and it has more relevance today than ever.

Pre-pandemic, we tried to avoid 10-day passes and custom plans. We wanted full-time memberships and operational simplicity. Well…today’s coworking space user has changed our tune. 

In this episode, we talk about:

  • Looking at the 10 day pass as a “healthy” option for end users that needs to be sold in volume

  • Designing access packages for teams - how to give them the access they need and getting the recurring revenue and predictability that your business needs.

  • Testing meeting room access plans that build loyalty and recurring revenue

  • Leveraging meeting room demand

 

Everything Coworking Featured Resources:

Nov 15, 2023

Scott Tillitt has a strong “why” around coworking. A PR/Communication Consultant by day, he also ran a not-for-profit supporting Localism and sees coworking as the intersection of community engagement, economic development, and supporting local. As a matter of fact, he’s not very worried about his coffee game because the mile-long main street Beahive is located on has no fewer than six local coffee shops.

Scott is a true coworking OG - he opened his first location in 2009 in Beacon, NY, a little over an hour out of NYC by train. Over the years he was a pioneer in experimenting with multiple locations and creative partnership agreements. 

He shared his coworking journey, lessons learned in his fourteen years in business, and he also gave us a little BTS on his Coworking Ambassador program. Scott runs his primary location, but his second and third locations are staffed by responsible members, a very part-time Community Activator, and some Coworking Community Ambassadors.

If you’re trying to figure out how to manage staffing in smaller locations, you’ll get some good nuggets and perspective from Scott.

 

Resources Mentioned in this Episode:

The Everything Coworking Academy

Scott's LinkedIn profile

Beahive website

 

Everything Coworking Featured Resources:

Masterclass: 3 Behind-the-Scenes Secrets to Opening a Coworking Space

Coworking Startup School - Phase I: Validate

Community Manager University

The Everything Coworking Academy

Follow Us on YouTube

 

Nov 8, 2023

Neighbourgood is about great places to live, stay, work, connect, and experience. They've created a dense ecosystem of neighbourhood hotels, apartments, and workspaces that connect communities across Cape Town...and their mission is to do this around the world.

Murray was one of our very first Coworking Startup School™ students and he's taking coworking and community to the next level! He shares the Neighbourgood story to date and their vision for the future.

Resources Mentioned in this Episode:

Murray's LinkedIn profile

Neighbourgood website

 

Everything Coworking Featured Resources:

 

Masterclass: 3 Behind-the-Scenes Secrets to Opening a Coworking Space

Coworking Startup School - Phase I: Validate

Community Manager University

The Everything Coworking Academy

Follow Us on YouTube

 

Nov 1, 2023

Tricia Teague is a multi-passionate entrepreneur. 

She moved back to her hometown of Danville, IL after 20 years away and knew she needed to bring coworking to the community.

If you're interested in small-town coworking or leveraging grants to support your space and/or members, this one is for you.

 

Resources Mentioned in This Podcast

Tricia's LinkedIn profile

Soar Space website

The Trep School website


Everything Coworking Featured Resources:

Masterclass: 3 Behind-the-Scenes Secrets to Opening a Coworking Space

Coworking Startup School - Phase I: Validate

Community Manager University

The Everything Coworking Academy

Follow Us on YouTube

Oct 25, 2023

Are potential members trying to get you to talk about cost per square foot? Shift the conversation to "total cost of occupancy" and compare the total cost of a traditional lease, or even a sublease, to a coworking option.

In this episode:

  • We explore the concept of TCO, which goes beyond initial rent costs to consider all expenses associated with office space.
  • We break down the TCO for coworking and subleasing, emphasizing the importance of hidden costs, flexibility, and included amenities.
  • Learn how to use TCO as a powerful tool in conversations with potential customers, helping them understand the true value of coworking for their businesses.

Resources Mentioned in This Podcast

The Total Cost of Occupancy Blog Post

Everything Coworking Featured Resources:

Masterclass: 3 Behind-the-Scenes Secrets to Opening a Coworking Space

Coworking Startup School - Phase I: Validate

Community Manager University

The Everything Coworking Academy

Follow Us on YouTube

Oct 18, 2023

In this episode, we explore one operator’s assumption that organic social media is critical to the success of a coworking business. 

We talk about:

  • Low organic reach (2% - 10%)

  • The concept that we advertise on Google to get found by active searchers and we show up on social media to interrupt potential customers that may not even know about coworking

  • Outsourcing social media vs. handling it in-house

  • Investing in paid ads on either Google or Facebook

  • Tracking your lead sources so that you can let the numbers tell you where to focus and what to spend money on!

Resources Mentioned in This Podcast

The Facebook Ads library

Everything Coworking Featured Resources:

Masterclass: 3 Behind-the-Scenes Secrets to Opening a Coworking Space

The Everything Coworking Academy

Community Manager University

Follow Us on YouTube

 

Oct 11, 2023

This episode focuses on aligning your coworking space size with your goals. It covers topics such as the importance of understanding your business model, considering different goals for your space, diversifying income sources, and understanding the profitability of small spaces.

Highlights:

  • Considerations regarding the cost and profitability of small coworking spaces.
  • Learning from Brian Watson and his experience with smaller, automated locations.-
  • Different goals for creating a coworking space, such as fostering community or generating profit.
  • The need to align your business model and strategy with your desired goals.
  • The importance of understanding real estate costs, pricing, staffing, and unexpected expenses.

Resources Mentioned in this Episode:

Brian Watson episode on automating small coworking spaces

 

Everything Coworking Featured Resources:

Masterclass: 3 Behind-the-Scenes Secrets to Opening a Coworking Space

The Coworking Startup School

The Everything Coworking Academy

Community Manager University

Follow Us on YouTube

Oct 3, 2023

Jen Luby is the founder and CEO of Dayhouse Coworking in Highland Park, a suburb of Chicago.

Jen's story might sound familiar....one day, while trying to do deep creative work with a three year old interrupting her every 45 seconds, she thought there must be a better way. Enter Dayhouse. Dayhouse was designed to serve members like Jen who needed a professional, but family-friendly place to get work done.

Jen and her team have experimented with various kid-friendly models and landed on a version where there's an enclosed, kid-friendly area in the space that is often used by therapists who work with kids and gets booked for school-day-off activities and day camps. 

Here are some questions that I ask Jen:

Who is your ideal customer? What do they want out of your coworking space?

How do your values align with what your Ideal Customer wants as well as the type of business that you want to run?

What does being family-friendly look like for you? What have you experimented with? 

What has worked/not worked?

 

Resources Mentioned in this Episode:

Jen's LinkedIn profile

Dayhouse Coworking website

Everything Coworking Featured Resources:

Masterclass: 3 Behind-the-Scenes Secrets to Opening a Coworking Space

The Everything Coworking Academy

Community Manager University

Creative Coworking Partnerships: How to negotiate and structure management agreements from the landlord and operator perspective

Follow Us on YouTube

Sep 29, 2023

I like to call myself a chronic DIY’er. This mindset has its place…that place is not in staining three decks with spindle railings…nor does it belong in creating a coworking business that could bankrupt you in mistakes made before you even open your doors. 

Let’s talk about what can go well and what can derail us when we attempt to DIY a significant project.

Resources Mentioned in this Episode:

Coworking Startup School

Everything Coworking Featured Resources:

Masterclass: 3 Behind-the-Scenes Secrets to Opening a Coworking Space

The Everything Coworking Academy

Community Manager University

Creative Coworking Partnerships: How to negotiate and structure management agreements from the landlord and operator perspective

Follow Us on YouTube

Sep 13, 2023

In this episode, we talk about why WeWork failed (the simplified version) and why WeWork’s failure isn’t correlated to the ability of an independent operator to be profitable and successful.

We cover:

  • The short version of the rise and fall of WeWork

  • WeWork’s historical focus on growth over unit economics. 

  • How independent operators and asset owners can focus on unit economics, local market knowledge and sustainable growth to create and grow a profitable business

 

Resources Mentioned in this Episode:

WeCrashed

How I Did This: Expanded to Multiple Locations

Lemonade stand plans on Pinterest

Our lemonade stand! We had to transport it to the park where we could access foot traffic :)

 

Everything Coworking Featured Resources:

Masterclass: 3 Behind-the-Scenes Secrets to Opening a Coworking Space

The Everything Coworking Academy

Community Manager University

Creative Coworking Partnerships: How to negotiate and structure management agreements from the landlord and operator perspective

Follow Us on YouTube

 

Sep 7, 2023

And for us since day one, we realized that even though we have competitors in the sense of office space. We're really competing against people in their homes. If we can't bring people out of their houses and into a better experience at GP, then people aren't going to churn, right?

Tim Hasse, the founder of General Provision, gives us the inside look into a space that identifies as a “work club,” not as an office or even a coworking space. 

His intuition long before COVID was to create an experience that wasn’t just about work. “The mantra very early was that anybody could come in and outbuild us, but they'll never be able to outservice us. And that's the, the culture that still lives on, you know, nine years later.

Resources Mentioned in this Episode:

Tim's LinkedIn profile

General Provision website

 

Everything Coworking Featured Resources:

Masterclass: 3 Behind-the-Scenes Secrets to Opening a Coworking Space

The Everything Coworking Academy

Community Manager University

Creative Coworking Partnerships: How to negotiate and structure management agreements from the landlord and operator perspective

Follow Us on YouTube

 

Aug 28, 2023

This is a bonus episode and it will be most relevant to those of you that are still thinking about or working on opening a coworking space.

On this episode I share the new format that we're testing for the Coworking Startup School with the goal to get you more clear and confident on the first few steps of our 12-Step Profitable Coworking Framework because these matter the most...and this is where the most operators make the biggest, most expensive mistakes.

Get the details on our live cohort - registration closes Friday, September 1st.

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