
Learn about what coworking is and where it's going.
Coworking is a movement. The word as we know it today was coined by Brad Neuberg in 2005 in San Francisco—some of his earliest fans took the idea with his blessing and ran with it, building shared free resources and discussion spaces online.
By doing that, they ensured anyone anywhere could copy and remix the coworking idea—and that's why the word is a household name today!
Check out the free resources at coworking.org and join the Forum to access tons of wisdom!
(Watch my included video, originally presented at GCUC Canada in 2005, for some context!)
Coworking's far from being a saturated market, if you have the right approach—learn where coworking is going.
When it comes to sustainable models for coworking, you may have more options than you realize—let's talk about the wide variety of options you have, because you might be able to save a lot of time and money!
Building a coworking space involves recruiting the support of a wide variety of people, including:
Financial supporters
Customers
Service providers (legal, finance, construction, buildout, IT, supplies and more)
A landlord
Strategic partners
...and many more.
Nobody builds a successful space in a vacuum.
Even if you are starting totally from scratch—with no money and few personal connections—this lecture will show you how to build up the support system you'll need to get your space open.
This is a pragmatic, gradual, iterative approach. When you follow it, you'll be continually building up your capacity to take the next step towards opening your space—or learning why you might need to hold until the circumstances align.
Now that you know all of the great ways you might find people who can help you, let's go get ahold of them and bring them on board!
This lecture walks you through an incredibly simple, accessible strategy for recruiting prospective supporters and building your network.
Follow this sequence well and you'll have access to no shortage of prospective customers, collaborators, financial supporters, and more!
If you follow all the steps up to this point, you should be setting yourself up nicely to have a wide network of support in your area. Let's talk where to go from here!
Working on building a coworking space? Great! Let's make sure you get on the right track!
I've distilled my 12+ years of experience running coworking spaces and teaching thousands of others into the most succinct, effective approach possible.
This series of lectures and printable worksheets will give you everything you need to better understand:
The sustainable business models (there are probably more than you think!)
How to identify all the potential supporters who can help you
How to build a support network to help you finance and build your space
And so much more. Follow everything in this course and you'll be well on your way to opening a thriving space that's built to last!