Coworking in small towns vs. cities

[bfogle]

I have been reading a lot of articles about coworking in smaller towns vs. cities and I just wanted to get everyones opinions on this. I recently moved to Phoenix AZ and would love to try and get something started in the area. Phoenix already has several great coworking spaces but from what I am seeing most generally revolve around the downtown area (which I'm sure attracts the younger crowd) but my question is how would I gain attraction from the same kind of crowd in a smaller setting? Building a community is my first priority.  What have other coworking space owners and coworkers in general done to start communities in their home towns? What have you learned from the experience? Pros and Cons?

 

Thanks!

Brian

[Frank DePalma]

Hi Brian,

We are about to open The CoLab in Port Townsend WA (pop. 9,000) in February, so I don't have any operational knowledge yet. But I can share with you, our strategy for building a coworking community in our small town. The pros and cons of rural coworking will depend on the individual place. One positive for us is that the lack of big employers means we have a lot of home-based businesses. These (usually young) entrepreneurs often feel a lack of community support in our town of mostly retirees. This small-but-growing demographic of young entrepreneurs welcomed a peer group that valued their contributions. The biggest con is that our small town has fewer potential members that can afford a coworking membership compared to more populated markets. 

My partner and I both have been volunteering on boards of directors for local organizations that have "economic development" as part of their mission. This helps us stay aware of what entrepreneurs and home-based businesses need. It is no surprise that the value of coworking is collaboration and socialization to combat the feeling of isolation. Buzzwords like "project-based economy, collaboration, and coopitition" have become part of the local conversation and the coworking movement became the physical representation for "the new economy." Soon like-minded people wanted to be involved in the conversation, and regular meetings in coffee shops evolved into "jellies."

The biggest lesson I've learned so far is "Don't rush it!" - Several of our core group have been meeting weekly for about 18 months to discuss and promote the concept of coworking in our town. The size of the space, location, amenities, budget, and expectations are completely different than what I envisioned when we started the conversation. 

We started with a simple survey (http://survey.ptcolab.com) that both helped us gather useful data, and introduced the coworking concept to our community. We joined the local chamber of commerce (even though we weren't really a business yet) and we volunteered to speak at weekly luncheons (they often need guest speakers) and any event that would have us. The local economic development counsel gave us free access to their meeting space for free coworking sessions one day per week, which got the attention of the local newspaper. That snowballed into the local state park and library wanting us to use their space for our weekly "jellies" - which helped promote their meeting spaces and small business resources to our small-but-growing group of participating businesses. We gladly promote other local resources via our Facebook page which has itself become a source of useful information.

Finally we decided to do a one-day "small business symposium" (http://www.ptcolab.com/small-business-symposium). Guest speakers volunteered their time (in exchange for free publicity), and anyone in the community was free to attend a workshop and spend the day networking and coworking. The event concluded with the monthly social event for the local Young Professionals Network. The success of this event proved to us that our small community was ready to embrace collaboration over competition, and helped solidify our place as a physical manifestation of a small-business resource center for our potential members. 

I believe that coworking is the single biggest game-changer for rural economics. As more of us choose small-town life and move out of the city, the need for a world-class facility to work, meet, and collaborate grows every day.

Best of luck to you!

~ Frank DePalma

http://ptcolab.com

[bfogle]

Thanks Frank!,

Lots of great information, The idea of the survey is great. It sounds like you have good experience to help you along your way as you begin to open your space in a more rural area.

[Jacob Sayles]

Frank this is wonderful!  I'm very excited for you guys and love to see you are making valuable contributions to the Port Townsend community and the coworking community here.  Happy New Year!  

Jacob

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[Alex Hillman]

This is an awesome story to hear, Frank! It sounds like you've taken a lot of time to look, listen, and find people who don't just have similar needs, but a shared desire to contribute to building the community.

The size of the space, location, amenities, budget, and expectations are completely different than what I envisioned when we started the conversation. 

This CANNOT be overstated! Congrats on not only seeing it, but recognizing it enough to say it out loud. This isn't said often enough, I think because it takes some humility and honesty that people aren't prepared for. Good for you :)

Happy New Year, and best of luck in 2013!

-Alex

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/ah

indyhall.org

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