My thoughts on the private office vs public space issue

[Clark Covington]

Hi,

Cowork space owner, and active reader of this Google Group here. Let
me preface this note by explaining that I absolutely love this group.
It is a wonderfully rich well of knowledge that I dip into often as
the owner of a new coworking space. Many people in this group have
personally helped me including Mike from Ignition Alley, Tara via her
book Whuffie Factor from Citizen Space, and the folks at CoLab Orlando
to name just a few. So by no means am I trying to argue with those
that know far more about this concept than I. However, from what I’ve
seen the genuine need in what people are at least telling me they want
out of a workspace is the hybrid model of having both private offices
and common space.

I’ve written a blog post fleshing out my feelings about what people
really want in a coworking space here. After talking with dozens of
building owners, leasing agents, possible tenants, current tenants,
and other facility owners this post was my conclusion of where the
demand truly exists. If you have time over the holidays I’d be
thrilled if you’d give it a look.

http://clarkcovington.blogspot.com/2009/12/give-them-what-they-want-or-go-home.html

Thanks and Happy Holidays,
Clark Covington

[Tara Hunt]

Great article...only thing I would push back on is: "Give people what they ask for"

As many spaces have experienced, what people ask for and what the actually want are two different things. CubeSpace in Portland suffered because of this. People wanted offices and cubes and photocopiers and their dedicated phonelines, etc. They worked with the local community to determine that these things were in high demand. But when they opened, they struggled to keep people in the space...most of them headed over to Souk, which is mostly open space, has no dedicated phonelines, limited copying/printing resources and very different from what ppl filled out on the survey.

At the end of the day, it isn't "Give people what they ask for" nor is it "Force something you want on people" - it's something different. Community. Understanding what people really need. Creating an atmosphere. An experience. A reason for people to want to get out of their PJ's and trudge over to a space to work with others. Hell, if that is offices blended with open space, so be it. But the blend doesn't always work - even when people have asked for it.

T

--

You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Coworking" group.
To post to this group, send email to cowo...@googlegroups.com.
To unsubscribe from this group, send email to coworking+...@googlegroups.com.
For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en.

--
tara 'missrogue' hunt

Book: The Whuffie Factor (http://www.thewhuffiefactor.com)
Blog: HorsePigCow: Marketing Uncommon (http://horsepigcow.com)
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/missrogue
phone: 514-679-2951

[Mike Pihlman]

I agree....great article. Thanks Tara for the advice. :-)

Mike

> that know far more about this concept than I. However, from what I�ve

> seen the genuine need in what people are at least telling me they want
> out of a workspace is the hybrid model of having both private offices
> and common space.
>

> I�ve written a blog post fleshing out my feelings about what people

> really want in a coworking space here. After talking with dozens of
> building owners, leasing agents, possible tenants, current tenants,
> and other facility owners this post was my conclusion of where the

> demand truly exists. If you have time over the holidays I�d be
> thrilled if you�d give it a look.

>
> http://clarkcovington.blogspot.com/2009/12/give-them-what-they-want-or-go-home.html
>
> Thanks and Happy Holidays,
> Clark Covington
>
> --
>
> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google
> Groups "Coworking" group.
> To post to this group, send email to cowo...@googlegroups.com

> <mailto:cowo...@googlegroups.com>.

> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to
> coworking+...@googlegroups.com

> <mailto:coworking%2Bunsu...@googlegroups.com>.

> For more options, visit this group at
> http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en.
>
>
>
>
>
> --
> tara 'missrogue' hunt
>
> Book: The Whuffie Factor (http://www.thewhuffiefactor.com)
> Blog: HorsePigCow: Marketing Uncommon (http://horsepigcow.com)
> Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/missrogue
> phone: 514-679-2951
>
> --
>
> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google
> Groups "Coworking" group.
> To post to this group, send email to cowo...@googlegroups.com.
> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to
> coworking+...@googlegroups.com.
> For more options, visit this group at
> http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en.

--
Mike Pihlman
TracyVirtualOffice
"A Coworking Community"
95 W. 11th Street, Suite 203
Tracy, CA 95376
Mobile: 209-608-4340
Web: TracyVirtualOffice.com
Twitter: @TracyVirtOffice
Skype: tracyvirtualoffice1

[Jerome Chang]

Great article Clark.  It's good to know that you're readily acknowledging the urgent need to adapt and adapt quickly to customer demand.  That's very critical.

We've definitely learned a thing or two from our "customers".  Originally, we had set up these very exact plans for 2 days/wk, and 3 days/wk, etc., but we found a greater demand for either unlimited plans.  We of course have part-time memberships, but "sell" many more unlimited plans.

As for the blend, in our view, you should definitely have a blend.  We would've definitely not been able to draw people in had we not had offices.  Then again, Souk, Indy Hall, and many others will prove me wrong.  I guess we all just have slightly different demographics.

Jerome

______________
BLANKSPACES
"work wide open"

www.blankspaces.com
5405 Wilshire Blvd (2 blocks west of La Brea)
Los Angeles, CA 90036
323.330.9505 (office)

[Jacob Sayles]

I disagree.

We tell folks "no" all the time.  It's not about forcing them into our model or trying to change their behavior, it's about knowing what is important to us and what business we want to be in.  We get folks asking over and over if they can rent our conference rooms by the hour.  We are not in the "rooms by the hour" business so we tell them no.  If we said yes, we could easily fill them up to the detriment of the residents who are our number one priority.  It all goes hand and hand with the base philosophy that we don't want to be all things to all people...  we only hold 40 or so.

Jacob

---
Office Nomads - Individuality without Isolation
http://www.officenomads.com -  (206) 323-6500

[Mike Schinkel]

I'm in the middle on this, and thanks for the ack Clark.

Listening is important, but so is deciding what you want your space to be able and catering to that subset of the population. Like Jacob we have said "no" to "by the hour."  We want to build a community, not cater to a set of transients.  And like Tara said we try to figure out what they need.  

But hey, we've only be doing this 3 months so we've still got a long way to go!

-Mike Schinkel

Co-founder; Ignition Alley Atlanta Coworking

www.ignitionalley.com

P.S. For another take on listening to customers there's always "The Innovator's Dilemma" by Clayton Christensen.

[Angel]

It seems like there can be 100 different ways to organize a coworking
space. I'm planning on doing a focus group with the local knowledge
nomads to find out what would get them coming in. Will share the
results!

> http://clarkcovington.blogspot.com/2009/12/give-them-what-they-want-o...

[Heidi Jesko]

Clark .... I agree with your assessment - especially if they're a small
business owner. For those folks that work out of their home seem to be
different. It's just penetrating them seems to be the challenge. I
followed your link and was not able to display your information. Would love
to read it.

Heidi Jesko
SmartOffice
changing how we work

www.smartoffice.pro
922 Surrey Drive
Flower Mound, TX 75022
469.322.1482

--

[Michael Gudger]

Hello, my name is Michael Gudger & I believe I have a unique perspective on Coworking. I am a co-owner of Peachtree Offices in Atlanta. I am also a co-owner of Southeast Realty group which is a tenant rep firm helping businesses find commercial office space for lease in Atlanta. What I see is that the demand for private office space is strong. I also see that the demand for Coworking space is strong. The right solution just depends on the businesses needs. We offer a hybrid where larger companies can create a coworking space in Atlanta specific to their team members. 

Thanks,

Michael Gudger