Launching Well (Not Screwing Up)!

[John Saddington]

We're super excited to be moving forward strongly with a new space in Atlanta, GA. For those interested, here's a preview of the space:

http://tentblo.gs/opencopreview

We're in historic downtown with a parking deck attached. I'm moving the core team (my startup team) into the space this week and we're starting to organically market just through word of mouth but don't plan on launching publicly until November with our website, etc.

Here are a few top-of-mind thoughts/questions that I've got:

1. I'm sure we all experimented with pricing... how quickly did you pivot/change your pricing as you saw the demand pivot/change? How confident were you in your pricing at launch?
2. What were some of the considerations that you had to differentiate yourself among other locations? Major thoughts about marketing, etc?
3. What are some of the major "pitfalls" or mistakes that you made in the first few months that I should be aware of? (Thanks for sharing these in advance!)
4. How did you determine your "working" hours? Did you start out as a 9-5 location and then move to a 24/7? How many of you are open all hours? 

I've got all the excitement of opening a new spot but also all the jitters of being a new coworking owner (as many of you can relate). I know we're going to make a lot of mistakes so I'm ready for that (as best as one can be)!

We're a bit different in that we're looking to build an accelerator/incubator for new startups and ventures. I have a startup background with raising angel/vc and exiting a few previous ventures, so I'm stoked to do be doing that in this space (and since it's in a larger building we can export our growing businesses up stairs one so they don't leave the general ecosystem).

Thanks all! 

john

http://john.do

[Dirk Onderdonck]

John,

Very nice I really like it J

Congrats

 

Some reflections

Q1 : don’t be to cheap but keep in mind that your greatest competitor is “at home for free”

Q2 : your space design will do this for you. The love or hate of your visitors will make them decide.

Q3 : My mistake : Trying to sell my space. ……. Make you’re visitors buying it. Stay firm and be generous in your hospitality. Make them feel at home.

Q4 : Depends on demand, reasonability and economics ;-)

 

Lots of success

 

Dirk

www.bardoffice.com

Belgium

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Visit this forum on the web at http://discuss.coworking.com
 
 

[Alex Hillman]

Dirk's answers kick ass. Heed them well.

Also, it sounds like you're launching a space with some uncertainty of who you're launching it for other than a vague answer of startups. One common mistake I've seen in this case of having space but not people is "shopping while hungry". 

http://dangerouslyawesome.com/2012/07/tips-for-building-community-after-opening-a-coworking-space/

Along those lines, differentiate. Why would I want to join your community, vs another? Your stuff and your space aren't why people will join in droves, it's your identity and people wanting to belong.

Good luck and welcome to the Coworking community!!

-Alex

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/ah
indyhall.org
coworking in philadelphia

building a community? http://masterclass.indyhall.org

[John Saddington]

Alex,

No, we've done our persona(s) study and I've built one of my previous startups in a coworkign environment. it works. that's the type of philosophy I want to bring to Atlanta (previous one was in between the valley and austin).

We have an idea and we have the vision. i'm now looking at logistics.

great response!

John Saddington

http://john.do

[John Saddington]

oh, I might add (love your blog post, already read it ... as i've read most of your stuff by now!) that I already have a startup team that needed the space.

that's what i love about our idea - dogfooding this thing to success. my startup team loves to collaborate with other teams and it was either we go find another office space and build it out (our lease ended this month on our previous space) or build the place we always wanted to work at with other companies, businesses, entrepreneurs, and creatives.

we decided to do the latter. we're a funny bunch of geeks besides: http://8bit.io/about/

the thing that i'm interested to know is although we have a vision and persona(s) for our target market, etc... how much does this change as the culture changes with the people coming in? 

[Alex Hillman]

Be careful - persona studies are great for the idea, but personas don't pay memberships - people do!

It's easy to notice the "artifacts" of a Coworking space while working there without realizing why they are there. There's also a lot of the experience that's subtle but has a huge impact on why you found it so critical to your success. 

I love that you want to give that back - just don't overlook building the community or assuming it happens by magic - it's an important part of the work. The most common reason Coworking spaces fail is in building community momentum - even if you get the environment right, nobody cares about it and you're stuck alone in an empty room or battling high turnover. 

Now's the time to get started - NOT after you open your doors. Trust me on this one, it only gets harder :)

-Alex

--
/ah
indyhall.org
coworking in philadelphia
building a community? http://masterclass.indyhall.org