Re: [Coworking] How to grow/communitize co-working inside an existing office?

[Alex Hillman]

I'm especially unsure how to create the small community without making the existing people feel uncomfortable.

Can you explain a bit more about what you're concerned about here? 

It sounds like you've got some fears that are holding you back from creating something potentially great. Lets get those fears out in the open so we can get rid of them! :)

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/ah

indyhall.org

coworking in philadelphia

On Wednesday, August 1, 2012 at 2:49 AM, Michael Hopkins wrote:

Hi, my company (2 people) shares office space with another company (1 person.) The space is open floor plan. We keep the extra desk/couch/table area open in the spirit of co-working. Two people use it semi-regularly.

We would really like to see a *few* more people use it and grow a very tight, entrepreneurial co-working community out of it. We have absolutely no plans to make money off of it so long as our companies can keep paying the rent, although we'd consider splitting rent with someone who wanted to work there full-time. 

How should we proceed effectively here? I'm especially unsure how to create the small community without making the existing people feel uncomfortable. Happy to answer any follow-up questions.

Michael

P.S. One more caveat: we had a full-fledged co-working space in our city close a year ago, and we're "refugees" from that. There's no bad blood but we do not want to undertake any kind of aggressive campaign to publicize this.

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[Jonathan Graham]

Have you ever though about joining an existing coworking community? It could be a great place to meet other folks and might even be cheaper than your rent.

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[Linda Rolf]

If it helps, we have just launched Swivel Spaces (www.swivelspaces.com) in Orlando in our existing office space.   It was actually the desire to have  the space filled with a broad range of skills and energy that led us to this.   The existing employees are excited by it and not concerned about “feeling uncomfortable” at all.   

 

Is there something specific that you’re concerned about?

 

 

Linda

[Jerome Chang]

Just to clarify: there are 3 current dedicated desks plus a 4th open?

If so, this would be a very small community. I would think that you would have to program events and such. 

Jerome

http://wew.BLANKSPACES.com

[Anca Mosoiu]

Since you're only trying to fill one desk, you can just go into your community and see if you can find someone you want to hang out with (or several someones).  You can throw parties, or have an open house or a project night or something.

The key is to attract the particular kind of people you want to hang out with - and this is something that you should work on with the existing community.

Cheers,

Anca.

-=-=-=-

Anca Mosoiu | Tech Liminal

an...@techliminal.com

M: (510) 220-6660

http://techliminal.com | T: @techliminal | F: facebook.com/techliminal

[Michael Hopkins]

Just to clarify, there is one empty desk. There are two chairs and a couch around a table as well. We would be willing to go up to two more desks and we actually have those somewhere else. But yes, we do want a small community. 

As soon as you said that, Alex, I felt silly. You are right. :) What are my fears? I suppose they are that we would ruin the current casual atmosphere trying to do something too deliberate. Also, we are willing to spend time on this but we wouldn't want to commit to too much time. The risk there is we wouldn't be able to follow through.

Michael

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[Alex Hillman]

Small communities are GREAT, and they can become the seeds for bigger communities. I think this is an excellent approach.

You're worried about things that don't actually exist. 

Focus on making it a great place to be now, and more importantly, a great group of people to be around. Focus on participation as one of the elements of joining the community, and encourage people not to treat it as a place to work but a place to contribute to making it better.

Make it your job to help them contribute rather than do things for them, and the time commitment problems start to fade. Involve them, include them, even in the little stuff.

"When people are financially invested, they want a return. When people are emotionally invested, they want to contribute." - Simon Sineck

You can worry about what it might become "if things go well" when things go well. You should be so lucky. :)

-Alex

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/ah

indyhall.org

coworking in philadelphia

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[Anthony Marinos]

Hi Michael,

Thanks a lot for starting this great thread. There are definitely a lot of companies in your position who are interested in figuring out the best way to host coworkers in their existing office. Alex, Jonathan, Linda, and Jerome have already made some great suggestions. 

I thought it might also be worth it for you to check out Loosecubes! We're a peer-to-peer workspace sharing community that helps business owners (like you) connect with freelancers and entrepreneurs in need of a flexible place to work on a daily basis. Through our platform, you'll be able to host relevant professionals on an ongoing basis (and it's totally free). Let me know if you're interested in joining the site. Feel free to e-mail me at ant...@loosecubes.com or give me a call at 347-449-0771.

Talk to you soon,

Anthony

[Michael Hopkins]

Thanks, everyone. This is quite encouraging. The Simon Sineck quote is wonderful.  I can see how involving everybody and making things great for them will solve all the "problems" at once.

Anthony, Loosecubes sounds very interesting. I am sending you an e-mail about that.

Michael

Anthony

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