There's a couple of interesting things in this thread I've been wanting to reply to.
I totally agree with you. A couple of weekends ago I was a part of the first Coworking Pennsylvania conference in Lancaster, PA (and maybe the first state-wide coworking conference in the US? I'm not really sure).
One of the most striking themes was that out of 60+ attendees, there were...less than 10 joining from the 2 "major" cities (Philly and Pittsburgh). The majority of coworking in our entire state is happening in smaller cities and towns. For just one example,
Radius Coworking in Erie PA (population <100,000) has played a huge role in building a new and vibrant creative/small business community. There were even additional coworking spaces opening up in nearby towns
smaller than Erie, started by former members of Radius.
Coworking in big cities gets all of the press, but coworking in small towns is where I see people creating disproportionate value with nominal financial investments.
The real investment, of course, is in time and relationships and human capital. Which leads me to the second question:
While I understand the objective, I generally think the goal of "convincing people about coworking" is misplaced.
Some building owners definitely see the value of activating their buildings with vibrant resources like a coworking space. And I do know for a FACT that a building with a coworking space makes for a sexy sale, both in residential and commercial settings.
But designating space for coworking is only a fraction of the work it takes to create activation like Radius has in their building, and like the other successes that I've seen with this approach.
Rather than trying to convince a building owner that coworking would work...I'd show them.
I'd follow the same playbook I always recommend: start developing a community, or find one that is already forming but doesn't have a home. Start doing things together that help each others' work and businesses, and when you find yourself needing a place...see if the building owner would like to start getting active in that community. You can encourage them (and guide them) about how to show up, be helpful, and understand the community they might be able to help thrive in their building.
If the landlord actually gives a shit about the community, and has a long-view, this has a chance to work. Those landlords exist, though they are rare. This is a great test to see if they're really in it for the long haul....or if they're just looking to fill idle space and don't care about the impact on the community.
-Alex