Coworking in cities under 100,000

[Jason Rohlf]

I'm interested in connecting with other space owners/operators in cities with a population under 100,000. I currently run a space in Loveland, CO with a population of 70,000.  I think this size cities present unique circumstances that differ from metro areas. I have a few questions I would like to ask via email as I consider the next phase for our coworking community in Loveland, CO.

Thank you

Jason

[Ky Ekinci]

Jason, 

I run Office Divvy, in Palm Coast, FL --population 75,000; since 2008, now with 2 locations.

http://OfficeDivvy.com

My email is Ky [at] OfficeDivvy.com but I'd rather you ask your question directly here for the benefit of others later.

Ky Ekinci

Office Divvy

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[Derek Neighbors]

Jason, 

We have locations in some smaller markets.  I'm with Ky in that questions here helps everyone.  If you want more dialog than that perhaps we move it to a Slack channel somewhere?

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[Jeannine]

I think you are absolutely right.  I'm in.  Jeannine @ kamer52.nl. :-)

[Glen Ferguson]

Hate to be the "me too" guy, but "me too" for the Slack group. 68,000 people in town here.

Glen Ferguson  

Phone: 301-732-5165 Email: gl...@coworkfrederick.com Website: http://coworkfrederick.com Address: 122 E Patrick St, Frederick, MD 21701

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[Jason Rohlf]

Thank you for responding.  If we want to move this to another forum just let me know where 

I think Mike, formerly of Altamont Cowork, summerized some of my points well in a blog post he sent me

http://techymike.com/2015/01/27/coworking-in-a-small-town-lessons-learned/

Since I founded The Armory in Loveland, Colorado just over three years ago I have come across some similar issues with people just wanting to have private offices.  How have others addressed this?  How have you evaluated the need for coworking in your city when considering the future of your community and space?

I am considering finding a new space that would allow me to have some private offices to stabilize cash flow.  I would prefer to stay purely a coworking space without offices, but I don't think I can maintain in the long run as a business without them.

I currently am averaging around 20 members that use the space each month and have been at a sustainable place financially but not making enough money to be able to save or take any income. I feel like I have tapped out the different networking/meetups for potential members. Do any others have tips for finding new members?

My city is situated just south of Fort Collins, and 45-60 minutes north of Boulder & Denver.  The city has never had a true tech, entrepreneurial, and freelance community similar to Mike in his blog post.  It has been developing and growing over the past couple years and our community has been helping with that.  What have other spaces in cities that don't have thriving tech communities done to facilitate the connections of those in their cities that do work in those industries?

[Angie Barnard]

Hi there,

The Network Hub Nanaimo is a franchise but I am the founder of this location in central Vancouver Island.  Nanaimo is approx. 100,000 and has a start-up coworking space (gov't funded), a Makerspace and I am entering the market with private offices + central dedicated desks and hotdesking.

I'm very curious what strategies other coworking communities have used to attract work space, event and meeting room users to their space.  

angie

[Don Ball]

I'd be interested in joining. Most of our locations are in a bigger metro (3M+), but we have one location in a smaller market, which clearly marches to a different drummer. If you end up setting up a Slack channel, I'd love to join. Thanks!

[Karen Ruane]

I am starting a creative coworking space in Bend, OR (pop. 80k) called, The Wilds,  and would love to stay in the loop around this discussion. Though we don't open until this summer, we have a growing membership. I think it's the fact that we have found a niche, being a creative space. We offer art studio space, as well as desks and private offices, and so we attract a more arty crowd. Every other person in Bend is a creative! Time will tell if our niche theory pans out...

http://www.thewildsbend.com

Karen

[Katie Boone]

Hello friends,

Count me in as well. We have a community of 60,000 in Mankato, MN and are entering our 3rd month of having the doors open. We have a very small number of folks who have come on board as members - and we're not sustainable yet. Most days I can hear the crickets chirping.

The concept of coworking has been a hard one for folks to grasp in our region - and I'd love to learn what I can do to better identify and support those that are open and curious but have only dipped the tip of their toe in the water.

Would love to connect with others out there in this work that are in smaller-ish sized communities. Count me in as well and thanks for starting the convo!

~Katie

[Stefanie McManus]

If there are any updates on information for this topic, I'm very interested as well. 

My partner and I opened our space in Collingwood, Ontario - a population that is just shy of 20,000 but with a strong entrepreneurial community, and great opportunities to tap into the tourists visiting the Blue Mountains and Wasaga Beach.

7th mid-size entrepreneurial town in Canada! 

We have been open since March of of this year (2015), and have a few members - we also offer private office space and business support such as virtual reception, professional mailboxes and our coworking lounge doubles as an event space (normally after-hours or weekends).

We're gaining steam in our community, and the Town Council is interested in working with us to continue the entrepreneurial and small business momentum of the area. Any new ideas are definitely welcome! :-)

[Tom Lewis]

Just joining in- our space is in Bath, UK- a city with around 80,000 people (and a demographic which means many of those are a lot older/retired).  We have been running around 2 years and have 150 members plus a thriving room hire operation.  It's not easy to make the numbers add up though, and we suffer a little from competition with our big city and cooler neighbour (Bristol) with around 500000 people.

Be good to chat to those in a similar position, either in US or UK- Slack user here too

Cheers

Tom

[Kelly Fitzgerald]

I am definitely interested in this conversation as well. Has there been a slack channel setup for further discussion?

Society of Work is in Chattanooga, TN (which is larger than 100,00 people), but I am facing very similar challenges to the ones previously mentioned. We are the only coworking space in the city and the value proposition has proven to be difficult at times. Chattannoga does have a govt funded business incubator that is competition, although their model is vastly different. I actually interviewed close to 150 prior to starting the space, but as it sometimes goes, people don't always pay for what they "say" they want. 

So, again, I am very interested in being a part of the conversation!

Kelly Fitzgerald

Society of Work

On Thursday, April 30, 2015 at 7:15:55 PM UTC-4, Jason Rohlf wrote:

[David Evans]

We're starting coworkingplus.net in Brattleboro, Vermont, population 12,000. Absolutely want to talk to others who have launched or are launching smaller spaces. Things are moving quickly, right now I'm making decisions about non-profit status and fiscal sponsors. Site is selected, rent and build-up being negotiated and grants applied for.

Dave Evans

On Thursday, April 30, 2015 at 7:15:55 PM UTC-4, Jason Rohlf wrote:

[Jamie Russo]

I just posted a new podcast episode featuring an interview with Troy Evans who has a really inspiring story about his experience at Syracuse CoWorks in Syracuse, NY. A slightly larger city than yours at 144,000 but still on the smaller side. To me, his story illustrates how coworking spaces in smaller markets can sometimes yield an even great impact for individual members because the network effect in the space can create a "big fish in a small pond" situation. It did for Troy. He describes his experience at Syracuse CoWorks as "life-changing..." so much so that he bought a building, moved the coworking space into the building AND is creating coliving space on two floors (which I find particularly interesting in a smaller market). You can listen to the episode and read a summary of the interview here: http://everythingcoworking.com/episode-5-troy-evans-coliving-and-coworking-commonspace/

I mention this in the intro but I actually grew up in a tiny town just south of Syrcause so I totally root for coworking success in smaller markets. 

On Thursday, April 30, 2015 at 4:15:55 PM UTC-7, Jason Rohlf wrote:

[Angel Kwiatkowski]

Hi Jason!

Am curious to know if you are still interested in moving to a larger space in Loveland? I recently published coworking cash flow spreadsheets for spaces from 800-3,500 ft2, which could be a good fit for your size. http://coherecommunity.com/shop/6953 This model only accounts for traditional flex/reserved coworking and conference room rental but you could easily pop in a few rows for private offices to see how the numbers work out.

Angel

On Thursday, April 30, 2015 at 5:15:55 PM UTC-6, Jason Rohlf wrote: