Speaker or event ideas?

[Linda Goin]

Hi folks -- I've been to many of your sites and viewed some calendars and I'm fascinated with some of the lineups you all have for activities at your spaces. But, I keep losing you in my research (I'm probably the least organized person on earth), and I want to make a list of possible activities for business owners/marketing/seminars/motivation, etc. ideas for 2012 at La Venture Station (semi-rural area between Louisville and Cincinnati).

Would you all mind posting some of the most successful activities you've conducted so far? Since our space just opened two months ago and the holiday season is coming up, I thought this might be a good time to contact folks for the beginning of the year.

Our calendar is located at http://laventurestation.com/calendar.html -- you'll see that some permanent coworkers are busy posting their events. We have a publisher and we also have a travel agent who will be posting events soon.

Thanks in advance for any help on ideas.

Cheers,
Linda Goin
La Venture Station
http://www.facebook.com/LaVentureStation
http://laventurestation.com/
li...@laventurestation.com
502-222-0100

[Jenifer Ross]

Hi Linda:

We have had great success with events, not only b/c locals seem to love them, but also as a revenue stream and as a way of getting new people to see and potentially use the space.

Here is a link to this past month's events: 

http://www.watercoolerhub.com/events.html (most attended was the social medial one)

and here is a link to Nov/Dec. events at the space. 

http://us2.campaign-archive2.com/?u=4d0c8c3757d9702f18457f5d7&id=9874c47583

Please feel free to shoot me an email if you have any questions about setting any of this up... I am still working out the kinks as I am only open 5 months myself... but I think it is a great way to keep the space active and connect to and grow the community.

Cheers-

Jenifer

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Jenifer Ross

Owner

W@tercooler

21 North Broadway

Tarrytown, NY 10591

www.watercoolerhub.com

jen...@watercoolerhub.com

914-332-1400

914-261-1470 c

facebook + twitter: watercoolerhub

[Angel Kwiatkowski]

We put all of our events here http://meetup.com/coherecommunity so
feel free to stalk it and see what's going on. Many, many of the
events are ideas that the members have or an event solves a particular
problem that several people are having at the same time (contract
writing, setting pricing etc).

[Linda Goin]

Thanks, Jennifer! Appreciate the link to your calendar...and your Web site is a bit of an inspiration as well. Like the ideas...and congrats on your space. Like you, I find that it's all an experiment, but my experiences as a Main Street manager have helped me at least make some connections...finding people who want to speak or teach, however, is a bit tougher. You also can contact me at any time...thanks again!

[Linda Goin]

Hi Angel -- thanks for your input as well...Are you having luck with using Meetup?

Cheers,
Linda Goin

[Angel Kwiatkowski]

Meetup has been working well for us even as we built up the community
prior to having a space. Because our meetup group is open to anyone
(even non-members) it's a nice place to see new faces and talk "being
mobile" even if those people don't want to cowork. I think it's easy
to use and the members know where to look for upcoming events.

Angel

On Oct 28, 5:42 pm, Linda Goin <lindagoin....@gmail.com> wrote:
> Hi Angel -- thanks for your input as well...Are you having luck with using
> Meetup?
>
> Cheers,
> Linda Goin

[Linda Goin]

Hey Angel -- I just haven't had time to check it out, but will find time now that I know you've used it and how it's working for you.

Thanks!
Linda

[john....@gmail.com]

We maintain a seperate google calendar for over all events at the space and have it embedded in the site. That way people can just visit the site and see what's upcoming and even copy to their own google calendars, etc.

Since most of our meetups have their own meetup I didn't want to have to double the work, etc since they have their own. It's less sticky since there's no communication, and we don't capture their info, but works well.

John Wilker
Founder, 360|Conferences
twitter: jwilker
johnwilker.com | Ignite Denver| Denwhere | 360|Flex | 360|iDev

“A goal is not always meant to be reached, it often serves simply as something to aim at.”
~ Bruce Lee

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[Katie Charland]

Linda --

Our most successful events are the regularly scheduled programming
that occurs either each week or on the same day each month. Our
brownbags (every Wednesday at noon) and hacknights (every Wednesday at
6pm) draw good and diverse crowds. They are often our entry point for
new participants because they are consistent. Additionally, the first
Wednesday of the month is our n00b day that includes an introduction
to Gangplank, tour, brownbag and lunch with our regulars. We've seen a
lot of success introducing people to our space this way, as it is less
intimidating than coming in as a n00b by yourself.

Since you're moving into the holiday season, potlucks are always great
events. Our Gangplank Feast (gobble till you wobble!) before
Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner are great ways to involve the
family, celebrate community and talk about something other than work
for a few hours.

Our events calendar is here, http://gangplankhq.com/events/, but it's
not really helpful if want details about attendance or programming.
Feel free to let me know if you need further clarification on any of
the events.

[Craig Baute - Creative Density Coworking]

Our most successful events have been based on members needs. Our
general theory is that our day events is for members and some are run
by members. The evenning events are generally outside Meetups put on
by outside groups.

This month we are starting a Denver Business Book Club and Creative
Flex. Some members are really excited about the new book club because
we are all reading certain books but never get to talk about them
since they aren't pop culture phenomenons. The Creative Flex will be a
weekly/bi-weekly event during the day where members will come together
for a creative activity; many in which I'm taking from college
courses. This is a fun way for members to brainstorm and work together
for an hour. Bonding time!

Next month we are probably starting a show-and-tell as well. A member
is taking this one over and I'm assisting.

Other events:
Idea kick
Denver Community Manager
Drupal Chix
WordPress Happy Hour

Craig Baute
Creative Density

[john....@gmail.com]

Yeah we're looking at Show and Tell too. I think tha'ts a great one for members.

Agree with the crowd, regularly scheduled and recurring meetups work great. We also have a section of the white board wall dedicated to "What's happening at Uncubed This Week" which helps members know what meetups are taking place since they may not be a member, but might be interested

We also held a really successful startup job fair, and will likely do it again making it a quarterly type thing. It was great, about 200 people showed up.

We're also hosting a craft fair this weekend

John Wilker
Founder, 360|Conferences
twitter: jwilker
johnwilker.com | Ignite Denver| Denwhere | 360|Flex | 360|iDev

“A goal is not always meant to be reached, it often serves simply as something to aim at.”
~ Bruce Lee

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[Linda Goin]

Hey John -- I got that same idea when I began a gig as Main Street manager -- they had the same setup with Google calendar and the imbedding in the Web site. So, I copied that idea and gave full-time members access to that calendar to create their own events. Since we have a small space (only room for two full time desks), it works out pretty well. One of the reporters here actually downloaded the calendar to stay on top of what the other members are doing. It does work!

Thanks!

[Linda Goin]

Hey Craig -- the book club is a great idea. I know we have several in the area...the issue for me (being in an historic district) is the stairs. Most of the book clubs I know about involve elderly people...maybe it's time for me to light a fire under some younger readers (I'm 57, so "younger" is relative). The business spin is awesome...

Kudos on the Creative Flex! Hm...I'll be interested to see how that goes for you. Recently picked up the book, "Gamestorming," and found the activities in that O'Reilly paperback interesting. Tried one out at a meeting the other day, and it really worked...we managed to get three times the ideas from more participants...in fact, one person who never contributes was the star that day.

Thanks for the ideas!

[Linda Goin]

PS -- Like the whiteboard idea. One idea I learned from my daughter (in college) is that a smooth refrigerator can act as a whiteboard with dry erase markers. We post all sorts of information on the fridge here, which is ideal -- since folks always use the kitchen area. It's an attention-getter, for sure.

[Linda Goin]

Hey Katie -- thanks! Our town has a monthly event called "Friday Night Live," and it's currently just on the second Friday each month -- but it will get extended (an effort to keep downtown shops open on Friday nights). I'm going to tie into that somehow with a regular event...

Holiday celebrations are great, too -- I like the n00b idea...thanks for the link to your calendar. If I have any questions, I'll be sure to tap your shoulder...

Wish I could be there for gobble till you wobble! LOL!