Coworking Community Builder Daily

How do you build online trust for your coworking space?

In the past, I've helped people make websites for coworking spaces that tout innovation, high-tech, global communities, high growth, and high net-worth individuals.

Remember, marketers ruin everything...🤣

Then, when you get inside the coworking space, you will see loads of copywriters and hairdressers.

(To be clear - I know a few copywriters and hairdressers who are high net-worth individuals.)

You must make sure that the authenticity, which I wouldn't say I like that word, but the authenticity of what happens on your website and what you convey on social media aligns with what happens when people walk in the door.

Don't be like the manipulative estate agent firm that makes a flat look extensive in the photo, but when you get to the flat, it's the size of a postage stamp.

So consistency with your online and in-person persona is essential.

One more thing.

Shout to Jodie 💜 Greer - my Drive the Collaborative Network buddy who weekly champions inclusion, diversity, accessibility and equity and has constantly brought to my attention that my flashing pink captions are crap for accessibility.

So, I finally got around to fixing the settings in my video app so that it would go to black and white and hang on the screen longer.

Sure, they are not bright, colourful and 'on brand', but they are kinder and easier to read.

📩 Sharpen your coworking edge in 2 minutes a day.

Subscribe to Bernie's Better Things for a daily, no-fluff, no-pitch newsletter

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Have a remarkable day.

Be careful out there.

It is a jungle.

#coworking #communityisthekey #betterthings

#coworkinglondon #ukcoworking

#coworkingspace #coworkingcommunity

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How do you maintain your competitive edge in the ruthless coworking market?

So, in London, more coworking spaces are opening up.

And some better-funded people are just landing in town and eating everyone's lunch for a laugh.

They're doing crappy things like paying for the search word that is the name of the local coworking space that's more established, so they appear above it.

(Any time I see a company, particularly a micro or small business, buy their competitor's names to rank higher in search, I think they're lazy, amateur, uncreative💩head.)

But tt would be best if you accepted that some customers are fickle.

If some shiny brand offering free beer and foot massages causes your member to cancel and go there, don't be surprised.

💔 It's not you, it's them. 💔

So that's something you got to deal with. Build a bridge and get over it.

However, you also need to focus on your uniqueness, listen to the people in your space, and keep creating that community.

And that is where the "monetising the community' bit comes in.

🥰When you have a secure community, you play to your unique strengths, like you being the magnificent human being who you are. 🥰

Rather than pandering to the fickle market and turning all the language on your website into a 'Frankenstein business' speak to be like the others.

Maintain your place in the market by being the best you that you can be.

😫It is challenging and painful to deal with all this uncertainty and competition.

But it's critical work to dig down and make sure you know what your community needs rather than trying to copy everyone else.

📩 Sharpen your coworking edge in 2 minutes a day.

Subscribe to Bernie's Better Things for a daily, no-fluff, no-pitch newsletter

▶️ https://sendfox.com/berniejmitchell

Have a remarkable day.

Be careful out there.

It is a jungle.

#coworking #communityisthekey #betterthings

#coworkinglondon #ukcoworking

#coworkingspace #coworkingcommunity

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You've got me. Who's Got You?

🦸🏻That is what Lois Lane shouts at Superman in the 1978 movie as he catches her as she falls from a helicopter stuck to the side of a building.

But who has got you?

Because, as a coworking space owner or manager, taking care of your members is exhilarating.

When I was doing that, I'd give so much to it, and it drained me and burnt me out.

(And I still loved it! - I know nuts!)

Search 'community manager burnout' for more information on this.

Right now, I know community managers are running the WHOLE SHOW for the owner.

But they are stuck between serving the business owner AND the members.

You constantly have to manage boundaries, if you have any at all, and even if you do, it is a very lonely place between and managing all those relationships.

So it would help if you found someone who has got you - ideally, a coach, a therapist or a peer.

I strongly recommend finding other owners and community managers who do the same job as you.

Whatever industry you're in, that peer-to-peer support is fantastic and one of the best investments of your time you can ever make in your career.

I hang out at:

Creator Write Club - we're moving here: https://lu.ma/creatorwriteclub

https://www.drivethenetwork.com

London Coworking Assembly

https://belongfulness.com

We'll also discuss topics like this more next Tuesday in London at Remixing Community For A Citizen Groove—https://lu.ma/coworkplus.

And if you employ people, ensure they have somewhere to get support and community outside of the people they serve.

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Why are the images you use so crucial for your coworking space?

The images we use on our websites, blogs, and social media are essential to convey trust.

📸 You know a picture tells a thousand words and all that...

🤮 And marketers (like me) ruin everything - read on:

If you go to a website like Unsplash and you see that the same coworking space photo has been downloaded half a million times, the chances are that other people are using it.

One of the most famous photos is of Bat Haus Coworking in Brooklyn by Shridhar.

See it here: https://bit.ly/BatHausCoworking

Since it was posted in 2018, it has become the most used photo of a coworking space.

In December 2023, 24,243,536 views and 174,199 downloads.

By April 2024, that number had risen to 25,802,397 views and 183,640 downloads.

When people are looking for coworking space or a place to work, they see the SAME image repeated.

Using that image compromises your ability to make a connection and stand out.

Sure, It may be a really, really, really good image, and it may convey what you want to do, but it's not YOU.

In the marketing world, where everyone blindly follows the middle of the road to safe daytime TV-type ground, you need to try a little harder to stand out.

Overusing vanilla and magnolia words like global, innovation and best practice will make you blend in even better.

Being yourself is the best way to connect and stand out; you get fewer people, but you'll enjoy a quicker and more genuine connection.

A great example is the Buick Mackane coworking space run by Mellisa in Newbury in the UK.

The place is named after a T Rex song, and the website and brand are real and dazzling. https://www.buickmackane.co.uk/

🔥Do you want to be a 'nobody ever got fired for buying IBM' type of person?

It breaks my heart to see people who have really cool businesses, coworking spaces, or whatever they're doing abdicate their personality and charisma to a stock photo rather than the natural person they are.

It's like Airbnb, where you see one thing and get pumped up and then get to where you are staying, and it is not the story you're sold.

🤦People often say, 'But it's what people want to see, Bernie!'

If you sell tuna fish or fizzy drinks at mass, I understand you want to take a 'consumer' position.

But it's all about the connection when dealing with the few hundred people who will be your long-term customers, community members or partners.

In a world where your cell phone has more power than spacecraft from the 1970s, getting your images from stock websites is lazy and uncreative.

📩 Join “Bernie’s Better Things,” a no-fluff, no-pitch newsletter sent every weekday.

It includes a 60-second video, actionable text, and practical recommendations, including apps, reading, and strategies.

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#coworking #communityisthekey #betterthings

#coworkinglondon #ukcoworking #bringit

#coworkingspace #coworkingcommunity

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What are the constraints you have to run your coworking business with?

So, I was chatting to more than one coworking space owner last year who said something like:

🦄"If only I had XXXX - I'd be able to do more."

I hear this from fellow creators, too.

No matter what computer, phone, CRM, payment system, or podcast mic I have, I'm forever fantasising that if I had the next version, I would be faster and more creative!

But I know from direct experience that constraints increase our ability to be creative.

So, what are the constraints you have to operate with?

You might have a coworking space you wish you had, three more meeting rooms, a swimming pool and a helicopter pad.

(It's always a helicopter pad!)

But what can you do with the space you've got?

How can you use the desk room for an event space?

You can connect with other local coworking spaces and swap resources and things like that.

So, instead of wishing for what you could have, make your coworking mindset to do what you can right where you are with what you have.

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Who is your coworking space really for?

Is it for someone seeking "innovative global solutions and best practise?"

Or

Is it for a regular human being seeking connection, meaning, change, and somewhere to do their work?

It reminds me of this story from Brené Brown's work, where she was asked to speak at a conference and told she had to wear 'business loafers' or something like that.

Brené was about to go on stage, and she looked at her comfy clogs and her 'business loafers' and thought, "This is not who I am!"

She went on stage in her comfy clogs and delivered her keynote on being a human being.

We often do this "business class" thing to each other.

We hide behind bullshit words and language.

When it is all about connection, meaning and change.

In the 1999 book "Clue Train Manifesto" authors Rick Levine, Christopher Locke, and Doc Searls discuss the human connection and how "all markets are conversations."

They don't talk about weirdo words and "businessy class" language that we love to put on our websites.

We create our world through language, and we also connect.

Trying to solve the 'belonging crisis' by building a community with accidentally de-personalised corporate language won't work.

There are better ways than using these odd words that are more at home in the movie, 'Office Space' or an episode of 'Silicon Valley' than in our local coworking communities.

📩 Join “Bernie’s Better Things,” a no-fluff, no-pitch newsletter sent every weekday.

It includes a 60-second video, actionable text, and practical recommendations, including apps, reading, and strategies.

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🔔Boost your #coworking & #community building skills with my 2-min daily #email: https://berniejmitchell.com

Is a desk in a coworking space worth it?

As a coworking space, are you selling a desk or something else?

Ok.

You ARE selling a desk, and when you run a coworking space, you can quickly think, I need to sell this many desks, and that's my business.

But as a member, what am I buying?

I've rented a desk in a coworking space for over ten years, paying for the chair and the desk.

It's where I do my work.

But the value, particularly for me, the value of my mental health, is off the charts.

Our mate, Mike LaRosa, wrote a book called "Coworking Save My Life," which felt so close to home that it felt like he had read my mind.

Sometimes, I pay for a coworking space to get out of the house, see people and stay sane.

Sitting at that desk, I blog, make videos, and create value.

The 200 - 300 per month costs nothing for the desk compared with the actual value.

And this is why affordable workspace is so important, particularly in big cities like London.

Even before the cost of living crisis and COVID, finding a space to work or start a business was expensive in a big city.

Hacker and pop-up spaces in cities quickly got taken over by developers,

Look at how coworking by Old Street Roundabout has changed in the last fifteen years.

Old Street was where artists, hackers, startups and makers converged for cheap space, craft beer, and good espresso.

Ten years ago, Central Working, run by Steve Pette in the basement of Google Campus, was THE secret place to be.

First thing in the morning, people would queue for a table in the Central Working cafe.

They were paying for a coffee.

But that coffee was buying their ticket to be part of something bigger: the community, the wave they were all making together.

That area comprises brand-name workspaces, offices, and enterprise-level software.

But even those places are giving people somewhere to go and belong.

🔗 Links and Resources:

- 🛜 https://berniejmitchell.com

- 🎙️ https://coworkingvaluespodcast.substack.com

- 🎪 Luma: https://lu.ma/LondonCoworkingAssembly

- 🟢 Grammarly https://bit.ly/FreeMonthOfGrammarly

📚 Recommended Reading:

➡️ The Mom Test Book - https://amzn.to/3XBtdWr

➡️ Peter Block: Community: The Structure of Belonging - https://amzn.to/3XuBfR1

➡️ Will Guidara: Unreasonable Hospitality - https://amzn.to/3KWFgpH

➡️ Jon Alexander: Citizens: Why the Key to Fixing Everything Is All of Us - https://amzn.to/4cdhlye

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What is a desk in a coworking space worth?

But are you selling a desk or something else?

Ok.

You ARE selling a desk, and when you run a coworking space, you can quickly think, I need to sell this many desks, and that's my business.

But as a member, what am I buying?

I've rented a desk in a coworking space for over ten years, paying for the chair and the desk.

It's where I do my work.

But the value, particularly for me, the value of my mental health, is off the charts.

Our mate, Mike LaRosa, wrote a book called "Coworking Save My Life," which felt so close to home that it felt like he had read my mind.

Sometimes, I pay for a coworking space to get out of the house, see people and stay sane.

When I sit at that desk, I blog, make videos, and create value.

The 200 - 300 per month costs nothing for the desk compared with the actual value.

And this is why affordable workspace is so important, particularly in big cities like London.

Even before the cost of living crisis and COVID, finding a space to work or start a business was expensive in a big city.

Hacker and pop-up spaces in cities quickly got taken over by developers,

Look at how coworking by Old Street Roundabout has changed in the last fifteen years.

Old Street was where artists, hackers, startups and makers converged for cheap space, craft beer, and good espresso.

Ten years ago, Central Working, run by Steve Pette in the basement of Google Campus, was THE secret place to be.

First thing in the morning, people would queue for a table in the Central Working cafe.

They were paying for a coffee.

But that coffee was buying their ticket to be part of something bigger: the community, the wave they were all making together.

Now, that area is a total of brand-name workspaces, offices, and enterprise-level software.

But even those places are giving people somewhere to go and belong.

📩 Head to the “Bernie’s Better Things” link in my profile for a no-fluff, no-pitch newsletter sent every weekday with a 60-second video, actionable text, and practical recommendations, including apps, reading and strategies.

Have a remarkable day.

Be careful out there.

It is a jungle.

#coworking #communityisthekey #betterthings

#coworkinglondon #ukcoworking #bringit

#15minutecity #workspacedesignshow

#coworkingspace #coworkingcommunity

Subscribe to Coworking Community Builder Daily on Soundwise

Have you got a collaborative habit?

That is a book by Twyla Tharp, who's a world-renowned choreographer.

Twyla talks about all the projects she's worked on, including

collaborations with Billy Joel, Jerome Robbins, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Bob Dylan, Elvis Costello, David Byrne, Richard Avedon, Milos Forman, Norma Kamali, and Frank Sinatra.

They are successful, and they all come down to collaborating with people.

Yesterday, when I attended the Coworking Alliance Summit with Ashley and Hector, the room was always full of that vibe.

We had people from the worldwide coworking community taking practical steps to make things happen in their neighbourhoods and coworking spaces.

🌏We're in a unique place in the world right now.

This year, there are elections in 50 countries, and 2 billion people are going to the polls.

Now is the time to look at where others are creating connections and collaboration points in your community to make things happen.

The more we get together, the more we help each other out, share, advise, and share what is working and what is not, and the more we can save each other time, money, and energy.

🔑 Community is the key!

Things are happening right now; you can follow and join in:

London Coworking Assembly

Urban MBA

European Coworking Day

Belongfulness Project with Tony Bacigalupo

Drive the Collaborative Network

📩 Head to the “Bernie’s Better Things” link in my profile for a no-fluff, no-pitch newsletter sent every weekday with a 60-second video, actionable text, and practical recommendations, including apps, reading and strategies.

Have a remarkable day.

Be careful out there.

It is a jungle.

#coworking #communityisthekey #betterthings

#coworkinglondon #ukcoworking

#coworkingspace #coworkingcommunity

Subscribe to Coworking Community Builder Daily on Soundwise

Do you have coworking space imposter syndrome?

I've met so many people at events who run beautiful little coworking spaces, and they say something like:

"I'm not a 'real' coworking space; I shouldn't really be here."

or

"I'm not one of those more significant or genuine coworking spaces."

Think of this as the equivalent of a beautiful family-run guest house in Brighton saying, 'I'm not an actual hotel; I can only provide genuine hospitality if I'm called Hilton or Best Western.'

But I know coworking spaces that are consistently more profitable than more prominent brands you will have heard of.

Please don't invalidate yourself and the work you do, folks.

You're essential to your local community and your members.

📩 Head to the “Bernie’s Better Things” link in my profile for a no-fluff, no-pitch newsletter sent every weekday with a 60-second video, actionable text, and practical recommendations, including apps, reading and strategies.

Have a remarkable day.

Be careful out there. 

It is a jungle.

#coworking #communityisthekey #betterthings

#coworkinglondon #ukcoworking #bringit

#15minutecity #workspacedesignshow

#coworkingspace #coworkingcommunity

Subscribe to Coworking Community Builder Daily on Soundwise