One of my Coworking Startup School students recently asked about choosing a niche group to serve with her coworking space. It's very common to get nervous when you start to consider designing specifically for a segment of the market and therefore potentially telling others "this space isn't really for you." 

Sometimes you need to go small to go big. 

I love examples from other industries that make me think about aspects of the coworking industry.

This case study is about a summer camp that charges $100 more a week than the other neighborhood camps and how they explain this on their website. It's about both tangible and intangible benefits. Food for thought!

Scroll all the way down on this page to see the example that I talk about in the podcast. https://avid4.com/day-camps/california/burlingame-skills/

In this short episode, I share a story of a Flight Group member who recently launched his space and found himself managing a long list of community norm challenges - the sensitive, sometimes awkward aspects of bringing together a bunch of professionals with different work styles that are only just beginning to build relationships.

Food for thought on how to manage these communications.

Not on the list yet for the Coworking Startup School? Get your email in now at www.coworkingstartupschool.com!

Kicking off a new "bonus episode" format that will allow me to share insights that apply to business but don't fit into my typical episode approach.

This one addresses mindset when $hit goes wrong and messes with your expected outcome.

Let me know what you think! Leave a note in the Everything Coworking Facebook Group: www.everythingcoworkingclub.com

Currently in Carlsbad, Long Beach, San Jose and Denver, CommonGrounds Workspace is on an aggressive growth plan to add 2 million square feet across 50 locations in the next two years. All of this is made possible by a $100M capital raise.

Jacob's perspective has been shaped by his previous life in corporate real estate - his resume includes Director of Global Real Estate and Workplace for Nike, Director of Global Real Estate for Cigna and Director of Global Workplace Solutions for CBRE.

Jacob shares his unique perspective on the needs of the corporate occupier of Workspace as a Service, the gaps in the marketplace today, how these offerings are evolving and where the CommonGrounds brand fits into the rapid growth of the industry.

On this episode, my guest is Jason Anderson, recently named President of Venture X, one of the fastest growing premium shared workspace concepts in the country.

Prior to joining the shared workspace community, Jason was the Chief Technology Officer and Director of Franchise Development for United Franchise Group. 

Jason and I cover:

• His background prior to joining the coworking industry
• What he finds exciting about the shared workspace industry
• What has surprised him about the coworking industry
• What draws entrepreneurs to the franchise model
• How the franchise model works
• The Venture X brand - its unique positioning that attracts high-end corporate users
• What the next three years looks like for Venture X and the industry

A personal perspective on this episode: Joining a franchise family can be a great approach to getting extensive, ongoing support for your business, a built-in community of operators supporting the same brand, and a higher chance of exit success and valuation.

Landlords also love a high-end build-out like that of Venture X. They're looking at the risk profile and saying 1) This operator, while new to coworking, has a massive support system behind him/her and 2) If something goes south for this operator, I'm left with a beautiful space that will easily attract a full-time tenant. 

Have a listen!

This is a debrief and case study of my Enerspace Referesh Project with a focus on adding additional team spaces and a meeting room. I dive into details on the planning and install process for the modular wall system we used by Emagispace.

I worked with Mara Hauser's Workplace Studio to refresh my paint colors, lounge area, mood lighting, cafe seating, and more. Part of the ROI on the project was to add two additional private team spaces and a meeting room.

If you've discovered that private spaces should be a more prevalent part of your product mix, this is a must-listen.

This question came up recently in one of my Flight Group sessions. One of the FG members wanted to start encouraging ACH payments and wondered if she could pass fees to members and how that would be received.

I was hesitant because I know passing fees is illegal in CA for some types of businesses. We started googling and trying to figure out the rules and I finally said I’d take the topic as homework and get some answers. I thought this topic was worth sharing on the podcast vs. just taking back to the FG.

I enlisted Jack Richer with PlacePay to share his expertise on the topic. Have a listen to hear the details on how to legally pass credit card fees to your members.

Get the Full Show Notes Here

Furniture: New, used, refurbished, contract...what does it all mean and what's right for my coworking space? What role does a furniture dealer play and how do I find one that "gets" coworking?

We cover it all in this episode with Mara Hauser, CEO of 25N Coworking, Principal of Workplace Design Studio and former contract furniture dealership owner!

Get the Full Show Notes Here.

Facebook Groups, Google Groups and Slack Groups are all great potential resources to answers to your coworking questions. That being said, ask a question like, "What CRM do you use?" and you'll get 20 different responses.

When you ask a group of relative strangers for advice, honor your business by getting some context on their brand values and who they serve before you decide if the advice they give aligns with your brand and who you serve.

More on how to do that in this episode!

Get the Full Show Notes Here.