Everything Coworking

Welcome to the Everything Coworking Podcast Episode #20!

This week my guest is Hasan Mirjan, Founder of Spheremail and Spherepad. He started both about the same time. As he shares during the interview, he started Spherepad, a coworking space, in 2008 in San Francisco’s North Beach neighborhood and at the time, friends and family warned him of a low chance of success given the bad economy and an unproven location. So to hedge his bet, he started Spheremail, a virtual mail management platform, to diversify his revenue streams. It turns out that both ventures were successful. Spheremail is now being used by shared workspaces across the country and around the world.

See the full show notes here.

Welcome to Episode 19 of the Everything Coworking Podcast!  

Today we’re going to talk about how to hire a Community Manager for your shared space. I share the process I followed for my most recent hire and a tweak I made to the job title and description that might be considered controversial in the coworking world. Check the show notes for links to the resources I used and for a copy of my job description.

Read the full show notes here.

Welcome to Episode 18 of the Everything Coworking Podcast!  

Today we’re going to talk about 2 somewhat unrelated topics, but I thought I’d throw them together: Phone Service & 24/7 Access.

I walk through how to think about phone service options and what access level to give to your members.

Read the full show notes here.

Today we’re going to talk about virtual mail. It’s something that folks in the business center world have been doing for a long time, and it’s really lucrative for them. Their view is that your revenue has finite potential if you are only selling memberships for space but a virtual membership revenue stream has infinite upside.  It’s also a nice way to introduce people to your services and engage them in the community.

I discuss how it works and my personal experience with it at Enerspace Coworking, which is the coworking space brand that I also run.

See the full show notes here!

Today's guest, Tiffany Knight, is the Community & Space Manager at Workbar Boston. She gives us a glimpse of what it takes to make a strong community like Workbar thrive.

She also takes us along for the unpredictable day in a life of a coworking space community manager.

Read the full show notes here.

Adam Friedberg is a Managing Broker and Partner in Brand & Company, a real estate company in River Forest, IL. Adam got into the coworking industry accidentally - he and his partners started co-locating their business associates - architects, other real estate colleagues, bankers, in the office building that they had purchased. They saw great stragegic value in having their professional network in the same office for easy collaboration and relationship-building. 

They've recently extended this shared space success and started River Forest Kitchen which is, as the name implies, a shared commercial kitchen space in River Forest, IL.

Adam thinks that if you're in real estate and you don't see where the world is going in terms of shared space and services, you should get on the bus. Learn more about coworking from his real estate perspective in this eposide.

Full show notes here.

Welcome to the Everything Coworking Podcast Episode Number 14!

In today’s episode, I chat with Matthew Dunstan, author of The Coworking Revolution: Four Secrets to Successfully Working for Yourself, just published May 2015. Matthew spoke at GCUC Australia and I wanted to share his story. 

I read Matthew’s book on a recent flight and was really struck at the time by his perspective on the problems that coworking solves. And I have to say that since our interview, I can’t stop thinking about his ideas. We talk a lot in coworking about this idea of “serendipitous interactions” - this idea that if you collide with enough people, you’ll make connections that would otherwise never present themselves. And these connections should help you personally and professionally.

The thing I love about Matthew’s value proposition for coworking is that he’s suggesting that hope is not a strategy. I read that book some time ago and love that title and it’s really making me think about what we’re doing in coworking spaces to facilitate more than just lucky conversations at member events.

I know you’ll enjoy our conversation but I also highly recommend the book.

See the full show notes here.

I love talking shop with Chris. He launched his successful marketing business out of a coworking space from scratch and is directing his coworking passion towards helping other entrepreneurs be successful by introducing them to coworking. He interviews entrpereneurs on his weekly podcast show called Coworking Success.

Chris shares his perspective on what coworking will look like in 2020, some marketing tips for coworking space owners and some personal approaches to keeping himself in top business shape.

Full Show Notes Here

Welcome to the Everything Coworking Podcast Episode Number 12!

Today I talk with Diana Rothschild, current CEO of coworking space Nextspace and founder of NextKids, a highly sought-after combination of coworking and childcare under the same roof. She founded NextKids in partnership with NextSpace, a coworking company with 9 locations in the Bay Area and Chicago. She recently became the CEO.

There is what I would call a desperate cry for the model that Diana is creating. We get right down to unpacking why this model is so hard and Diana shares from her perspective the three critical things you need to have in place to pursue this model.

We also talk about Diana’s perspective on the future of NextKids and the coworking/daycare combo model.

See the Full Show Notes Here.

Today I chat with Scott Chambers, president of the Global Workspace Association and Chief Operating Officer of Pacific Workplaces which has 15 locations in the Bay Area. Scott has been in the industry for over 23 years and is providing thought leadership as Business centers navigate the quickly-changing landscape of shared workspace. Scott and I chat about the history of the industry and how business centers are changing to stay relevant. We also get the scoop on the Alex Hillman/Adam Tetrus road show that GWA is sponsoring called “SMASH the stereotypes on shared workspaces and modern workers."

Read the Full Show Notes Here.