If someone walked into your space for the first time, would they know straight away what kind of place it is or would they need a while to figure it out?

Hotels and hostels both sell beds, nobody ever confuses the two. Coworking and flexible workspaces also both sell desks but plenty of operators are trying to be both at once and that is where it starts to get complicated.

In this episode, Anne-Marie and Graham work through an analogy that sounds simple on the surface but opens up a lot once you really get into it. The hostel experience is social, high energy, community driven and built around people who want to be part of something while they are there. The hotel experience is private, service led, predictable and built around people who want things to just work without the noise.

Both are profitable, both are clear on who they are for, neither is sitting in the middle trying to be all things to all people.

So where do coworking and flexible workspaces sit in all of this and what happens when an operator is not entirely sure of the answer?

The conversation covers what your audience psychology actually tells you, why your team needs to be as clear on your identity as you are, how you can borrow smart ideas from both ends of the spectrum without losing focus and why getting stuck in the middle is the one place you really do not want to be.

This one is worth a proper listen, a conversation that has you thinking about your own space long after the episode is over.

Key takeaways for coworking & flexible workspace operators:

• Clarity on what your space is attracts the right members faster, retains them longer and makes conversion easier
• Your team, your offer and your environment all need to reflect the same identity
• Listening to why people actually come to your space is where the real insight lives
• You can borrow elements from both ends of the spectrum but your members will feel it if you have not made a choice
• Getting stuck in the middle is the one position that tends to work out for nobody

Thanks for tuning in to Flex That Worx!

If you enjoyed this episode, don’t forget to follow or subscribe where-ever you get your podcasts so you don't miss our next episode.

Connect with us on LinkedIn:

• Graham
• Anne-Marie

Watch the full episode on our YouTube, explore free tools and resources over at Baseworx.co.

This is Flex That Worx powered by Baseworx, scaling your workspace, made simpler and less stressful!

If someone asked you what your lead-to-tour conversion looks like right now, would you have an answer?

In this episode of Flex That Worx, Anne-Marie and Graham unpack something that comes up again and again with operators. It can feel like an occupancy issue, but when you take a closer look, it’s actually about what’s happening behind the scenes.

Community plays a huge role in any space, it keeps people engaged and connected. When it comes to growth, there needs to be a bit more structure around how enquiries are handled, how conversations progress, and how decisions are tracked.

This conversation looks at where things can start to slip. Follow-ups that take longer than intended, pipelines that exist in people’s heads rather than anywhere visible and tours that don’t always translate into members.

We also spend time chatting about occupancy and why it doesn’t always reflect what’s going on in the business.

If you’ve ever had the sense that things should be converting better than they are, this will be the episode you need to hear this week.

Key takeaways for coworking operators:

• Community strengthens retention but growth needs structure behind it
• Response time shapes how your space is experienced from the first interaction
• A simple, visible pipeline can bring clarity very quickly
• Conversion becomes easier to understand when it’s actually tracked
• Occupancy doesn’t always reflect how sustainable the business is

Thanks for tuning in to Flex That Worx!

If you enjoyed this episode, don’t forget to follow or subscribe where-ever you get your podcasts so you don't miss our next episode.

Connect with us on LinkedIn:

• Graham
• Anne-Marie

Watch the full episode on our YouTube, explore free tools and resources over at Baseworx.co.

This is Flex That Worx powered by Baseworx, scaling your workspace, made simpler and less stressful!

Events have always been part of coworking. Breakfasts, meetups, workshops, the occasional Friday social. But anyone running a workspace knows the real question isn’t whether events matter.

It’s whether they’re actually driving value for your members.

In this episode of Flex That Worx, we sit down with Emilie Lashmar, Creative Director at TOGETHER and Director of GCUC UK, to unpack what events can really do for a coworking brand when they’re designed with intention.

What we explore in this episode

• How events can become the energy source inside coworking spaces
• How community activity can influence a town's/city’s wider ecosystem
• The challenge of measuring the real impact of events
• Why brand in coworking is much more than visuals
• The evolving relationship between independent operators and larger flex brands
• How operators can look after themselves while building community

Emilie’s coworking journey started in Brighton at PLATF9RM, where community and events became the heartbeat of the space. Not in a forced way, but through the simple idea that bringing the right people together often leads to opportunity. Businesses grow. Collaborations happen. The town / city ecosystem starts to feel a little stronger.

From those early days running events inside a coworking space to shaping major industry gatherings like GCUC, Emilie has seen how experiences shape brand in ways other types of marketing alone never can.

The conversation moves through a lot of ground familiar to workspace operators. Event fatigue, burnout, the pressure to keep calendars full, the tricky balance between community energy and running a sustainable business.

There’s also a deeper discussion about brand itself. Not the visual identity side, but the behaviours that shape how a workspace is experienced every day.

Because in coworking, brand is rarely something you can point at, it’s something people feel.

Thanks for tuning in to Flex That Worx!

If you enjoyed this episode, don’t forget to follow or subscribe where-ever you get your podcasts so you don't miss our next episode.

Connect with Emilie on LinkedIn, visit her website and learn more about Together & GCUC UK.

Connect with us on LinkedIn:

• Graham
• Anne-Marie

Watch the full episode on our YouTube, explore free tools and resources over at Baseworx.co.

This is Flex That Worx powered by Baseworx, scaling your workspace, made simpler and less stressful!

When someone joins your space, in the busyness of signing them up do you and your team stop to consider who is actually paying for the desk?

In this episode of Flex That Worx, we explore a shift that coworking operators are noticing. As coworking becomes more mainstream, more employees of established businesses are choosing to work from coworking spaces and in many cases they are covering the cost themselves.

We chat through what this model means for a coworking space, for revenue stability, for retention and for how you define your ideal customer. If the employer is funding the desk, the relationship changes. If the employee is funding it, the risk profile looks different.

We also look at the perception gap that still exists. Many nine to five workers assume coworking is not for them. That it is built for freelancers or creatives. Yet in reality, most spaces today are more than capable of supporting structured, professional work environments. 

For operators, this raises practical questions. How easy is it for a business owner to secure a desk for a team member? How visible are you to local companies? And if one company starts to grow within your space, how do you manage that sustainably?

Key Takeaways for Coworking and Flexible Workspace Operators

• Consider who is actually funding the desks in your space and what that means for retention
• Employer funded memberships can bring greater stability than relying solely on individual payers
• Many nine to five professionals still do not see coworking as relevant to them
• Make it straightforward for business owners to understand pricing and secure desks
• Think ahead about how much of your space you want allocated to one organisation
• Stay active within your local business community so awareness grows naturally

If you are thinking about consistency of sales and strengthening your foundations for the year ahead, this conversation will give you plenty to reflect on.

Thanks for tuning in to Flex That Worx!

If you enjoyed this episode, don’t forget to follow or subscribe where-ever you get your podcasts so you don't miss our next episode.

Connect with us on LinkedIn:

• Graham
• Anne-Marie

Watch the full episode on our YouTube, explore free tools and resources over at Baseworx.co.

This is Flex That Worx powered by Baseworx, scaling your workspace, made simpler and less stressful!

Running a coworking space is not easy!

It involves signing long leases in a market that behaves month to month. It’s about managing rising expectations, rising costs and a future that feels harder to predict every year.

In this episode of Flex That Worx, we sit down with Claire Carpenter, who has seen coworking evolve from handwritten membership forms and direct hustling to integrated platforms, AI conversations and operators scaling to multiple locations.

Practical Takeaways for Operators

• Protect your own energy as a leader
• Ensure your tech stack is saving you time & adding value
• Audit your pricing against rising operational costs
• Define your core audience clearly

This isn’t a hype-filled future of work discussion. It’s a grounded conversation about what leadership actually looks like when you’re the one carrying the risk.

We talk about sustaining yourself over the long haul, navigating a growing transactional member base, designing community into your strategy and using technology properly, not just collecting subscriptions.

If you’re building a workspace you want to still be proud of in ten years time, this episode will feel very real.

• Connect with Claire and learn more about her work at Claire Carpenter Coaching here

Thanks for tuning in to Flex That Worx!

If you enjoyed this episode, don’t forget to follow or subscribe where-ever you get your podcasts so you don't miss our next episode.

Connect with us on LinkedIn:

• Graham
• Anne-Marie

Watch the full episode on our YouTube, explore free tools and resources over at Baseworx.co.

This is Flex That Worx powered by Baseworx, scaling your workspace, made simpler and less stressful!

You can be busy with tours and still feel stuck. People come in, they like the space, they compliment the atmosphere and then they leave until you hear later that they have chosen not to become a member. A reason we hear often from coworking operators is price.

In this episode of Flex That Worx, we break down this frustration properly instead of rushing to fix it with discounts & how marketing is a key part to understanding who you actually serve best. 

We talk about:

• What happens when marketing starts with platforms instead of people
• The difference between speaking to a remote worker paying from their own pocket and speaking to an employer deciding where their team should work
• How the message changes when you understand who is actually holding the budget

We also get into the practical marketing side such as how your website might be quietly blocking bookings, mission statements that overshadow the transaction and can result in nobody hearing or joining you on that mission & how social media can feel busy but not providing the value you need from it.

There is a pressure to be everywhere for coworking spaces when it comes to marketing, we discuss how important clarity and consistency are over high volume of different activities.

At the end of the episode, we speak about retention. Even at high occupancy, members always have alternatives. Working from home, trying somewhere new or changing routines. Marketing does not stop when desks are filled, it can become a lever to reinforcing value.

If you are questioning where to focus your marketing next, this episode brings it back to something simple.

Thanks for tuning in to Flex That Worx!

If you enjoyed this episode, don’t forget to follow or subscribe where-ever you get your podcasts so you don't miss our next episode.

Connect with us on LinkedIn:

• Graham
• Anne-Marie

Watch the full episode on our YouTube, explore free tools and resources over at Baseworx.co.

This is Flex That Worx powered by Baseworx, scaling your workspace, made simpler and less stressful!

Marketing a coworking space is rarely the main job on the list for an operator but it is often the one that determines whether a space grows, stalls or quietly struggles.

In this episode of Flex That Worx, we’re joined by Jack Regan from Trend 7 Media for an honest conversation about what actually works when it comes to coworking marketing. Trend 7 Media is a Content Marketing Agency for B2B Tech brands and they have experience helping spaces in the coworking industry with their marketing.

We talk about why marketing needs to start with clarity around what your space stands for, how real member stories consistently outperform polished campaigns and why community impact often happens well beyond the walls of your workspace.

The conversation also explores practical realities, from driving enquiries in the first 30 days, to staying visible when you’re already close to capacity and avoiding the trap of endless planning that never turns into action.

This episode is for coworking and flexible workspace operators who want marketing that feels manageable, human and aligned with how their space actually works.

Key themes discussed in this episode for coworking & flexible workspace operators:

• Why clarity on goals shapes better marketing decisions
• How member stories create trust and connection
• What community impact looks like in everyday practice
• How consistency builds momentum without chasing perfection

Thanks for tuning in to Flex That Worx!

If you enjoyed this episode, don’t forget to follow or subscribe where-ever you get your podcasts so you don't miss our next episode.

Connect with us on LinkedIn:

• Graham
• Anne-Marie

Watch the full episode on our YouTube, explore free tools and resources over at Baseworx.co.

This is Flex That Worx powered by Baseworx, scaling your workspace, made simpler and less stressful!

Coworking spaces and gyms tend to be discussed in very different circles but when you stand back and look at both models, they are more alike than we think. 

A few similarities we noticed are they both sell memberships, depend on retention and they only work if people actually show up.

In this week’s episode of Flex That Worx, Anne-Marie and Graham dig into why gyms have become very good at understanding routine, habit, and real human behaviour and what coworking operators can take from that. 

The conversation explores why people keep showing up to spaces that fit into their lives, even when those spaces are not perfect. It challenges the idea that better equipment, better coffee, or more events are what drive engagement, and instead looks at timing, accessibility, confidence, and clarity of purpose.

They also unpack the challenges operators need to manage such as intimidating first days for new members, over-engineered onboarding, serving very different people in the same space, and the mistake of assuming community can be manufactured on demand.

This is not about turning coworking spaces into gyms. It is about learning from an industry that understands where it sits in people’s lives, and designs around that reality.

Key takeaways for coworking and flexible workspace operators:

• If your space does not fit into someone’s routine, no amount of fancy equipment will fix that
• Accessibility and opening hours often matter more than amenities
• Over-structured onboarding can create pressure rather than confidence
• One space can successfully serve different audiences at different times
• Community is an outcome of environment
• Existing members still need support even if they have been there for years 

Thanks for tuning in to Flex That Worx!

If you enjoyed this episode, don’t forget to follow or subscribe where-ever you get your podcasts so you don't miss our next episode.

Connect with us on LinkedIn:

• Graham
• Anne-Marie

Watch the full episode on our YouTube, explore free tools and resources over at Baseworx.co.

This is Flex That Worx powered by Baseworx, scaling your workspace, made simpler and less stressful!

Coworking spaces have traditionally been designed around desks, meetings, and laptop-based work. But a growing group of workers do not fit neatly into that model.

In this episode of Flex That Worx, Anne-Marie Murphy and Graham Clarke explore whether coworking spaces are truly set up to support creators, people whose work depends on content, visibility, and personal branding.

Creators work differently from traditional freelancers or remote employees. They often need a quiet space at short notice, spaces suitable for filming or recording, and access to equipment that is difficult to justify or maintain at home. Many coworking spaces were never designed with this type of work in mind, which can unintentionally create friction for both operators and members.

This episode looks at what it would actually mean to serve creators well, without overengineering your space or compromising your existing business model. The conversation covers practical considerations around layout, sound, equipment, membership structures, and how operators can assess whether this audience makes sense for their location.

For coworking and flexible workspace operators thinking about future demand, this episode offers a grounded, realistic look at an audience that is already present in many local markets.

Thanks for tuning in to Flex That Worx!

If you enjoyed this episode, don’t forget to follow or subscribe where-ever you get your podcasts so you don't miss our next episode.

Connect with us on LinkedIn:

• Graham
• Anne-Marie

Watch the full episode on our YouTube, explore free tools and resources over at Baseworx.co.

This is Flex That Worx powered by Baseworx, scaling your workspace, made simpler and less stressful!

In this Flex Rewind episode of Flex That Worx, we take a closer look at why niche coworking and flexible workspace models are gaining momentum, and why clear positioning is becoming critical for operators.

Graham Clarke, Anne-Marie Murphy and Joe Averill discuss how flexible work has evolved beyond its early roots in freelancer-led coworking and traditional serviced offices. As remote and hybrid working have reshaped demand, many operators now sit somewhere between the two models, combining flexibility with a more defined workplace experience.

As competition increases, the conversation turns to the importance of focus. Rather than trying to appeal to everyone, successful spaces are making deliberate choices about who they are built for, and just as importantly, who they are not.

From professionally oriented environments serving legal and financial firms to tightly curated tech communities, niche strategies are emerging as a way to stand out and protect culture.

This is a grounded discussion for coworking and flexible workspace operators thinking about positioning, community fit, and long-term sustainability in a crowded market. If you are refining your proposition or questioning how narrow your focus should be, this episode offers practical insight from lived experience.

To get the full breakdown of insights, listen to the full episode here

Thanks for tuning in to Flex That Worx!

If you enjoyed this episode, don’t forget to follow or subscribe where-ever you get your podcasts so you don't miss our next episode.

Connect with us on LinkedIn:

• Graham
• Anne-Marie

Watch the full episode on our YouTube, explore free tools and resources over at Baseworx.co.

This is Flex That Worx powered by Baseworx, scaling your workspace, made simpler and less stressful!