I agree with Alex. It is very important to get out there and meet
your target market. Very key is asking questions about what they
do, how they work, and if it is a good fit inviting them to come
in and check out the space. Critical mass is both hard and crucial.
The more people you can constantly get walking into your space. the
more
people talking about it, the faster you will fill up. Get out to
networking events
and introduce yourself. If possible, get speaking or writing as a
guest
in entrepreneurial settings. The more exposure the better.
And in terms of sign up, you have to get people in and really to
see the value. What do they get beyond the local coffee shop?
Is it community? If you don't have people then that may not be
what you have yet. Is it cool events? That can be a big draw.
Use community calendars and social networking to promote your
events.
Good luck and keep us posted.
All the best,
Felicity
Cubes&Crayons
www.cubesandcrayons.com
cubes.typepad.blog/com
On Jan 24, 5:03 am, HeatherO <heath...@heathero.com> wrote:
> Great ideas! Thanks so much!
>
> At your service,
>
> Heather O'
>
> Heather O'Sullivan Canney, BA, CSP, CGG ("Chief Goal Getter!")
> Heather O' Inc. Coaching and Consulting
>
> Soco Studio - A Place for Social Coworking (Seminars, Workshops & group
> meetings too!)
>
> 104-B N. Salem St.
> Apex, NC 27502
> 919-387-0408
> 877-GoheatherO
>
> www.HeatherO.comwww.twitter.com/heathero
>
> www.socostudio.bizwww.twitter.com/socostudio
>
> Other Sites &
> Blogs:www.apexgoodliving.comwww.westwakeliving.comwww.westwakewomenpreneurs.ning.comwww.livejuiced.blogspot.comwww.Heatheroapex.blogspot.comwww.activerain.com/HeatherO
>
> On Sat, Jan 24, 2009 at 7:59 AM, Ryan Price <ucfbass...@gmail.com> wrote:
> > Heather,
> > Like Alex said, user groups can be nice, but go to their turf during a
> > regular meeting, email the organizer of the event before, congratulate him
> > (or her) on his hard work - and give a the people in the group a specific
> > time to come to your space - if Fridays are free, then invite them down on
> > the next Friday.
>
> > At CoLab in Orlando, we just had a big party in the space this week, then
> > invited people down on Friday. We promised to go to lunch and then out for a
> > beer at the end of the day - we had a total of 10 people, plus the girl who
> > works for the building - the most people I've seen in CoLab on a single day
> > since it opened in November. One guy signed up based on that day, and 3 of
> > us were already paying members. The others seemed very positive about their
> > experience - they like being downtown, the social aspects and the lack of
> > pressure to buy coffee and sandwiches.
>
> > Also, becoming friends with newspaper reporters, bloggers, and people who
> > work for the Economic Development Commission can't hurt either. You could
> > hold a "Creative Cities" event - that might draw some of those types, and
> > people who care about building something larger than themselves.
>
> > Good luck!
>
> > Peace,
> > Ryan Price
> > Orlando, FL - CoLab
> > rpr...@ryanpricemedia.com
> > floridacreatives.com
> > @liberatr
>
> > On Jan 23, 2009, at 9:56 PM, HeatherO wrote:
>
> > Good point! I am in a lot of networking groups with different people. But
> > not in any "tech" groups.
> > Thanks for that perspective.
>
> > At your service,
>
> > Heather O'
>
> > Heather O'Sullivan Canney, BA, CSP, CGG ("Chief Goal Getter!")
> > Heather O' Inc. Coaching and Consulting
>
> > "Creating the Mindset, Marketing, Systems & Surroundings that support your
> > goals"
>
> > Soco Studio - A Place for Social Coworking (Seminars, Workshops & group
> > meetings too!)
>
> > 104-B N. Salem St.
> > Apex, NC 27502
> > 919-387-0408
> > 877-GoheatherO
>
> >www.HeatherO.com
> >www.twitter.com/heathero
>
> >www.socostudio.biz
> >www.twitter.com/socostudio
>
> > Other Sites & Blogs:
> >www.apexgoodliving.com
> >www.westwakeliving.com
> >www.westwakewomenpreneurs.ning.com
> >www.livejuiced.blogspot.com
> >www.Heatheroapex.blogspot.com
> >www.activerain.com/HeatherO
>
> > On Fri, Jan 23, 2009 at 3:36 PM, Alex Hillman <
> > dangerouslyawes...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> >> It's more than just finding them...it's about being a part of them.
>
> >> Even if the content that they cover isn't something you are knowledgeable
> >> about, go to their events. Meet their members. Don't just "sell" your space
> >> as a place for them to have their events, but become a part of their little
> >> communities and show them that you want their community to be a part of the
> >> larger community...through your space.
>
> >> -Alex, IndyHall
>
> >> --
> >> -----
> >> --
> >> -----
> >> Alex Hillman
> >> im always developing something
> >> digital: a...@weknowhtml.com
> >> visual:www.dangerouslyawesome.com
> >> local:www.indyhall.org
>
> >> On Fri, Jan 23, 2009 at 3:32 PM, HeatherO <heath...@heathero.com> wrote:
>
> >>> Thanks David!
> >>> Now I just have to find these groups! :)
>
> >>> At your service,
>
> >>> Heather O'
>
> >>> Heather O'Sullivan Canney, BA, CSP, CGG ("Chief Goal Getter!")
> >>> Heather O' Inc. Coaching and Consulting
>
> >>> Specializing in Small Business, Real Estate, PR/Marketing/Social Media
> >>> Organizational Systems
> >>> "Creating the Mindset, Marketing, Systems & Surroundings that support
> >>> your goals"
>
> >>> Soco Studio - A Place for Social Coworking (Seminars, Workshops & group
> >>> meetings too!)
>
> >>> 104-B N. Salem St.
> >>> Apex, NC 27502
> >>> 919-387-0408
> >>> 877-GoheatherO
>
> >>>www.HeatherO.com
> >>>www.twitter.com/heathero
>
> >>>www.socostudio.biz
> >>>www.twitter.com/socostudio
>
> >>> Other Sites & Blogs:
> >>>www.apexgoodliving.com
> >>>www.westwakeliving.com
> >>>www.westwakewomenpreneurs.ning.com
> >>>www.livejuiced.blogspot.com
> >>>www.Heatheroapex.blogspot.com
> >>>www.activerain.com/HeatherO
>
> >>> On Fri, Jan 23, 2009 at 2:40 PM, David Kominsky <davidkomin...@gmail.com
> >>> > wrote:
>
> >>>> Computer user groups are groups of individuals who all work with a
> >>>> particular technology (often a programming language) and get together,
> >>>> often
> >>>> once a month, to discuss techniques, show each other what they are
> >>>> working
> >>>> on, and basically talk to people whose eyes won't glaze over when they
> >>>> talk
> >>>> details about their work.
>
> >>>> User Groups vary in type. Some are very friendly informal groups that
> >>>> will love you forever for anything you do for them (and will try to do
> >>>> lots
> >>>> of things for your to pay you back, which is great), and some come from a
> >>>> place of entitlement, feeling like THEY are doing YOU a favor by
> >>>> consenting
> >>>> to meet in your space. Obviously, you want the former, not the latter,
> >>>> even
> >>>> when the latter seem like a better match for you as customers. Trust me
> >>>> on
> >>>> this one.
>
> >>>> In portland, we have a thriving open source community, and find some of
> >>>> the open source groups to be among the most welcoming, and they create a
> >>>> great sense of community. Admittedly, all of this takes time (over a
> >>>> year).
> >>>> The payback, however, is that we are the portland tech community
> >>>> clubhouse
> >>>> at this point, which is allowing us to expand our business model somewhat
> >>>> and begin to take on programming jobs that we subcontract out to members
> >>>> of
> >>>> the community, which people trust us to do because they know us, and know
> >>>> that we know the programmers.
>
> >>>> Hope this is helpful,
> >>>> David
>
> >>>> On Thu, Jan 22, 2009 at 8:33 PM, HeatherO <heath...@heathero.com>wrote:
>
> >>>>> Thanks so much for the feedback.
> >>>>> I was expecting a must faster income i guess!
> >>>>> We were not planning to open when/where we did, but circumstances
> >>>>> happen!
> >>>>> Now we just have to figure out how to stay open until it all "pays
> >>>>> off!"
>
> >>>>> can you explain the computer user group thing?
> >>>>> I'm not really sure what you mean by that.
> >>>>> thanks!
>
> >>>>> At your service,
>
> >>>>> Heather O'
>
> >>>>> Heather O'Sullivan Canney, BA, CSP, CGG ("Chief Goal Getter!")
> >>>>> Heather O' Inc. Coaching and Consulting
>
> >>>>> Specializing in Small Business, Real Estate, PR/Marketing/Social Media
> >>>>> Organizational Systems
> >>>>> "Creating the Mindset, Marketing, Systems & Surroundings that support
> >>>>> your goals"
>
> >>>>> Soco Studio - A Place for Social Coworking (Seminars, Workshops & group
> >>>>> meetings too!)
>
> >>>>> 104-B N. Salem St.
> >>>>> Apex, NC 27502
> >>>>> 919-387-0408
> >>>>> 877-GoheatherO
>
> >>>>>www.HeatherO.com
> >>>>>www.twitter.com/heathero
>
> >>>>>www.socostudio.biz
> >>>>>www.twitter.com/socostudio
>
> >>>>> Other Sites & Blogs:
> >>>>>www.apexgoodliving.com
> >>>>>www.westwakeliving.com
> >>>>>www.westwakewomenpreneurs.ning.com
> >>>>>www.livejuiced.blogspot.com
> >>>>>www.Heatheroapex.blogspot.com
> >>>>>www.activerain.com/HeatherO
>
> >>>>> On Thu, Jan 22, 2009 at 10:22 PM, David Kominsky <
> >>>>> davidkomin...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> >>>>>> Heather, from my perspective of 2 + years, it's all about time. We are
> >>>>>> still working to build up to a sustainable membership level, though we
> >>>>>> keep
> >>>>>> getting closer. And, we are discovering our sales cycle is much longer
> >>>>>> than
> >>>>>> we had imagined. We are still getting people coming in and signing up
> >>>>>> now
> >>>>>> after having first come in for a tour when we first opened.
>
> >>>>>> What we do for give aways is 1 free week to anyone who wants to give
> >>>>>> us a try. That way, they get a chance to see if it's a good match for
> >>>>>> them
> >>>>>> before they sign up.
>
> >>>>>> In terms of getting more people through your space, I would suggest
> >>>>>> hosting computer user groups. That's really built a sense of
> >>>>>> communityat
> >>>>>> CubeSpace.
>
> >>>>>> Finally, bear in mind that all of the marketing has a very long tail.
> >>>>>> It's taken over a year to see results from some of the events we
> >>>>>> hosted, but
> >>>>>> we have seen enormous returns since then. Patience, which is
> >>>>>> incredibly hard
> >>>>>> when the bills are coming due, is a necessity.
>
> >>>>>> Finally, I might suggest putting up the website in a simpler system
> >>>>>> than joomla. We've been on Drupal for the last 3 years or so, and
> >>>>>> frankly,
> >>>>>> it is way more powerful than we need, and that power actually makes it
> >>>>>> harder for us to keep it current. I might check out Wordpress, and see
> >>>>>> what
> >>>>>> you can do with that, since Wordpress is really easy to work with.
>
> >>>>>> All the best,
> >>>>>> David
>
> >>>>>> --
> >>>>>> David Kominsky
> >>>>>> da...@cubespacepdx.com
> >>>>>> 503-206-3500
> >>>>>> CubeSpace
> >>>>>> 622 SE Grand Avenue
> >>>>>> Portland, OR 97214
>
> >>>> --
> >>>> David Kominsky
> >>>> da...@cubespacepdx.com
> >>>> 503-206-3500
> >>>> CubeSpace
> >>>> 622 SE Grand Avenue
> >>>> Portland, OR 97214
>
> ...
>
> read more ยป
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