I don't need to chime in when you beat me to it, Joshua :) All good stuff in here already, just a few additional reminders to make the most of Joshua's great advice:
The goal here isn't to get any members butts in seats, but to focus on a group of ~10 people who are attracted to each other and can use your space as a clubhouse. They'll become the main attraction moving forward (as opposed to the space itself). As Joshua suggests, you can jump-start this process by finding clubs (or other groups) who need a clubhouse. Also important is to realize that once you find this group, you may have to change your business model to make more sense. You've got a bunch of options on your website for membership, you might benefit from simplifying. Giving people too many options confuses them into making zero choices (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Paradox_of_Choice:_Why_More_Is_Less). Remember, though, that it's not necessarily the first 10 people you can convince to walk in the door, but their interest in each other instead of the office itself that changes the game you're playing. -Alex -- /ah indyhall.org coworking in philadelphia On Friday, April 13, 2012 at 11:55 AM, Joshua Marpet wrote: > Alex Hillman will probably chime in that you did it backwards. And he's > probably right. I mean, hell, like I know what I'm talking about? :) > > Alex has written some great stuff, and his premise was basically, "Get a > group together who want to be part of the community you want to build." Then > build the community and space to encompass them. > > I bastardized it. Don't kill me, Alex. :) > > ok, enough recrimination. Let's talk positively. > > You have a space, with awesome stuff. No members. Now what? > > Have you located the local Linux Users Group? > > OWASP? > ISSA > ISACA? > Chamber of Commerce? > Rotary Club > etc. > > Invite them to meet inyour space. Hey, free coffee!!! > > Free meeting space. > > Network the hell out of those meetings. > > After one or two, go and tell them, "Hey, your group should meet this other > group. Similar people, differing aims, but wow, I think you all will get > along. How about I set up a mixer, meet your counterpart type of event? > Free coffee!!!" > > Infragard > ECTF > Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association > Certified Fraud Examiners > Society of Professional Investigators > Do a meetup for freelancers > > Sorry for rambling, this is off the cuff. > > Hope this helps. > > Oh!!! Anybody live in the local starbucks/mickeyD's, etc? As in work live, > not homeless living. Walk in, hand them a coupon for a free day pass. Free > Coffee!!! > > > > On Fri, Apr 13, 2012 at 10:24 AM, Franki7225 <[email protected] > (mailto:[email protected])> wrote: > > We opened 7225CoWorking in North Canton, Ohio in January. We have a > > beautiful open space, cool whiteboard furniture, and 1 member. Being > > the first space to open in our county,people just don't seem to be > > "getting" it. We need suggestions,please! We have advertised in the > > local paper and mailed out a hundred free day passes. We have the > > space, the coffee, the wi-fi... Now we need members! Our website is > > www.7225coworking.com (http://www.7225coworking.com) Thanks so much for > > your comments. > > > > -- > > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > > "Coworking" group. > > To post to this group, send email to [email protected] > > (mailto:[email protected]). > > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > > [email protected] > > (mailto:coworking%[email protected]). > > For more options, visit this group at > > http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en. > > > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "Coworking" group. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected] > (mailto:[email protected]). > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > [email protected] > (mailto:[email protected]). > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Coworking" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en.
