I actually consider myself lucky that a Regus just opened 2 miles away. A lot of that has to do with the manager; she gets the difference between our spaces. We opened 2 months ago, Regus opened 1 month ago. Even before our opening, Regus had visited ALL the local real estate offices to describe their offerings. By the time we opened, visitors would say something like "oh, you're like that Regus that's about to open" which gave me a perfect opportunity to explain how coworking was different.
The Regus manager and I talked at a business expo shortly after my opening. She invited me to their grand opening for a tour and to sit down for a chat about what they offered vs. what we offered. Fortunately, whether because of their square footage limits or because we already had a presence, this Regus does not offer their "coworking/shared office" product. She came out to Cowork Frederick for a visit and two steps inside the building commented that we're nothing like Regus. After her tour, she had a much better idea of what we are, and now has a place she can refer people to that aren't a good fit for Regus. We also have larger meeting and conference room space than they do, so I get a few referrals from them when some business needs a place to hold an offsite meeting. On the other hand, I have a place I can steer folks to that aren't a good fit for us. When talking about the two businesses as competitors, the analogy that seems to work well is comparing a sushi restaurant to a steakhouse. Once you refine your needs/wants any deeper than "food" or "work", there's enough differentiation that there isn't any real competition. -- Glen Ferguson @CoworkFrederick coworkfrederick.com (http://www.coworkfrederick.com) On Monday, November 5, 2012 at 11:08 AM, Steve King wrote: > One of the first forms of coworking may have been the chambers used by > English barristers, a system that started in the 13th century and still > exists today. According to Wikipedia: > > > "Barristers are not employed in a law firm but associate fraternally with > > each other, sharing the burden of costs, in a set of chambers. They are > > legally considered to be self-employed." > > Some of the guild systems also look a fair amount like coworking. They > started around the 13th century in Europe, but similar groups were common in > China at least as far back as 200 BC. > Cavemen probably coworded too. It's human nature to work together. > > -- > Visit this forum on the web at http://discuss.coworking.com > > -- Visit this forum on the web at http://discuss.coworking.com
