Other than sharing a space - what's the purpose behind your aspiring coworking community? Who do you want to be? What do you want to accomplish? What problems do you want to solve? What's the "big picture"? If THAT is what you're building community around instead of the space, you're far more likely to attract people who want to be a part of something bigger instead of have a place where they can share resources.
But with that said...it sounds like you haven't quite signed a lease yet. And I wouldn't. Seriously. Unmarry yourself from the idea of a "perfect space". A perfect space that's empty isn't perfect. At this point, you're about to create a conversation where the community's purpose is to fill the space. You're setting yourself up to attract renters, from whom you'll need to work extra hard to foster a really great, purposeful community of trust and collaboration. Impossible? Of course not. Extra hard? Many people besides me will tell you yes. http://dangerouslyawesome.com/2012/07/tips-for-building-community-after-opening-a-coworking-space/ And if that "perfect space" isn't available once you have the community built, another excellent (possibly better) space will turn up, and you'll get to skip that too-oft-heard "we're open but where are the people" step. Build the club, then give it a clubhouse. It works every time. http://dangerouslyawesome.com/2011/09/how-to-fund-your-coworking-space/ -Alex -- /ah indyhall.org coworking in philadelphia On Tue, May 28, 2013 at 10:03 PM, Peter Wertheimer <[email protected]>wrote: > I've been following this group for several weeks now and find the thoughts > and insights extremely valuable. > > I've been exploring opening a Coworking space in an under served (no > existing coworking), yet notoriously creative and entrepreneurial > neighborhood in my city. I have a great space in a great location lined up > already and now I'm seeking to build a cohesive coworking community to > utilize the great space I've found. > > I understand that it is best practice to establish the community before > the physical space, but in my situation, the space I just stumbled upon is > screaming for this kind of use. I do not currently have a freelancing or > creative type of occupation but I am very interested in fostering a > Coworking community in the centrally located commercial space that I've > found. > > Does anyone have any tips or thoughts about establishing a community after > locating the perfect space? I will be attending a few entrepreneurial > Meetups in the coming weeks, and I am currently discussing with one of the > Meetup organizers about hosting one in our space, once it's up and running. > > If anyone can share experiences I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks in > advance. > > -- > Visit this forum on the web at http://discuss.coworking.com > --- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "Coworking" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out. > > > -- Visit this forum on the web at http://discuss.coworking.com --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Coworking" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
