"More coworking spaces in an area means a greater chance of discovery of the concept, which means a larger potential market. Good for everybody."
This, 100%. In the 16 months since we opened our space, I've had a constant struggle keeping my "lizard brain" in check whenever I hear about new coworking options in town. I think it's natural to view other coworking options as competition, but Alex is absolutely right that they're actually allies. I've made a point to try to meet up with managers of other coworking spaces in town, and more often than not we come away from these meetings recognizing that there are different spaces for different needs, and it makes so much more sense to work together to help independents find the space that's right for them (do they need private offices? Land lines? Conference space?) rather than race to the bottom on price or dump money into amenities that are there purely to attract new members. Another thing to ask yourself is "Where are my new members coming from?" We've had a grand total of one member gained from conversion from a different coworking space. The other 96% of our members had never been in a coworking environment before. There are so many potential members out there, it really doesn't make any sense to worry about "competition" with other spaces. Andy Soell The Salt Mines http://saltmines.us -- 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.
