What I like to explain to others is this: "There are many restaurants next to each other, because everyone needs to eat. So there can be coworking spaces near each other because everyone needs to work."
In other words, if your assumption is that your coworking space can cater to every demographic and need, you'll surely fail. Just focus on what you do. JEROME CHANG Mid-Wilshire 5405 Wilshire Blvd (2 blocks west of La Brea) | Los Angeles CA 90036 ph: (323) 330-9505 Downtown 529 S. Broadway, Suite 4000 (@Pershing Square) | Los Angeles CA 90013 ph: (213) 550-2235 On Jan 25, 2014, at 8:57 AM, Andy Soell <[email protected]> wrote: > "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 On Jan 25, 2014, at 6:54 AM, Alex Hillman <[email protected]> wrote: > The top competition for coworking spaces isn't other coworking spaces. > > The top competition for coworking spaces are: > > 1) Lack of awareness > 2) Complacency > > In every city on the planet, there are more people who don't know about > coworking than there are people who are familiar with it and seeking it. A > person who needs coworking but doesn't know about coworking is a very hard > person to reach. More coworking spaces in an area means a greater chance of > discovery of the concept, which means a larger potential market. Good for > everybody. > > The biggest threat isn't a coworking space across the street, it's the person > who works from home and doesn't know you exist. > > There are pretty consistent reports of a region's individual coworking spaces > growing as more spaces open in the area. To that point, Indy Hall's growth > has only accelerated as more coworking spaces were added to Philadelphia (we > grow by 10%+ month over month pretty consistently now, with a pretty low > churn rate). > > What we've seen is that more and more potential members do their homework, > try out multiple places, and find the community that they enjoy the most. If > someone doesn't enjoy Indy Hall, I hope that there's another coworking space > that they find that they DO enjoy. > > Are there cutthroat competitive people out there running spaces? Absolutely. > Are they having an impact on spaces that focus more on the REAL competition > rather than the self-defined "competition"? No. Finding real data about > coworking space failure is VERY hard, but I've done a lot of private inquiry > and have never discovered competition with another coworking space to be the > reason for failure or even stunted growth. > > With all of that said, if you're competing on facilities and amenities, > you're participating in a race to the bottom. The challenge that I think many > coworking space founders DON'T do is figure out what makes them different > beyond the desks. > > -Alex > > > > -- > > /ah > indyhall.org > coworking in philadelphia > > > On Sat, Jan 25, 2014 at 9:35 AM, Farhan Abbasi <[email protected]> wrote: > I would love to hear from folks on this list as to why they feel new > coworking spaces in their vicinity is a good thing, as opposed to a possible > threat. > > Imagine I was an investor in your space. Would you tell me as an investor > there are financial benefits to having a competing space open nearby? How so? > Does the market increase? I understand how it may create a hub in your area > and thus attract more companies in the future, but what if a competitor opens > in a different area of your city but is still a viable alternative for your > customers? Is it because there's plenty of demand to go around? > > I LOVE the brotherhood we have, but even brothers have rivalries and though > it's good to be friendly, sometimes they can impact your financial health - > so just want to hear from folks their perspective. > > Have any of you been impacted by a competitor negatively or positively? > > Farhan > > -- > 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. -- 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.
<<inline: yelp-s.png>>
<<inline: twitter-bird3-square.png>>
<<inline: facebook-logo-square.png>>
<<inline: linkedin-logo-square2.png>>
<<inline: vimeo-s.png>>
