You're on the right track, Dusten. :) On the topic of saturation, that's like asking is it too late in the game to open a restaurant in my city?
Here's the thing: there’s no such thing as a coworking space that works for “everybody”, and there’s more people discovering how coworking can improve their work every day. Still, far more people DON’T know that coworking is an option than do. *A coworking space’s #1 competition isn’t another coworking space, it’s people’s living rooms and home offices. * And for perspective, Philadelphia (1.5M people), as far less coworking spaces than any other cities of our size and caliber. It's shocking to me, really, how few spaces we have. Even more shocking is when spaces close, until I find out about the silly business mistakes they've made that have NOTHING to do with coworking. :) There are 1000 things that will kill a business before "saturation" is the actual cause of death. Now, while I agree wholeheartedly about the more meaningful end of the coworking spectrum (as compared to "consumer coworking", which is the *perfect* description BTW), I'll add to Tony's comment that not everyone is as intensely self-aware of that desire to be a part of something as others...so don't get discouraged when other people aren't as excited about coworking as you are. There's a LOT of people who aren't aware they're looking for "transformation"...even if they need it. In fact, very few people (especially in the biz world) are that self-aware. Not everyone is so dissatisfied. Many just need things to be a little bit better. That "little bit better" is the white space that we all get to play in. That's why it's SO IMPORTANT that people experience coworking to get it. Not just see it, but actually *experience* it, first hand. That's also why so many people struggle to explain 'what coworking is' <http://dangerouslyawesome.com/2016/02/how-to-explain-what-coworking-is/> instead of looking for ways to get people who might have things in common into the same room to spend some time together. And that "thing bigger than themselves", by the way, is't coworking. Most people outside of this list don't care about coworking for coworking sake. But they do care about something. It's your job to figure out what that is by listening as you meet people. To look for patterns and connections. It's easier to think about it as unlocking "potential energy" of a community than trying to brute force something into existence. You can start a meetup, sure, but who's going to come to that meetup? My #1 recommendation would be to start *attending* meetups where the kinds of people you want to be surrounded by might be. Rather than trying to meet as many people as you can at each meetup, try to have one really solid, curious conversation. The kind of convo that makes you want to pick up where that convo left off. After a participating in few meetups like that, you'll have a few people (even if it's just one per time you attend) that you can all invite to an event of your own. This helps you skip the "what if nobody comes to my meetup" problem that comes with starting a brand new meetup. I've documented our early process (which actually started *before* we hosted our own events by getting active in other local events - an important step often overlooked) in lots of places, including this recent episode of a podcast called "The Beautiful Struggle" which shares unusual origin stories: https://overcast.fm/+GIdWVKdpQ Here are just a few other examples that people have shared with me : - An amazing community that's been forming in Miami (with some incredible takeaways): http://archive.aweber.com/coworkingweekly/GCFq1/h/sometimes_I_don_t_think.htm - One of many emails that I get from people who've been following our attend/participate/invite/organize roadmap... https://www.instagram.com/p/BCETsZoCngG/ - Later today, I'm publishing episode 24 of The Coworking Weekly Show which includes another origin story in great detail, and touches on what to do when there isn't already a meetup culture, and a few other things you can try and avoid. It'll be on iTunes, etc etc. (coworkingweekly.com/show) and I'll be sending it out to my list as well. -Alex ------------------ *The #1 mistake in community building is doing it by yourself.* Join the list: http://coworkingweekly.com Listen to the podcast: http://dangerouslyawesome.com/podcast *Where will you be on April 21st <http://peopleatworksummit.com>?* On Wed, Mar 23, 2016 at 1:13 AM, Dusten W <[email protected]> wrote: > Tony, > > First, awesome article. And This: *"people out there working from home > wishing they could feel a sense of belonging to something bigger than > themselves" * > > This is exactly what led me to consider researching coworking spaces in > the first place. I was (still am in some ways) that person. > If the values of the members in this group even slightly resemble the > majority of people in this industry, i've definitely chosen the right > rabbit hole to go down. > > Are there any specific case studies of someone as they built their > coworking community from the ground up? Maybe I need to think harder, but > i'm only able to imagine starting a meetup.com group at this moment. Am I > on the right track with this? > > Thanks again for all of the really helpful replies. :) > > Dusten > > On Tuesday, 22 March 2016 10:29:23 UTC-6, Tony Bacigalupo wrote: >> >> I'll add: Consumer Coworking spaces will likely hit a saturation point >> eventually; they're expanding too quickly not to. Capitalism >> dictates unrelenting growth until saturation, and the capitalists are most >> definitely onto this game now. >> >> But there could be 100 Consumer Coworking spaces in Calgary, and it >> wouldn't have any bearing on the deeper and more meaningful need that makes >> this movement important. >> >> So long as there are people out there working from home wishing they >> could feel a sense of belonging to something bigger than themselves, there >> will be a need for a community that aspires to provide something better. >> >> Transformative Coworking communities will be in high demand so long as >> there are people out there who need a way of joining the emerging >> interdependent workforce. >> >> These kinds of communities will be needed so long as people long for more >> meaningful avenues for gathering, forming connections, and learning from >> each other. >> >> If you act from a place of purposefulness, put your heart in >> charge, show people how to be human and help each other, and resolve to >> empower and incite, you'll be too busy being awesome to worry about >> saturation or competition. >> >> <3 >> >> Tony >> >> >> On Tuesday, March 22, 2016, Tony Bacigalupo <[email protected]> >> wrote: >> >>> Hey Dusten, welcome to the movement! >>> >>> Don't leave it to guesswork; go out and test the idea by talking to >>> people. If there's a need, then you should be able to prove it through >>> conversation and organizing informal gatherings. >>> >>> Building a community before building a space is such a critical >>> prerequisite that Alex and a lot of us talk about because it helps you >>> prove whether or not there's a need before you commit to building a space. >>> >>> I wrote some more about that process here: >>> http://nwc.co/3/how-to-start-a-coworking-space-part-1-the-commitment/ >>> >>> Intuitively, I'd say your instincts are probably right and there is a >>> need. Regardless, proving that suspicion with validation from real people >>> sets you on a course to build a lasting culture. >>> >>> Let us know how it goes! >>> >>> Tony >>> >>> On Tuesday, March 22, 2016, Dusten W <[email protected]> wrote: >>> >>>> Hi There! >>>> >>>> I've been lurking/reading a lot of material on coworking lately and >>>> this is my first post. Thanks for having me! >>>> >>>> First, thanks Alex for all of the excellent content on your website. >>>> You've answered almost all of my newbie questions about community building >>>> and running a coworking space in the right way. Hands down the most >>>> organized content i've found on the subject. >>>> >>>> My burning question: How did you guys (who have run a successful space >>>> for a few years) decide that your market would support yet another space in >>>> your city? I live in a smaller city of ~1 million(Calgary) that seems to >>>> have only 2 "true to form" coworking spaces that I can find(excluding >>>> corporate and Regus) yet a place like Singapore or Toronto (close in >>>> population ~5.5mil has over 30 each! >>>> >>>> I have ties in all 3 cities, it's why I used them as examples. So I am >>>> curious....with so many variables, what are some of the indicators you >>>> would use to determine if one place was better than another? Does anyone >>>> have any experience in SG or TO ? >>>> >>>> Thanks for reading! Glad to be a part of this community:) >>>> >>>> Dusten >>>> >>>> -- >>>> 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/d/optout. >>>> >>> -- > 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/d/optout. > -- 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. 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