Rock on, Dusten! Keep us posted! On Wed, Mar 23, 2016 at 9:41 AM, Dusten W <[email protected]> wrote:
> Tony, Alex, > > Almost speechless as to the amount of support in this community so far. > You can bet i'll give back once earning my chops. > I've now got a lot of work to do, so don't be surprised if you don't hear > from me for a few weeks (it's because i'm reading and implementing all of > your awesome advice). Stay tuned! > > Dusten > > P.S. Great podcast btw. i've listened to about half so far. > > On Wednesday, 23 March 2016 09:20:10 UTC-6, Alex Hillman wrote: > >> 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. > 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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