Hi Mark, I started a coworking space in Plymouth England - another city that didn't have a coworking space, nor more than a few people who knew what it was. I spent over a year, almost two, running pop-up coworking days (jellies) to introduce the concept to people, went to every networking and meetup group I could find, and eventually - after joining with another person - felt confident that we could get a space and make it work. It was a hard slog, but the space is now running reasonably well, (although I have now moved on to other things, and still enjoy working there!). Mostly though, the space has been a catalyst for bringing together like-passioned people for various community efforts that have been great for the City. We collaborate with the City Council, the University, and the Arts College, not to mention all the digital professionals and creatives. It truly has become a community hub.
Happy to share more of my experiences separately and listen to your ideas. You are right to look to this group for ideas and feedback - it is a fantastic group, and a genuine positive spirit which is a joy to find these days! I'll ping you off line to continue the discussion, All best, Sabrina On Tuesday, October 3, 2017 at 4:49:40 PM UTC+1, Mark wrote: > > Hi Tony - that really does seem like a good solution doesn't it?! > > Sadly, after 7 years together my business partner and I have stopped > seeing eye to eye on a number of details - one of which is around where the > company is located, so alas, moving my existing company isn't on the > table... :( in fact, it's got to the point where me staying at my existing > company isn't really on the table! > > I think coworking will become a new venture for me, one that I'm very > excited to be a part of, and to begin with I like the idea of being able to > focus on building a community and a space, without the distractions of > running an agency at the same time and in time, I hope to explore other > options. > > No doubt I will be frequenting this forum on countless occasions in the > months and years to come - it certainly seems like an amazing resource and > the feeling of community among operators is unlike anything I've come > across in any industry! > > > Mark > > On Sunday, 1 October 2017 20:30:14 UTC+1, Tony Bacigalupo wrote: >> >> Welcome to the movement, Mark! >> >> Have you considered getting a larger space that your current agency could >> be the anchor tenant of? >> >> There is a ton of precedent for agencies that create "hybrid" spaces that >> are part company office, part community space. Each side of the business >> helps to support the other. >> >> It's one of the few sustainable models I've found for coworking on a >> smaller scale! >> >> Tony >> *---* >> *New Work Cities <http://nwc.co> - I help people build better coworking >> spaces for a living, and I love it.* >> >> >> On Sun, Oct 1, 2017 at 2:28 PM, Mark <[email protected]> wrote: >> >>> Hi all, >>> >>> I'm new to the group and currently looking at opening a coworking space >>> in Leicester, UK. >>> >>> One of the reasons why I'm interested in building a community is to make >>> connections with developers and other contacts as potential collaborators >>> in the various entrepreneurial ideas that I have. >>> >>> Currently I run a traditional design agency which is predominantly print >>> based and because we're based in a "standard" office at an out of town >>> office park the opportunities to meet new people and make new contacts are >>> limited, particularly in the web/app development arena. >>> >>> As I'm looking at moving on and doing something different in the not too >>> distant future, coworking looks like a really good fit for me personally >>> and also professionally, and I was wondering if any other coworking >>> managers/hosts have any experiences of working with people who operate in >>> their spaces? >>> >>> Thanks in advance for any feedback! >>> >>> Mark >>> >>> -- >>> 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. >>> >> >> -- 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.
