How to build communities through spaces
Co-working spaces are not just for entrepreneurs and freelancers anymore, they’re adding varying sized corporates, part-timers, students and different ecosystem players into the mix, consequently pushing and shifting expectations, needs and wants from co-working spaces.
What users originally wanted — networking opportunities, educational events, the flexibility to work anytime, and cozy vibes just doesn’t cut it anymore. These become the fundamental requirements and it is clear that there is an increased demand for a community — a sense of belonging and cross-collaboration within the immediate space itself.
As the number of startups rises so does the number of co-working spaces on offer, as the community continues to expand, to ensure a win-win partnership, needs, wants and offerings from both sides need to be more specific. (There are so many options available — you need to know what you want to get what you want!)
So how does a co-working space create, build and engage this community? Let’s take a look:
1. The basics
You’d be surprised how easily co-working spaces get lost in the midst of the nice decor and amenities that they forget the fundamental needs of startups!
When startups are choosing co-working spaces to work from, remember that many are spending countless hours on end there, does your space provide seating that accommodates this? Are there enough sockets for each person (people usually need to charge multiple devices — laptop, mobile, tablets, cameras), enough room for private meetings/phone calls, open social areas for lunchtime or networking, can tenants control their office’s temperature, how about having enough bins?!
Be sure that your space doesn’t confuse needs with wants. While having free coffee at work may be a nice benefit to offer, it’s probably not a necessity startups are actively seeking out when searching for their desired co-working space.
2. Do you know and understand your community?
Do you know what the breakdown of your members is? What is their reason for choosing your space over others? What do they want from this space?
It is crucial to know the demographics of your startups to know how you can best provide for them. Wants and needs will differ if your members tend towards independent entrepreneurs, creative freelancers, software startups for example.
You will also need to take into account the stage of your startups. If your members are mainly independent entrepreneurs — they would benefit from mentor hours, if they’re later stage and looking for investments, investor matchmaking would be highly beneficial.
3. Facilitate connections
As mentioned, many join co-working spaces for the opportunity to network, find a co-founder, a business partner, an investor! Undeniably, events are a great way to facilitate these connections, however when I say events, I don’t mean accepting and hosting every and any event opportunity that comes through the door. With over 10 events happening per week within the startup ecosystem — how do your events relate to your members?
Beyond events, are you giving your members an opportunity to network within the space itself? To facilitate this, you can consider more community focused events, or if you want to be a little more creative — switch off the wifi for an hour once a month and force your members to talk to each other! If you have multiple spaces globally, what are you doing to facilitate international expansion?
4. Growth opportunities
When people are choosing co-working spaces, they want to make sure that they’re paying for something that will give them a return in multiples waves.
Not only will you need to facilitate the growth of connections, you will have to consider if your members have strong potential to expand rapidly — do you have room for them to do so? If not, it’s easy for them to justify a move! Some spaces are even willing to break down walls to accommodate member’s expansion! When companies do expand, be aware that the difference in price doesn’t vary (set your expectations clear and early) as this could be a key reason to make the switch.
Think about how your members can use your platform to grow not only their business but personally. It is ideal that you provide your members options to tap into — whether this means coaching, mentorship, meditation workshops — what do they value?
WHub works with many co-working spaces in Hong Kong and internationally, here are some of our trusted partners:
Interested in more content? Follow us to stay updated!
