What Coworking Operators Can Learn from Frozen Enchiladas

I spend a lot of my time thinking about stories.

What I’ve found is that they’re everywhere.

We are, in no small way, collections of stories.

And when we die, all that will be left of us are the stories we leave behind.

But that’s not what I want to talk about today.

Today I want to talk about frozen enchiladas.

Coworking and…Frozen Enchiladas

I’m not super-proud of this, but when my partner is out of town, one of my go-to dinners is Amy’s enchiladas.

I know, I know, it’s embarrassing and not great, but it is what it is.

The other day while I was waiting for the oven to preheat, I was looking at the enchilada packaging. I was kind of surprised—and yet not at all surprised—to find a story right there on the box.

It was short, but it was undeniably a story. It shared someone’s experience and connected with me on a human level.

On the side of the box was the following:

“After the birth of our daughter Amy in 1987, we found there was little time to prepare the quality homemade food we normally ate. Realizing there were others like ourselves, we set up Amy’s Kitchen to prepare delicious meals for those who care about the food they eat but are often too busy to cook.”

It’s a story, right?

In two sentences, we get a sense of their little family, their brand values, the craziness (I’ve heard) of being a new parent, and the sense of service and purpose that inspired their company.

Not bad for the side of an enchilada box.

Your Coworking Brand Story

If you’re not thinking about using storytelling as part of your coworking brand and marketing strategy, you’re missing out.

Big time.

Stories help us understand our world, connect with each other, and figure out our role in it all.

Stories work for any brand, but they’re particularly useful for coworking spaces.

Shared workspace communities are full of people doing interesting and engaging work.

And I’ve found that most space operators are driven by a sense of purpose—a desire to put something important and meaningful into the world.

Even owners of mega-workspace brands express wanting to support people in doing great work.

This sense of purpose is storytelling gold.

Why did you open your space?
Who do you serve in your space?
What kind of impact do you want to make in your community and on our crazy world?

These are the stories you can (and should) tell with your content.

Just think, if I stood in the kitchen reading a story on the side of a frozen enchilada box and thought enough of it to share it with you here, what kind of impact can you have with the stories of your space, values and community?

You’re a treasure trove of stories—even if you don’t know it yet.

Email me if you have questions,
Cat 🤓

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