Happy Coworking Day! Every year at this time, I write an open letter to coworking. You can catch up on past letters here.
Dear coworking
In the early days of this movement, a tone of collaboration, mutual support and generosity was set. And I take my responsibility to help keep these things part of coworking—as it has grown from a movement into an industry—very seriously.
Because without the deeply human ethos that imbues coworking, we have nothing.
But along with this human ethos, we need coworking spaces that attract and keep amazing humans, help members level up our businesses and lives, and create work ecosystems that are far better than working from home.
And this, my friend, is the coworking sweet spot.
Some of you have amazing communities.
Some of you have amazing spaces.
And a few of you have both.
Hitting the coworking sweet spot requires getting out of your comfort zone. There are a lot of natural community builders and connectors in coworking. And there are a growing number of smart workspace real estate and design-savvy people who have moved into coworking.
So we have amazing spaces, and amazing communities, and sometimes the two overlap. But it’s rare.
And here’s the rub:
We members need amazing spaces.
And we most definitely need to be part of engaged and active communites, because a fabulous-but-flat space is the worst.
So this year, I want to push you to fill in your own gaps.
If you have an amazing space but are struggling to build community you need to prioritize learning to build community and finding the right people to bring onto your team to help you do so. You’ll need to try new things, talk to new people and shift your mindset from community being something woo-woo to community being the core (and heart) of your business.
And if you have a great community but your space is looking a little rough, or you’re struggling to turn a profit, you need to uncover your business, design and real estate blindspots and bring them to the forefront of your work. Ask for help. Talk to mentors. Be willing to step out of your community building comfort zone and become a business badass.
Coworking looks different now than it did in 2009. And that’s a great thing! Coworking is evolving, spaces are evolving, communities are evolving and we’re all evolving.
But this movement is still transforming lives. If you ever doubt that, reach out to me and I’ll tell you how coworking supported me as I grew from a side-gigging record store employee and freelance music writer to an internationally-recognized business owner, teacher, speaker, author and industry way-pointer.
So get after it! Find out where your blindspots are, and get as close as you can to the coworking sweet spot.
Further together,
Cat
P.S. Ready to grow your coworking space and community? Join me and 70+ coworking standouts in The Lab.
