Let me start off by saying, thanks, for the great conversations that are being had around the topic of coworking. I’ve been learning a lot through this community.
I’m working as an experience design consultant on a project for a newly proposed coworking space in Southeast DC—that may/may not exist—depending on the feedback gathered. In an effort to design an intentional space to build a community for entrepreneurs to blueprint, build and bridge ideas, I thought it would be a good idea to hear from the people: owners, managers and members alike.
If there’s data already available that I could get access to help deepen my understanding, that would be awesome. Please share with me. In the meantime, I’d love for you to take my survey and if you think it’s appropriate, please share it with your network. It’ll take about 5 minutes to complete. I’m happy to share my findings with you if it’ll help you with all that you’re doing in your coworking community venture. Here’s the link: http://bit.ly/coworkresearch
How has your response been to this survey so far? Compared to the ones that I’ve seen this one seems rather long and, if I’m completely honest, kind of invasive. Imagine being asked your income range and the highest level of education you’ve completed on a first date. Kind of a turn off, and a lot of people you’re hoping to reach are going to close the survey without finishing it.
If you’re going to circulate a survey, I’d consider reducing the number of questions and focusing on essential questions, like the ones that help you get a sense of their problems and priorities.
That said, I’ve found survey results to be misleading compared to ethnographic research. Especially when your goal is deepening your understanding, observing what people do vs what they say is remarkably telling (this seems to be doubly true in certain audiences that tend to be optimistic and creative, where folks answer based on an imagined future scenario rather than their current reality).
Do you have a sense of where folks in your prospective community are already gathering and interacting in the Southeast DC region? Are there existing events, clubs, gatherings, meetups, even other shared workspaces where you can meet people in their “natural environment” and learn what their real priorities are?
Hey, @alex! I truly appreciate your honest feedback. Thanks for taking a look at the survey. I’ve had 16 people respond so far.
I thought about making it anonymous, as well as limiting the number of questions but decided against it knowing fully well that there would be people who may see it as invasive, and opt not to participate. It’s a risk I was willing to take so I can get results in context, even if it’s not a large sample set. I’m hoping that there’d also be people who really want to provide information that could help make a real difference.
I’ve reached out to some local community development groups and shared workspace owners and manager and have planned meetings within the coming weeks. Certainly taking all that you’ve said into consideration still.
