So, 5 years later from this post, what’s changed?
Remarkably little, I’d wager! Coworking is a bit better known - there’s more examples to point to, better support systems for new aspiring spaces, and lots more examples of what not to do!
I’m guessing, to attract commuters, one will need to educate them on the value of NOT commuting.
Well, I’d caution against this approach, especially when you’re the one selling the alternative. 
Rational arguments for trying to get people to want to join a coworking space rarely stick, and instead feel like you’re trying to guess the right magic incantation to make people suddenly “get coworking.”
I wrote a bit about this before in an answer to the question “what’s the smallest size bedroom community that can support a coworking space” but here’s a fresh take including some of the additional research I’ve done and observations I’ve made.
I always think about this a bit like Netwon’s Laws of Physics: an object at rest stays at rest, an object in motion stays in motion.
In this context, I think of commuting as a habit. Even when people can’t stand it, they’re used to getting in the car every morning and going somewhere. They’ve built their entire lifestyle around it.
The question I’d be asking is…who does that lifestyle not work for, and why?
I can think of a few examples off the top of my head:
-
Professionals who are new to the area, or returning after having been away for some time. Its a giant pain in the ass to try to land somewhere with no network and try to build it when that network is, for the most part invisible.
This translates across all city sizes, too. I’ve helped people move from tiny towns to big cities to find a coworking community that fits their goals and values, and the same process in reverse.
-
“Second career” explorers. This is one of my favorites, the folks who’ve spent 10, 15, 20 years or more in a career and decided "you know what? My quality life is more important than this grind. I’m out. I’m gonna figure out what’s next.
I got to watch my mom do this over the last decade and it’s been awesome, but I’ve also gotten to welcome a lot of folks into our community who are so thrilled to find a place that isn’t “all young startup founders” but instead a place that welcomes them in as a peer.
-
Internal outsiders. People who work for companies because it earns them a wage and makes their family comfortable, but they feel like an outsider at their company. Don’t underestimate this audience. Job dissatisfaction can feel like a terminal disease, but adding coworking into the rotation can help people take the edge off and find things to explore.
E.g we have a member who commutes nearly an hour to Indy Hall (there are coworking spaces closer) because the job he has is stable but soul sucking, stifling his creativity. He comes here because even if it doesn’t help him do is job better (he’s not especially motivated to, frankly), being a part of our community helps him stay happy by giving him a creative outlet and people to connect with. In a way, we’re the coworkers he wishes he had.
The common theme across these examples are people who are already in motion, as per the laws of physics like I mentioned above. There’s no convincing necessary…they’re already looking for something better, even if they don’t know exactly what they’re looking for.
Even then, the goal isn’t to educate them on coworking. It’s build relationships. I can’t stress that enough. I spent an entire chapter of my audiobook (chapter 2, “Just the two of us”) going over how I did this in an urban setting, but going through it again in the last week since I’m editing the transcripts for the e-reader edition, I can say with quite a bit of confidence that my approach wouldn’t change in a small town other than some of the specific gather places I’d use as my starting point.
-Alex
···
The #1 mistake in community building is doing it by yourself.
Better Coworkers: http://indyhall.org
Weekly Coworking Tips: http://coworkingweekly.com
My Audiobook: https://theindyhallway.com/ten
On Fri, Oct 21, 2016 at 11:43 PM, [email protected] wrote:
Great comments here. Gotta go and get it.
So, 5 years later from this post, what’s changed? I’m guessing, to attract commuters, one will need to educate them on the value of NOT commuting. I’ve been researching commuting costs and it’s insane. Between the auto wear-and-tear and the time (assuming an hourly rate equivalent to the person’s wage) it’s thousands/year, in my case, WAY more than the annual cost of the coworking membership. That said, coworking is still new, and commuting has been part of our culture since the past WWII boom, so folks need to be told about it.
There’s an emotional component here. For people that drive an hour round trip, with a family or other things close to home they’d like to do, what’s the value of more easily getting to a kids’ soccer game or a friend’s dinner party? Ditching that time spent in the car for either productive work OR being with friends/family.
I’d say that part of your outreach and market assessment is to meet with the employers themselves to understand their needs and concerns. The trends underlying the rise of remote work (high speed web, younger folks more comfortable with amorphous work/life overlap, sharing v. owning, etc.) are not going away. The way we work has changed, and the way we “office” is catching up.
Oh! And there are environmental benefits too. And, both the employer and the employees can claim that for personal satisfaction and marketing. Here in VT, that’s important.
On Wednesday, September 14, 2011 at 10:33:53 AM UTC-4, Alex Hillman wrote:
Tip #1: Go outside.
This isn’t the field of dreams, it’s a new business, which means you need to go out and find your customers. They don’t know they’re looking for you.
Normally, I’d suggest walking into a cafe or bookstore, look for people on laptops. Go say hi. Don’t sell them on coworking, instead, have genuine interest in why they’re working in a cafe or a bookstore. Find out what problems that solves, and what problems still exist. But since you’re looking for commuters, you need to figure out where they hang out - and then hang out there.
Get involved in the local community. Be a friendly face, a supporter and a connector. Get known as the person who people want to be around to get things done - and be known as the person surrounded by people who get things done.
-Alex
/ah
indyhall.org
coworking in philadelphia
On Wed, Sep 14, 2011 at 9:05 AM, CK [email protected] wrote:
You could title this reply "Bought the furniture, built the web site,
hung the sign - now what?" We too are finding it difficult to get
traction in a small town, although in our case our proximity to a
decent size metro area led us to believe that there were people
commuting into the city that would find they preferred to work here
(Anoka, MN) instead. Mark - we’re interested in your article too.
Niki - we’ve been considering trying several ideas that you mention
but I think for us part of the challenge is that we are trying to draw
in commuter traffic rather than “locals” that live/work in the small
community where we are located.
We don’t have much available to spend on advertising or the like, but
if folks have found that a particular formula seems to work well, we
would certainly put some money behind it. Any suggestions on where to
put our scarce dollars?
CK
On Sep 13, 10:54 am, “Mark W. Kidd” [email protected] wrote:
Hi Niki,
I’ve been involved in some of the same kinds of conversations in small
communities, and I’ve got a forthcoming article which is my attempt to
synthesize what I’ve learned about how to talk about rural coworking.
I’ll send you the manuscript off-list.
Best,
Mark
On 9/13/2011 11:37 AM, Niki wrote:
I look forward every day to seeing what new posts show up here.
Everyone is so interesting and seems to be so knowledgeable about
coworking. I want to thank you all first for giving of your expertise
and time. I ran an executive suites in Washington, DC years ago that
really had the soul of a coworking space. We had parties, networking
events, meetings, and fun. It was great and I loved every minute of
it. However, due to life circumstances, about three years ago (right
in the middle of the economic implosion) my husband and I moved back
to Michigan where my parents live and where I grew up. Boy is life
different here! I’ve tried for three years (in different iterations)
to create a business here (education/training programs, virtual
assistant, etc.) with the newest being a shared desk/cowork center.
It’s in a small town (there are such organizations in some of the
larger cities but most people have no idea what I’m talking about);
when I share the idea people say wow, how fantastic. I do have a
weekly group that has started to meet and seems to be growing, and
I’ve had one person come in and rent the conference room, but my
“security cats” and I get lonesome most days of the week. I’m really
struggling to find the energy to continue. As a side note, I am
disabled with fibromyalgia and rheumatoid arthritis and while I’m
working really hard at trying to get business in, it’s really wearing
on me.
I have flyers, pr in local papers, have talked personally with every
business I can think of in the local community. Every month I get
notices of new DBAs and send them invitations to a FREE networking
session, or day at the center. I have joined the local chamber, the
downtown merchants, Rotary and several other community groups. I go to
meetings and get involved. I just don’t know where else to turn. I’m
hoping that some of you who may have experience in rural coworking
centers, and in psychology of small towns might be able to share some
insights that I’m just not seeing.
Thanks guys for spending some time thinking about this for me. I
really appreciate it.
Nancy Becher
Business Success Unlimited
challenge – motivate – collaborate
www.success4biz.biz
269-858-3431
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