- To stand out, coworking spaces need to offer unique and valuable services tailored to their ideal members, such as specialized events, programs, and resources that competitors cannot easily replicate.
- Focus on deeply understanding who your “perfect-fit” members are and tailor your offerings to meet their specific needs to become their only choice, rather than just a preferred option.
- As the coworking industry evolves, continually reassess and refine your space, mission, and brand to ensure you are not just a workspace, but a collaborative community hub that fosters growth and connection among members.
Your coworking space shouldn’t be a preference for potential members.
Your space should be the only choice for them.
Here’s the problem with being a preference in coworking: people may prefer your space because of the location, the price or the coffee. But if there was another space that was closer, cheaper or had a better coffee game, they would then prefer that space.
It’s not quite the transactional relationship trap that you want to avoid, but it’s along those lines.
What if, however, you were the only choice for your perfect-fit members?
What would that look like?
For example, what if, as a coworking space for working parents, you had occasional kid movie evenings where the kids could have fun, and the parents could connect?
Or what if, as a coworking space in a rural area, you had programming to take locals from idea to launching, then growing, their business?
Or, what if, as a neighborhood-focused, urban coworking space, you offered not just a podcast booth, but media and audio training, mentorship, strategy sessions and production support for creators?
How might these things take your space from being a preference to being the only choice?
This is the mindset you want to have as the coworking industry evolves and grows. Location is not enough if someone moves in down the block; competing on price is a race to the bottom; winning the coffee game is only a differentiator until someone out-coffees you.
Determining what makes you the only choice requires soul searching around who you are—and who you want to be, as a coworking brand and leader.
Determining what makes you the only choice requires soul searching around who you are—and who you want to be, as a coworking brand and leader. It means that you have to dial in who your perfect-fit members are and be willing to go all in on serving, supporting and connecting with them.
Coworking as we know it is changing. It’s growing and evolving quickly. I used to have to explain what coworking was whenever the topic of my work came up—but not so anymore. Coworking is part of the tapestry of work in the 12st century.
Which is great!
And, it requires you to evolve your space, purpose, mission and brand. You’re no longer just “a coworking space.” You are a shared space for your perfect-fit members to connect, collaborate, create and build businesses (and careers) together.
Which is, afterall, what coworking has been all along. And what I believe the future of coworking will be.
So don’t settle for being a preference. Build something extraordinary.
