Does this story sound like your dream (or a reality you’ve experienced)?
Everything’s gone perfectly so far.
You’ve signed a lease. You’ve painted the walls. The desks have been delivered and set up, with the chairs neatly arranged in front of each one.
Your website has launched, pretty new business cards have arrived, and a stack of “What coworking is all about!” flyers neatly stacked on the corner of your desk, waiting patiently to hand out to every new person who comes in for a tour.
It’s day one of your coworking space, and you are officially open for business.
Suddenly your excitement turns to anxiety. You think to yourself…”Where are…all of the people who said they were interested in coworking?”
This is the hard way to learn the difference between interest and a “desire to belong”, which is one of the key differentiators between a group of people and the fabled “community” that you’ve been longing for – and the thing you’ve promised your prospective members on those fancy new flyers & website.
Relax, you’re not dead…yet.
Believe it or not, opening a coworking SPACE is the easy part, but you skipped over the “work” of building a COMMUNITY. It’s okay, you’re hardly the first to make the mistake.
One of the ways to start developing a community from a group of people is to find a “purpose”, or aspiration, that they share.
Having a common purpose – and being able to communicate it with clarity and confidence – will be one of the first things that draws people closer towards the sense of community that people want to belong to.
Practice Makes Perfect
Building a sense of belonging for new community members is something you can (and I’ve been so bold as to say should) start working on before you open a space, but successful coworking spaces never stop.
In my Coworking & Community Masterclass, you’ll work together with me, and alongside a few dozen others up against the same challenge – to create and communicate the sense of belonging that will attract great members to your space. As an added benefit, that sense of belonging will help YOU confidently make decisions about your new coworking space instead of guessing. And that’s just a taste to get your juices flowing.
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