As we transition into the new year, let’s take a look back at some of our most popular blogs from 2017, with a summary of each.
In our most popular blog of the year, we looked at the differences between defining a shared space and a Coworking space.
Coworking spaces are generally for start-up businesses and entrepreneurs looking for a better alternative to working from home. Often you’ll see these spaces occupied by freelancers getting their name out by helping growing businesses and are not tied to any specific business or industry.
The benefits to these spaces is that they afford start-ups with an opportunity to stay lean, an inexpensive avenue for community and collaboration, as well as a lively and dynamic atmosphere that inspires productivity.
A shared workspace differs in that they usually house more established businesses, often with more traditional amenities to meet the needs of their clientele. This is not however, to say that established businesses are less attracted to Coworking spaces, or that start-ups can’t work in shared offices.
While corporate Coworking is on the rise, shared office spaces are more focused on having more equipment such as fax machines, copiers, audio-visual equipment, as well as professional looking office furniture.
Make sure that you know the following:
- Options for creating a space
- Trade-offs to make
- Size needed to meet demand
- Demand for private offices and desk reservations
It’s also important to make sure you can find a broker who understands the Coworking industry. Usually the ratio is around 1 to 100 square feet per person. Find the happy medium between not making your members feel packed while also not feeling spaced out and isolated.
If you don’t have the proper procedures in place it can cost you:
- Productivity
- Sales
- Time
- Morale
- Community
We went in depth on the 10 most essential etiquette rules in Coworking. From noise management to cleaning up after yourself, to being resourceful and spreading the word about the space, these rules are powerful to know for everyone involved.
Specialized measures of performance such as these go more in depth than the traditional indicators such as cost per person.
- Daily Peak Utilization: The maximum number of people using your space within the given day.
- Daily Peak Utilization by Business Unit: The maximum number of people from a specific business or organization entering the Coworking space.
- Average Peak Utilization:Â The maximum rate of usage within various periods of the workday.
- Frequency of Peaks:Â The amount of times the peak usage of the workspace is reached throughout the month. You can use this to detect similarities and patterns of usage.
By not offering additional services you could be missing additional revenue streams, meeting the demands of your members, as well as opportunities to expand your space.
Throughout an average day, your members will come across the need for food, coffee, office supplies, as well as recreational/community activities.
To meet these needs your members often will have to go elsewhere. By providing these services you can significantly increase your revenue from each member by becoming a more integral part of their workday.
Use real time reporting and analytics to make decisions regarding how to use empty spaces within the workspace that aren’t suited to be office spaces or conference rooms. You can transform them into new opportunities based on your member demand.
Some incredible stats about Coworking such as 67% of members reported improved professional success working in Coworking spaces. 56% of Members in a Coworking Space were working at home previously. 1.2 million people will have worked in Coworking spaces by the end of 2017.
Check out the rest in the link above!
Dive into why internet connectivity, rental options, security and overcrowding are some of the challenges facing Coworking.
In short, Office Hoteling is the elimination of assigned seating. Using this model, members of the workspace must reserve a workspace daily for whatever suits the type of work they need to do. The reason for this being that employees are working more remotely.
Office Hoteling affords workspaces with greater demand, better networking, and a more accessible telecommuting experience.
Make the most of your location. Partner with Your Local Chamber of Commerce and Small Business Development Center. Research what needs in the area your space can serve. Take advantage of the neighboring businesses and things to do within your area. Host industry events, workshops, hackathons, and other ways to bring people to your space and network. We discuss several more in the blog above.
The benefits to having a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system for your workspace includes the ability to measure and analyze the behavior of your members, find new options for revenue, and create new avenues for connecting your community. This article explains how Yardi Kube improves the overall management process for Coworking.
Please click below to schedule a demo, and we look forward to sharing many more great articles like these throughout 2018.