We asked 8 coworking owners and operators, “what is one thing you wish you knew before starting your space?”

Chris Davies (Uncommon) notes adopting a hospitality mindset, Lucas Langworthy (Greyduck Collective) recommends putting community building first, Chris Hoyt (The Pioneer Collective) reminds you to embrace slow & steady growth. Cynthia Dailey (ScribbleSpace), Colleen Moselle (Coco) and Erin Scarlett (Fountainhead) recommend being adaptable and expecting the unexpected. Katharine Chestnut (Alkaloid) and Alora Daunt (The Pearl Works) round off by highlighting the need to ask members what they’d like or want.

Explore how Deborah Schoenblum and Rachael Berezin improved the lives of their clients and the greater community with their niche coworking space for therapists and other mental health practitioners called Brooklyn Hourly Offices.

Scaling a community to success can be challenging, but Gerald Vanderpuye has managed to make an impressive impact in Brixton and beyond. Here are five key takeaways from our conversation with Gerald on how to build a collaborative and inspiring community.

The Optix team asked nine experienced coworking leaders for their best piece of advice for building community in their space.

The leaders who shared advice were Mark Eaton (The Corner Coworking), Steve Krueger (ECOMsquare), Rebecca Brian Pan (Trellis Coworking), Karen Tait (The Residence Coworking), Tori Taylor & Viarni Bright (Bad Company), Michael Mason (Olio Coworking), Maggie Segrich (Sesh Coworking), and Gerarld Vanderpuye (Impact Brixton). They shared where to put 10x effort, involving the neighborhood, making member connections frictionless, creating a unique vibe, events, experiences, passions and starting before you open.