If you are reading this… stay POSITIVE!
It’s not an easy industry, we know… but the number of coworking businesses hitting profitability has never been higher. Communities like TWIC provide more and more value. And technology keeps getting better.
At Archie we shipped 30+ new product updates over the past 30 days.
And while our customers have definitely noticed how fast our products are evolving, we have not always been the best at communicating that to the rest of the world. So we decided to sponsor this newsletter and tell you 🙂
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✊ Coworking impact.
🔑 Can smart access can make your space more sustainable too? #
SALTO Systems shares a piece all about how technology can go above and beyond just smart access (doors) and help you design and build a workspace that is truly sustainable. The piece digs in, to focus on benefits across air quality, waste reduction, lower energy consumption and more.
👉 Read this.
🧑🏻⚖️ Coworking’s role in bringing intersectional justice to workspaces. #
The European Coworking Assembly discusses the importance of integrating intersectional justice into workplace and coworking environments. They highlight the importance of recognizing the interconnected aspects of identity (such as gender, race, and class) when building truly inclusive spaces and communities.
👉 Read this.
📰 Coworking news & views.
🏨 Is there more to hotelification than brand & experience building? #
Commercial Property Executive published a great piece featuring quotes from Serendipity Labs, Yardi and THRIVE Coworking.
If you’re working with a property owner that wants to enter the flexible workspace market but is struggling to understand that just because you build it, doesn’t necessarily mean members will come – this is a great article to reference.
👉 Read this.
💡 9 strategic ways to monetize space without compromising culture #
David Walker shares 9 ways coworking spaces can grow their revenues without adversely impacting community and culture. Missed the Kisi and Coworking Resources webinar on this topic, consider this a good set of crib notes.
In summary he runs over creating spaces that avoid isolation, engineering serendipity, broadening the definition of success, thinking beyond private offices, avoiding over-monetization, quality staffing, leveraging tech, frameworks to consider, and bringing culture and monetization together.
👉 Read this.
💪🏼 EU Coworking OG backstory, and what comes next #
Jeannine van der Linden shares her coworking journey, from working in a construction business, to being a high-conflict litigation lawyer in Atlanta, to building De Kamer – a network of rural and e-commerce-focussed hubs in the Netherlands.
Not that she’s done making an impact, Jeannine also introduces us to the RES-MOVE project, which is funded by the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund with the big audacious goal of creating a network of European coworking spaces to serve as integration hubs for refugees – especially focussed within rural areas.
👉 Read this.
🧮 What numbers indicate a successful coworking space? #
Asen Stoyanchev from OfficeRnD digs into what you need to know about occupancy rates and what numbers signal success for a coworking space in 2024.
This is also a refresher of the kinds of occupancy metrics and formulas you should think about, especially with capital markets turning greener around coworking/flex space businesses.
👉 Read this.
🎧 How to go about educating your local community about coworking #
In a frank and honest Coworking Convos chat on "Educating Your Local Community About Coworking," a group of seasoned pros shared their tried-and-true tips on getting people in and around your space excited about this whole shared workspace thing. Lauren Walker from Coworks shares a summary we built up during the engaging call.
Host Cat Johnson welcomed Sam Rosen from Deskpass, Kate Schwarzler from Indy Commons, Joelle Smith from The Hub Coworking Jamaica, Sarah Athanas from Groundwork, and Craig Baute from Creative Density and Denswap.
👉 Read this.
📹 Wondering how to approach marketing videos for your space? #
Helga Moreno from Spacebring shares a pretty good intro to making and promoting online/marketing videos for your coworking space. The recommendations start with considering your ideal audience, to branding approaches, to optimizing distribution and tracking analytics.
👉 Read this.
🚀 What if…. the C-Suite mandating RTO are on to something? #
Andrea Pirrotti-Dranchak shares a contrarian take that maybe (just maybe) there are solid reasons to believe that all those C-suite leaders who are mandating returning to offices, are actually the good guys, just with a flawed argument. Maybe by shifting the focus from the utilization of space, to the many benefits of sharing physical spaces, we could see more buy-in from employees.
👉 Read this.
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💻 Coworking technology.
🛠️ Flex workspace app adds integration to expand demand base #
Gable announced another integration – this time with Rippling, a workforce management fintech solution that offers a wide range of features on their platform.
Through the integration, companies that run on Rippling can now easily grant their employees the ability to book flex workspaces across Gable’s network of partner spaces.
👉 Read this.
📣 Booking platfom updates name to reflect new offerings #
YourDesq is now YourSpace! The booking platform announced they are now offering a wider variety of types of spaces on their booking platform.
These additions include adding brokerage services for occupiers looking for space, as well as support for companies looking to sublet. The new domain probably signals an ai angle in there somewhere too.
👉 Read this.
📈 Coworking data.
💸 Where did $557 BILLION in office building value go? #
Bloomberg dropped some major data points pointing to major shifts in the commercial real estate market. Of note, the outperformance of offices in the suburbs and a shocking global shrinkage of 17% in overall tenancy – representing 1B sqft of space no longer needed.
👉 Read this.
🤝 Coworking market moves.
🇸🇪 Workspace in Malmö changes hands #
Genetor, a Swedish workspace brand with several locations has announced they are set to take over a space at Davida 15 (a Svenska Hus property) that had previously been run by Helio, another multi-location operator.
What’s interesting to note here, is that Helio is part-owned by the owner of Svenska Hus, Gullringsbo Egensommar. According to the article Helio has now retracted to only run spaces within Stockholm.
We hear a lot about operator switches like this across the US and UK, always interesting to see more from other regions.
👉 Read this.
⚡️ Durham gets a new coworking hub from local venture studio #
Nick Jordan, a veteran entrepreneur based out of Durham, NC announced that his firm Unboxed Venture Studio will be opening a coworking space for his portfolio companies and other local startups. The space will be based within Smashing Boxes and Durham Bottling Company’s offices, and will eventually be rebranded to DBCo.
👉 Read this.
🎙 Coworking conversations.
Hector Kolonas joins Bernie Mitchell on the Coworking Values Podcast to chat about the origins of this very newsletter, the challenges and our goal to build a new kind of media channel for, and with, coworking brands across the globe.
📆 Coworking events.
📚 Convo: Storytelling as a lead-gen tool #
How can you attract great-fit members to your space through storytelling?
Let’s chat about it!
Join us for a free, informal, community conversation with fellow workspace operators and coworking pros around the world.
Our guests will kick things off with their best tips, insights and strategies. Then we’ll open the conversation up.
👉 Read this.