Everything Coworking Jamie Russo

I like to call myself a chronic DIY’er. This mindset has its place…that place is not in staining three decks with spindle railings…nor does it belong in creating a coworking business that could bankrupt you in mistakes made before you even open your doors. 
Let’s talk about what can go well and what can derail us when we attempt to DIY a significant project.
Resources Mentioned in this Episode:
Coworking Startup School
Everything Coworking Featured Resources:
Masterclass: 3 Behind-the-Scenes Secrets to Opening a Coworking Space
The Everything Coworking Academy
Community Manager University
Creative Coworking Partnerships: How to negotiate and structure management agreements from the landlord and operator perspective
Follow Us on YouTube

In this episode, we talk about why WeWork failed (the simplified version) and why WeWork’s failure isn’t correlated to the ability of an independent operator to be profitable and successful.
We cover:
The short version of the rise and fall of WeWork
WeWork’s historical focus on growth over unit economics. 
How independent operators and asset owners can focus on unit economics, local market knowledge and sustainable growth to create and grow a profitable business
 
Resources Mentioned in this Episode:
WeCrashed
How I Did This: Expanded to Multiple Locations
Lemonade stand plans on Pinterest
Our lemonade stand! We had to transport it to the park where we could access foot traffic :)

 
Everything Coworking Featured Resources:
Masterclass: 3 Behind-the-Scenes Secrets to Opening a Coworking Space
The Everything Coworking Academy
Community Manager University
Creative Coworking Partnerships: How to negotiate and structure management agreements from the landlord and operator perspective
Follow Us on YouTube
 

“And for us since day one, we realized that even though we have competitors in the sense of office space. We're really competing against people in their homes. If we can't bring people out of their houses and into a better experience at GP, then people aren't going to churn, right?”
Tim Hasse, the founder of General Provision, gives us the inside look into a space that identifies as a “work club,” not as an office or even a coworking space. 
His intuition long before COVID was to create an experience that wasn’t just about work. “The mantra very early was that anybody could come in and outbuild us, but they'll never be able to outservice us. And that's the, the culture that still lives on, you know, nine years later.”
Resources Mentioned in this Episode:
Tim's LinkedIn profile
General Provision website
 
Everything Coworking Featured Resources:
Masterclass: 3 Behind-the-Scenes Secrets to Opening a Coworking Space
The Everything Coworking Academy
Community Manager University
Creative Coworking Partnerships: How to negotiate and structure management agreements from the landlord and operator perspective
Follow Us on YouTube
 

This is a bonus episode and it will be most relevant to those of you that are still thinking about or working on opening a coworking space.
On this episode I share the new format that we're testing for the Coworking Startup School with the goal to get you more clear and confident on the first few steps of our 12-Step Profitable Coworking Framework because these matter the most...and this is where the most operators make the biggest, most expensive mistakes.
Get the details on our live cohort - registration closes Friday, September 1st.

On this episode, Dror Poleg delves into the transformative shift in how we perceive and design office spaces. Gone are the days when developers had a clear roadmap for constructing workplaces. Today, with the rise of remote work and the shift of considering 'home' as the baseline, the game is changing. Poleg discusses the uncertainties leaders face, especially as emerging AI technologies stand to reshape the work dynamic even further.
A central idea presented is the concept of the office of the future. Not confined by a physical location, it’s envisioned as a network. Instead of static places, the focus is on enabling employees to access what they need, whenever and wherever. Poleg presents the idea that while offices will continue to exist, they’ll differ in design, accessibility, and financial agreements. He emphasizes the importance of adaptability in future designs, suggesting the ability for spaces to be easily reconfigured, moving beyond furniture adjustments to transforming entire wall structures.
The episode also highlights regional distinctions in office dynamics, underscoring differences between places like Austin, Texas, and San Francisco. In a rapidly changing world, Poleg suggests we may not settle on a standardized answer about workspaces for decades to come.
Dive in to explore the future of office spaces, understand the contrasts of macro vs. micro views, and see how work environments are perpetually evolving.
 
Resources Mentioned in this Podcast:
Dror on LinkedIn
Hype Free website
Dror’s book Rethinking Real Estate
Global Workspace Association Annual Conference  
Everything Coworking Featured Resources:
Masterclass: 3 Behind-the-Scenes Secrets to Opening a Coworking Space
The Everything Coworking Academy
Community Manager University
Creative Coworking Partnerships: How to negotiate and structure management agreements from the landlord and operator perspective
Follow Us on YouTube

Michelle Ottey is the Managing Director of CIC in Philadelphia.
The facility hosts 140,000 square feet of workspace, lab space, and more. 
How do you stay focused on member experience and community building in 140,000 square feet…well…the Treat Trolleys stocking Klondike bars are a good start 🙂
But seriously, CIC Philadelphia is an incredible ecosystem that supports your “typical” solopreneur, as well as startups looking to commercialize life science technology.
They also have a strong focus on DEI and one of their OKRs is to help their member companies build a culture of inclusiveness.
This episode is a great case study on the diversity of shared space users and business models.
 
Resources Mentioned in this Episode:
Michelle Ottey on LI
CIC Philadelphia


Everything Coworking Featured Resources:
Masterclass: 3 Behind-the-Scenes Secrets to Opening a Coworking Space
The Everything Coworking Academy
Community Manager University
Creative Coworking Partnerships: How to negotiate and structure management agreements from the landlord and operator perspective
Follow Us on YouTube