{"id":423,"date":"2011-03-09T11:25:00","date_gmt":"2011-03-09T17:25:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/smallbizsurvival.com\/?p=423"},"modified":"2022-05-26T09:09:46","modified_gmt":"2022-05-26T14:09:46","slug":"how-to-start-coworking-space-in-your","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/smallbizsurvival.com\/2011\/03\/how-to-start-coworking-space-in-your.html","title":{"rendered":"How To Start A Coworking Space in Your Small Town"},"content":{"rendered":"

[Reader Joel Bennett got really excited over last week’s post on, Is it time to rent office space<\/a>? That’s because he is a big force behind a co-working space in a small town, called Veel Hoeden. I asked him to share some of what he has learned chasing that dream. -Becky]<\/i><\/p>\n

Guest Post by Joel Bennett<\/strong><\/p>\n

Coworking spaces<\/a> have been touted as great resources for small businesses and entrepreneurs who are looking for a place to call their own. \u00a0Although they can be found across the world in large metropolitan areas, many entrepreneurs don\u2019t expect to find them in their local small town. \u00a0But that is changing quickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
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Co-working at Veel Hoeden, in Pella, Iowa.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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Veel Hoeden<\/a> was launched in October of 2010 in Pella, Iowa, population 10,000. \u00a0Our focus was to provide a space where local small business people and entrepreneurs could work and collaborate in an environment that felt more professional than a coffee shop, more interactive than a home office, and more interesting than a table at the public library.<\/p>\n

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As we researched coworking spaces, it was hard to find examples in towns our size, but with a little digging we found a few popping up in towns of less than 25,000 people to benchmark. \u00a0In the 6 months that have passed, even more have hit the radar and are carving out a spot in their local towns.<\/p>\n

If you think a coworking space would be a great venture to start in your small town, here are 5 things to remember as you start the journey.<\/p>\n

1. Prime the Pump.<\/b> \u00a0Gauge interest in a coworking space by talking to other small business people who currently work out of their home, their cars, or as \u201cmobile warriors\u201d in coffee shops and other local wifi hotspots. \u00a0Then talk to those who are starting new ventures, dabble in part-time businesses (like makeup, jewelry, and cookware consultants), or anyone else who has a small business dream and the drive to chase it. \u00a0Don\u2019t limit yourself to \u201cwhite collar\u201d workers or service companies. \u00a0Talk to people from all different fields and occupations that share a need for what your space can offer.<\/p>\n

2. Ask Questions.<\/b> Now that you have folks interested, make sure you understand what they want. Wifi, a place to spread out with their laptop, and access to conference rooms usually rise to the top, but ask you members before assuming that is what is needed. \u00a0Many spaces go overboard early buying printers, copiers, fax machines, and other \u201cnice to haves\u201d that rarely get used. Save your money and buy what is on their \u201chave to have\u201d list and upgrade later if the need arises.<\/p>\n

3. Focus on Community First, Space Second.<\/b> When I say community I don\u2019t mean the town you are in, I mean the relationships built between your members. \u00a0Don\u2019t get me wrong, you have to have some sort of space to have coworking, but the space doesn\u2019t define the community, the community defines the space. \u00a0Find every opportunity before and after startup to get the group together— talking, networking, collaborating, problem solving, laughing and even playing together. \u00a0The stronger the community, the stronger the coworking space, and strong coworking communities work together to make sure they survive and are successful.<\/p>\n

4. Do the Math.<\/b> Before you launch, know what it will cost to run your coworking community. \u00a0Draw up a budget with all of your expenses. \u00a0Drop in who has committed to working in the space and how much you\u2019ll bring in for memberships. \u00a0Talk to other coworking communities<\/a> on what they spend their money on so you don\u2019t get surprised (for example, we were shocked that we spend more each month on toilet paper than printer paper). \u00a0If the numbers work, move ahead. \u00a0If not, circle up your group again and see what you can come up with. \u00a0It may mean building up your community more by utilizing Jellies<\/a>, sharing space in someone\u2019s home or at a local business, or other \u201ccreative\u201d arrangements until you build critical mass for your own space.<\/p>\n

5. Be Resourceful.<\/b> You can spend a lot of money outfitting your space with all the newest stuff…just to find yourself closing in 2 months because you\u2019ve run out of cash. \u00a0Instead, talk to your members about what they can bring to the table. \u00a0Most have some of the office furniture, supplies, and equipment needed to start sitting in their old home office or in storage. \u00a0And since they\u2019ll be working with you, they\u2019ll usually be more than happy to share their stuff with people they know and trust (see #3). \u00a0Our members wanted a professional yet eclectic space to work in (some would call it whimsical), so we were fine with mismatched (but nice) furniture and unique decorating items because it brought our character into the space. If you don\u2019t have it at home, check out thrift stores, garage sales, auctions, and places like Habitat ReStore<\/a> for great deals on nice items. \u00a0You can always upgrade these items as better pieces become available or as you have some buffer in your bank account.<\/p>\n

My hope is that more small towns will look at coworking spaces, and with the right preparation, take the leap of faith to start their own. \u00a0If you are interested in taking that next step, lean on the global coworking community to help you make it a success. \u00a0Then make it your own.<\/p>\n

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While serving as the fulltime Executive Director for A Call To Serve Ministries of Iowa, Joel is also the Chief Dreamchaser for Veel Hoeden, a coworking space in rural Pella, Iowa. \u00a0His passion for connecting people and ideas serves him well in both capacities.<\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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New to SmallBizSurvival.com? Take the Guided Tour<\/a>. Like what you see? Get our updates<\/a>. <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[Reader Joel Bennett got really excited over last week’s post on, Is it time to rent office space? That’s because he is a big force behind a co-working space in a small town, called Veel Hoeden. I asked him to share some of what he has learned chasing that dream. -Becky] Guest Post by Joel […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","episode_type":"","audio_file":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","filesize_raw":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[22,152,10,3,13,23],"tags":[259,399,605,104,626],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/smallbizsurvival.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/423"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/smallbizsurvival.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/smallbizsurvival.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smallbizsurvival.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smallbizsurvival.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=423"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/smallbizsurvival.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/423\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13707,"href":"https:\/\/smallbizsurvival.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/423\/revisions\/13707"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/smallbizsurvival.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=423"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smallbizsurvival.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=423"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smallbizsurvival.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=423"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}