When you decide to launch you coworking center, you first need to target a specific customer base. Coworking attracts a wide range of professional profiles, so you have the opportunity to specialize the center according to your members’ activities.
Specialized center: better reputation, less clientele
Before deciding on to specializing or not your center you need to weigh the pros and cons. By choosing to orientate your coworking center to a specific field of activity, you will reduce your potential customer base. However, building your center’s reputation will be easier thanks to the network effect. Your community will be more lively, creative and productive. It will be stronger! Your coworkers will interact more easily as well.
Think about the constraints a specialized center implies, especially as far as equipment and logistics are concerned. Coworkers of the marketing sector will not have the same expectations than the architects or designers. The latter will need tables with inclined stands and very high-end printers. Marketers will expect advanced computers tools. Do not forget to adapt the events and services to your target.
Generalist center: more clients but a lesser coworking ambiance?
By launching a generalist center, you risk to create a random working place (equipped with a super janitorial service). Do not forget that coworking is way more than this!
A generalist center will enable you to conquer new markets rapidly, thanks to the trendy dimension of coworking. But you will be confronted to a lot of obstacles: you will have to answer a larger range of needs – depending on your members’ professions.
Beware to buy good-value equipment, think ahead to provide services and host consensual events. You should invest on the tools that will federate your community: the diversity of profiles might make it more difficult to unite. However, once your work is done your community of coworkers will be a source of social and professional wealth like no other and will provide it with a wide set of skills and experiences.
Anticipate the opening of your center
Whatever you choice may be, you need a good business plan and a vision for your center. Embed the « specialized » or « generalist » factor to your development plan. You have chosen a non-stop evolving activity sector: still, you should build a mid-term and long-term strategy.
Our final tip is to encourage you to divide your center in business units once the coworking center is successfully launched!
