Making your coworking center successful calls for a good business plan and a nice working place. But to turn your coworking center into a profitable business, you will have to do more. Attracting coworkers and help fostering the emergence of a community of coworkers is the path to success for your coworking center. Follow our guide!
A workplace: the crucial condition to success.
The road to success begins with a few basics. Your work ethic must be super professional. The coworkers who choose to come to work in your coworking center need the best working conditions to achieve their projects. This suggests the existence of the latter elements:
- Proper office furniture,
- An excellent internet access,
- Genuine cleanliness,
- Peace and quiet.
Relying on the community of coworkers
The success of your coworking center depends on an alloy of professionalism and a communal spirit. The community of coworkers created by your center is the best vector for acquiring new clients. You must enliven your coworking center so that members interact as much as possible (see how to create dynamic coworking space). You can also use social networks, various activities (conferences, afterworks, exhibitions), create a phonebook…! Strong bonds between your coworkers are the key to success for your coworking center.
Make a sound business plan for your coworking space
Start with a business plan and stick to it! To make your coworking space profitable, you must have a systematic approach to your costs to price your packages correctly. Take into consideration the profile of your coworkers to propose packages that adapt to their needs and expectations. Estimate the costs and future prices according to your location, the services available and the profile of your coworkers.
Use additional sales to increase your revenue
Additional services will help you grow your income per coworker, while at the same time enabling you to maintain an accessible entrance ticket. Optional services can include (for example): renting the meeting room, reprography service, access to the parking lot. Do not charge people for the sake of making them pay. You must work by categorization: which services do you think are essential (they will be free of charge) and the rest (those you will make your coworkers pay for because they are worth an extra cost). There is for example no way your coworkers would accept to pay for access to the restrooms…
Do not forget non-resident coworkers: by intensifying the flow of short-term memberships, you will definitely increase your coworking space’s revenue.
Aim for quality services!
Do not accumulate unnecessary services, select useful and befitting services to the needs and expectations of your coworkers. Those services must really become an added value to your center. The following services are considered basics:
- An address to receive work mail,
- Meeting rooms at disposal,
- Legal counsel and accounting service,
- Screen renting,
- A technical service to help out with computer problems!
Monitor your coworking center and be flexible to make your center successful
Managing tools will be crucial to the proper functioning of your coworking center. The whole booking, membership fees and additional services requests and processes have to be as smooth and quick as possible. Look out for software that will make things easier for your and the coworkers.
Be flexible and ask for feedback. You will probably find your best ideas among your greatest asset: your coworkers!
