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Ask HN: I just launched a Coworking space at the Jersey Shore - Now What?

19 points by strooltz ↗ HN
Been wanting to open a coworking space for a number of years and we recently moved to a larger retail/office space and we have room to test out the idea.

We opened a few weeks ago and have just started to ramp up on promotion. I was wondering if anyone else out there had any success in promoting a coworking space outside of a major city where there is little to no tech culture and quite a smaller population.

What marketing/promotion strategies do you find helped, didn't work, etc. We bootstrapped this project but have a little capitol to invest if there is a potential for solid return. For reference, you can check out http://cowerking.com

26 comments

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jikemaffey
I've been to this place...great space!! ;)
danielnicollet
Sounds difficult if there are not lots of home based entrepreneurs and home office workers in your area. Do you have any idea about that? Any stats?

Here are a couple of links that might give you some ideas: http://webworkerdaily.com/2009/04/14/coworking-in-rural-plac... http://www.mail-archive.com/coworking@googlegroups.com/msg05...

This is an interesting area to me. I have been toying with the idea of opening a co-working place myself. Let me know if you want to talk. Contact at http://en.origoterra.com Dan

blhack
Maybe you can enlighten me about what I'm getting here? It's $20/day if I want to drop in and work? What are you offering me that a coffee shop or bar does not?

Or the $325/mo? But I don't even get to keep my stuff there?

Do I get access to a conference room or a receptionist or something like that?

ballgame
I agree. I should be able to keep some stuff there, even if it's not at my desk (that I chose that day).

From pricing I've seen in larger cities, $325/mo should also get me 24/7 access.

billymeltdown
Permanent storage areas and desks are common at the pricier places (I'm pretty sure Cowerking is offering you your own desk space).

In other spaces, like the one I work at, we have a setup that's really dynamic and flexible so we can re-purpose the room, so we provide everybody with large lockable cubby-style storage. Thus, we're a lot cheaper, too, than places that offer your own desk space.

danudey
Peace and quiet; no screaming babies or giggling teenagers or laughing office workers on break. No espresso grinder in your ear or frappucino blender. No smell of an employee warming up a panini full of stuff you hate.

For $325/mo though I'd better get my own desk and a place to stash my things.

YuriNiyazov
Actually, most coworking spaces have a kitchen area with a coffee maker and coffeebeans grinder and a microwave where people most definitely warm stuff up. You are dead on with the "quiet" part though.
billymeltdown
Yep, we've got a kitchen (and micro, and coffee pot, etc) at my co-working space in brooklyn.

And, yeah, the fact that it's a work environment (to respond to further up this thread), is a huge benefit. Way easier to focus here than at a coffee shop or at home.

blhack
If it's peace and quite you're after, go to a library...

Isn't that what a lot of these hackerspaces/workspaces basically ammount to? Privately-funded libraries without the books? Or maybe with soldering irons instead of books?

billymeltdown
Another advantage to spaces like this is that you don't have to take the risk of leasing a commercial space yourself if you want an office out of your home. And I think that's valuable in and of itself (CRE leases are often for 3 years in many places). My space is $200/mo and it's a write off for our company that's a heck of a lot cheaper than leasing our own office.

[ by "my space" I mean, the one I work at, and by "our company", my boss's ;-) ]

mhd
Maybe you could profit from the apparent weakness of the location? Target small-time entrepreneurs and try to connect them with the more tech- or finance-savvy crowd. People setting up web shops. Small-time contractors getting all the accountants and call services they need.
athrowaway
Having worked for a coworking company for a long time, I can't emphasize how beneficial craigslist is. Obvious I know, but a HUGE percentage of clients came from there and you can't beat the price. Post often (3-4 times a day), as real estate ads get buried quickly.
[dead] access_denied
Providing access to a receptionist / someone who answers the phone ect would be very interesting for people who deal with a lot of 'traditional' business types.
thaumaturgy
I helped to launch a co-working space in a community of 12,000 in the Sierra Foothills. (Although I can't claim any credit at all for its current implementation. :-) You can check it out at http://sierracommons.org/

Contact Robert Trent there at (530) 265-8443, tell him Rob thought he might be willing to talk to you. If you can get him to slow down for a few minutes, he'd probably be very willing to tell you all about what he's done.

In short, they've managed to take a run-down space above a restaurant, and turn it into a beautiful co-working space. I think they managed to fill every available desk within the first couple of months, despite being (IMO) way pricey. They've done a lot of it through grants, so definitely ask him about that.

If you'd like to know anything else about the project and can't get ahold of him, feel free to drop me an email -- address is in my profile.

EDIT: Just to be clear, all I did was start a "solopreneur" group in the area, and shortly afterward, start pitching the idea of a co-working space. Eventually, I met Robert Trent, who had some extra office space and graciously opened it up to anyone who wanted to give it a shot. He and I debated different models for a co-working space. I disagreed with some of what he wanted to do, and eventually lost interest. He took the project the rest of the way and ran with it, and has done a truly amazing job of pulling it all together. It's still not what I had originally imagined, but he's the one that actually made it happen, and it's certainly successful. So, all props to him.

ac13
Drop the price for a single day to 5 or 10. Encourage free try-outs. Offer to hold Meetup events there for free, and find some of your own guys to do the first few ones on topics that will draw local groups. Contact people who run local meetups and offer the space to them. That's how I ended up at hackerdojo.com.
adamilardi
Hire "the situation" to run the joint!
nanijoe
9-5 seems a bit rigid to me. I can spend all day at Borders or Starbucks, and it would only cost me zero dollars . Better yet, I can just stay home and avoid the hassles of having to pack up every night. On top of that the Asbury Park location in itself is plenty of reason not to want to go in the first place.

If you are going to provide a co-working space, find some value for your clients.

One more thing..would you pay $20 per day to go use some space in Asbury Park? the answer would be a resounding NO for most people, so you simply have to come up with something other than just the space to attract people.

For people unfamiliar with NJ, Asbury Park has a reputation for being a "high crime area" , whether its deserved or not, I have no idea. The actual situation may also have changed, but for me and a lot of other people, Asbury Park would not be number one on the list of places I want to go and hang out.

billymeltdown
Asbury Park has changed dramatically over the last few years. I don't have any stats on hand, but I'm originally from the area, and spent some time working for the city (a job that took me into places where my safety was very much in question), so I can assure you it's changed dramatically for the better.

Parts of it are still really tough, but it's not the kind of place you should be scared to visit, especially the downtown area around Mattison and Cookman (this is actually a great place to hang out with a lot of new business and restaurants, too. You've even got a great pub, Brick Wall, and the beach down the street). The west side of the city, closer to Neptune, is still a pretty dangerous place, but you wouldn't be going there if you went to this place.

YuriNiyazov
Ok, as someone who rotates amongst coworking spaces quite a bit, I agree with people saying that your daily drop-in rates are too expensive. First and foremost, you need to build a community. You need a lot of people to be doing daily drop-ins and then aim that some will convert to being monthlies. So, the daily drop-ins should be something like "you can come in 7 times for free, and then pay $5 or $10 / day". You essentially want people to compete for the free seating.

$325 is very reasonable if you get a desk, a locker to keep your stuff, and a key for 24/7 access. If you think that you can charge $325/month and yet have people be there just Mon - Fri 9 - 5, you are absolutely delusional - that's just too expensive for not that much benefit.

Look at http://citizenspace.us/ for an idea of what it should be like.

strooltz
This is really awesome feedback. Thank you for all the constructive criticisms - we're actually going to be modifying things a bit based on everyone's suggestions. Just a heads up - our pricing scheme is based on what the local market is getting for office space/etc. A typical office space in town typically goes in the $600-$700/mo range (not including utils, internet, etc) so at $325 we are hoping there is enough of a demand...