4 ms·

I really hope coworking spaces can stay / become locally owned endeavors run by small teams instead of huge chains. Like mom and pop office spaces. I've used a

I really hope coworking spaces can stay / become locally owned endeavors run by small teams instead of huge chains. Like mom and pop office spaces. I've used a lot of them and Wework was the most "clinical" and corporate of them. The small local ones tend to have awesome community, fun after work get together and special events, a little board game area, etc. All in all they actually feel like communities, not just desks.

maxehmookau 3y ago
Agreed. My local one is run by a member of the local community. Biscuits, wi-fi, good coffee, and a short walk from my home rather than a commute anywhere. This is the way!
- ackbar03 3y ago
  That's cause they were burning VC money
  - solardev 3y ago
    Wework was, or the small ones?
  - hooverd 3y ago
    My local co-working space isn't VC backed. They're the 2x dog I guess.
- zactato 3y ago
  Biscuits (UK) as in Cookies (USA) ?
  - maxehmookau 3y ago
    Biscuits, UK!
Jcampuzano2 3y ago
The only downside to this is for people who travel a lot, which admittedly is likely not too much of an issue for most. Or those who like a change of pace and not to be tied to one location. Though there are some local chains that own various spots in their home city which are nice. I travel for a couple months at a time to different places and while WeWork certainly has a feel that many don't like much, its always a convenient and reliable option when it comes to getting access to someplace with good wifi, amenities etc. I travel all around Latin America and Spain for the most part, with some trips to other places for relatively long stretches of time and haveing a wework membership in certain cities makes finding a good place to work from much more easy and convenient. When I'm in a place without a wework I generally do go to a local place, but most large cities have wework available and its just less stress to have to always sign up with a new place, or have to negotiate rates if I'm not staying for a full month or so.
- solardev 3y ago
  I met the founder of https://www.deskpass.com/ https://www.deskpass.com/ at one of these small local ones, and used it some while traveling. It might not have the extensive network of Wework, but at least in major US cities, I could always find something. Looks like there's a couple (only) in Spain too. But it's an interesting model, at least. Many local credit unions are also part of a shared ATM network, for example, and often science museums will have reciprocal memberships across the world (via the ATC Travel Passport program). But yeah, I hear you. It's the same reason Starbucks is popular everywhere... consistent reliability + availability is a big perk that locals have a hard time matching.
- edkennedy 3y ago
  It would be neat to have "webring" style community groups around the world as an alternative to wework
  - solardev 3y ago
    In a sibling comment, I mentioned https://www.deskpass.com/ https://www.deskpass.com/ If you haven't seen it before, it's a great way to find (and use) small local spaces. It's basically the Classpass of coworking.
pseingatl 3y ago
No one has mentioned this: once upon a time, a lawyer with capital would rent out more space than he needed, say, a floor with ten separate offices, all accessed by a single door. He rented nine of them to other lawyers, charged a fee for a shared receptionist, copy room, (not phones--everyone needed their own line) and tried to make sure that his lessees preferred different specialties so they could refer business to each other. It worked pretty well. But nobody called it "co-working."
- solardev 3y ago
  Lol, I thought that was the setup to a joke at first :) What do you call a hallway full of lawyers? But no, that sounds interesting! I guess it's not that different from today's coworking spaces in that "someone with capital starts a shared office" way. I do like the eclectic mix of people at the local ones, though. They weren't all devs or worked in tech. Made life more interesting that way.
- avarun 3y ago
  And it was a strictly more onerous and complicated process than current co-working is.
  - deleted 3y ago
    [deleted]
- bane 3y ago
  It's common in quite a few industries. For example, it's not uncommon to see this type of setup in the hair salon, beautician, massage, etc. industry. Health and fitness places likewise will sublet portions of a larger facility out to other businesses. e.g. the Yoga classes at your local big-gym etc. Most big Asian grocery stores in the U.S. also have lots of small sublet but compatible businesses, so you can get a haircut, buy jewelry and makeup, get lunch, and leave with a coffee and a baked good...all from separate establishments.
  - InitialLastName 3y ago
gosub100 3y ago
I wonder if hotel chains could pivot into this space? A simple mechanism to stow (and lock) the bed upright, with a desk conversion. They could rent the room during the day as an office, then flip it down at night as a hotel room. Since many hotel guests check out early AM, and in many locations hotels are dead during the week, it could be a nice complement.
- solardev 3y ago
  Interesting idea! They wouldn't even necessarily need to rent out the private rooms (which would have higher housekeeping costs, and later check-ins, if they were dual-purposed as work areas) but maybe just a lobby-like or breakfast space or two. That helps the community too, so everyone's not just tucked away in their own little rooms. However, probably a lot of small indie hotel locations are franchisees with some access to capital but probably limited participation in techie/hipster/young nomad circles (which is mostly what I see in coworking spaces). Usually those small local hotels, in my experience at least, are family-run and maybe not equipped to deal with either the infrastructure side (they almost all have shitty wifi, as a rule) or the customer service side (a constant stream of of people going in and out, not just during check-in and checkout... but then again, that is their bread and butter, so maybe?). In my recent travels I did come across a cool outdoorsy chain though with more modern attitudes (repurposing old motels into fun community stays with regular rooms, hostel beds, camper van spaces, shared cafes and kitchens, etc.): https://www.logecamps.com/home https://www.logecamps.com/home Something like that could probably easily pivot, but then again, that's often a different demographic than the typical coworking space user. I dunno. These days they're all kinda blending together though :) Still, all in all a cool idea. Wish I had the capital to start something like that!
  - gosub100 3y ago
    I've thought about this type of multitasking before when I see, say, an icecream parlor or a coffee shop in a strip mall. The icecream parlor makes most of its money in the summer, the coffee shop makes most of its money 6am-1pm (I'm guessing). Why not have an AM coffee shop and PM fast-food joint? A summer ice-cream shop and a winter hot-chocolate/cookie/pastry store? All you would need cables and rigging to hoist the unused equipment up near the ceiling. Maybe a 15min turnover and your business is making money for another 8 hours instead of sitting there vacant. With counterweights, locks, and mechanical advantage, you wouldn't need any motors or control systems. I think even a gas line could safely be made to move up/down 6 feet each day. This would all be done by a specialty outfit, not ad-hoc by restaurant owners. All certified and up-to-code.
nologic01 3y ago
commercial real estate has currently excess vacancies from the shrinking needs of classic corporates so it might be a good time for such member-ownership schemes to develop
- solardev 3y ago
  An REI-like model of coworking spaces would be interesting. Member-owned (centrally), then professionally managed & staffed (at each location), with member privileges usable anywhere?
dbbk 3y ago
This seems to be the case in Barcelona. WeWork are here but they don't have many places. The main groups seem to be Barcelona-born businesses.
turtlebits 3y ago
I dunno, I like the modern / clean feeling of wework. IME, the others are usually cluttered, not cleaned regularly and the kitchens are littered with random personal appliances/and dirty dishes in the sinks.
- solardev 3y ago
  Heh, that is true! I guess I prefer the "cozy hostel" vibe over "corporate chic". To each their own :)

maxehmookau 3y ago

Agreed. My local one is run by a member of the local community. Biscuits, wi-fi, good coffee, and a short walk from my home rather than a commute anywhere. This is the way!

ackbar03 3y ago
That's cause they were burning VC money
- solardev 3y ago
  Wework was, or the small ones?
- hooverd 3y ago
  My local co-working space isn't VC backed. They're the 2x dog I guess.
zactato 3y ago
Biscuits (UK) as in Cookies (USA) ?
- maxehmookau 3y ago
  Biscuits, UK!

Jcampuzano2 3y ago

The only downside to this is for people who travel a lot, which admittedly is likely not too much of an issue for most. Or those who like a change of pace and not to be tied to one location. Though there are some local chains that own various spots in their home city which are nice. I travel for a couple months at a time to different places and while WeWork certainly has a feel that many don't like much, its always a convenient and reliable option when it comes to getting access to someplace with good wifi, amenities etc. I travel all around Latin America and Spain for the most part, with some trips to other places for relatively long stretches of time and haveing a wework membership in certain cities makes finding a good place to work from much more easy and convenient. When I'm in a place without a wework I generally do go to a local place, but most large cities have wework available and its just less stress to have to always sign up with a new place, or have to negotiate rates if I'm not staying for a full month or so.

solardev 3y ago
I met the founder of https://www.deskpass.com/ https://www.deskpass.com/ at one of these small local ones, and used it some while traveling. It might not have the extensive network of Wework, but at least in major US cities, I could always find something. Looks like there's a couple (only) in Spain too. But it's an interesting model, at least. Many local credit unions are also part of a shared ATM network, for example, and often science museums will have reciprocal memberships across the world (via the ATC Travel Passport program). But yeah, I hear you. It's the same reason Starbucks is popular everywhere... consistent reliability + availability is a big perk that locals have a hard time matching.
edkennedy 3y ago
It would be neat to have "webring" style community groups around the world as an alternative to wework
- solardev 3y ago
  In a sibling comment, I mentioned https://www.deskpass.com/ https://www.deskpass.com/ If you haven't seen it before, it's a great way to find (and use) small local spaces. It's basically the Classpass of coworking.

pseingatl 3y ago

No one has mentioned this: once upon a time, a lawyer with capital would rent out more space than he needed, say, a floor with ten separate offices, all accessed by a single door. He rented nine of them to other lawyers, charged a fee for a shared receptionist, copy room, (not phones--everyone needed their own line) and tried to make sure that his lessees preferred different specialties so they could refer business to each other. It worked pretty well. But nobody called it "co-working."

solardev 3y ago
Lol, I thought that was the setup to a joke at first :) What do you call a hallway full of lawyers? But no, that sounds interesting! I guess it's not that different from today's coworking spaces in that "someone with capital starts a shared office" way. I do like the eclectic mix of people at the local ones, though. They weren't all devs or worked in tech. Made life more interesting that way.
avarun 3y ago
And it was a strictly more onerous and complicated process than current co-working is.
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
bane 3y ago
It's common in quite a few industries. For example, it's not uncommon to see this type of setup in the hair salon, beautician, massage, etc. industry. Health and fitness places likewise will sublet portions of a larger facility out to other businesses. e.g. the Yoga classes at your local big-gym etc. Most big Asian grocery stores in the U.S. also have lots of small sublet but compatible businesses, so you can get a haircut, buy jewelry and makeup, get lunch, and leave with a coffee and a baked good...all from separate establishments.
- InitialLastName 3y ago

gosub100 3y ago

I wonder if hotel chains could pivot into this space? A simple mechanism to stow (and lock) the bed upright, with a desk conversion. They could rent the room during the day as an office, then flip it down at night as a hotel room. Since many hotel guests check out early AM, and in many locations hotels are dead during the week, it could be a nice complement.

solardev 3y ago
Interesting idea! They wouldn't even necessarily need to rent out the private rooms (which would have higher housekeeping costs, and later check-ins, if they were dual-purposed as work areas) but maybe just a lobby-like or breakfast space or two. That helps the community too, so everyone's not just tucked away in their own little rooms. However, probably a lot of small indie hotel locations are franchisees with some access to capital but probably limited participation in techie/hipster/young nomad circles (which is mostly what I see in coworking spaces). Usually those small local hotels, in my experience at least, are family-run and maybe not equipped to deal with either the infrastructure side (they almost all have shitty wifi, as a rule) or the customer service side (a constant stream of of people going in and out, not just during check-in and checkout... but then again, that is their bread and butter, so maybe?). In my recent travels I did come across a cool outdoorsy chain though with more modern attitudes (repurposing old motels into fun community stays with regular rooms, hostel beds, camper van spaces, shared cafes and kitchens, etc.): https://www.logecamps.com/home https://www.logecamps.com/home Something like that could probably easily pivot, but then again, that's often a different demographic than the typical coworking space user. I dunno. These days they're all kinda blending together though :) Still, all in all a cool idea. Wish I had the capital to start something like that!
- gosub100 3y ago
  I've thought about this type of multitasking before when I see, say, an icecream parlor or a coffee shop in a strip mall. The icecream parlor makes most of its money in the summer, the coffee shop makes most of its money 6am-1pm (I'm guessing). Why not have an AM coffee shop and PM fast-food joint? A summer ice-cream shop and a winter hot-chocolate/cookie/pastry store? All you would need cables and rigging to hoist the unused equipment up near the ceiling. Maybe a 15min turnover and your business is making money for another 8 hours instead of sitting there vacant. With counterweights, locks, and mechanical advantage, you wouldn't need any motors or control systems. I think even a gas line could safely be made to move up/down 6 feet each day. This would all be done by a specialty outfit, not ad-hoc by restaurant owners. All certified and up-to-code.

nologic01 3y ago

commercial real estate has currently excess vacancies from the shrinking needs of classic corporates so it might be a good time for such member-ownership schemes to develop

solardev 3y ago
An REI-like model of coworking spaces would be interesting. Member-owned (centrally), then professionally managed & staffed (at each location), with member privileges usable anywhere?

dbbk 3y ago

This seems to be the case in Barcelona. WeWork are here but they don't have many places. The main groups seem to be Barcelona-born businesses.

turtlebits 3y ago

I dunno, I like the modern / clean feeling of wework. IME, the others are usually cluttered, not cleaned regularly and the kitchens are littered with random personal appliances/and dirty dishes in the sinks.

solardev 3y ago
Heh, that is true! I guess I prefer the "cozy hostel" vibe over "corporate chic". To each their own :)