![\"A](\"https:\/\/smallbizsurvival.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Caldwell-KS-coworking-space-800x450.jpg\")
<\/p>\nThe Caldwell Workspace is on the right. Photo by Becky McCray.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
When I visited Caldwell, Kansas, the manager of the co-working site said they had filled their private offices, but struggled to attract day users.<\/p>\n
People who work from home like working from home. They don\u2019t want a full time office, so they said they don\u2019t want to use the coworking space.<\/p>\n
How can the coworking space attract those work-from-home folks?<\/p>\n
Promote the \u201cco\u201d part more than the \u201cworking\u201d part.<\/h2>\n
At their best,\u00a0co-working spaces are human spaces, Emergent Research<\/a>\u00a0has been saying for ten years now. Studies found that people who use co-working say it\u00a0makes them less lonely.<\/strong>\u00a0That\u2019s the part to talk about, much more than the fact that you can work there.<\/p>\n Start by providing your work-from-home people with social hours and temporary events so they can connect and build community with each other.<\/strong>\u00a0That will help their wellbeing right away. Plus, as long as they\u2019re in the space, they\u2019ll look around and found out more about the space and the services it offers.<\/p>\n Social hours also give you (the manager of the space) a chance to\u00a0ask more about what they do, what they want and need.\u00a0<\/strong>Do they want day time hangout events? Are they eager to be social? Do they really just need a copier? I don\u2019t know, but they\u2019ll tell you when you get them together to Build Connections. (That\u2019s\u00a0Idea Friendly<\/a>, of course.)<\/p>\n Bonus: you can\u00a0bring in business supporters like the chamber of commerce or advisors\u00a0<\/strong>like the Small Business Development Center. When they meet each other in an informal setting, they may be more likely to connect.<\/p>\n Schedule a social hour, and set a goal of three people attending.<\/strong>\u00a0Even three people is enough to start building community. Put the word out all the ways you know how: local Facebook groups, the chamber of commerce email newsletter, signs around town, and text some friends. Take a lot of pictures so you can use them to promote the next one.<\/p>\n Then try another one, maybe at a different time or a different day.\u00a0Experiment. Take Small Steps.<\/strong>\u00a0(That\u2019s\u00a0Idea Friendly<\/a>, too.) Let me know how it goes.<\/p>\nLearn more<\/h2>\n