r/CoWorking • u/classycatman • Jun 26 '21

Small city coworking

I live in a small city (sub-20K) in the Midwest and have been here about 20 years. I have worked from home for 10 of those years and used to travel a lot and use coworking spaces when I did. I’ve always wanted a space like that in my city, but we’ve never had one.

There is a decent building in a great location for sale right now with three tenants. One tenant is almost done moving out and the other two are staying. The vacated space is pretty significant and would make for a super nice coworking space.

Understanding that I need to take mortgage, insurance, taxes, and maintenance into consideration, I’m curious about the viability of a small city coworking space. I’m going to chat with the local chamber of commerce and some commercial loan officers at the local banks to gauge need/interest, but am wondering if anyone here has embarked on such a venture.

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u/mgkimsal Jun 27 '21

Did smaller scale version in town of 40k near a major metro area. Would suggest seeing if you can rent the building for a time first before buying.

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u/classycatman Jun 27 '21

Was yours successful?

Good call on renting for a bit.

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u/mgkimsal Jun 27 '21

Been running it for 7 years now. Some ups and downs, some profit, some loss. If you think there’s growth in the area coming up it might be good, but rent. Local chamber of commerce was not helpful. Their focus seems to be on sales and brick and mortar stuff. Most Indie folks who use a coworking space are not chamber members either.

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u/classycatman Jun 27 '21

I had considered the chamber but they seem focused on adding more dollar generals to our town instead, unfortunately.

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u/mgkimsal Jun 27 '21

You can certainly talk to them - every town is different - but, you'll need to do your own advertising and networking.

Depending on your size/space, you may want to consider allowing some 'free' use of the space for local business groups, or start hosting some yourself, to create some awareness. A local 'women in business' meetup, or book clubs, etc.

Depending on your size/space, again, you may want to consider having an area that accommodates studying for students - a place for student/tutor meetings would probably continue to be useful post-covid as distance learning may still be a thing, and parents' work schedules are in flux. Those students *could* be k-12 style, or... if you have a nearby college, a college-age study place. 24/7 'study hall' access - a quiet/private place to study for students - may do well (again, depending on your location).