4 Ways to Create Impactful Coworking Space Events
In the world of coworking spaces, the drive to stand out and the desire to cater to every member's need can lead to a common trap: the relentless pursuit of more—more events, more amenities, more everything.
Unfortunately, this pursuit often comes at a hefty cost, not just financially, but also in terms of time and energy, leaving operators wondering why their efforts aren't translating into more revenue or even more satisfaction.
Before I was a coworking space operator, I was an event organizer and coordinated gatherings with up to ten thousand people at a time. Having this inside look into events at every size, and having worked with dozens of coworking spaces through my coworking agency Space Savvy Studio – I’ve seen it all.
Events can elicit quite a strong reaction from coworking owners and community managers. So much planning, executing, cleaning, organizing and then doing it all over again and again. Some people love them, some people hate them – but whatever your particular stance, they can and do move the needle when properly planned and executed!
Let’s take a look at a path forward that emphasizes strategy, impact, and, ultimately, satisfaction for both operators and members.
The Problem: Too Many Events? Not Enough Strategy.
At first glance, hosting many different events seems like a foolproof strategy for coworking spaces.
It's a way to serve the members by providing value and a way to bring in new people to your space!
But the events can add up quickly when you’re catering to many different people.
Between buying pies for Pi Day, coordinating a speaker for Lunch and Learn, and planning next month’s free coworking day, events quickly become numerous and complex. Not only does the planning and promotion take a lot of time, but it's hard to find the ROI in free events and marketing events, and it’s a real gut punch when the attendance is low.
This scenario is symptomatic of a deeper issue: a lack of strategy. Without a clear plan and even clearer objectives, events fail to make an impact, being either the wrong type or held at inopportune times, or catering to the wrong people for the wrong reasons.
What Event Overload Looks Like in Reality
We worked with a coworking space run by a very social person who loved to put on events.
After some early success converting new members from fun events, they decided they should run many more events just like it. Whenever a member asked for a specific type of event they created it and every time they saw a good idea on Instagram they hosted it and every idea turned into a monthly thing.
The owner spent a lot of time making these events happen, and hosting many different kinds of events (even ones that weren’t related to her goals). But all of this planning and executing was stressing her out and wearing her down.
She brought Space Savvy Studio in to help take stock of what was happening, and we sat down together to work through prioritization.
Were these events serving the members they had? Not really – while a few members attended each event, there were many members attending none, or only one. Were they attracting new members? Not when we looked at the data for lead sources over the past six months. Sure, sometimes, but the volume of events did not drive a high volume of leads.
We went back to the list of goals and priorities that the owner had. While marketing the space via events was important, when we took a closer look at the data and the reality of how much time it took to execute, it was easier to see that most of the events fell into the “low-impact and no-revenue” category.
We cut down the number of events so that the well-attended member events were well resourced, and a few key marketing events could produce new members. By eliminating the rest of the event noise, we were able to refocus on the priorities – and with fresh eyes and a focus on data, the owner found that most people were coming through Google search. All the time saved from slowing down even production was able to fuel efforts in improving SEO and the website.
The Solution: Strategy and Evaluation
To create events that really pack a punch will involve getting into all the details, evaluating what’s working and spending time on planning:
Review the Data: Collect and analyze data on event attendance, costs, member satisfaction, and the influx of new members. This process helps understand the true impact of each event – and might reveal patterns. Plus, facts help cut through opinion and give you something to lean on as you make decisions.
Define a Plan: After taking a look at what’s working, implement guardrails. Setting a budget per event, or simply limiting the total number of events per year makes it easier to say no and keep to the plan.This ensures that each event is both feasible and aligned with your space's objectives. And if something new and awesome comes up you can choose which (probably no longer popular) event gets discontinued.
Schedule Evaluation Time: Regularly assess the effectiveness of events, the impact on member satisfaction and potential indirect revenue streams, such as marketing or social media.
Also, avoid the trap of immediate judgment based on how “well” the event does at first. Allow time for events to show their true value. In our space, one of our most popular events took several months to gain a following but proved quite popular with time!
Treat Yourself: Some things go beyond data – and are “just for you”.
Recognize the importance of events that, while not widely attended, make your space unique or special and enjoyable to both the operator and a core group of members. If it’s an important event to you or your core members, go for it – just make sure not every single event falls into this category.
The Benefit of Focusing on What Truly Matters
Once you’ve overcome your own objections and put into place the strategies and execution to make your events successful – that’s when you start to see the real benefits:
Getting More From Less: By choosing quality over quantity in our events, you’re not just throwing things at the wall to see what sticks. Instead, you're carefully picking what will truly resonate with your community.
This focused approach means you can pour your energy and resources into what matters most--making your coworking space a richer, more vibrant place to be.
Cutting Costs, Not Corners: Thoughtful planning means you're smart about where your money goes. You invest in events likely to bring your space, and your members, the most bang for your buck
Happy Members, Healthy Community: There's something special about attending an event that feels like it was made just for you. That's the vibe you want to capture.
By handpicking events that truly add value, you're weaving tighter bonds among your members, creating a space where everyone feels seen, supported, and part of something bigger.
Peace of Mind (Priceless!): We’ve all been there – lying awake at night, worrying if you're doing enough or too much…
By setting clear objectives and boundaries for what you want to achieve with your events, you’ll ditch the guesswork. Now, you can rest easy, knowing you're on the right track.
Less is more.
By adopting a thoughtful approach to event planning and execution, you as a coworking space operator can enhance your space's appeal, reduce unnecessary expenditures, and focus on what drives real value for your members and the bottom line.
Ready to re-focus on your priorities and host more meaningful events?
If you're ready to transform your coworking space, I'm here to offer my expertise, proven strategies and problem solving.
For a limited time, I’m offering a free strategy session to help you identify key areas of growth in your space and develop a tailored implementation plan to get you there. Book your session now.
Even a few small changes can help you find more work/life balance as an operator, and take your coworking space to the next level of efficiency and success.