From Cyber Café to Co-working Spaces 1
Chinonso Nwanevu
Sustainability Developer @ IKEA I Climate Change I VERGE23 Emerging Leader
In my last article titled embracing change; learn, unlearn and relearn, I mentioned that I will explain how Cyber Cafes can re-pivot into co-working spaces and technology hubs (which can be used for accelerator or incubator program).
One would simply ask, what is a hub? A hub is simply a factory that manufactures businesses. This is my own definition. This is the best way to define it in the technology, innovation and entrepreneurship space. Majorly, hubs focus on providing business support to entrepreneurs and businesses. This support could range from incubator programs (ideation), acceleration (seed/pre-seed) and to providing different kinds of investments (equity, grant, debt financing, angel investment, VCs etc.,). According to GSMA, we have 618 active tech hubs in Africa and these tech hubs serve as the backbone of Africa’s tech ecosystem. A good example is the Co-Creation Hub (CcHub) in Yaba, Lagos, which is used as a reference point for hubs across Africa. CcHub focuses more on incubation and is also regarded a startup.
Today, I would love to dwell more on co-working spaces and how you can establish. Please note that this is not exhaustive, however, I will address the key points. Co-working is the act of sharing work spaces. The idea of co-working basically is to improve on resources efficiency, reduce cost of running a traditional office and create an enabling environment for innovation.
The future of co-working spaces is bright. According to a survey conducted by Deskmag in 2017, 1.7 million people were estimated to be working in around 19,000 co-working spaces around the world by the end of 2018. If that weren’t enough, industry leaders predict that co-working spaces will have a role in every industry in the world over the coming years.
The mobile workforce has embraced co-working spaces because, aside from providing affordable office space and all the necessary amenities, they offer a community in which like-minded individuals can get together to create, share resources and network, whilst continuing to grow their own businesses.
If you’re thinking of starting your own co-working space, now’s a great time to do it. The interest in co-working spaces is strong and it only seems to be on the rise.
With this in mind, here are some steps you could follow towards setting-up a thriving co-working space.
Why Co-working Space?
Why do you want to start a co-working space? Is it to make a profit, or to benefit from the bubbling creative and innovative environment? In the case of the latter (which is not uncommon), you will operate your space not with your eye on the bottom line, but on the benefits of bringing so many talented people together. However, it is important to acknowledge that what sustains businesses is the consistent cash flow and making profit is a good KPI to measure progress; because you must respond to economic questions that will definitely arise.
Are you really solving a problem?
Before you sign the lease or buy any furniture, you need to ascertain whether there’s actually demand for your co-working space. Who needs your solution? To scope and promote interest, you could create a group on social media and then host some events. As you do this, you’ll not only be doing some important groundwork, you’ll also be building an online community, which will serve as a marketing avenue for your co-working space when it’s up and running. Word of mouth approach is good too.
The value of good old-fashioned one on one conversation can’t be underestimated. Go to where your clientele normally works and gathers and talk to them, get involved and participate in their events and build rapport.
If, initially, there’s only a few people interested in your co-working space, keep it simple and find a suitable place to meet once a week. This way, you start where you’re at and grow as you gather momentum. Then, when you reach critical mass, you can delve into step three which is deciding on a viable business model for your co-working space. There may be different hacks to this, all approach must be human centered to achieve its purpose.
In the part 2 of this article, we shall look at the business model for co-working spaces, demographic factors, organization and more on economics.
https://drop-desk.com/blog/how-to-start-a-coworking-space
Photo credit: Pixabay
?? Chinonso Chukwudi Nwanevu
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