Research on Coworking for Book
Posted: April 24th, 2011 | Author: Genevieve DeGuzman | Filed under: Coworking, in-house publication | Tags: coworking, in-house publication, research, volunteers | 1 Comment »If you build it, they will come (?!)
Earlier this year we had thought about launching a coworking space in Manila (where Gen used to work on poverty and economic development projects) as a way to bring together the nonprofit and entrepreneurial community in the city. It was planned to be part business incubator, part coworking space, part social experiment– to get these two camps together and talking.
In our initial feelers to the business community there, reaction was cautious. Small businesses and organizations were puzzled at how surrendering their independence (if they owned/rented their own office) or paying for a space (if they worked from home)– would lead to benefits. The folks were shrewd and very practical: ‘how would this expand my bottom line and/or inspire me to innovate?’
We tried our best to answer people’s question and realized that coworking for the uninitiated wasn’t a slam dunk proposition.
As a small business ourselves, we’re always on the lookout for new and interesting ways to run our shop. We tested a few coworking spaces in the city– but couldn’t make up our minds, thought about the money we could have saved, all the excuses, etc.– and realized maybe there were businesses and freelancers out there with the same dilemma.
And so: a book project was born…
A healthy dose of skepticism…
New coworking spaces are popping up left and right. It shows the enormous enthusiasm and faith in the idea…In this rich environment, many folks are faced with limitless possibilities to flourish— but it can be difficult to make the right choices.
People have questions. Here are a few big ones that stand out:
-Which space is right for me?
-What are the tips and tricks for making the transition from conventional office space to coworking space?
-How can I leverage the space– the community– in making my business or organization better?
So we decided we wanted to put together a book on coworking– NOT on how to start a space or sing its glories– but a book for the other side of the equation. A book to help small guys like us demystify the movement. Good and Bad. Right fit and bad fit.
In the spirit of coworking: Help!
We’d like to ask the coworking community for member volunteers interested in sharing their stories with us. In exchange, we can promote your business or organization in our book (as we would turn your stories into case studies/stories), which we hope to market in various distribution channels (we’re hoping to turn it into a low-cost e-book).
Get in touch and we can send you more details. We can send a short questionnaire to you via e-mail to get the conversation going!
