Community coworking: 15 expert tips for building an IRL community

Here at Gun, we love working with our colleagues in our Nashville office. There’s a real buzz when we get together. But we’re a global team. Not all of us work in the same country, let alone the same state! 

Community coworking is a great alternative for people like me.

You can think of community coworking as getting together with like-minded people with similar values. Charlie Rodgers, founder of The Undefinable Community, believes community coworking is the future:

“Because while in-person has real benefits:

– We can spontaneously share ideas

– We can build deeper relationships more easily

– And we can greet one another with a hug or handshake

Being able to do all this while sharing best practices and fresh ways of thinking with a bunch of people aligned to your values is only ever going to lead to better outcomes for everyone involved.”

He experienced community coworking for himself earlier this year. 

“Nine of us from the Undefinable Community co-worked together in WeWork Waterloo […] It was a truly awesome experience.

Each of us brainstormed challenges we had, built meaningful connections with one another and, perhaps most importantly, got some great work done in a space that inspired us.”

The first step to community coworking is gathering your troops. 

You’ve got two options really. You could join an existing coworking community or build your own. Let’s say the first option is out of the question. There isn’t one near you.

What should you do to build your own IRL community cowork?

Cat Johnson, an expert at helping community builders create strong brands, shares 15 tips to help you do this.

15 steps to building a community cowork

1. Keep it real

You can’t build a coworking community on BS. Show up as yourself, encourage people to be themselves, and set a tone of realness in your space.

2. Don’t be all things to all people

The best communities are diverse, but they don’t try to be everything to everyone. Know who you are and who you serve. If your community is “everyone,” it’s no one.

3. Invite people into your community

Be proactive about inviting people into your community. Who isn’t there? Who would be a great addition? What’s missing? Reach out and bring people into the circle.

4. Create a spirit of belonging

Everyone wants a sense of belonging. Everyone. Understand that you are not renting offices, desks, and wifi. You are giving people a place to belong and do their best work.

5. Play together

Coworking isn’t all about work. It’s about the in-between chats, the social events, the watercooler conversations, and the fun stuff that happens inside and outside of your space. 

Take a field trip, schedule recurring member lunches to local eateries, go paddleboarding, take a trip to a museum, hit a concert in the park together. Not all your members will want to join, but the bonds formed at these kinds of gatherings are priceless.

6. Model and celebrate generosity

If you want your members to be generous, model and celebrate generosity with your time, expertise, connections, personality, experience, and resources.

7. Trust your community

You can’t make a community thrive. Your community does that. So let your community members step up and help define what you’re about, how you help, and who you’re a perfect fit for. Trust that people will bring their best selves in. They generally do.

8. Give people ways to connect without you

If everything needs to go through you in your community, you’re a single point of failure. If you’re not there, the community is adrift. This is the exact opposite of what you want. Give people platforms, tools, support and permission to connect without you.

9. Support your members’ interests

Your members are not one-dimensional, and neither are you. Create community around books, food, fun, music, kids, outings, humor, hobbies etc.

10. Keep it simple

You might be overthinking your community building and getting in your own way. Keep it human, keep it open, and keep it simple.

11. Let members shine

Feature your members in blog posts, your newsletter, social media, lunch and learns, workshops, presentations, etc. They’ll shine and you’ll have some good user generated content.

12. Bring new members into the community immediately

Being a new member of a coworking community is hard. You’re a complete unknown, you’re in a sea of new faces, and you don’t yet have a sense of norms and the vibe. It can be overwhelming. Help shorten and soften this experience by introducing new members around immediately. Your members will take care of the rest and you’ll jumpstart interesting conversations, connections, and maybe even collaborations.

13. Get to know people

Take the time to chat with your members about who they are beyond what they do. This nicely separates community from office rental and networking events.

14. Share your vision

You’re in coworking for a reason. What is it? Share that vision with your members. Help them understand who you are, why you do the work you do, and what you’re working toward. 

15. Ask people to contribute

It may sound counterintuitive, but asking people to contribute to your coworking community is the best way to help them feel part of the community. Provide opportunities for them to share their stories, experience, tips, and expertise. I don’t truly feel connected to a community until I’m contributing to that community. Help your members do the same.

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