BREAKING: No Buyers for IWG/Regus
After months of protracted courtship by multiple suitors, IWG Plc decided it doesn’t want to be sold at a price that private equity firms are willing to pay. The shares plummeted. Ouch. The world’s largest serviced office network (fancy name for coworking or coworking 1.0) is now valued at a little over $2bn. Compare that to WeWork’s valuation of $20bn. Now really, what the heck is going on?
WeWork is getting into retail
Good or bad? Keep in mind, it’s only in their buildings (for now), but as a distribution outlet for some of their lucky members it makes a ton of sense. “Traditional retail is changing, and as brick and mortar locations are dissipating… right now (weWork has) 300 buildings that members can distribute to”, so says Julie Rice, Chief Brand Officer at WeWork.
WeWorkLabs
Along with access to workspace, WeWorkLabs offers programming, mentors, experts, and intros to enterprise businesses partners. This is an obvious WeWork flavored version of the hundreds of incubators and accelerators out there and is a great pipeline for retaining members. It’s also a great strategy for workspaces targeting startups and founders, but as long as you have the access to the right network of advisors. And that’s the hardest part of this whole thing - the right mentors, advisors, developers, project managers are busy doing their own thing - right?
Location. Location. Location
People want, and need, something different from the traditional. The space around you influences your perception of reality, your self-worth and level of happiness. Working in a large, empty space transmits feelings of a business that is lacking. Coworking environments allow for a kind of cross pollination of ideas, something that can only be achieved from a collaborative workspace vibe. AndCo is a startup in London that’s taking the Spaces model from the US and applying it in the UK.
The Modern Workplace
Here’s an interesting stat: 60 per cent of under 35's place greater value on the ability to work remotely over generous holiday allowances. This according to the latest whitepaper by Ingram Micro Cloud and Microsoft, The Modern Workplace. Firms that are unable to provide this next generation workforce with the tools they are accustomed to risk losing employees to their more tech savvy competitors. Yep, the motivations of today’s talent has changed from previous generations. Choice, flexibility, and experiences at work are vital factors in job satisfaction for millennial workers - outweighing even salary (for some).
The Role of Community Manager
According to architect and coworking consultant, Andrea Garcia, the role of Community Manager was basically unknown a few years ago. But thanks to technology and the rise of the collaborative economy, the CM is a key hire in the success of any coworking space. What does she look for in a succesful CM? Someone who
Defines the philosophy of the space
Connects members
Creates internal dynamics
Stays updated on all the trends and news relevant to your membership
Speaks less, listens more
Is the brand of the space
Connects with other community managers