Event ideas for coworking spaces don’t always come easily. But a good event could help boost your business as well as build a stronger community.
In fact, research reveals more people now value experiences over material things. Some 69% of people believe attending events makes them feel more connected to others. So, we’ve compiled a list of both traditional and non-traditional event ideas for coworking spaces:
1. Lunch and learns
Lunch and learn sessions feed both your body and mind, providing members with a free lunch and a way to find out more about a fellow member’s work.
2. Demo days
If you want to move beyond a simple lunch and learn, try hosting a demo day. These are a great way to get your community interacting and talking about what they know best – their business!
You could also invite external businesses and startups to talk on a demo day to help your members network and boost their industry knowledge.
3. Panel discussions
A panel discussion is another winning method to get your members and the community-at-large interacting. Pick a hot topic that’s relevant to your members.
4. Regular breakfasts
Once a week, provide your members with a free breakfast. This is a great way to get members in the door early and could help you increase footfall on quieter days.
If you don’t have the facilities to offer a range of tasty treats, you could get a food truck to pull up to your space on a regular basis instead.
5. Happy hours
Alcohol is a great social lubricant and a weekly happy hour will help bring your community together in a relaxed environment. If you want to mix thing up a bit, you could choose a theme for each happy hour.
6. Wellness sessions
Not every coworking space can provide an onsite gym. However, from in-house yoga to a regular lunchtime run, it’s important to keep both the body and mind of your members healthy.
7. Corporate guest speakers
Invite a local business leader or venture capitalist to give a talk at your coworking space. This provides your members with a fantastic networking opportunity and valuable insights into building their business or an emerging industry trend.
8. Free pass days
You could offer a limited number of free day passes to non-members. Not only does this give new people the chance to experience your space, but you could also convert them into paying members.
9. Hackathons
Partner with a local business and host a weekend hackathon that’s relevant to your members. Hackathons are occasions between developers focusing on generating useful ideas at the end of the event. These happenings tend to be hosted on weekends so they’re a great way to get people using your space in off-peak times.
10. Launch parties
Celebrate your members’ successes with a launch party when they make a major business milestone. This could be the release of a new product, service, website, or a funding win.
11. “Failure” night
At odds with the previous point, you could host a “Failure” night where your members openly discuss and celebrate their business failures. This will not only build morale with your members but it also helps your community share some valuable lessons learned in business.
12. Regular clubs
A regular games night with plenty of pizza is a great way to give your members some downtime and the opportunity to chat. Alternatively, you could run a regular book club or movie night to help your members find people with shared interests.
13. PechaKucha Night
PechaKucha Nights are now worldwide phenomena where speakers share 20 images and are given 20 seconds to present each slide. It’s an unusual and fun way to help your members share their work and ideas.
14. Global Service Jam
This is a global design and creative event, which takes place every February/March in more than 100 cities around the world. A theme is announced and participants are given two days to create and prototype a new product or service related to the theme that will make a difference.
As you can see, there are many ways to develop camaraderie between your members. This aids in moral, generates optimism, and creates a sense of community.
