If you want to maximize your coworking space income, you need to pick the right solution for your space. You may only need to tweak a couple of things or you may need to overhaul your existing business model.
Before you start making any major changes, however, analyze your coworking space to find out what works and what doesn’t. It’s important to not only identify new revenue streams but also make sure any changes don’t ruin your culture or adversely affect your existing members.
Then you can identify any new revenue streams or opportunities that will boost your bottom line. Here are six different ways you could maximize your coworking space income:
1. Open your space to non-members
If you’re only open to members, then your coworking space could be neglecting a major chunk of the flexible workforce. By opening your doors to members and non-members alike, you’ll introduce your coworking space to a wider audience.
This is a quick win for many coworking spaces, but make sure you don’t rent out your space in a way that damages your community. For example, if you’re a niche coworking space then this strategy may not work because you’re looking to attract a very specific demographic.
If this is the case, you could let non-members have limited access to your space. For example, you could rent out meeting rooms or other sections of your space to non-members.
2. Offer credit and group memberships
You could tier your membership plans to include hourly, daily, weekly and monthly subscriptions. You could also offer members access to different facilities, depending on their membership.
You could also offer group memberships at a discount to users that book together, helping to boost your headcount. A credit-based system is another great incentive to pull more people into your space and build your brand loyalty.
3. Better your benefits
Coworking spaces are synonymous with fantastic perks. Free beer, snacks, coffee, office supplies, and wifi are all pretty much standard in coworking spaces.
To keep ahead of the competition, you may want to refresh your perks. For example, you could offer free fitness classes or organize parking for your members. But make sure you find out what’s important to your members before you pay for any glitzy benefits.
4. Embrace 24/7 opening
Many coworking spaces open 24/7 so members can come and go as they please. This not only helps your members work when they are most productive but also allows you to maximize your coworking income. To initialize 24/7 working, you may need to invest in a robust access system.
5. Capitalize on corporates
There are many things corporations can learn from coworking spaces – but you may want to rent out sections of your space to a local company. Not only will this boost your revenue, but your members may benefit from having an in-house business, such as an accountancy firm that can offer them reduced rates.
You could take things one step further and ask a corporation to sponsor your coworking space. While the notion of “big businesses” may not feel like a fit for many coworking spaces, they can bring valuable industry knowledge and expertise to your members.
If those suggestions don’t fit your space’s culture, you could ask a corporation to sponsor or host an event or series of workshops at your coworking space.
6. Move your furniture
Moving your furniture around is a simple and quick fix if you want to maximize your coworking space income. Try changing the layout to see if you can optimize your space to fit more people in. By getting more people per square foot, you could boost your profitability with minimal expenditure.
