When you run a coworking space you get a fair few sales calls. Often, they are people trying to sign you up to their utility or waste contracts. Annoying but expected. A newer phenomenon is the sales call from one of the myriad of from 3rd party booking agents/companies listing coworking and shared workspaces guaranteeing you loads of members and visitors.
The way it works is that you sign up free and they (supposedly) send you workhub visitors who found you on their listings a bit like booking.com or Airbnb. The company takes a percentage (often around 10%). What’s not to like?
The only problem if you are not in a big city (and it may be a problem even if you are) is that the customers and potential members can usually find you easily enough on google. They don’t need to use Coworkbooking, Nexudus, Breather, Whatspot, Spacemade, Clearooms, Hubble, Desana, Awfis, LABS, Yardikube or whoever. (In fact just typing that list of examples made me tired – I could have kept going!).
It looks to me like all these companies are trying to corner the market or at least get bought up the ones that are cornering the market. They all want to be Officebooking.com. (Er wait, someone already has that domain.) However, this battle for dominance shakes down, one thing they may have all forgotten: there is something charming and appealing about coworking spaces that don’t want to be ‘corporate’ and boring. They were set up by pioneers (including me) to be something very different to Regus and other shared workspace operators on business parks and in airports. Their market frankly is not men with cufflinks and company cars (sorry!).
That said, as you can tell from the names of these websites, they are trying to be edgy and different. You can have hours of fun inventing new names for them. Yardinexbubble anyone?
Now to be fair and to stop being mean, we do get some bookings from Hubble and Desana occasionally, which are welcome. If you get a particularly friendly salesperson and it’s not too much hassle, there’s nothing to lose. (well done to the two at these companies who got through my own ‘please take us off your database’ firewall!). But please don’t think you are missing out if you do your own promotion. Get your space noticed and ranked high on Google. That will work for you just fine.
PS Try googling “coworking Penzance” and see what can be achieved if you go it solo!
