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At Cobot, we're driven by a simple goal: to make the lives of coworking space operators easier and empower them to build successful businesses. This aligns perfectly with the mission of Flexwork Academy, a masterclass designed to help spaces start and optimize their coworking operations.
The next Flexwork Academy will take place in Madrid on May 27, 2024, and is supported by Cobot. Get your ticket »
We've met with the organizers, Martina Muises and Marc Navarro, to learn more about the format and discover why coworking space operators should attend.
Can you describe what the Flexwork Academy is?
The Flexwork Academy is an event focused on helping coworking space owners and staff manage their spaces better. It's a very focused format, accommodating between 30 to 50 attendees, who engage in practical challenges and learn by doing instead of just listening.
This is our 5th edition, and we are super excited about what we have come up with this time – we are pretty sure it's going to be the best edition ever. We have extended the program, now running from 9 to 5, and enhanced the content to make it even better.
Who is it for?
The Flexwork Academy was born out of the acknowledgment that it's challenging for independent managers to continue learning and improving – the day-to-day workload typically consumes their hours, days, weeks, and months. The crowd attending the conference is a mix of brand new and more seasoned workspace operators, with an average experience in the coworking industry of 4.5 years. We'll see both veterans interested in continuing their learning journey and newcomers entering the industry for the first time.
So, we would say those who will benefit most from it would be both: experienced managers interested in improving and learning new tricks, and newcomers eager to dive into the flexible workspace industry. It will be a packed day of workshops and one-on-one talks aimed at sharing knowledge of the best practices in the industry.
Can you share your top three learnings that spaces took away from the Flexwork Academy?
It's difficult to choose among the nearly twenty workshops that have been held so far! But the standout moments for me have been:
In the first edition in Alicante, Javier Reina stood in front of the audience without any slides or, seemingly, a plan. He simply asked, "Questions? Shoot." After a list of about fifteen questions and the assurance of knowing what he's talking about, he began to dissect all the doubts one might have about the economic management of a space, even providing attendees with internal documents he used for planning and financial control of his space.
Another session that I found very interesting was Laia Benaiges's explanation of how to communicate slowly. Instead of focusing on automations or mass actions, she took a human look at what is important to convey and the nature of the spaces and communities created.
Lastly, I loved the speech and energy of Óscar García Toledo from First Workplaces. His session on sales – originally intended to focus on marketing – will be hard to top. Óscar had a very strong message: "Don't invest in any marketing action that doesn't increase sales." Simple and clear. But it wasn't just how well-crafted the entire speech was, it was also how he filled the room with energy. The session was rated by our attendees with 4.9 points out of 5.
Where and when is the next Flexwork Academy, and what can attendees expect?
The next Flexwork Academy will take place in Madrid on May 27 2024, at Aticco María De Molina, with a comprehensive program running from 9:30 a.m. to 5:15 p.m. Attendees will engage in three distinct workshops, each lasting 75 minutes, all focused on the process of creating (or redesigning) a space.
Attendees, working in teams, will begin by creating the best possible layout for a space. They will do this using the interactive tool Rayon, under guidance from the Garrigues Retail team (who not only design office spaces, but also manage their own coworking space).
Subsequently, we will continue with a session featuring Uri Iskin and Gabriel Bucher, Co-Founders of Hit Cowork. They will help attendees create a P&L (Profit and Loss) for the space. Based on that, the operators can evaluate which of the layout options they initially created will yield the best results.
The final touch will be a session with Ernesto de Olazával, Founder of Comunal, in which we will build a communication and sales strategy adapted to the space designed in the previous sessions.
Additionally, in two participatory sessions, we will discuss the reality of coworking spaces in 2024 and try to wrap up the session by gathering the day's learnings and feelings so that, upon returning to your space, you have a clear path to follow.
Thank you, Marc and Martina! We really look forward to joining the upcoming session in Madrid.
Save the date: May 27, 2024, at Aticco María De Molina. Get Tickets »
If you're looking to streamline operations within your coworking community, give Cobot a try. Sign up for a free demo and get started today!
Happy Coworking!
