Location: Fort Collins, Colorado
Size: 1,400 square feet
Desk Seats: 14
Event Capacity: 25–50
Web: http://coherecommunity.com/
Sign-up: https://cohere.cobot.me/plans
Who is Angel Kwiatkowski?
“I’m just a regular girl who wanted to hang out with cool people and selfishly started a coworking community to do so.”
Angel wont say it, but she’s also a very active member of the global coworking community and the author of two coworking books: Coworking: Building Community as a Space Catalyst, and Coworking: How Freelancers Escape the Coffee Shop Office and Tales of Community from Independents Around the World
What is your vision of coworking?
“I believe that coworking happens anytime more than one motivated person gathers to work with the intent to create shared value for the benefit of the community. With this definition you can use the word coworking for any sharing situation in which goods or services are being created.”
How did you come across the idea of opening a coworking space?
“A friend told me about coworking almost 4 years ago and I was immediately hooked.”
What issues did you have at the beginning and how did you solve them?
“The biggest hurdle was educating people about coworking. That is getting easier now that coworking is getting more media attention. We used social media and Meetups to spread the word.”
So what does a day in your life typically look like? How do you run your space?
“I spend more of my time mothering my child than Cohere these days. It’s been awesome having Kristin as our long time member and community manager. She handles most of the day to day and I provide her backup and handle the less glamorous parts of running a coworking space like programming the thermostat and changing the door codes. I also have Darrin, my “work husband” who is a long time member as well. He helps with handyman issues that crop up and keeps me up to date on any facility or supply issues. My real husband is ecstatic because he doesn’t have to spend his weekends hanging towel bars and stocking toilet paper.“
Tell us a bit about your new space focused in musicians — why music, and how does rehearsal space relate to coworking?
“How DOESN’T shared rehearsal space relate to coworking? Over multiple focus groups and interviews we’ve heard the musicians say the exact same things as our remote workers and freelancers: I need a dedicated space to work on my craft. I don’t want to lug my equipment around. I need a secure place for my things. It would be super cool to collaborate with other people in the space.
Based on our extensive research we’ve decided to move forward with Cohere Bandwidth: shared rehearsal space for musicians in Fort Collins, CO.”
What advice would you give to someone considering running a coworking space, and what are your wishes for the future of coworking?
“Keep people at the center of your community and space and you’ll be fine. My wish for the future of coworking is that every person who desires it has easy and affordable access to a coworking community that makes their heart sing.”
Well said, Angel!
Do you use Cobot to manage your space and want to share your insights about coworking or your latest project with other members of the community? Ping cristina@cobot.me and we’ll make it happen!
