This year there are over a DOZEN coworking conferences scheduled to take place this year alone. So many I literally can’t keep track any more.

In this episode you’re going to learn how my teammate Sam Abrams not only had a great time but learned a LOT at her first conference last fall.

This episode one part “recap” of the inaugural GCUC Canada and one part action steps that YOU can take to make sure that you leave any conference you go to with more than your moneys’ worth.

Key Quotes and Takeaways

• [15:22] "Let's stop preaching to the choir about how awesome coworking is."
• [29:04] “It’s not luck...it’s by design.”
• [60:55 ] "It helped hearing how others do it and consider adapting their process for yourself....or just completely challenging your own process to see if it still makes sense.”

My question for you is: have you been to a conference? Why or why not?

(Especially if you haven’t...PLEASE listen to this episode and tell me what you think about making this your first year of joining one of these events. Which one will you go to?)

While every industry has events (and I’ve been to my fair share), coworking conferences are particularly unique in a lot of ways, especially when the coworking core values are in play.

The people who attend are so generous with what they know (and can save you so much time and heartache trying to figure things out on your own), and everyone I meet is excited to meet other people “get” what they’re trying to do without another long-winded explanation of what coworking is.

My 2016 Conference Schedule (so far)

One of my favorite parts about going to conferences is meeting YOU, listeners of the show and readers of my website.

I’d love to meet you this year, and I have two specific events that I want to see you at in the first half of the year:

Where: Bali - Coworking Asia - February 24-28

I was SO BUMMED to miss this event last year due to a shoulder injury and only be able to do a virtual Q&A over Google Hangouts.

This year I’ll be there in person. YES!

(Also, if you’re like me and currently staring at 2 feet of snow on the east coast, a week in Bali sounds pretty good right about now.)

Don’t miss my Communtiy Building Workshop on the 24th, my lightning talk about coworking mistakes on the 25th, and my keynote (I’m bringing some serious fire to this one) on the 26th.

Get your all-inclusive ticket to the Coworking Unconference Asia in Bali.

Special Announcement

Where: ANYWHERE - People At Work Summit - April 21st

I’m RIDICULOUSLY excited to be sharing this with you. My team and I at Indy Hall have been working on something very special.

First - yes you read that right, this is a conference you can join from anywhere. The People At Work Summit is an entirely online event, spanning 24 hours and the entire world.

No airplanes. No trains. No hotels.

This is not a collection of live streams. We’re creating a brand new experience from the ground up that builds on the best from every conference we’ve ever been to, adding in some of Indy Hall’s “magic,” and with a VERY big focus on accessibility.

We will have owners AND staff of coworking spaces joining.
We will have MEMBERS of coworking spaces joining.

Coworking Conference veterans and newbies alike, this is going to be a blast. We’ll be announcing details about format, our schedule and speakers, and releasing our first batch of tickets over the next few weeks.

Sign up to get reminders about when tickets are available, and to get preview interviews with our speakers, at http://peopleatworksummit.com

Links mentioned in this episode

• Shareable link to 2016 confs
• Live stream from last year’s CU Asia Q&A
• Sam Abrams Photography
• GCUC Canada schedule
• What is an Unconference?
• Previous Coworking Conference Recaps: Episo...

If you met Stephan Matanovic in person, you might be surprised by what you learn about him.

You’d find out that he’s a total technophile. That he’s a father of three. That he cares a ton about fitness. That he listens to a LOT of rock and roll music. And somewhere in that conversation, you’d likely find out that he’s a proud member of Indy Hall, where he works from a standing desk and is known throughout the community as someone you can always turn to for help.

Which might not be surprising until you find out that Stephan works in an industry that comes with a lot of stigma attached to it: he’s a lawyer. After 15 years in a massive 800+ lawyer firm, he landed at Indy Hall and has since changed almost everything about how he approaches his work.

This Episode of The Coworking Weekly Show is focused more about what Stephan has learned about how to build professional relationships by investing small bits of his time and attention into the people around him. And he’s the first to admit that it didn’t come automatically and easily...he had to learn how to do it. So we brought him onto the show so you could learn from him!

Sam Abrams is back in this episode as a co-host (you met her back in episode 16) for this quick but extremely insightful conversation with Stephan. In just 30 minutes there are at least a dozen actionable takeaways for anyone who wants to better understand how people can get the most value from being a part of a coworking community.

My recommendation to you is to listen to this conversation with coworkers. Even if you listen once on your own, try listening again with a few people in your team or community. Use it as a discussion starter.

Notable Quotes

“The ways to connect the dots become apparent. In sort of a beautiful mind, red string across the board kind of way. If you know people, and you know what motivates them, you see those connections.” [9:08]

“I’m not good at small-talk. I’ve never liked it. But I know it’s essential to breaking down those barriers because everyone has a story. Everyone brings something to the table. And I’m genuinely curious - not just what can I get from you, but what can you teach me, what can I learn?” [12:12]

“I look at my 15 years in the firms as, I was paid to be a bully. Whether it was a deal or litigation, I was a blunt instrument, I was paid to be a bully. I don’t do that now. I want to help you build things. That’s my job now.” [17:54]

Stephan is speaking at People at Work Summit

Save the date for April 21st! People at Work is an entirely online “conference” about work and collaboration. A first of it’s kind, taking place over 24 consecutive hours and across 7 continents.

This is going to be a great place for YOU to practice connecting the dots and getting more connected to the global coworking community.

Stephan is joining People at Work to help you learn how to help coworking space members around the world connect the dots in their own communities.

Tickets for the Summit go on sale this Friday, February 11th. Find out more about the format, meet more speakers, and get the link to register here.

Support the show and get the next episode

I’m growing the team that makes this show happen! This episode is the first one that I didn’t produce myself, so say hello to my new producer Mike Mehalick. Say hi, Mike!

So here’s the scoop: Mike and I are working hard on a brand new production workflow this year so you’re going to be seeing new episodes of the show dropping MUCH more often.

Lots of awesome stuff to come, I promise, and you don’t want to miss this. Subscribe however you like to subscribe, here’s some handy links for you:

• Subscribe in Overcast
• Subscribe in iTunes
• Get the RSS Feed
• Suscribe via Email

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Last week, I turned 32. And then this week, Indy Hall turned 9 years old. Nine. NINE. In coworking years, that's basically forever.

In the past 3 months our membership has grown by a double digit % – unprecedented growth during our usually slow summer months. I'm still trying to figure out what's fueling that growth.

But more importantly, with new members comes more diversity of every kind, new kinds of conversations every day, leading to new collaborations and exciting milestones for so many people.

There's a lot to celebrate.

Meanwhile, as we head towards our 10th anniversary, we're facing one of the biggest challenges in our history.

Which might help explain why this is the first episode of The Coworking Weekly Show since May!

Hiatus is over, and I hope you're ready because in this episode, my teammate Adam and I grab a park bench near Indy Hall and talk about how our community celebrates milestones of all sizes, and then we talk about...

...what happens when everything goes to shit?

How do you react in crisis? How do you let your members know something is wrong without inciting a riot or undermining trust?

Better yet...how can you share bad news in a way that BUILDS trust instead of tearing it apart?

Don't let our playful banter about birthday at the beginning fool you, this stuff might actually help you save your community...and your business.

Make sure you keep listening to see how everything connects as we explore the specifics of how I've been navigating the perils of a crisis situation in a way that's brought our community closer together, and helped me keep my sanity along the way.

The best time to learn how to deal with a crisis is before you need it, so this episode is NOT to be missed.

Links mentioned in this episode

• What does the future of Indy Hall look like?
• 6 conversations I've had about the future of Indy Hall

This is the first part of a TWO part episode, so make sure you're subscribed to get the second part of this conversation when it comes out!

• Subscribe in iTunes
• Subscribe in Overcast
• Get the RSS Feed
• Subscribe via email

And don't forget you can also follow me on Twitter http://twitter.com/alexhillman :)

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The inaugural episode, my friends!

Today I'm joined by my right hand man and Indy Hall's "Point Man", Adam Teterus.

Inspired by this VERY popular post about how to describe coworking to people who've never heard of it, I thought it'd be valuable to have one of our team members at Indy Hall describe how HE does it. Adam's aptitude for community building is incredible, and his perspective is unique.

What does Adam do, how does he do it, and what has he learned in 3 years of running Indy Hall? Find out in this conversation!

Subscribe in iTunes: http://bit.ly/coworkingweekly-itunes
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Subscribe to CoworkingWeekly emails to get future episodes first (and more from behind the scenes) in your inbox.

p.s. thanks to Umberto Martino and Adriano Martino for our theme music!

A bit of housekeeping!

• I've been absolutely LOVING the ideas you've been sending in for topics, segments, guests, and more. PLEASE keep that coming. Tweet me: @alexhillman or email [email protected]
• The Coworking Weekly Show is now listed in iTunes which means we're ALSO showing up in search for popular podcasting apps like iCatcher, Podkicker, Instacast, Overcast...or wherever you like listen to podcasts. And by popular demand, we're now listed in Stitcher Radio, too! Now you can subscribe in your favorite listening app :)
• If and only if you've gotten some value from me on this podcast, my newsletter, my blog, or something else...it would mean the world to me if you took a moment to leave a review on this show. <3 If you're not sure how to leave a review, tweet me and let me know, I'll do my best to help.

Thank you, thank you.

-Alex

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Ever wonder what it looks like when a coworking space is just getting started?

What are the first steps? How do you get your community involved in the process?

Trevor Twining is the guest in today’s episode as we get a behind the scenes look at the start of Cowork Niagara - a 2 year old coworking space in Ontario, Canada. Trevor’s been sharing more and more about their successes and some of the unique decisions they’ve made along the way...including the one to incorporate as a co-op.

But we also had an unexpected conversation about the future of work as it relates to coworking - specifically the resilience of the economy and the workforce. By having a community that is bought into the success of Cowork Niagara, their members are succeeding in ways that economic development experts only dream about.

This episode is one part origin story, one part tactics, and a dash of coworking philosophy. But it’s 100% fun and I’m 100% sure that you’re going to learn a lot and enjoy as you listen.

To find our more about what Trevor and his team are up to, check out http://coworkniagara.com and follow Trevor on Twitter: http://twitter.com/trevortwining

KEY QUOTES

[5:11] “I waited and I waited...nobody built it for me...eventually I realized if this was gonna happen at all, because I wanted it so much, I was going to have to be the one to do it.”

[12:10] “Before we started we almost sold-out on our principles.”

[30:43] “We’ve got the city economic development...we’ve also got the regional economic development and they’re members in the space. They’re excited about what we’re doing because you can’t lay off 3,000 freelancers.”

[32:50] “The people who are in our coworking space represent the ideal type of worker that our cities are trying to attract. From having them participate in our community, they get a better understanding of what it’s going to take to have conversations with them that bring those types of people here or help them train people that are already in our community to do that type of work.”

HOST FRIENDS, EARN FREE TICKETS

Our upcoming event, the People at Work Summit is an entirely online “conference” about work and collaboration. A first of it’s kind, taking place over 24 consecutive hours and across 7 continents. It starts on April 21st, and you don't want to miss it.

Do you have enough space to host a minimum of 5 other attendees for the People at Work Summit?

If an online conference feels a little too "disconnected" for you, we're inviting you to help us do something about it, and earn yourself (and others) free tickets to the Summit.

Give your community something to talk about and learn from - add your coworking space (or favorite cafe) to our cohost map, and earn free tickets for yourself, your team, or your members.

Find out more about how our online conference will works, and learn more about some of our speakers at peopleatworksummit.com

Support the show and get the next episode

Lots of awesome stuff to come, I promise, and you don’t want to miss this. Subscribe however you like to subscribe, here’s some handy links for you:

• Subscribe in Overcast
• Subscribe in iTunes
• Get the RSS Feed
• Suscribe via Email

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.