It may be attractive while you’re working from a coworking space to put in your headphones, listen to music, and attack your task list. Unfortunately, this is an excellent way to miss out on opportunities to grow your business by networking and marketing.
While you wouldn’t want to over-pitch your coworkers in your shared office space, being friendly and “selling yourself” is a delicate balance that, if mastered, can help you grow your business. The word that best describes how you should make the most of your coworking space is: authenticity.
But how do you ‘authentically’ establish connections with other remote workers and grow your business while maintaining a pleasant work environment? In this article, we explore several tricks for making the most of your coworking space in an authentic, open-minded manner.
Trick #1: Don’t be afraid to strike up a conversation
Starting a conversation with others is a lot easier than you think. Talking to your neighbor at your shared desk space or engaging in an early-morning “water cooler” chat are great ways to spark connections, which may lead to growth for your business in the long term. Oftentimes, it’s as simple as asking someone if they would like to accompany you on a lunch run during your afternoon break. Coffee or lunch breaks are surefire ways to break the ice and find like-minded individuals who might just be part of your target audience. Looks can be deceiving, and we all know that growing a business starts with building a good, steady clientele. So why not create clients―or at least common collaborators―out of those working around you, right now?
Trick #2: Become a host for an engaging event
One of the best ways to grow your business and introduce your ideas to other people is to host a creative, engaging event. Not everyone knows this, but your coworking office may have a community space that can act as a dynamic setting for your business event. Hosting an appealing event will come with the added convenience for you of learning about your coworkers and their interests if you incorporate a cocktail hour afterwards or some other built-in opportunity to open a dialogue. Hosting an event is also a unique way to entertain and educate potential clients on your services and what you can bring to the table.
Trick #3: Sharing is caring, especially when it comes to knowledge
Sharing the knowledge you have in helpful, constructive ways with the people around you is a great way to expand your clientele and customer base. If you consider yourself to be a go-to expert in your field, you can easily assist anyone around you who might need help with the particular subject you’ve mastered. For example, if you own an information technology (IT) business and someone is having trouble with their computer, you can offer to help them. A small helpful gesture like this that doesn’t take up much of your time could result in free advertising via word of mouth, which could, in turn, lead to more clients for you.
Trick #4: Don’t eat lunch alone
Choosing to take your lunch break in a shared area, such as a break room, can help to grow your business by giving you the chance to converse with other people who work in your coworking space. Break rooms are a setting where people can speak their minds by taking a quick breather from their computer screens. A quick conversation with some of your coworkers will help to build trust and can benefit your business by establishing a network with the individuals you see on a daily basis. Just remember to keep the initial conversations light and stay away from sounding like you’re trying to sell them on a product or service.
Trick #5: Familiarize yourself with online networking
Connecting with like-minded individuals through websites like LinkedIn or reaching out to people with similar interests via email is a proven way to quickly expand your network. Growing your online network will, in time, increase the size of your business and bring in more revenue. An initial introduction online is also useful for introducing yourself to others in your coworking space, especially if you are usually shy in-person. Even though the initial conversation may be online, you can probably catch them in the office and get to know them better once you’re face-to-face. Not only is an online introduction a good ice-breaker, but you can do research on the people who inhabit the coworking space and create a stronger, more pointed target audience. Using this target audience, you will know whom you want to network with and who can use your services.
Conclusion
Growing your business is hard work, but knowing how to network and market yourself in a smart way at your coworking space can lead to massive growth for your company. We hope you found this article helpful and can take away some actionable information to make the most of your coworking space!
