Building a coworking community

One thing that has been real important to me for a couple of years now is the growing coworking movement and it’s ability to provide more than just a place to sit and work. I am lucky to work out of Office Nomads in Seattle and I am friends with Peter Chee of ThinkSpace in Redmond which are two spaces that are doing a lot for coworking in the seattle area. (Although in very different ways.) So when I travel one of the first things I do is ping the Google coworking group to see if there are any spaces where I can work.  

During a recent trip to Louisville, KY I found out about a new space that will be opening soon. So I made a solid effort both to check out the space, and hangout with it’s chief instigator.  I wanted to share what I learned and where they are in the process of creating a coworking space.

A little history

I lived in Louisville from 2002 to 2005 and worked for a little start up in a very old bourbon distillery. It was a space for the most part had a lot of charm. And it became one thing I loved about Louisville; the unique river town history and the coffee culture (big surprise). What hated was how closed the city is.  There is lots of technical innovation occurring both in both old businesses (UPS) and new, but while I was there they didn’t have the kind of loosely organized community like I have experienced in Seattle and the Bay area.

Where there is a community is around the local coffee shops and unlike in Seattle and other major metros there isn’t a lot of debate about whether this coffee shop workforce is good for business.  Local shops like Quills, Highland Coffee, and Heine bros. thrive off of the return visits of squatters. In lieu of a traditional coworking, space I made use of Quills and Heine bros. and Peak10 to continue working. I imagine that the for these spaces there might be some resistance to the idea of a dedicated space for the web worker.

Butchertown Pointe

The good news for folks in Louisville is that there is a space on the way and will be found in the form of Butchertown Pointe.  The space is a renovated carpet factor that is a historic landmark in Louisville.  The facility is in the Butchertown Neighborhood that is undergoing a revitalization and will be a mixed use facility. 

The main instigator of the new space is freelance writer and all around gentleman, Zach Everson.  I got the chance to sit and talk coworking with Zach and I was really impressed, because while there are a lot of challenges to creating a space Zach seems to have the right attitude and thoughts get this thing going.  Inspired by the Station-C manifesto, Zach and a handful of others are looking to fill a fairly small space. But unlikely previous efforts to get a space going in Louisville I think this provides a big advantage, for a handful of reasons:

• People need to be introduced to a working example of coworking
• Starting small reduces the risk, but can help you scale
• A busy space even if it is only a few people makes the space more desirable

Given that previous attempts at starting a  space in Louisville had not been successful, I asked Zach what he would do if the space failed and he gave the best answer for those of that appreciate the entrepreneurial spirit; “try again”.  I actually think that of many the cities I have lived in Louisville would be a great place for multiple spaces.  There is a strong creative and technical class.  They really just need someone to lead the way and set an example. The current coffee shop class of worker seems to be growing and there isn’t the quite that is sometimes necessary for doing business.

What can be Learned?

I was really excited in talking to Zack, because we could all learn a few lessons from his process.

• If you want to build a community you have to take responsibility
• In any project, start small and dream big
• Line up the things that need to be done and knock them down one by one.
• Be aware of the limitations, but don’t let them stop you.

Next time I am in Louisville, I am looking forward to working out of the completed space.

Jeremiah