Day by Day Tips for Squeezing the most out of GCUC

GCUC 2015 is only a few weeks away. If it’s still snowing where you live (Chicago), it’s time to poke around your closet and find some short sleeves because it’s sun’s out, guns out in Berkeley!

So pat yourself on the back for getting a tax-write off on a trip to nice weather and then put your sunscreen down and get serious about what you’re going to get out of this Unconference.

Day 1: If you’ve been to GCUC before and you think you know the drill…then you don’t know Liz. She is mixing it up like Beyonce on the dance floor. Check the agenda and you’ll see that Day 1 is totally new and totally unmissable.

• If you’re a GCUC freshman, you’re going to camp and you’re going to get a chance to unload all of your most burning questions so that you can clear your mind for the two days of panel debates and unconference topics.
• If you’ve been to GCUC before and you think you’re  already juicier than a kale smoothie, then show off your stuff at the Legacy unconference which is sponsored and facilitated by the League of EXtraordinary Coworking spaces.

Day 2: So now you’ve made some friends, had some s’mores and you’re ready for Day 2.

• By 2:30 on Day 2, you’re done with sitting and listening. So leave your laptop in the hotel and your phone in your pocket and don’t miss any of the strategic discussions.
• After 2:30 it’s all Unconference all the time. As you’re packing your Birkenstocks, make sure to give some thought to what’s important to you. Where are the gaps in your experience/knowledge? Are you struggling with community building? Marketing? Expansion plans? Know where to focus – the Unconference can be full of distractingly sexy topics. Like a sushi buffet. You just want everything but that will make you sick. Choose wisely.

Day 3: Sprinkled into the Unconference are opportunities to build relationships among the coworking community. This is a once-a-year opportunity to hang with other space operators, community managers, trend spotters, researchers and writers who all geek out about coworking and collaboration.

• Do not skip lunch to catch up on email.
• Do not skip happy hour to return phone calls.
• Do not skip the 6:30 am hike to sleep….ok, that one’s up to you. But I’ll be there!
• These nooks and crannies of the conference are the times to connect – to have those serendipitous interactions that we all talk about. And they do happen. This industry is still small enough that it’s a small world and connections are easy if you make the effort.

Jamie is founder of Enerspace with coworking spaces in Chicago and Palo Alto. She is President of the League of Extraordinary Coworking spaces. She’s also a huge GCUC fan and is thrilled to be commuting to GCUC by BART this year!