Coworking is growing up

Guest post written by GCUC speaker and space owner, Peter Chee.

I definitely am feeling the great vibes from attending the GCUC conference last week. It was quite a unique experience for me because there is such a great blend of people attending the conference from all over the world.

Whether someone is just getting started with their coworking space or has 38 locations, I was able to connect, learn, and be inspired by you all. Grateful to have crossed paths. A few of us even started up a WhatsApp text group to share our daily workouts and also mix in some business questions like how are you managing your F&B coffee bar or what coworking software are you using to run your spaces? Lots of really great inspiration comes daily from this kind of interaction.

One thing that I wish I knew when I started Thinkspace is Management Agreements. Nick Clark, CEO and founder of Common Desk (recently acquired by WeWork) gave a talk that really was enlightening as he talked about the nuts and bolts of how to really partner with landlords. There is so much good stuff inside Management Agreements and I’m 100% sure coworking and flex space is going to keep growing.

I really enjoyed the talk by Bond Collective. The work that Shlomo Silber (Founder) and Elide Rahborne (Director of Design) at Bond Collective really shows they are Designing for a New World and I’m quite excited to see what they do as they lead the way in a unique and innovative way. I just love their style. There is such a strong differentiator to what they do and I like that they are standing out in that way.

A few people from my team also attended and they really enjoyed connecting and learning. I think it was one of the best things I could have done to make sure we hired a temp to step in so that they could attend the conference. This conference isn’t just for owner/operators but really for the entire team.

I’m so thankful for Liz Elam and Stormy McBride for running GCUC and connecting the community. I’m a huge fan of Liz, her leadership, and what she’s doing to foster community globally with the coworking community.

PS: Sitting on a Mailbox 4700 feet up in the mountains is the GCUC sticker!!