Diversity in coworking brings big benefits to everyone involved. When all kinds of people with all kinds of businesses get together, beautiful things can happen. There’s just one problem, as more coworking spaces define narrow missions, diversity gets lost.
Most businesses have a niche. They market themselves as filling a specific need or serving a unique population. Your niche could be wide, like an accounting firm that specializes in tax law. After all, everyone needs to do taxes. Or your niche can be narrow, like a bakery that specializes in vegan wedding cakes. Not everyone gets married, and only a small percentage of those that do want a cake without eggs, butter or milk.
Coworking spaces have niches too. As more businesses join the market, many are choosing narrow niches where they hope to stand out. That’s why we’re seeing so many coworking spaces labeling themselves as for female business owners, for veterans starting a business, or for people in specific industries like food, tech, and health.
Niching down is a common practice. It’s a strategy to differentiate your business from the one next door. Yet, we can’t help but feel like those super niched down coworking spaces are missing something–diversity.
What do we mean by diversity in coworking?
One of the best things about coworking is the way it throws you together with business people from different industries. A young man launching a meal delivery startup might sit across from a software developer. While grabbing a free coffee, he chats with a female veteran who has spent the last decade building her business. In the lobby, he introduces himself to the counselor who has a private office down the hall.
Any of those interactions could be valuable on its own. All of them together help expand our young entrepreneur’s view of the world. And we like it that way. At College Park Executive Suites, we don’t have a niche. That is to say, our niche is really wide. We welcome anyone of any race, sex, gender, orientation, creed, industry or level of business. Facilitating in-person connections between people of all backgrounds is the soul of coworking as far as we’re concerned.
Although we don’t force people to socialize, we do believe that spontaneous interactions can lead to powerful results. Conversations in the lobby, around the coffee pot, or the hallway can spark new insights. Giving diverse business owners a space to work together means everyone benefits from the unique perspectives of their fellow coworkers.
See what diversity in coworking can do for your business; contact Jackie today for a tour of our coworking spaces.
