What can coworking spaces do to maintain their business?4 min read

What can coworking spaces do to maintain their business?4 min read

Reading Time: 3 minutes

I had a pleasure to talk to Nick Clark, Ceo of Common Desk and here is what his coworking chain did.

DALLAS (April 6, 2020) – In response to nationwide safety measures to reduce the spread of COVID-19, Dallas-based coworking brand, Common Desk, has created a virtual membership offering that supports those missing a sense of professional community while practicing social distancing. Common Desk’s new “Work from Home” Membership (WFH) is designed to meet professionals where they are, both digitally and financially. This donation-based virtual coworking membership enables anyone, no matter their location or financial situation, to join the Common Desk member network, find resources and a sense of community, and choose their own monthly rate for membership. 

Access to Common Desk’s physical coworking spaces across Texas has been turned off for all non-essential businesses since March 20, but the brand as a whole has been practicing social distancing for nearly a month. In knowing its members, as well as most professionals in the nation, are isolated at home, Common Desk created a solution to help the brand continue upholding its mission statement–to enhance every workday, for all. They did this by innovating an affordable, flexible, and virtual membership option that opens up the sense of community the coworking brand is known for building to even more people who need it. 

The WFH membership includes: access to up to 10 digital community events per week, invites to its new “social (distancing) clubs,” 1 day pass a month that will roll over to be utilized when Common Desk spaces are back to “business as usual,” curated resources made for Common Desk members, and a physical mailbox at the Common Desk location closest to the prospective member. For the next three months, Common Desk is suggesting a price of $75/month for their WFH membership, but people have the ability to pay whatever they can–whether that’s more or less than the suggested amount.

Common Desk members have been the first to quickly embrace this new WFH membership and the brand’s new digital community efforts. A member-led event staple at Common Desk, called Wine Down Wednesday, had nearly 50 attendees on its first Wednesday of being virtual–with many Common Desk members from various spaces and markets meeting for the first time because of the event’s new digital nature. 

“With such a drastic, overnight hit to our collective normal, it seems like what we need throughout the day changes by the hour. We feel a strong sense of responsibility to meet our community exactly where they are at on that roller coaster. Sometimes this means getting as many faces as we can on a Zoom happy hour or virtual trivia game. Other times it means connecting with experts to get timely resources in our members’ hands to ensure their businesses make it to the other side. At this point, no idea is off the table if it could work to make this situation brighter or more manageable for even just one person. We’re deeply grateful for the community that we serve and the way that they embrace us in return,” said Katy Klefeker, Director of Hospitality at Common Desk. 

Throughout the workweek, Common Desk’s Work from Home community has the ability to attend virtual events–like digital Lunch & Learns with industry leaders, virtual happy hours, Mindfulness Moments for de-stressing, Instagram live local concert series, and even at-home coffee, fitness, and kids entertainment tutorials. Common Desk’s social (distancing) clubs include Netflix club, book club, fitness club, and a gaming club. WFH members have the ability to join any one of these clubs to connect with other members and Common Desk staff over shared interests, as well as virtually participate in at-home initiatives with others. WFH members can check in with other members over the community Slack channel, or stay in the know on good news and relevant updates through Common Desk’s curated WFH member newsletter, “The Daily Quarantea.”