What is involved in starting a coworking space?

The honest version - what the business actually is, and the numbers that decide whether it works.

Coworking looks like a property business and behaves like a hospitality business. That single sentence explains most of the failures.

The arithmetic that decides it

Cost per square foot against revenue per desk. Work out how many desks the space physically holds, apply a realistic occupancy, and compare against rent plus operating cost. Do this before anything else.
Occupancy, honestly. New spaces do not fill quickly. Model what happens at half full for longer than you expect, because that is the case that kills people.
Fit-out. Furniture, internet, power distribution, phone booths, kitchen. Real money, spent before any revenue arrives.
Churn. Monthly memberships turn over. Budget for continuous selling rather than a launch push.

What people underestimate

It is a service job. Somebody must be there, be pleasant, and fix things. The community is the product, and community does not run itself.
Phone booths. Always too few. Build more than seems reasonable.
Internet redundancy. One outage during a member's client call costs more goodwill than it costs to prevent.
Meeting rooms are the upsell and the most common source of argument. Have a clear booking policy from day one.

Before signing a lease

Talk to operators in a market that is not yours, where you are not a competitor. Most will tell you the truth, and the truth is more useful than any template. Then visit at 10am on a Tuesday and at 4pm on a Friday, in several spaces, and count people.

We are a directory, not a consultancy. This is orientation from watching a lot of Texas spaces open and some close. Your accountant and a broker who knows your submarket will beat it on the specific numbers, and they should.

If you do open, list it here — free, and it stays free.

Terms on this page

Occupancy: The share of available desks or offices currently sold.
Churn: The rate at which members leave, usually monthly.
Fit-out: The cost of making a bare leased space usable.
Anchor member: A larger member taking a private office, whose rent underwrites much of the open floor.

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