280. Chelsea Siver on How to Be a Rockstar Coworking Community Manager
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TRANSCRIPTION
280. Chelsea Siver on How to Be a Rockstar Coworking Community Manager
00:00:02 Welcome to the Everything Coworking podcast, where every week I keep you updated on the latest trends and how-tos in Coworking. I owned and operated Coworking spaces for eight years and then served as the executive director of the Global Workspace Association for five years. And today, I work with hundreds of operators and community managers every month, allowing me to bring you thought-provoking operator,
00:00:29 case studies and inspirational interviews with industry thought leaders to help you confidently stay on top of what's important and what you can apply to your own role in the Coworking industry. Welcome to the Everything Coworking podcast. This is your host, Jamie Russo. It is holiday week if you're listening to this live. If you're traveling or road-tripping, it's Thanksgiving in the US anyway,
00:01:01 so it's probably a quiet week in your Coworking space. I hope you're enjoying a little bit of time to catch up while you're catching up this week. Maybe you're not catching up. I know I'm furiously trying to get everything done so that I can stop working and spend time with my 11-year-old who is at home from school for the entire week. We have some craft projects that we're gonna do.
00:01:23 We are going to make a couple of blankets. There's this woman that I follow on YouTube named Dana Willard. She designs her own fabric. I love fabric. I am not a great sower, but I love fabric, so I love to follow people who have really simple patterns that don't require lots and lots of details. So my daughter and I are both going to make one.
00:01:47 I have a bunch of other projects on the list that I probably won't get to. So hope you are having a good week as you're winding down a little bit this week, have a little bit of time in the car, time to think long walk with the dogs, whatever it may be. I hope you're thinking about 2023 and what your goals are.
00:02:04 And if you're on our email list, you've seen these emails and I've talked about it on the podcast a couple of times. We are hosting a 2023 planning workshop. That workshop will take place over two sessions. We're gonna do it live over Zoom, so we're literally working through your 2023 plans. We have worksheets, we have, it's all scheduled out for every step of our nine-step framework.
00:02:30 We have a worksheet. So you're going to go through and you're going to plan for your own unique business, although you'll get to see what others are up to. We'll do some breakout sessions so that you can meet the other folks in the group and see what they're planning for 2023. So if that format appeals to you and you wanna come out of that two-session workshop with your 2023 planning in place,
00:02:52 please join us. You can register at Everything Coworking dot com slash 2023. We will probably close down enrollment on December 1st, sorry, the second, I think that's the Friday, so that we can just make sure everybody's organized for our first session on the eighth. So Everything Coworking dot com slash 2023. Our guest today is a Community Manager, Chelsea Siver.
00:03:21 I am super excited to have you get to know her. She is fantastic. She is been a Community Manager for three years now at Workspace Collective in OCA, Florida. And we interviewed their, now I gotta find it again. I probably just closed it. We interviewed the two founders, was episode number two 19. If you want to go back to that one and learn more about their business.
00:03:48 They have opened their second location and they're working on another one. Chelsea's been in my Community Manager group for a long time now and she's just fantastic. She's obviously very experienced being three years in. She was kind enough to contribute to how I did this session on social media. They do some live interviews on Instagram, which really plays into their how engaged they are in their local community.
00:04:15 She talks about that a little bit on the podcast and I just kinda asked her, you know, about the role, her perspective on what makes a successful Community Manager, what's challenging about the role. You know, how she gives tours and thinks about who's a good fit for the space. They have multiple locations now, kind of how that looks like for their team,
00:04:36 what their team structure looks like, how she spends her typical day. We talk a little bit about marketing and some of their backend processes. I think Chelsea is kind of one of those unique sort of unicorn community managers who's really wonderful at building community and being forward facing with the community, and also is great at implementing processes and systems in the back end to keep the business running really smoothly.
00:05:04 She talks about how they recently adapted Asana. Chelsea also has a really great side hustle and we talk about that kind of towards the end. So you'll have to stay tuned and listen into that. So I think you're gonna really enjoy this interview with the perspective from the Community Manager. Speaking of our community managers, I am a little bit behind and giving some shoutouts to folks that have gotten certified.
00:05:31 So our newly certified community, Coworking community managers are Joanna nama. I'm gonna guess what the pronunciation of your last name. Joanna. Joanna is with Capital Workspaces. They have locations in Washington, DC and Bethesda. Judy Bustamonte at Maven Space in Indianapolis. Stephanie Mattias, I think at C P G CRE in Florida and Atlanta and Holly Pettit with the Pioneer Collective.
00:06:01 They have locations in and around Seattle. So a huge congrats to the four of you for getting Coworking Community Manager certified. We're gonna send out some sort of end of the year kind of email to get those of you who are interested in getting your Community Manager involved in our Community Manager University. So stay tuned. If you're not on our email list, you can go to our website and at the bottom in the footer you can opt in and make sure you don't miss out on anything that we're sending out and what we're up to,
00:06:32 such as our end of the year 2023 planning session and our Community Manager programs. So, okay, without further ado, let's drive dive into our conversation with Chelsea. Welcome. I am here with Chelsea Eyr. Chelsea, thank you for taking the time to do this today, and I know community managers are hard to get time with, so I appreciate you being willing to do this.
00:06:57 No, thank you so much for asking me to hop on. I'm so excited. Awesome. Okay, so Chelsea's the Community Manager at Workspace Collective Ocala, which is in Florida, and she's part of our Community Manager University. And you are like a rockstar Community Manager. So whenever I think of like the ideal Community Manager, Chelsea pops into my brain.
00:07:21 So I wanted to just have a convo and kind of share. I think people, it's been a while. I've done Community Manager interviews in the past and people like it because it's a challenging role to hire for. And so I think they love kind of the behind the scenes on who's doing this role at other spaces. So I'm excited. Okay. So what's it like in Florida today?
00:07:42 It's 48 and raining where I am. Oh my goodness. It is actually, it's pretty cloudy. It, the sun is trying really hard to come through. It was raining basically all morning. Oh. Apparently I have a tropical storm headed our way. You know what, now that you say that, I did check the weather this morning and I did see that,
00:08:00 so yeah. Okay, so you're getting some rain too. We're just getting our like Yeah, fall rainy season. Okay. So you're in Florida and you guys have one other location that's open, right? Yes. That one is here in Ocala as well. Okay, got it. Kind of down the street. Okay. So tell us your Coworking story.
00:08:20 How did you find this opportunity? What was interesting about it? How did you get into this role? So prior to this role, I honestly had never heard about Coworking. So this was a completely new concept to me. I worked in the educational system actually for a college, and I was looking for a job at the time. I had accepted a job at Clemson University in South Carolina.
00:08:48 Oh Wow, okay. Yes. But unfortunately we had a little bit of a family emergency, so I had to stay local. And so one of, so of course I was on the job hunt again and one of my best friends had reached out to me and she's like, there's this gentleman in my B BNI group and they're looking for a Community Manager for a Coworking space.
00:09:09 So I was like, you know what, that sounds never done that before. I'm up for a challenge, let's go. So I had emailed, reached out to them, gave them my resume, and next thing I know is on a phone call with Adam and then an in person meeting with Adam and Zach, our co-owners, and the rest is history.
00:09:28 That's so funny. Good things can come out of BNI groups. Yes, Totally. That's a, that's kind of a great little case study. Okay. So how long have you been in the role? Three years. A little, just over three years now. Okay. So it's not, sometimes community managers don't last three years because it's a really like super intense role.
00:09:52 So what do you love about it? What do you find challenging about it? How do you sort of manage it so that it's sustainable? I, what I love about it is honestly I just love every day that I get up and get to come do something that I genuinely enjoy. I love my members first and foremost. I mean, they members really make your make or break your job in my opinion.
00:10:14 And, and, But you sort of like, there's a lot of make or breaks because also the Community Manager make break the experience for the members, right. It's such a, like, it, it's, it's a, it's a fit, you know, all of it has to have the right space, the right members, the right Community, Manager,
00:10:33 the right culture, all of those things. So it goes both ways. Yes, exactly. I mean, honestly I think I'm a huge people pleaser as it's, and coming from the ed, you know, coming from an educational work background, you know, we're always, I was always working hard to help the students and staff and coworkers as much as I possibly could.
00:10:54 My mom and dad have always joked that I'm such a people pleaser. So I think this role was just kind of meant for me. Yeah. In that aspect. And the challenging part is just, it can, like you said, it can be super busy and difficult to pull ourselves away from managing everything to remember like, hey, we got, go spend some time with the members.
00:11:19 Yeah. You know, a simple checkup on 'em midday or you know, Hey, can I get you a cup of coffee, make you guys a snack? You know, it just seems like it's been one of those days for everybody. So I would say just the challenging part would just be just pulling yourself away from, from that computer, from that front desk.
00:11:40 Yeah. To just refresh yourself, refresh the members and just bring on a good day for everybody in the space. Yeah. Kind of find the balance. So one of the things that you mentioned early on that I thought thought was interesting is that the way your space is set up, you are not sitting like with the members, you have a little bit of separation.
00:12:01 And I think that's really interesting because you still see everybody who comes in, is that right? Yes. Yeah. So you see when they come in, but you're not like in it and it's a really, it is kind of a weird role to be like sitting in the space. Like it depends on how the space is set up. Some people like really integrate that front desk,
00:12:23 you know, into like the Coworking space and which I think can be very distracting. We had that and I just remember anytime I worked the front desk, it was, you could get nothing done. So do you feel like it helps to have like that little bit of separation? I definitely do because comparing it to our second location, our second location,
00:12:43 it's as you know, it's integrated. Yeah. You're, you are in the space right there versus, you know, my members, I'm a little bit kind of tucked away. I mean, as soon as someone walks in the door, I'm right there. You're There. Yeah. So You, but for the members, all my members are tucked away to the back of the building and I know a lot of times they'll,
00:13:02 they'll make comments like, oh, I don't wanna bother you. And I'm like, you're not, you're not a bother. So I like it in the sense that I feel I'm extremely productive because of it. Yeah. But at the same time, I hate if my members feel like they're bothering me because of it. Right. Because it's, it's never a bother.
00:13:22 Although I kinda prefer that approach. I, you're here to, you know, talk to me whenever I wanna talk and Exactly. Yeah. Yeah. Cause when I, when I've at first Avenue, I'm like, wow, how do you guys manage, Get anything done? Right? I mean, you get it done, but by the time some days I,
00:13:43 I've helped over there, I'm like, oh my gosh, is it really almost 6:00 PM I was supposed to leave an hour ago? So it's just, yeah, great time management skills for that. Yeah. I don't know that there's a right answer. I just think it's interesting to sort of consider both, you know, types of setup I think, right?
00:14:01 It sets a certain tone when it's all, and sometimes it's just the design of the space, right? It's like that wide open, like the cafe's there, everything's sort of happening, but it can be a real energy drain. I mean, I remember, you know, working at the front desk and just like feeling like I needed a nap. Yes.
00:14:18 That's, you're so, you know, you have to just be really on when people are constantly walking by. So I, yes, I think it's worth, I like, you know, your approach and I just wonder if it makes sort of the energy management a little bit more manageable. So when you say people pleaser though, I feel like you mean like service-oriented?
00:14:38 Yes, very Service-oriented. You just like to do for people and make them happy and make their day. I do, yeah. That's one of my favorite things. It's hard to explain in the sense that, you know, I always just say people pleaser, you know, I myself even hate saying it in that manner, but I do, I'm happy when others are happy and if I was able to do that for them,
00:15:01 it's even more amazing. So you mentioned how amazing your members are. You've been there for three years. So you get, you do all the tours. Yes. So you have a role in sort of curating members. How do you sort of make sure you get a membership that fits the vibe? So it's always the first thing I ask as soon as they come in.
00:15:22 You know, we introduce ourselves. I thank them for taking the time to come in and my first question is always, so what type of job do you do? You know, what do you feel your office needs may be? A lot of times when I get, when I ask those questions, they always say, you know, tell me what they do for work.
00:15:40 And that's when I think it hits them. They're like, well I'm not quite sure what I'm looking for. Get that like cleared up right away. I don't Like I came in with this, but I mean, what else do you have to offer? So that's where I kinda, so as I'm touring them, I'm conversating with them, I'm asking more questions about them in their work so I can get a better sense of,
00:16:04 okay, what is gonna be the perfect membership plan for you So you can make a recommendation. Yeah. Yes. Yeah. It's interesting. I do sometimes wonder if we're just like, we assume that people know and that they understand what the options are. Like what does a dedicated desk even mean? I think a lot of people don't actually know what that means,
00:16:25 right. Using language or just like setting the table that hey, we're gonna figure this out together. Hi, this is Josh Fried CEO of Proximity. When we started Proximity, we did it for one reason. We didn't like how hard it was to run our co-working spaces. At first we tried testing different space management software on the market and look, we found that we had to use multiple software solutions.
00:16:48 Then we spent way too much time trying to sync them all together. And then we spent even and more time training our staff and worse yet our members on how to use this overcomplicated solution. We ended up going circles, attempting to manage our software instead of letting software do what it's supposed to, which is help run our business. Our members were frustrated.
00:17:08 We were frustrated. We just didn't think it should be so hard to operate a Coworking space. So we built our own solution to make Coworking spaces easier to manage all packaged up in one, easy to use platform refined by feedback from hundreds of Coworking spaces over the last five years. Proximity software is simple for operators and best of all members, and it is backed by our award-winning US-based customer support team.
00:17:34 It's time to stop settling for overcomplicate software, get software that was actually purpose built for Coworking by Coworking Space operators. See it for yourself. Our team is available to chat with Everything Coworking podcast listeners and you can, can schedule your call today at proximity dot face slash Jamie. Have you given tours and just gotten a sense like this person's not a fit and had to do like sort of discourage them from joining?
00:18:02 Yes, I have and I have to thank, you know, the whole crew, our whole team, Ashley and everybody because you know, like I said, being new to this position I, I always felt bad like I just don't think they're gonna be a good fit. I don't think they're gonna be happy at the end of the day. And it was really a lot pulling from their help and guidance where they're like,
00:18:26 you know, maybe word it this way. And so there have definitely been times, not many, it's very rare, but it has happened a couple times where, you know, I get into discussion with them and then we always go back to the front and that's where I like, you know, I get that more one on one, just us not focusing on the tour and I'm able to give them recommendations,
00:18:48 you know, like I do with everybody else. Like, you know what, maybe this isn't the right time. So you'll say that you're willing to sort of say I, it's very hard for me to spit out cause I make everybody, But I tell them, you know, that doesn't mean that we wouldn't love to have you in the space. I think just at this moment,
00:19:07 you know, these are the reasons and you know, and then I always follow up with them, you know, a day or two later just to say, Hey, thanks again for coming in. Do you have any questions for me? Have you thought about what might be best? And then, you know, I give 'em the flyer again with all the membership plans and I've been thanked.
00:19:26 So they're like, you know what? You're right. I wasn't in the right head space. I really, you know, this, that and the third. And I mean one of 'em that I did, they actually a year later had reached out to us and signed up. Yeah. So maintain that positive relationship. But if they're not ready or feel like,
00:19:44 is Coworking fairly well known in your city at this point? Or like do you have competition? We do. We have another space that recently opened. You know, we love little bit of competition who does it Right. We were happy to see that it caught on in the area and at first, no definitely it was about 10, 15% knew what it was and the rest was just really like of like wow of education.
00:20:13 Yes. A lot of education and experience with it. And it was, yeah, but compared to three years ago versus now it's 75 to 80% of people know what Coworking is and then just that little bit is like, I've heard of it, you know, heard of you guys in the area and Coworking, but you know, I just need to see it for myself.
00:20:37 Yep, totally. Okay. Remind me, does this location have offices? Yes. So I have private offices, shared, shared office, dedicated open day pass, week pass, A little bit of everything. Little bit of everything. We like flexibility and options. Totally. So I love for those that didn't hear the Adam and Zach interview, you have a very cool space.
00:21:09 Will you talk a little bit and your, I just wanna like sit on your front porch and have a lemonade. I know. And it's very different from your second location. Can you just talk about kind of the setup and the vibe of the first location where you are? Yes. So Fort King is, is this location and it is, I love it.
00:21:31 It's an old Victorian home. I'm a huge history boss, thanks to my dad. Okay. So when I first interviewed and they told me, you know, the location I was looking up, the information I was so excited to see it was in a Victorian home. So we are considered the historic district of downtown Ocala and this home was built in 1891 and it is absolutely stunning.
00:21:58 And the team did a phenomenal job of taking traditional, just repairing and revamping what was already here, but mixing it with a little bit of modern Yeah, that's what I can see from the photos. And we'll show the website in the show notes. It's just, it's really beautifully done and unique. A lot of times people be like, can I do a Coworking space in a house?
00:22:22 And often most of the time I'm like, no, I don't think that's a good idea. This is so well executed. I mean it's really lovely And your kitchen is lovely. Oh and I can see the, is the media room where you are now? It is. Okay. Yeah. So for anybody watching on video, and we won't spend a lot of time on this,
00:22:42 but you guys put some focus on like educating could, because is it Ryan, is Ryan still at the other location? Am I behind that team? He's our second media specialist. Right. So he helps people when they need to learn how to use equipment. And so you guys have done fairly well, I think, if I remember correctly, with your studios because you have support that can help people learn and figure everything out.
00:23:07 Yeah, he's a very talented individual himself. We have been so lucky to have him on the team. He's been such a great asset with us and our members absolutely adore him. And moving him into a tech and media specialist position, I mean was just perfection. Okay. You know, it just made sense and he's so helpful members and you know,
00:23:31 they just cannot say enough good things about him and his talent. And we've expanded a little bit on that for him. So, you know, beyond doing the podcast training and videos, he does photography workshops. Wow. He does, he's, we've now done headshots for our members and for non-members in the community. And so yeah, he's fantastic. It's fun when you can kind of capitalize on on someone's talent and it's a great fit for you and great fit for them.
00:24:04 So yeah, I just, so anyway, anybody who's interested, you have some gorgeous like shots on the, the website of the outside of the building and the, like the arched hallways. It's really pretty. Oh yeah. Okay. So let me find my list of questions for you. So what are the things that work best for your membership in terms of helping them to get to know each other?
00:24:29 Is it member events? Is it, what are some of the things that you do to build community? I like introducing, so we do a brief orientation on members first days. And one thing I like to do is just as I'm walking them through the building again and I'm going through everything in the kitchen, I like to introduce them to the members in the common area.
00:24:49 You know, as we're walking by offices that the doors are open, I like to introduce them to those members as well. And we do, we have some really great member events. So even if people are just popping out from their cave to take a break and grab, grab what we've put out, you know, they always run into another member who's doing the same.
00:25:10 And I always love hearing the, the chit chats and how they all get to know each other and how it, it fe It's a very family atmosphere in here and I think that's my favorite part. How has the new space sort of fit in in terms of community? Do your original members do anything with the new space? Do you ever do like mix and match socials with the other space or do they kind of run independently?
00:25:35 So our, a lot of events that we do, we advertise at both locations. So members are more than welcome to come do both. Our members current favorite one for a few months now has been our whiskey social that we do once a month. Okay. And yes, so it started out simply, you know, as a way to network, grab a drink,
00:26:00 chit chat to us, providing snacks on top of it to us, partnering with other companies for food or you know, drinks to come in or, and then Zach, he bought a smoker for the first avenue. Oh my gosh. He's our barbecue master. This man is very talented and our members absolutely love seeing him. Just make that extra effort of,
00:26:28 you know, bringing these products in, cooking them up and putting, pouring that love into our members is what that event has become. And it just continues to grow more and more every month of members and non-member coming into it. And it's definitely a favorite. I think it's my favorite member of that as well. That's, but you'll, you'll see members from Fort King head over to First Staff and they bring family members,
00:26:56 they'll bring a friend and it's just great to see. Do your members, I see a couple of things on your website. Do you do more social events or do you do any educational programming? So in the past we have done more social events, however, in the past couple months we are not try, I shouldn't say trying, we are doing more workshops and signing individuals up for lunch and learns and cuz we've had a lot of businesses reach out to us to say,
00:27:23 Hey, are you guys doing this? And we're like, yes please, let's get you on the schedule. And so we did a candle work, candle making workshop and it was a blast. We had a great turnout. The individual who ran it, Olivia was, she loved it. She's excited to do it again. So Kaylin our Community Manager at first staff is keeping in touch with her to schedule another one.
00:27:55 And tomorrow Ryan is doing first ever photography workshop. So we're excited about that. We partner with a lot of businesses in the community too to allow them to host their meetings for their workshops in the space and they allow our members to come in for free or at a discounted price as Well. I love that approach. Totally. Yeah. It's easy for you.
00:28:19 It's member benefit. You've got good programming without a ton of work, unless of course, yes. Yeah. Unless Ryan's in charge. Hey, I just wanted to jump in really quickly before we continue with our discussion. If you're working on opening a Coworking space, I wanna invite you to join me for my free masterclass. Three behind the scene Secrets to opening a Coworking space.
00:28:42 If you're working on opening a Coworking space, I wanna share the three decisions that I've seen successful operators make when they're creating their Coworking business. The masterclass is totally free, it's about an hour and includes some q and a. If you'd like to join me, you can register at Everything Coworking dot com slash masterclass. If you already have a Coworking space,
00:29:06 I wanna make sure you know about Community Manager University Community Manager University is a training and development platform for community managers and it can be for owner operators. It has content training resources, templates from day one to general manager. The platform includes mini courses that cover the major buckets of the Community Manager role from community management operations, sales and marketing, finance and leadership.
00:29:34 The content is laid out in a graduated learning path so the Community Manager can identify what content is most relevant to them depending on their experience and kind of jump in from there. We provide a live brand new training every single month for the Community Manager group. We also host a live q and a call every single month so that the community managers can work through any challenges that they're having or opportunities get ideas from other community managers,
00:30:03 build their own peer network. We also have a private Slack group for the group, so if you're interested in learning more you can go to Everything Coworking dot com slash Community Manager. So now that you've been in this role for three years and you have new community managers that have been hired to the second location, what do you think are kind of like success factors in the role?
00:30:28 Like if you were, you know, if somebody's like, okay I'm gonna hire my first Community Manager, what are a couple of like pieces of advice you might give them about hiring for the role? So my piece of advice was they should be strong administratively as well as hospitality. An individual who is okay with wearing many hats in a sense. Yes.
00:30:55 So many. Yes. Cause we're a little bit of everything and yeah, someone who, who's dedicated and is genuinely gonna come in. And the advice that I give to community managers as they come in is this is gonna be difficult. You know, I'm, I'm very Tell 'em like it is, But I tell them, you know, in the long run though,
00:31:16 once you get a situated, you're in your groove. This is going to be the most enjoyable job you'll have. Just takes a while. It's like drinking outta a fire hose when you get started. Yes. It's, yeah. So speaking of the fire hose and it probably has shifted a little bit over time, so what is your day look like?
00:31:38 Like if you were to kinda chop it up into a pie, like what percentage are you spending with members versus doing kind admin stuff or marketing work? What did the buckets look like for you or the hats? So I, I would say for admin operational it's a good 50% of my day and probably about 35 to members. Like I, I really try my best to take the breaks multiple times during the day to see what they need.
00:32:07 And then I would say the rest is sales and marketing because we're very present on social media and especially Instagram. So there's always that scheduling and time to make sure we're being very present on social media because that's our form of sales and marketing, of really getting ourselves out there in the community. The, we have a fantastic community here in Ocala, so having that strong presence on social media has carried over thanks to the community.
00:32:38 So talk to me about social as a marketing tool. Do you think it generates new members for you or is it a way for you to engage with existing members? It has definitely brought members to us, which has been great. Especially when it comes time, holidays are coming up, we get a lot of travelers. One thing they always mention is,
00:32:59 I saw you on social media, I saw your social media, I went to your website and now I'm here. Yeah. So it's part of the sales funnel and the the customer journey. Yes. Okay. So there, I mean I think you run the social media, is that right? We All do. So I'll do it. Okay. And ca and Ryan handle First Avenue and then ask,
00:33:24 They're there and they can actually take Okay you, so you like it to be really like location specific. Yes. People who are in it do it. Okay. Yeah. They know their day to day, they know their culture, they know the vibe that day in the space. So it's best for them to handle it versus I'm just gonna assume this is what it is.
00:33:44 I want it to be very relatable. Yeah. Yeah. Your Instagram is, it just, you get a real sense of, you get a like a feeling from your Instagram. I love the, maybe that was a smoking day, I see some sort of like barbecued meat on the table. Yes, Yes. And a waffle Wednesday and you get,
00:34:07 what is that? Is it French toast with the bananas? Oh that is toasty Tuesday. So that's something new we've launched and so we make some toast and we top it with just these delicious items. Yeah, that looks amazing. This month was our second month literally today doing it and our members are loving it. Yeah, I could see why. I think sometimes people really overthink member events.
00:34:38 Anybody who's looking for a good one, that looks fantastic and probably not that crazy hard to do. Waffle Wednesday is pretty intense though. I sling em like it's my job. You're a professional waffle maker. I'm a professional at so many things now. Wait, so you do do a lot with social though? You do. You have, do you still have a social side hustle?
00:35:05 I do. Yeah. Yes. Can you tell us about that? So I have limited my clientele. You know, I had to, I was doing a little bit of everything and it a little overwhelming I'm sure. And I wasn't enjoying it anymore. And that's my thing is I enjoy what I do. So I have toned it back in to my clients,
00:35:26 our only tattoo artists and tattoo shops. I forgot about that. That's right. Yes. I know people that much, people are always shocked. Like if I wear a t-shirt or something and they're like, wow, you're, you're tattooed. And I'm like, yeah, that's a small, yeah, That's, I I, this is such a great niche.
00:35:46 So this is your niche. You only take clients who are in that space? Yes. In that industry. It's a very fun, relaxed and creative industry and that's why I enjoy it so much. And some of my best clients have been tattoo shop owners. They're so much like, here's your creative freedom. And when I give them the product, they give that feedback,
00:36:09 but they're just so, they're wonderful to work with. Okay. I love this. That's great. How do they find you Through? So I am on, I believe it's called Upwork and five. Okay. And I have my own website as well. Okay. But do you talk about that niche when you're on Upwork? Like how many tattoo artists are like looking for help on Upwork?
00:36:33 More than people. Oh nice. That's so Interesting. A lot more than they realized, you know, we were able to post our portfolios. Yep. So of course my portfolios are 85% A match at two Shops. Yeah. So that's where they're like, oh my gosh, finally someone who like consistently does this work will understand what I need and what I want and it's,
00:37:00 yeah, that's how they pick me out. So interesting. I am, we probably have not talked about, I'm a huge Upwork user. I think Upwork is the most amazing platform ever. It is, I think probably from the user end, but it's good lead gen for you. Cause they take, they take kind of a big percentage, which I don't love for the end user,
00:37:18 but when you're getting to know somebody, it's just a great platform and you can find, to your point, you can find anything on there and Lots of Different types of people Searchie for help on there. Yeah. I use it as a stepping stone. So once they do one project with me, I encourage them if they want to continue to work with me to do so through Venmo business.
00:37:44 Oh Yes. Okay. And so that way I'm essentially not losing out on money and they're not getting overcharged because I need to, you know, I need to be recompensated for that loss. Exactly. Yeah. It works out fantastically. Okay. I made a note, I'll have to check out Venmo business. I knew they were doing a little kind of work in the,
00:38:06 in the business space, but yeah, I love that. Okay. And then are you still doing your Instagram live interviews with folks in the community? I am. My small business spotlight. That's my baby. I love it so much. Can you share a little bit about that? Yeah, so I do brief interviews. They're about 10 to 15 minutes long with local small business owners in the community.
00:38:31 And I just want, it's, you know, a way of free advertising for them and, but I just love getting to know more people in the community and what's out there and supporting small businesses. I have always been a small business supporter prior to even working here. So I love our downtown area. I love our small businesses. It's infectious. Honestly,
00:38:54 once you start you can ask my mom. Poor thing. She, she's now a huge small business, her and my dad. And it's just very infectious community here. We have a huge small business community here in Ocala. I love that. Which is great for Coworking also. So you them come into the space, is that right? And you do a live interview?
00:39:16 Yeah, I love that. And if you have a studio, it feels like such a great opportunity to get folks into the space and it's really great social content. I think it's such a simple idea that not many people do. And I love that you bring them in the space cause then they see it. Right. So it's also, it's kind of a marketing opportunity for you.
00:39:35 We started it. Yeah. We started it virtually as a way for us during Covid shutdown to stay in contact with everybody, our members, our community, how can we help the small businesses here to stay alive during this time. And it's just, it became such a big thing and something that we absolutely love doing here. And I have to say,
00:39:58 my favorite one recently was I had Victoria from Patriot Service Dogs. They're a local nonprofit who give service dogs for free to our veterans. Wow. Yeah. Volunteers, everybody, nobody pays a dime. Patriot service Dogs does everything. The training, just the food, the vet visit, they are such an amazing group. I can't speak enough about them,
00:40:23 but they were a part of a nationwide contest called the Defender Series. And it was ran by Land Rover and out of all of these profits benefiting the veterans and dogs out there, they were the smallest one to enter. They're in the top two. Wow. That's, and they find out and that's amazing they this Saturday if they win. But it was,
00:40:50 I wanted to bring them on to encourage voting. Ah yeah, that's great. And she couldn't believe the amount of votes that came in after our spotlight, so that's why we do it. Totally. Right. I mean it feels like, you know, you're becoming sort of a central point of that entrepreneurial community and really like a connecting point, which is so important for a town to have.
00:41:15 So it feels like you do a lot of things. Like you manage a lot of aspects. What's the dynamic of the team? Are you mostly kind of on your own in the space and you're kind of running, like doing these interviews and what is the interplay now that you've been there for three years between you and the rest of the team? Like do,
00:41:34 do you do weekly meetings? Do you like Yeah. What does that look like? So we always say one team, one dream. That's our favorite motto to by especially, especially with all of us. It's, you know, we went from the five of us to seven of us and soon to be more and next year. So we're super excited.
00:41:57 And I would say I run Fort King myself. I have Ashley who is in the background, who helps me tremendously with so much I would be lost without her. And I like to remind her of, She probably feels the exact same way about you. And then Cassandra, another one of our co-owners, she handles like a lot of our events and helps us,
00:42:26 you know, assist us with the social media and just keeping us all on track for all the accounts. And she does a phenomenal job at that. Again, would be lost without her. She has definitely brought a lot more structure to it as we've grown and Ca and Ryan, I mean they kill it at First Ave. I mean they're ca has,
00:42:50 she jumped in head first. She was thrown to the wolves and that she has handled it beautifully and we're so thankful to have her a part of this team. And you know, even though she's only been with us for a few short months, it feels like she's been here since day one with us and Ryan as well. And I think that's what's so great and why we always say one team,
00:43:12 one dream. Because you know Adam, in fact they help a lot between both locations and what they can do. And they're kinda like every day they're like, where do I need to be? Who needs me? What needs to be done? But they both have full-time jobs, is that right? Adam retired from paycheck, so workspace is now his so low.
00:43:33 Okay. And, but Zach does still work full time. Okay. And I'm, I dunno how the man does it. I wanna be like him when I grow up. I know. But he has a team that looks like you. So I'm curious, you know, you're three years in, what are the things that, you have to be a pretty well oiled machine at this point,
00:43:55 but what are the things that, like you're still learning or you're figuring out? Like do you still have those things? Are you like Yeah, I got it. Oh yeah. Situations will pop up consistently where, you know, we work together as we work together as a team to figure it out so that way everybody knows how this is gonna work.
00:44:18 Like we have weekly meetings every Monday. We have a weekly meeting every Wednesday with Cassandra, Ryan, Caitlin, and myself to focus on our social media and our events. Okay. Once a month we are are now doing feedback meetings as a team, Like feedback to each other or Yes. What does that look like on to each other on what we feel like you could be a little bit more consistent in this or we need to communicate better here.
00:44:47 And what I love is nobody takes offense to it. Everybody is great at, at handling it, taking it for what it's worth and improving themselves on it. Like, you know what, hey, I didn't notice that. Thank you for pointing that out to me so that I can work on that. And it is so great to just have such a great team,
00:45:07 honestly. Sounds like a fantastic culture. What do you think is driving the culture Trust in one another? Definitely, you know, our communication, we are now using Asana because we were realizing, wow, we have way too many Things going on, right? And then they'll, they'll text, we're texting the wrong one, wait this for so and so.
00:45:31 So now we're using Asana. And that has definitely been an improvement on our communication, assigning tasks to each other, a project for each other and just being able to see, oh, they're working on that. Great. So having a platform that we can each go to has been fantastic this last month, month and a half. And so thankful for that.
00:45:56 Yeah. And something for you to learn and you like a good development opportunity. Yeah, we asana as well. And I also love it. Yeah. We're, we are learning about Asana in Loom. Yes. You know, I, Those are our new project ventures. We actually got the idea from a CMU meeting where I thought on Danielle's website where she shared the how to guides.
00:46:24 They're like process ninjas, aren't they? Oh my God. I I need to get them. Oh wait, you met her? Yes, Yes. I, I love that. I love That. I love her so much. I look forward to her coming and I'm trying to plan a trip next year so I can go see her Space go to.
00:46:42 Okay. And I've been there. I was there. Well in 2020 we did, my daughter and I did a little road trip and I was like, I gotta go, go through Medford. I love that. Yeah. That's awesome. So Danielle is at, is it just Medford Cowork? I know, I can't remember exactly what it's called, but it's the only Coworking in Medford,
00:47:03 Oregon. Yes. And they're also in Asheville. So Yeah, they've been in the group and they are super, super process oriented. It's amazing. And I, yeah, I know I should get them on to talk about the work that they're doing with their like member portable portal and all their SOPs and Yeah. Yeah. That's why I love cmu because we are learning,
00:47:23 you know, when we do those meetings, we're learning something new in those meetings that hey, we could utilize that to improve. Now we're all learning as a team how to utilize this software and create something better for us and our members. Yeah. Especially I see the third location is on its way. What's the, is that 2023? Possibly two and 2023.
00:47:45 Oh, okay. So yeah, the system. We're Down. We're moving. We're moving. Wait, what software do you use on the back end? I don't remember. We use Exodus. Oh, you use Exodus? Okay. Yes. Got it. Cool. And they've just done some updates. Lots of interface updates Have, it is a,
00:48:03 it is a love hate relationship with that platform. I think that's awesome. Especially Since you can't, they're London based so you can't just pick up the phone and say, Hey guys, I'm having this issue. You have to schedule. If you need a phone call, they schedule time out. So I do have to say, even though they're not readily available,
00:48:21 like instantly, they still have great customer service. The platform itself. I'm so glad they did all these improvements. Perfect. Yeah. And your website, I know you're not in charge of the website, but I use your website as an example all the time because Oh thank you. It's on Wix and maybe you do have something to do with the website.
00:48:41 It's just super well done. It's on Wix. It's very simple. I always tell everybody like, please don't over-engineer your website. It needs to be super simple, clear, easy to navigate, not too much stuff. And it has to use language that your customers understand. And I just think yours is, is really well done. And you have great photos right on the homepage for both locations that give like such a good sense of like what the vibe is there.
00:49:10 And I think that's also really important too. There's nothing like sterile about it. You get a really good sense of what the people, you know, sort of the human connection piece. Yes. Yeah. I wish I could take some credit for that. But that is our guru Lauren behind the scenes. Ooh. And Ashley, oh my gosh. They do a phenomenal job.
00:49:29 And Lauren, she is just so talented at what she does and we're so thankful for her assistance with all of this. And I mean, we've got the blog on the website, like you said, the photos where you can tell what the vibe is gonna be for each location. It's simple to the point, easy to navigate, just, yeah, it's a great website.
00:49:51 Awesome. Okay, Chelsea, I as a rep, just wanna say thank you for, you're in the Community Manager group and I often think Chelsea could teach these topics because she's been doing this for so long, she could do the training. You just add so much value to the group and we love, you know, having you be a part of it.
00:50:09 And I'm grateful that you're a part of the industry and still loving it and learning and you still have lots of energy for the role and it sounds like a lot of that has to do with your team, you know, but you're a huge part of that. So I'm really excited to watch the journey of your group as they, they expand and I think there's probably lots of exciting things ahead for you.
00:50:31 So yeah, thank you for taking time away from your busy day to share your story with us. We really appreciate it. Thank you again for inviting me on. This has been wonderful. I mean, I have learned so much from you and CMU and I'm so grateful for that. We're all very grateful. Cause of course I share everything with the team and they're just like,
00:50:53 oh my gosh, that's so amazing. We love Jamie. And so just thank you So much. Well, okay. Yes. I, so I always get blushy when people, to me, I'm just a facilitator, right? Because all of the like amazing ideas live with, with you guys and with the group, you know, the people who are out there doing it.
00:51:11 So it's people like you being involved that make it what it is. But thank you. Yeah. So yeah, I probably feel like you do about your members. It's like I get all my energy from you guys and I, you know, and, and the inspiration and, and all those things. So anyway. Awesome. Okay, well I'll see you on the next call.
00:51:31 Thank you, Chelsea. Thank you. Thank you for listening to today's episode. If you like what you heard, tell a friend, hit that subscribe button and leave us a rating and review. It makes a huge difference in helping others like you find us. If you'd like to learn more about our education and coaching programs, head over to Everything Coworking dot com.
00:51:56 We'll see you next week.
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