375. Therapy Meets Coworking: Laura Spiller, PhD, on Creating PractiSage, a Collective for Mental Health Professionals
Resources Mentioned in this Episode:
GCUC discount code: EVERYGCUC for 20% off >> https://na.gcuc.co/
Everything Coworking Featured Resources:
Masterclass: 3 Behind-the-Scenes Secrets to Opening a Coworking Space
TRANSCRIPTION
375. Therapy Meets Coworking: Laura Spiller, PhD, on Creating PractiSage, a Collective for Mental Health Professionals
00:00:00,"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 8 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 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."
00:00:43,"Welcome to the Everything Coworking Podcast. This is your host, Jamie Russo. Thank you for tuning in today. If you have not yet subscribed to the podcast, hit that follow button and join us same time, same place, every week. Okay. We have had so many good interviews lately. I love a solo topic when I want to dive into something, but there's nothing like sharing the story of another operator."
00:01:12,"I know that those probably are your favorites because it's so much fun to get a little behind the scenes into somebody else's business when they run the same business as you. So. So if you ever have any guest requests, certainly send them our way. Today's guest is Laura Spiller. Dr. Laura, I should say, and many of you are going to love this episode in particular because she opened a space for fellow therapists."
00:01:41,"She's kind of an interesting character because we kind of dove into like her. The why her passion for helping therapists. She is a therapist, but she also just really loves business. She loves the business side of things. Her husband's an entrepreneur so she's kind of getting the best of both worlds because she can still practice and she's created a coworking space for therapists and she went through our coworking startup school."
00:02:10,"We've had a number of folks either in that program or our operator mastermind who have done spaces for therapists or other healthcare medical professionals. And I love this model. It's a little bit different than traditional. Coworking has a lot in common. I think one probably primary difference is that the space can be smaller. Staffing requirements might be a little bit different. I will say marketing really relies on word of mouth."
00:02:41,"So Laura talks about where her members come from, how she markets the space and what her offer looks like, how, you know, how she structured the membership, the support, all of those things. So it's a really fun episode with a lot of behind the scenes on how she's thinking about the business, how it's grown, some of the challenges she's had and some of the advice she has for other operators and she's still, you know, in the, you know, getting ramped up phase."
00:03:08,"So it's fun to check in. It was really fun for me because we get really deep with the folks in our startup school while they're like in it and then they launch. And we haven't historically supported through the, you know, sort of first year of business phase. We are now doing that. So if you go through our coworking startup school, we have a mentorship program. So we get you through the launch phase in the coworking startup school and then, and we can do that either self study or one on one and then we have options now to provide mentorship through that first year because we know you still need a lot of support to make the right decisions and, and the mental and emotional support to get through that first year to 18 months that it takes to get really ramped up."
00:03:54,"So it was really fun for me to catch up with Laura. Before we dive into Laura, I want to mention that I am headed to jucy, which is the Global Co Working Unconference Conference North America event, April 7th through the 10th in Boston. And I am kind of excited about the venue. It's at the track at New Balance and I was talking to Liz and she's like, yeah, you can only wear New Balance gear."
00:04:21,"And I thought she meant like the whole outfit. I was like, liz, do I have to wear all new clothes to go to this event? She's like, no, only the shoes. And of course I happen to have a great new pair of new super fun, trendy New Balance shoes that I will wear to the event. Anyway, this event is a must do in my opinion. There are two events every year for the coworking industry and I just think it's so critical to go to these events and get exposure to what other operators are thinking about and just kind of get that both macro view what's happening in the industry, you know, taking the temperature, what are people working on and then the really just like in the weeds perspective of how people are running their businesses."
00:05:09,"Juicy has kind of a cool hybrid approach to the conference. So they have great content, they have panels, great speakers, they have a couple speakers that I'm particularly interested in. And then they also do these roundtables so you can sit at a table with a bunch of other operators. The vendors get involved, which is also really fun if you're using, you know, office R and D or coworks or Kisi or whoever, you know, you can sit at tables and get to know them."
00:05:37,"Of course, all the vendors have booths so you're if you're looking for new solutions, it's a great way to get to know the people behind the solutions, get demos, etc, they have lots of fun social events. There will be workouts, of course, since it's that new balance. So I don't want to take up a ton of time talking about it. But if I want to make sure you know about it and consider it, if it sounds like it might be right for you, if you're just starting a space, it might be a good way to just to kind of, you know, get an understanding of what the industry looks like."
00:06:07,"And if you are a seasoned operator, it's great for networking, great for connections. For me, it's like one of the things I love is how tight this industry is. If you go to the events, you just really can build deep relationships with people because a lot of folks go every year. I don't think I've missed a juicy since 2013. Maybe it's nuts. So I go every year. I have a lot of energy around this one."
00:06:36,"I think Boston's going to be super fun. So my daughter's name is Dagney, which is an unusual name and there's a Dagney hotel in Boston and I am going to have to stay a night there and I wish I could take her with me. I'm trying to figure out how to work that out. Her spring break is either the week before or after, which is going to pose some challenges, but we're going to figure it out."
00:06:58,"So we'll put the link in the show notes so you can go check it out and we'll put the code, we have a discount code. We'll put that in the show notes as well so you can grab it and if you need it, can't find it, can't figure it out. Have any questions, send us an email@hello everything coworking.com and now into today's episode. Welcome. I have with me Laura Spiller, Ph.D."
00:07:25,"Dr. Laura. I guess she is a psychologist specializing in relationship therapy therapy and the founder of Practice Sage Therapist Collective, which is a shared workspace for therapists in Houston. And Laura was in our coworking startup school but I have not gotten the updates on her opening and how things are going since. So I'm so excited to hear all the details. Thank you for doing this. Yeah, thank you for inviting me."
00:07:53,"I'm really excited to have this conversation with you and just to thank you for the help that the coworking startup school provided and the ongoing support of your Facebook community and you know, even the emails here and there, just, it's been very appreciated support. Yeah. Meaningful business is hard and mentally and in so many ways. And so thank goodness we all have each other. Okay. So I don't think I really know your."
00:08:21,"Your coworking story. So tell us like just a little bit about your professional background and when did you wake up and say, I need to make a shared workspace for therapists? Well, I've always admired entrepreneurship and loved the idea of trying to think about what do people need and how can I be creative and develop something that meets those needs. Just in general admired that. Think that's cool."
00:08:47,"Looked for ways to be able to enter that space. It really pushed me over the edge to start thinking more about what other ways I can use my brain and really leading up to. But also the beginning of the pandemic, as a relationship therapist, I didn't even think about what that would have meant for you. I mean. Yeah. Yes. So in the beginning of the pandemic, you know, people were suddenly with their partners 247 and everybody in the world was like, can I stay married to this person?"
00:09:19,"Exactly. Oh. And then like, if you had kids, you're having to figure out like, who. Yeah. Who is going to monitor their schooling. Do the schooling. You know, if you've got dual careers, people were really in chaos. How do we go careers? How do we do all this? Yeah. So. And I was of course, like, well, I guess I'm home and I don't have anything else to do."
00:09:41,"And all these people are asking for help. So. Yes. And got to a point where I think I have like 35 sessions in one week and just was realizing, okay, oh my God, this is not sustainable. Right. You're on zoom, like literally all day, every day. Yes. Yes. Going insane while trying to keep other people safe. Right. I mean, in the world. Yeah. Going bananas all around us."
00:10:07,"And yeah, I've got my four kids and. Oh my gosh, you have four kids. I didn't know you would be two. And my two older stepchildren also came home and lived with us during the pandemic. So, yeah, we had a completely full house. Okay. Yeah. And so, you know, just all the stuff. And that's what I was thinking, like, you know, I would love. I can't do full time couples therapy."
00:10:28,"It's just too much. I've got lots of interest in how to help therapists and be creative. I need to figure out some ways to scale back on the therapy and use my brain and figure out how to do something else in addition. And I did think about a group practice. That's, that's something that therapists who are entrepreneurial often do and at the time just didn't really feel comfortable somehow."
00:10:52,"That just didn't feel right, but led me to think, you know, what do therapists need to be successful? And you know, really had the thought that, that sometimes therapists, when you join a group practice, you often are giving quite a bit of your fee over to the group practice. You're really working hard, but you're building somebody else's practice. So I wanted to help those who were on their own in solo private practice."
00:11:18,"How do they create a practice that's sustainable for them, that meets their life values and give them the supports to do that, help them build their practice. Yeah, right. That was one of my hesitations with the group practice they're kind of building. You're building somebody else's there. Yeah, you know. Yeah, yeah. To build your practice. So now that's kind of one of the mission of practice age tutor and support therapists to grow, to start, grow and right."
00:11:46,"Size their practice for their values for their life. And in a way that's sustainable. And I think that the community piece is a really important part of sustainability. Yeah, because you have this sort of entrepreneurial interest. But you, I mean, you have a PhD, so you've done a lot of training, a lot of like, sort of, you know, by the book career, but you have this like, you know, drive to be entrepreneurial."
00:12:14,"Other therapists may not so much, but want to be in private practice. And so that's kind of part of the role. I'm guessing you felt like you could fill because. Right. It, it, because it is like starting a business. When you go out on your own, you have to get clients, you have. Right. You have to handle the billing and maybe you're not taking insurance. You know, there's just all those things that you have to manage that is like having your own mini business."
00:12:43,"But many therapists like would maybe rather ignore those pieces and just practice. So it's kind of a cool, like to your point, like, what do they need? Well, maybe they need like. Yeah, the business stuff so that they can practice and be comfortable going out on their own. And. But you know, therapists, if they bill through insurance are. They're getting paid a lot less. Right. So. But they don't have to do as much marketing if you're being paid by insurance."
00:13:11,"So if you take insurance. Yeah. Can see a few more clients because you're not having to give time over to. Yeah. To the marketing, basically. As much, right? As much. But generally, yes, you can make more as a private pay therapist than when you're taking insurance. And do any of the therapists that are part of your space, or is the space sort of the space membership the same as the collective, or is the collective something different?"
00:13:40,"So the collective is the umbrella, and within that there is an online community that. That therapists in Texas can join for the support, the relationships, the referral network for the education in terms of practice building, practice sustainability. And then there's also the spaces. And so any members of the spaces are automatically members of the community that comes along with your space membership. But there are people in other parts of Texas and."
00:14:10,"Or in Houston who office in other places who don't use the space that are members of the community. Okay. And you run the community. Yes. Okay. So did you do that before you started the space or did you start both at once? I launched the community over a year ago in November. So it's been a year. Okay, yes. And then you just, you just opened in May, the space in May space."
00:14:34,"Okay, so. So yes. You're like, while I'm taking all this time to sign a lease to construction. Right. This online community that's so interesting. And was the goal for the online community to be kind of its own, did you think it would feed the space or did you just think it was important to have both? Like, how were you thinking about? Definitely thought it was important to have both because that's part of the need."
00:14:58,"Right. I mean, when I think about practice sustainability and one of the challenges is it's very isolating if you're in solo private practice, and even more so now that many therapists do at least part of it online. Yeah. And so there is. Yeah, there really is a need for connection, support, community, and that was an important part of what I wanted to create. Doing the online piece. Okay."
00:15:21,"Yeah. But that's sort of starting two things at once, because having an online community has its own things. You have to learn in it, then opening the physical space. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. So, okay, so when. Tell me more about why how you decided, like, I should have a physical space, going to start this physical business to help other therapists. Yeah. Thinking about what people need that they actually do need."
00:15:46,"And I, I guess part of my thought was that the, the swing to online, we were already the. The glow was fading of how wonderful that is. And I think that that's continuing. I'm definitely hearing from the people in the community that they're getting more and more requests for in person services and so. But that we want to do it differently than in the past. That it's not, you know, it's, it's unrealistic for most therapists to need a full time office."
00:16:12,"Even people who are full time probably don't do more than, you know, three days of in person. You know, maybe, you know, there may be some who are really, really helpful practices. You might use their office full time. But I just think that the, the future is going to be shared office space for therapists because it really doesn't make sense to have that overhead. Right. It's totally impractical."
00:16:33,"Or they, maybe they, the other solution is like they find someone to share with. But then you know, you have to sort of coordinate on your own the schedule and, and then in my experience, they're usually dumpy spaces. Yeah. And they're, they're. Yeah. Well, most therapists are more starting. Oh, we don't have a lot of friends to be able to totally. Right. We're having to, you know. Yeah."
00:16:55,"Kind of go to figure out where. Which friends will donate furniture. Totally. Yeah. You need a physical space but you can't over invest in it because it's just. Right. It totally makes sense. Yeah. And especially when you're starting up, it takes a while to build your caseload. It's, you know, it's definitely. Yeah. So to be that fixed cost of rent and trying to build your business, that's an added stress."
00:17:18,"Yeah. And then we also have the post Covid trauma for so many of us have investing in that office space and then come in and be a big holding sale for. Holding place for furniture for about 18 months. Right. Which you probably. Right. Is a, is a stress that you carry that burden for everyone else at this point. Yes. And I have to say. Yeah, it is. You know, there is that fear of like, oh no people."
00:17:38,"You know, that may happen but you know. Okay, so we were pre chatting about. You decided to look for us. You joined startup school. You decided to look for a space. It took much longer than you thought, but you got a great space. You needed parking. I remember there were like requirements you were trying. Yes. That you needed. Which is so, so important because how long is your lease?"
00:18:02,"Is it how many years? Seven years. Yeah. It's got to be. Right. Yeah. And I'm selling convenience, I'm selling comfort. Yeah. Yeah. So you really want it to meet the Needs of the therapist and their clients. And one of that is. Yes, sufficient parking. You know, in Houston, that was. That was really an issue. I do have 4,000 square feet divided into 11 offices. And then I have a lounge area where people can come and work."
00:18:29,"You know, that members can have any access to that whenever it's available to be able to do notes or just get out of their house and do some work. Get out of the office. Like if they're not seeing clients but they just want to be in there, they don't have to pay for the office. They don't have to pay extra for the lounge. They would have to pay for the office."
00:18:45,"So yeah, so they can use that space. And. But you know, a lot of places would give you four spaces per thousand square feet. And you know, if I'm going to have eight clients this hour, eight clients coming in the next hour, potentially eight therapists. I mean, that's a way more parking than just, you know, the 16 spaces they would allot or. And then a lot of times there was, you know, anyway, just definitely that was a big barrier to a lot of places was sufficient parking."
00:19:10,"The other big barrier was therapists often work evenings and weekends. Right. So we need air conditioning after hours. You know what, that's so funny. I. Right. I always forget that's an issue until I look at somebody's lease and we're talking about events or it's like. Oh, right, the whole dollars an hour for air conditioning. Yep. Right. I mean, that's not going to work. So Houston. So you need."
00:19:36,"Yes. Basically March to, you know, November. I mean, it was 82 degrees yesterday. Yeah, we. It's December. You know, we needed. We need air conditioning a lot of the year. So I was able to find a building that let me install a supplemental H vac system. Okay, great. Okay. For the city. Yep. And they paid for a lot of the build out because I remember that was a huge bonus."
00:19:58,"So you have 4,000 square feet. And it took some time to get every. The deal done and get the construction done, but they basically built. And the fact that they were building something that's reasonably office dense. Yeah. Were the office existing or was it a shell space that you. It was existing. I moved. I added two offices. I moved some walls, but we were able to use some of the original build out."
00:20:25,"Yeah, yeah. Which is good. Yeah, good. Yeah. So that was. Yeah. And definitely got help with. I mean, I did hire an architect to. But I also, you know, was able to use the building architect also for kind of Some of the more detailed. Yeah. Plans. Okay. And then did you design the space yourself? I hadn't hired an architect to help design the. To do all the space planning and actually kind of help think about like I didn't want just the really basic look for an office building."
00:20:59,"So he's pretty creative and worked with me in her previous office. And so I was able to do a layout that kind of had a little bit of, I don't know, bark to it, a little bit different than just straight hallways. And then I did hire an interior decorator for the case because that's not my area of expertise. Yeah. One of the things that you recommended in the startup school that I think is the lesson I learned that I would have done."
00:21:24,"I mean, we ended up ordering almost everything from just two stores. And I think in the future, if I do another space, I will actually use the design planning for those stores because I mean, that's one of the things that you had recommended that it was a way to save money and in the long run, I mean it's just a ton of startup costs. So yeah, I think I really could have met the same goal but saved money using the design services for those from."
00:21:48,"Yeah, from those companies. Totally an option. Well, you did a lot of things right. I mean, getting, using a space that needed minimal build out and then getting, you know, support from the landlord and getting the parking you need, those things are going to serve you for a long time. I'm interrupting for a second. Are you working on starting a coworking space? I often emphasize how important the planning stage is."
00:22:16,"You've heard me say most unrecoverable issues happen well before you open your doors. And they are related to the size of your space, your real estate deal, and a few other things. If you think you are going to pick your favorite coworking space and reverse engineer what you think you see happening in there and then pick your own paint colors and your favorite furniture, you are in for a surprise."
00:22:45,"This business is really about making the right fundamental decisions that align with your individual personal and financial goals. So we want to help you avoid the mistakes that a lot of operators make in planning and launching that can really set you back in terms of time and finances. So we have got your back. We have created a free training to help you really get behind the three key decisions that we think are the most critical for you to get right when you're designing your coworking business."
00:23:22,"The model, not the colors, the model. And these insights come from years of operating. Designing the model for two different locations and then my work with hundreds of operators as they work on their businesses. So grab your spot in our training class. You can watch it anytime. It's totally on demand. And start your coworking journey with confidence and the right strategies in place. You can grab that training@everyTHING coworking.com"
00:23:54,"forward/masterclass. Okay, so tell me about. So your plans are mostly like buckets of hours, is that right? So nobody has a dedicated office space. There's no dedicated office space. That's correct. I used. I did a lot of research and. And again the. The co. Everything coworking Facebook group is great for when you're trying to evaluate the coworker. You need different coworking software platforms and trying to figure out I use office R D but I think there's a lot of good ones."
00:24:26,"But to meet the needs. But. But yeah, I had to figure out one that would. Would allow recurring bookings flexible cancellation schedule that I could sort of create. Yeah there's. And makes it really pretty easy for people to book their. To book their spaces. So a member can say well I see patients, you know, one to four on Thursdays and they can kind of book those slots out."
00:24:50,"So that. Okay. Yeah. For up to three months I think. Okay, got it, got it. And that works. You. You have enough. You kind of are figuring out inventory working. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean I can see that's my next logistical challenge. You know we're not quite there where it's been an issue, but I can see it finally. Which is great. You know. Yeah. You know a good."
00:25:11,"Down the road that I'm going to have to figure out. Yeah, it's a good problem to have. I'm going to have to think about, you know, what is what. Percent occupancy is sort of full in the sense that it allows the flexibility that I'm selling. Right. I'm trying to say, hey, this is flexible office space that if you need an hour you should be able to find it."
00:25:26,"So I'm thinking that's probably around 70% occupation. Yeah. And then you might have to get into dynamic pricing. I'm guessing there are times of day that is more expensive than or. Or sorry in more demand. Like after school hours and you know. Yes. Yeah. And then I probably will have to. Right now I give a bucket of hours and like the. If you have a half day plan you get 17 hours a month."
00:25:51,"If you have a day plan you get like 34 hours a month. But I think at some point I am going to have to Say like this is your day. Yeah. Right now. And I haven't, you know, I haven't done that. But yeah. You know, I believe in trial and error. I was going to say you're learning. Right. Sometimes you have to just do it. Figure out what works part."
00:26:10,"Yeah, I don't think that. Yeah. My brain just can't project into the future and kind of figure out exactly what's needed. Totally. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. So you have not even been open a year. Any like major surprises yet that you know, you just mentioned one thing like, oh, maybe I'd use the design services from a furniture company. Anything else that you're like, oh, I didn't see that coming."
00:26:33,"I think it really helped to do. I mean the coworking class school helped a lot to be able to know what to expect and what to prepare for. I mean the timing of the furniture delivery and the base build out completion was really challenging. And so I had to. I ended up having to put the furniture in storage because the space wasn't ready yet. You know, and I don't know what to really learn from that because I."
00:26:56,"Other than flexibility and just. I was gonna say. Right. Other than to know that the logistics are always gonna be a little bit challenging. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Although some furniture vendors will hold it for you and kind of manage that piece of it knowing that a build out is un. Unpredictable. Yeah. We didn't have a mix of that. Yeah. But it was. Yeah. And then, you know, one thing I didn't know is sort of that I would look at in the future too is that, you know, the rules of the building."
00:27:23,"I mean I think I had always officed in offices that were owned by individual landlords with that were pretty flexible. And so, you know, I came into the high rise and learning a lot about all the different rules and procedures and that I didn't. Didn't know that has been learning experiences and things that have been complicated. Yeah. In turn, so. Well, that's a good question. So you're, you're."
00:27:48,"Is it a class A building? Yes, it is a class A building. Yeah. And so the insurance that even like you know, the movers, you know, I had to go through several movers to meet the insurance requirements of the building. Okay. Caterers. You know, I had to go. I've had to go through several caterers to find one that actually can meet the insurance requirements and be approved by the building."
00:28:08,"I mean just things like that learning experience for me and other people. But I would definitely inquire about some of those Policies and procedures. Now I know to ask about that in the future. How about after hours access? Is that an issue in the building? How do they. Can they get in the front door? It's, it's, you know, it works. My members get digital access and they actually were installing digital access or had a plan install about the time that I was negotiating the lease."
00:28:37,"So that was part of the lease agreement that they had to have that installed. So my members get digital access to the parking garage and the building. But then we do have. And they have a 24. 7 security guard. So when their clients come to the building there that's. They have to. If a security guard's not there, they have to have a way for their, their client to be able to message them to come, let them in, come after hours and on the weekends."
00:29:01,"Yeah. Okay, but you figured out how to kind of work around. We figured out how to do it. Yeah, we figure out how to do it. Okay. How do you, how do your members find you? I mean you're so you're, you're coworking but for a niche. Do they search for you or, you know. Yeah, how did that, how does the, you know that I started doing a year before was hosting networking events for therapists."
00:29:25,"And before my space was open, I would post them in different parts of the city. And there are, you know, probably one of the places where I've connected with Houston therapists the most is there's about three different Facebook groups for Houston mental health professionals. And so it's probably about 3 to 4,000 members of those groups. And that's a place, you know, so I've been able to advertise events and advertise the space there."
00:29:45,"And then I think that, you know, it's starting now to there to be word of mouth too, which is really cool. You know, I had somebody do a tour the other day that their therapist recommended them. You know. You know, that's funny. That's the nice thing about, you know, my market is therapist. So it is very well defined. Yeah. And every therapist is a potential referral source. Right."
00:30:08,"So. So the other thing I do is monthly guest expert webinars on practice building and practice growth. And those are public. And so I as a lead magnet, so I market those. Pretty widely developed an email marketing list. Okay, right. Do you host those? Do you, you do the content for them? Okay. No, I don't. Well, I invite experts. Yeah. Oh, great. Okay, perfect. So you host them but don't teach them."
00:30:33,"Yeah. Okay. Yeah, we like over the summer we did an SEO, you know, SEO experts. And everybody has to do a website. Yeah, we try to finding. We'll even do like a financial series. So. Yeah. Okay. People need to know. So using those things to. Yeah, just spread the word. Get people on my email list and you're hosting events on site so people come in and see space and."
00:31:03,"Yes, yeah, yeah. I've been hosting therapy trainings also. So I've had a couple of different trauma trainings through a therapist here at the space, which is really nice to bring people in. And, you know, one thing I did last year may continue to do in 2025, was to offer the space for local mental health organizations, nonprofits, for free. So if they wanted to have a party or an event that they could have that free here."
00:31:26,"And it just helps bring more therapists in so they know about it. The thing I love about this niche is that the professionals tend to congregate even if it's online, like, to your point. And I don't. I'm not a therapist, so I don't totally know why, but I hear that across markets, like. Well, and you have to be licensed in a particular state. Is that right? So in state specific and so inherently very local."
00:31:50,"So even though it's niche, you like, there are places you can go to find these. Yeah, exactly. Which can be really hard for other. Well, it can be hard for generic coworking. Right. Because it's like, well, your market's so big, but there's no. Like, it's just, you know. Right. You're just kind of throwing spaghetti at the wall. Whereas you can do really targeted things and host really targeted events for your audience."
00:32:13,"And so it's just, you know, as long as you're doing the right thing, getting them on your email list. I also wonder if the membership. Did you take a class on running an online program? I did, Yeah. I joined a community for community building. Community experts. Yes. And so that was. That's been really good too. Yeah. That helped me figure that out. Would you share who it is?"
00:32:34,"Is it. Yeah. Laura Zug is a community building expert in. Her community is called the Hive. And so anybody. She's, you know, actually doing a membership drive right now for the Hive. It's a great community. And I learned, I guess I had signed up for Heartbeat. It's an app. It's like circle and. Okay. Yep. They hosted the initial group. Lara, Zug and Brie. Her community is called Ember."
00:33:03,"Okay. Not remembering her last name, but they are both experts in their own community and just Lovely people and great ideas. Okay, cool. No, I love that because again you're doing. But they over like the skills overlap. I often have to talk people into building an email list, you know but you. Because I think maybe because you were surrounded by people doing this online communities like we can't have an online community without an email list and you can't build it."
00:33:29,"I had a business coach I think when I first came to think entrepreneurial. I mean there's a number of therapist entrepreneurs who you know now their thing is to help therapists move into other lines of service and entrepreneurs then drum business coach and one of her, you know one of the things I really learned from her was marketing in the, in the email list. But I remember from the coworking startup school the whole, you know, the focus on developing your avatar and that's key."
00:33:54,"Yeah, yeah. So and you have such a clear one. It's like it's so easy when you. Yeah. So yeah, I love that about, about your, your niche in particular. And some niches are more challenging because people aren't necessarily searching for space. So it's always like. Well, because you always think about the like the Google experience. Like what are they searching to you know, to find you and make sure you show up you."
00:34:18,"Are you running ads or just really doing. Focusing on in partially. That is because when I've done the keyword research, I mean, you know, there's like very few searches for therapy. The search volume's too low. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's not worth it. And. And yeah. So even the SEO, you know, I think they almost have to be looking for us to be able to find it. You know, I want them to be able to find us if they're looking."
00:34:43,"So that's good. But I don't know. I did. There are a couple aggregators for therapy office spaces. So if you do Google therapy office, you know, for rent or shared therapy office space, they are the top ones that come up. So I have tried out a few of those. Although I think maybe I've got six months and two referrals the aggregators. So it really does seem to be, you know, finding the therapist community trying to that are already existing and letting them know."
00:35:15,"Yep. And then word of mouth which to your point will start. That flywheel will start moving. But even within that it's been helpful to identify even more specifics to the avatar. So even, you know, beyond I'm looking for therapists who are interested in starting a private practice because that's where they need flexible office space. Therapists who are looking to downsize their office because they do want to do other offerings or they're, you know, cutting back in their numbers of hours, you know, or people who've been all online who want to gradually go back into."
00:35:44,"So that's really helped me develop targeted marketing because I'm, you know, even really trying to define, you know, what is the type of therapist who would benefit most in the space. Yep. Benefit and Right. Want to join and pay. Yeah. I love on your website the sections like you. I had it up before but like this is for you if. Or this is not for you if. Right."
00:36:08,"A little bit of a tangent, but I see you have virtual mailbox services on your site. Has that been going well for you? I would guess new therapists need a business address. So that's. Yes. Yes. And that's one thing I've been trying to figure out like what to do. Right now I just offer it to mental health professionals who are, you know, I, in fact I require them to, you know, have a life, be licensed in Texas and I think that's the way I'm going to keep it one because it's just the mail service is actually quite a bit to manage."
00:36:39,"Yeah. When you're doing it well. So I didn't ask you that. Yeah. How do. So what does, what does your life look like? Are you still practicing or are you focusing? I am still practicing and I've moved my practice into the space so I'm, you know, I'm here all the time, you know, trying know, run my business, see my clients here, make sure the microwave's clean and the coffee makers weren't working and you know, all those things."
00:37:00,"Yeah. And you know, I'm hoping to be able to bring on a, a person on site to help. I have a VA I've worked with for the last seven years or so, but she's not in Texas or Houston, so. But I haven't quite made enough money yet to be able to kind of say, okay, I really. To outsource some of that. So yeah, I am. I'm trying to get my teenage son to help with the mail and that's been hit or miss."
00:37:27,"Yes. I have a 13 year old and I'm. She's always telling me she wants to make money and so I'm always coming up with these ideas like, oh, you could do this or you could do this for me. She does not like any of my ideas. Why don't you work for the money? Right. Totally. Really different from wanting the money. Yes. Yeah, so. So, yeah, so even so, I have been doing most of that myself, so."
00:37:48,"Yeah, you know, but that will be the first thing that I will definitely have somebody on site to be able to get them to help with. So. And what is, is that. Well, do you give tours? Is that mostly you, like, you manage that around? Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. So if you had someone on site, what is it that you would want them to do? Well, I probably would have them doing some of the practice, the psychotherapy practice tasks, returning emails and doing scheduling and phone calls and things also."
00:38:19,"But also just reception. I mean, community manager stuff. I mean, being able to, to answer questions, get people's mail set up, you know, answer questions about changing plans onboard. Yeah, all those things. Yeah. So. But I would love to put them to the community manager school. Yeah, totally, totally. But, but I would guess you're. You're kind of creating a culture where your therapists know, like, well, we're not 100% staffed, so they take some ownership and."
00:38:50,"Great. Yeah, they really have been great. Good. Yeah. I mean, so there's a, there is a benefit to starting that way. Right. Because then they kind of get used to it and you can ease someone in because you may never have somebody full time, you know, Depends. Oh yeah, probably. Yeah. Well, the text too. Right. That's, you know, that was one thing I was really helpful from doing the coworking school, being able to think through all the different tech options and to have the resources from the Facebook group and talk about how people were doing it."
00:39:15,"So at this point, you know, I have. The locks are digital, that I can operate from a distance, that I have my lights and the music system is on Lutron app. I can control that. And the thermostat for the supplemental ac, I can control all that remotely. So pretty much I'm able to run most of it when I'm not here. And that is definitely, you know, the long term goal too, is not to have to be here all the time to maybe take a vacation."
00:39:43,"Have you taken a vacation? Open. I have. Yes, I have. Okay, good. Yeah, so. And I trust the, the folks who are working here. You know, I've been. And we had one thing with the locks and they texted me and I was able to like, oh yeah, get a little bit wrong here, let's open the door. And so it's worked out well. Okay, good. Perfect. It is amazing what you can automate and what like Bluetooth devices can do these days."
00:40:07,"It's so, it's fantastic. Yeah, 100% hey there, I'm jumping in again. This time I'm speaking to those of you that are either getting ready to hire a community manager or who have a community manager and you would like to support their training and development. We know how challenging it can be for coworking space operators to create their own training and development material to support their community managers."
00:40:39,"And this is so important in terms of onboarding new community managers and supporting the growth of your existing community managers. And we're getting towards the end of the year. What a great holiday gift, end of year gift to give to your community manager. So the platform is really around a couple of things. One is access to a community of like minded folks. We have a very active slack group with really wonderful questions that are posed every single day and we find that's one of the biggest values we have."
00:41:14,"Community managers from all over the world. And this is an excellent group of community managers that have invested time and effort into getting better at that role. And they are the kind of folks that you want your community manager to be by and hanging out with and they know their stuff or sometimes they don't and they ask questions and we help them out. So I'm in the group."
00:41:36,"We have coaches that are in the group to support them. So we love when they ask questions for things they need help with because the other aspect of the program is really around helping them get resources they need to make their jobs easier and to learn things that they can use in their role to be better at their job. So we provide some done for you resources like Google business posts, detailed event ideas, etc."
00:42:02,"That they can just kind of grab and go and use. And we also provide monthly resources that add to our training library so they can do our certification and then we have a lot of electives that help them kind of get better at all the things that that go with the role. So our community managers wear a lot of hats. So we break our content into industry knowledge for new community managers, community building, operations, sales and marketing and leadership."
00:42:35,"So the leadership bucket is great for our more advanced community managers. We also have virtual office and digital mail training and coffee training for anybody who needs to know how to use commercial coffee brewers. So we have some of the. I'm just going to give you kind of a sampling of content that we have. So in our community building modules we have hosting your first member events, building community with budget friendly events, member event swipe files, our sales and marketing modules we have tour training, we have the training on the full coworking sales funnel."
00:43:14,"So they understand what that looks like. We have social media planning frameworks. We have. What else do we have? Three simple steps to an effective Marketing newsletter. These are just some of our samples. Ooh. These are some of our best utilized topics. Demystifying the process of letting your coworking members use your address for their Google business listing. How to close it to our operations modules, how to set up automations, how to do a new member onboarding audit, simple ways to use AI to boost your productivity."
00:43:47,"We have over 40 courses in the program, so we cover kind of higher level topics and then we also cover things that are timely like the CMRA updates, Google business updates, et cetera. So we get together monthly to do official training and we also host a best practice sharing call which is one of the fan favorites of the group and the Slack group. So if you have any questions at all about the program, don't hesitate to reach out."
00:44:18,"You can learn more and register at everything coworking.com forward/community manager now back to our episode the yeah, I mean so okay, so tell us kind of about, you know, your mindset as an entrepreneur, your experiences. I mean you had your, so did you have your own. You had your own practice before you started this? You're already kind of in that mindset. Yeah, yeah. I mean since starting your own space and becoming even more entrepreneurial."
00:44:47,"What, you know, what's the. How is that impacting how you serve your members? That's a great question. Trying to think about that and I think trying to figure out one of the things is what stage of practice are they at in trying to figure out help them assess the things that they need and their expectations. And I guess, I guess what's come to mind for me as you ask that question is you know, what are those."
00:45:17,"What have been the learning arcs of the last year, the last six months? And I think it really is being able to help people as they start a new practice. Realizing this is like a 12, you know as my journey it's been like 12 months to get things a startup going that that's an expectation that people really need to have to be prepared for the work that it takes so to, to help them assess that, you know, what are their expectations."
00:45:43,"So I guess in some ways entrepreneurially I probably have leaning in to do a little bit more business coaching and honestly that you know I have loved connecting with other people doing therapist coworking spaces. So I benefited so much from some of the other people who are doing this. First been with Alita in California, talked to me, there were several people in the community that talked to me and Rice with Blue House Wellness in Atlanta talked to me."
00:46:13,"So there actually is a kind of a community out there of independent folks who are doing it. Yeah, yeah. Who've been really helpful with their knowledge. And so I think that's something I'd like to be able to do more of too, is consulting for other therapists who want to start up communities and collectives and any thoughts about like, licensing your concept? Oh, I would love to license. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I would love to."
00:46:37,"And I, you know, I think that the concept really is about hyper local. Yeah. Right. But you know, so it would be, you know, I don't, I wouldn't want to go into somebody else's community and start my version of Bracken Sage, but I would love to help somebody who's already connected in the community grow their version of practice age. Yeah. So that's kind of. Yeah. So down the road, that's where I'd like to take that on the, on the, the path of your entrepreneurial journey potential."
00:47:06,"Yes. Yes. Yeah. I mean, so that was on my list of questions is I feel like, I mean that this concept kind of just started appearing. I wonder if it was maybe pandemic related, but we've had a number of people go through the startup school who are doing. And I can't remember if there's anybody else in there while you were doing it, but doing some sort of like health related shared space."
00:47:32,"Maybe therapists, maybe other versions of it. Which I think is so interesting. Are there. Is. Is it a pandemic thing? Like. Yeah. What are kind of the macro trends you think are making that a thing? You know, I think just cost of doing business. Yeah. That, you know, in diversifying the space of entrepreneurs. Right. The. For me, part of the motivation is I want to help somebody who doesn't have like their parents funding their startup to be able to start their own."
00:48:06,"How do you bootstrap? How do you. Right. How do you align. Right. Costs with your revenue? More like. Yeah, like your revenue. And I would think that that's probably true in some of these other fields as well, that there's a number of really qualified expert professionals who want to be able to start their own business but don't have the, you know, the backing or the savings to be able to, you know, be able to sign the lease."
00:48:34,"I mean, just, you know, just that process of being able to be vetted for the lease, to be able to sign the lease. The financial statements and. Right. Yes. That. Yeah. So I, I think it's providing opportunity and an entry point, you know, and. And then there's a. You know, there is opportunity in that too. If you open the doors, you know, then that's a way to. To meet that need and to be able to make it a business."
00:49:00,"Yeah. How do you feel so far? About 4,000 square feet. Is it. Does it feel just right? Is it too big, too small? I. I think it builds pretty good. I mean, it was. I looked a lot of places and this was the perfect balance of like, you know, the price was low enough to be able to do more space with the services. They. You know, at first I was worried, do I have, you know, so much space into the lounge?"
00:49:22,"You know, I, I don't know if people would use it, but the fact that I've been able to use it for events and for trainings has really helped offset that. I do have a group room right now that nobody's really used that. You know, there'll be a future decision to say, do I keep that? You know, my thought was that people could use it for meetings and group therapy."
00:49:39,"Yep. Yeah. But, you know, if it's. If I have a lot of people weighing an office. Yeah. And it may have. Yeah, yeah. Then it may. It may have to go from a group room to a. I think that's another advantage of your model with sort of the bucket of hours, is that you don't need as much space as a typical CO working space. And so hyperlocal. I."
00:50:05,"Yeah, I think. I like. It seems to me that a lot of spaces do in that range, like some even smaller than 4,000ft, but not a lot. Doing a lot bigger, so. Yeah, yeah, well. And. And at some point, right. When I'm trying to fill in the gaps, I mean, I don't know if this is true of a typical CO working space, but there are therapists who are going to want to work the mornings."
00:50:29,"There are therapists who want to be the afternoons or therapists who are going. Want the evening. So I think that I can get the 11 offices or 10, because I take. I take one year that I have. I think. I think there's a lot of potential for being able to get pretty well utilized because there's the need for availability at different times of the day. Yeah, the day parts."
00:50:54,"And you'll be able to sort of fill that in weekends. Yeah, right, right, totally. The. The weekends and evenings have been as busy as the days, you know. Right. Because people work and need. Yeah, yeah. I have several Clinicians who have full time jobs and do their private practice on the side. So they're doing evenings and weekends. Yeah. Which is another great side hustle. Yeah. Of your model is like they could side hustle it forever until they're ready to do it on their own and."
00:51:19,"Right. To get nights and evenings access to any other type of space is probably almost. Yeah. Impossible. Yeah. And most other people, I mean, there are a lot of people who are like, hey, you know, we've got an empty office, but it's usually like, it's, it's an empty office on Tuesdays. Right, right. Right now. Right. People can be like, okay, like I'm gonna, I have four hours and if my client wants to come on Tuesday, I can book them on Tuesday."
00:51:42,"If they want to come on Wednesday, I can book them on Wednesday. You know, so a lot of flexibility. Yeah, totally. What's the hardest thing that you're trying to figure out right now? I mean, I do need to sell more memberships. Sales. It's always sales. Yes. But it's been interesting because I'm learning it's just a long sales cycle. So I've had like, I've had six tours in the last few weeks all Yes, I want to come and I'm coming in March, April, May."
00:52:11,"Interesting. So people are planning a transition instead of they're coming looking in advance. And so that's been a good lesson to know. I mean, I think, you know, I probably would have tried to do more pre sales, although that was hard since I didn't know exactly when I was gonna be open, you know. Right, right. Yep. Yeah, it's always a challenge, but yeah, but I think, you know, it's just continuing to get the word out."
00:52:33,"Yeah. The ramp up can take longer and again, you have a niche which is a big advantage, but people aren't Google searching for you, so you have to do. To pull other lever. Lever. And so yeah, that may just take a little bit more time. Do you think? I'm just curious because you have a PhD which is obviously requires some tenacity and patience. Do you think you're more patient than a typical entrepreneur or not?"
00:52:57,"Me, that's a good question. My husband does business coaching of entrepreneurs and I would say probably I am more patient than the typical entrepreneur. Totally. From what I've heard. You know, I definitely am more the visionary type where I have a thousand ideas. Okay. You know, and the execution is more challenging. So, you know, trying. Okay. So yeah, you're kind of typical in that, in that entrepreneurial Sense."
00:53:25,"Yep. Yes. Yeah. But I do. I mean, I do like systems. I just want somebody else to develop them for me. Exactly. Yes. Join the club. I want to use them, but I, you know, and, And. And so I get some pleasure from the process. I mean, I definitely am loving everything I'm doing. At times it's too much. Yeah. But the. What is great. So that helps a lot."
00:53:51,"And I would like to be further down the road, but at least the process is super fun. Yeah. And you can see the path. You're on a path to your point. You're giving on a path. Talking about giving advice to the therapist. Like, it might take longer than you think it will. Prepare for that. I know I'm doing my own 2025 planning, and I'm, like, trying to do the month by month, you know, and I'm, like, trying to be really realistic about expectations, which is hard."
00:54:16,"Right. We all want. Want it all to go. Go faster. Is your. You have to take some pleasure in, like, doing. Laying the groundwork and doing. Taking the steps and. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Recognizing each one of those achievements. The joy in the journey. Not just the joy in the journey. Yeah. The destination. So is your husband an entrepreneur, too? You mentioned that he does business coaching. Yeah. Yes."
00:54:40,"And he's been. Yes. Super helpful. So, you know, it's. They're funny. Like, the best gifts I love are like spreadsheets. So, you know, he. Yeah, he's done all the projections, and we've got a plan for later this month to sit down and look at all the data from the past year and revise the models and all that. So it does help to have somebody, you know, other folks, your corner, who can bring in those guilty."
00:55:02,"Yep. And just a second set of eyes and perspective on things. I love that he does that. My husband is also a big spreadsheet guy, but he does not want to look at my spreadsheets. Although maybe I should just ask more. But if he's. If your husband's a business coach, he's probably. Probably just nerds out on business in general. So he's probably excited to get into it with you."
00:55:22,"And he was well and good that he was supportive of signing a commercial lease. I think that's one of the biggest, like, can be a big hurdle. It's like, oh, I have to get my spouse on board for the fact that I'm gonna sign this commercial lease. Dude. I feel like Houston does it. Yeah, exactly. Yeah, Yeah. I always say my husband was like, so if this doesn't work, are we Gonna live there."
00:55:44,"Like what are we gonna do with that liability? It's like it just will work. I guess that helps that I have the backup plan that I will like figure out some way to like lease it to therapist or you know, I mean like a scrappier version of what you're trying to do just to cover. Yeah, I could, I could shift the version. Yeah, I can shift a way to convert the rent if I had to."
00:56:07,"Yeah, exactly. That's what I always try to say. It's like, look, the downside is like you just, you have to cover the rent which if you're doing. And again, I like your model because to staff a space in a traditional coworking model you need more space which is a bigger liability. And so you need to really make sure you do everything right. You have the right build out and the right product market fit."
00:56:27,"But that's, I think there are a lot of advantages of your model. I mean you're managing it without having someone full time and may never have someone full time and but you have, you know, grown up therapists who are handling that well. So. Yeah. Okay. Any advice that you'd give to somebody who's, who's thinking about doing this business or another type of niche space that you would, you know, if you're going to talk to your, your former self, what advice would you give them?"
00:56:54,"I mean I think you've got to balance between really doing the homework and the educational piece which I think is wonderful. The startup school is such a great way to just, you know, get all the information. Both kind of just with the course materials but also with the community. But balance that between. You got to take the leap. Right. I mean it helped me to have the business coach because you know, like, okay, I think you've done like get up like you've done all the, you know, the things."
00:57:22,"Laura, let's go. Yeah, and so that's what you know, it's about err on the other side of jumping in before they really know the lay of the land. Yeah. And that's an error too. So yeah, trying to balance, get the education, get the resources, find out how other people are doing it. By all means use the communities that are out there, you know, and I'm really a believer that, you know, we aren't dividing the pie, we're making the pie bigger."
00:57:52,"Totally together. Yeah. Right. So you know. Yeah, definitely there's no downside to sharing and learning from each other. Yeah, absolutely. But know that. Yeah, at some point you're just going to have to go, ah. And just took the leap. And it's still. It's gonna feel really scary. Yeah. Gonna feel really scary. And that doesn't mean it's wrong. Yeah. Right, Right. Sometimes it has to feel scary too. Yeah."
00:58:17,"And you're a therapist. Do you do. Do you self. Do you do a lot of self talk in your brain about. Absolutely. Yeah. Absolutely. Yeah. Absolutely. Yeah. It's normal to feel fear. Everybody feels. Right. It's like. Yeah, I think we. That's one of my, you know, things I still try to remind myself about entrepreneurship. It's like, it's hard for everyone. Everyone has hard days. Everyone has, you know, it's like, we get on podcasts, we talk about all the great things, but everybody has their days when they're like, should I be doing this?"
00:58:48,"Should I just get a job? Should I? You know, you can't move into something new and grow without discomfort. Right. Yeah. I mean, definition. Yeah. Of stretching. Right. Is like new challenges and you. Yeah. It's going to be uncomfortable. Yeah. At times. Yeah. But being able to reframe that as like. Yeah. Growing, you know, the discomfort of growth. And it means you're doing the right thing. You're trying to be new."
00:59:15,"It's your. At your learning edge. You're at your discovery edge or growth edge. That does help me, like. Okay, yeah, but this just what it is, right? Yeah. This is my brain trying to keep me safe, but it's totally fine. It's. Yeah. This is my brain trying to keep me safe for good reasons. Thank you. Mind. But I have chosen this risk because it's meaningful for me and in line with my values."
00:59:44,"Yes. I love it. Well, thank you for sharing your story and all of your updates, and I can't wait to follow along and. And see what's next. Thank you. I appreciate the support. It's been so. It's been a great journey, and I'm so glad I didn't have to start out or do it alone. 100. Yes. Right. We should not have to be entrepreneurs by ourselves. So. And thank you for being a part of the community, too."
01:00:05,"I get the sense, like, you're excited to give back wherever you can, too, so I love that mindset. Thank you. Thank you for listening to today's episode. If you like what you heard, tell, tell a friend. Hit that subscribe button and leave us a rating and review. If you'd like to learn more about our education and coaching programs, head over to everything coworking.com. we'll see you next week."
For the full show notes of this episode, click here.
Want to join our coworking conversation in the Everything Coworking Facebook Group? Find us here!
Looking for a specific episode? Go to the episode index here.
.