How coworking helps your business evolve

You have a degree, or perhaps years of experience. You’ve built your business and have good clientele. You’re working hard in a coworking space every day, happy with the amenities and the professional environment. Things are moving along smoothly. This can be a dangerous thing for a small business owner, as you may get stuck in a rut.

Sure, the rhythm of your work is good, and it pays the bills. You’re satisfied when you go home every day. But imagine where you could be if you continued growing!

Begin focusing on your small business as if it’s still in growth mode. Examine your skills as if you’re applying for a job. What’s outdated? What needs more work?

Your coworking office is more than just fast Wi-Fi, conference rooms and endless coffee. It contains a wealth of resources you may not have tapped into.

Most coworking centers, like Asheville’s Focal Point Coworking, offer workshops and business development events for their members. Attend them! Really apply what they’re teaching you, even if you think it doesn’t apply to you. Chances are, one or two of the expert suggestions will help you look at your process in a new light. And even if you still think it wasn’t beneficial, you just took an hour away from your same way of thinking. Your brain got an exercise, which benefits your overall cognitive ability.

Workshops are also opportunities to connect with other professionals in your space. You will probably be inspired by a few community members who are doing amazing things in business or in life. What are they doing differently? How does it affect their productivity, success, or image? Think about ways to incorporate similar tactics for yourself.

Beyond inspiration, you can reach out to your coworkers for assistance. Test your ideas before going live to the public. See what resonates with them and receive feedback.

You may also ask for a recommendation. Discover a helpful new book, webinar, or podcast they love. If it helped them or increased awareness, it will probably help you too.

What coworking benefits haven’t you utilized? Delve into the offerings that you may not have explored. For example, one of the benefits of being a member at Focal Point is a free bookkeeping evaluation by Veronica Edwards of Balanced Virtually. These kinds of meetings and benefits may help you explore untapped aspects of your business – from setting up accounting software to designing a new logo or receiving an optimization analysis of your website!

Focal Point also keeps a calendar posted of local classes and networking events from other organizations, so you don’t have to dig online. Continuing education at your local colleges, business development certificates, and one-day seminars are all quick and relatively inexpensive ways to boost your business and keep it current. Ask your community coordinator for input on what you’re looking for. They’ll probably have an answer, or at least a great place to start looking.

At the end of the day, it’s your business. You’re an entrepreneur, and you can do it all on your own. But when things get static, you may want to explore ways to keep things moving into the future.