Throwback Thursday – Revisiting EverythingCoworking Podcast Episode 37

Ah 2016…. such a lifetime ago! How the world has dramatically changed since then!

For Throwback Thursday, we are re-posting our contribution to Jamie Russo’s Everything Coworking, Episode 37 where we shared our SWOT analysis.

Also, we were a bit prescient in some prognostications about industry consolidation starting in 2021. Just one example: the recent news about CBRE’s stake in Industrious. (scary)

Quick takeaways regarding Experienced Flexspace and Coworking Operators:

Strengths:

Longer view of the industry – have seen the expansion and contracting of the industry.

For YES!, our consultancy has witnessed three of these rounds.  The first wave was 2002-2004 during Dot Bomb era, then again 2008 – 2010 during the Great Recession and then this COVID 2020/2021 cycle.

We have seen an uptick in demand by landlords and developers wanting to partner with YES! to create a flexible workspace experience that will generate higher revenues for them and respond to the high demand for flex offices.

Weaknesses:

Avoid “me too” approach as the market shifts – how do the trends apply to your members and your identity?

Too many may have reacted by tearing down walls with no true plan to curate collaboration. Thanks to COVID, what’s “old” (individual offices with walls and doors) is new again.

Opportunities:

Thank you to WeWork for changing consumer awareness and demand of shared space both by startups and by corporate users (“Rising tides lift all boats”)

May we add that COVID, while clearly devastating, further pushed Work From Home initiatives throughout the globe. We were fortunate in the US to have technologies to enable this possibility, that back in 2000 would have made this even more catastrophic.

There is opportunity in suburban office campuses and malls based on reduced/eliminated commutes and demand by corporate employees to continue working remotely at least a couple days per week.

Potential threats:

Global players that want to enter the US market. It’s Regus entering the market back in 1998. We may be poised to see this cycle again. We are likely in expansion mode in the next 5 years before consolidation. 

We will predict that 2021 will see a settling of the industry, primed for expansion in 2022 with new model variations, new operators and expanded reach into revitalizing exurban destinations. Think tertiary cities with a dynamic and revitalized “Main Street” where live, work and play are all steps from one another.

We’ll get back to you in another 5 years…

 

To partner with us reach us at hello@yes-spaces.com 

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