Coworking Space Ideas | 10 Events To Build Community At Your Space

When people think about what makes a coworking space great, they often first think about free barista coffee, or a plethora of leafy plants. And while these things have their place, another crucial pillar of a successful community space is active engagement and enrichment opportunities for your members.

One way to do this is with a rich, varied events calendar – but what’s out there feels fresh, and hasn’t been done to death?

Today’s blog post shares some of my top coworking space ideas for brilliant events to build community.

Why are events to build community so important?

Sure, freebies and flashy items are great for catching people’s initial attention, but experiences keep it. And, because they last in recollection, this attention and connection can be held for a very long time.

For this reason, events are a crucial part of any co-working or co-living space calendar. They create a sense of belonging amongst your members, and also foster an inclusive culture, which ultimately helps people feel safer in their work and at their workplace.

In addition, the importance of connection for our wellbeing cannot be overstated.

According to Sophie Cliff, author of Choose Joy, “connection is key. In fact, one major Harvard study following more than seven hundred men over the course of their lives found that those who were more socially connected to their family, friends, and communities were the happiest, healthiest, and most resilient (Mineo 2017).”

In fact, the study noted “that the quality of the participants' close relationships was a greater indicator of happiness and joy than income, class, IQ, or even genes” – which gives you an idea of just how important connection is when brainstorming your next coworking space ideas!

I’ve split my list of events to build community into two sections: one for life, and one for work. Of course, though these are all coworking space ideas, it’s to help ensure your calendar and wellbeing programme helps people manage both sides of their work-life balance (or, as I prefer to call it, work-life harmony).

Coworking space ideas for life

Meditation for doers

Create space in your events calendar where your members can invite some calm and mindfulness into their life, without needing to sit still and/or stay silent. My creative workshops focus on active meditation, with activities such as playful pottery, mindful marbling, textile wall hanging-making and more providing a release and a space to just be. Plus, you get to take home some pretty divine decor items!

Facial Massage Workshop

Move over yoga: make way for facial massage. Add to your wellbeing calendar with a facial massage workshop from the brilliant Eve and her team at Ede. In the session, your members will learn and practice relaxation techniques from a trained expert including tension release, lymphatic drainage, acupressure pointwork and sculpting. They also get a specialist aromatherapy blend to take home, to continue working that magic at home.

Financial Wellbeing Workshop

An area of wellbeing oft overlooked is that of financial wellbeing. Particularly in a Cost of Living Crisis, show your members you’re there for them in all areas of their life with a workshop or keynote by
Claire Seal, the founder of Financial Wellbeing Forum.

TOP TIP: The best events to build community speak directly to your members’ needs, so if you’ve noticed a particular theme amongst your members’ conversations recently, why not ask Claire to create a bespoke presentation on that topic?

Mindful Cocktail Masterclass

If you’re looking for coworking space ideas that are suitable for your no or low-alcohol members, then this Mindful Cocktail Masterclass is ideal. You’ll learn how to bring mindfulness into every glass, as well as learn how to make some Mindful Cocktails of your choice – “for epic nights and early mornings”. Whether your attendees are strictly off the wagon or curious about a sober lifestyle, this masterclass reframes the dominant, sometimes toxic office culture narrative.

Natural wine tasting

Or, if you want to go for something a tad boozier, reach out to Hannah Crosbie at Dalston Wine Club. Created as a reimagining of traditional wine tasting, Dalston Wine Club exists to make wine more accessible for everyone. Events to build community don’t come much better than that.

Coworking space ideas for work

Twice As Nourished Supper Club

Shake up your coworking space ideas with the innovative Twice As Nourished supper club format. Here, experts are taken off the stage and instead placed around the table, encouraging and ensuring a beautiful flow of conversation, wisdom, and shared experience, all while eating delicious food. This event nourishes the body and the soul. Either use one of our pre-prepared topics, such as Anchoring Yourself To Work, or request a bespoke topic just for you.

Leadership Workshop

Whether your members are predominantly one-person bands or larger teams, now more than ever, we need great leaders. Vanessa Belleau at High Fifteen has a number of workshops and keynotes that speak to exactly this, including talks like ‘Let's talk about everyday leadership’ and ‘Let's talk about inclusive leadership’.

Managing Motivation

Of course, your members will be more motivated simply by being in your gorgeous space – that’s part of the reason they come! But you could encourage their motivation further with a workshop from Self For Help on Managing Motivation, awakening the skills they need to truly thrive in your environment and their work.

Self-promotion Masterclass

Workshops with Stef from F*ck being Humble are 2-in-1: they’re a masterclass in the topic at hand, but also a masterclass in how workshops should be. Her self-promotion workshop is a must-book if you’re on the hunt for unique events to build community, as your members will not only walk away with new skills, but will be able to use them at your space, and forge new, deeper connections.

Own Your Story Workshop

In an increasingly multi-hyphenate world, answering the question “What do you do?” can be a challenge. In this workshop, Eleanor Mollie, will help your members explain what they do, and crucially why they do it, so that they can meet new connections with confidence.

Want to book your own events to build community?

We’d love to help you bring some of these coworking space ideas to life, and create an events calendar and wellness programme that reflects just how brilliant your space truly is.

To enquire about our creative workshops, Twice as Nourished supper clubs, or a bespoke event idea, get in touch here – we can’t wait to hear from you.