Coworking Alliance Asia Pacific (CAAP) presented a live webinar on April 19, 2017 on how coworking spaces can harness the power of events to enrich their communities. The guest speaker, Kyrie Melnyck, is a freelance event consultant and the founder of 7in7, a global conference targeting digital nomads. Events being one of the mainstays of a coworking space, this session successfully addressed common questions in this regard.

Coworking spaces are all about the community and value creation. While we all recognize the importance of coworking spaces here, the planning process can be stressful and confusing too. The event was aimed at breaking down this looming specter into easy bits. As Kyrie said, know the underlying core purpose of your event. This isn’t just creating community engagement but also to provide value to current members, establish your brand, provide a platform of expression and create connections, local or global.

An event in itself a broad category and there are plenty of options to choose from, depending on the time, money and space you can allocate. Workshops,  themed parties, meetups and networking, product demos, lunch and learns- the list is endless. Kyrie goes into the more nitty-gritty details as well. Size of the event, ticketing, digital vs. in person, partnership events etc. are some choices you need to make. Remember to keep in mind the purpose of the event as well as the logistical issues to make these decisions. 

All of these may seem overwhelming at first but as more events roll out, it becomes almost second nature. You won’t even need a plan layout anymore! Kyrie added that it is important to love events and be enthusiastic about them for that fun, effortless vibe. The key takeaway of the session is to reach out to everyone and start a conversation while keeping aware of the people’s sentiments, natures and preferences. An event isn’t simply about the content; the memories and connections made are what make an event truly awesome!