Interview Guide for Coworking Spaces

This is the interview guide I've developed to try out at the next coworking space I visit.

Hi! I'm Dillon Carroll. I'm a traveling entrepreneur. I run my startup remotely, and I work with coworking spaces around the world to give workshops on skills for startups- agile methods, lean startup, and digital marketing.

One of my other projects is to write about each coworking space I visit. I try and understand the culture of coworking spaces, and see how the space affects the community and vice versa. Would you mind if I asked you a few questions?

Employees/Founders

• How did the space get it's start? When? What made you want to build it?
• What is your role in the coworking? What else do you do with your time?
• Did you do any benchmarking, and what did you learn?
• What do you think sets you apart from other coworking spaces?
• Do you have a typical client or tenant? How do you reach them?
• How would you describe your community's culture? How do you try and foster that culture?
• How do you set your tenants up for success? What resources do you provide?
• Describe how you built the community here. 
• Who designed the space, and how did they design it? Could I talk to them?
• What's next for the coworking? What do you think you could improve?
• Looking back, what do you wish you had done when you were building your coworking space?

Tenants

• Tell me about yourself, and what you do.
• How long have you been here, and what made you choose a coworking? Why this coworking?
• How much time a week do you spend here? Do you work elsewhere? What kind of work do you do in each place?
• What is your favorite part about the space? The community?
• What do you think could be improved about the coworking space? What do you wish there was more of?
• What is the biggest problem you have in your business right now?
• Do you go to events and workshops put on by the space? Why? What if it were solving the problem you identified?