Today we have with us one of the great exponents of coworking in Spain, Diego Tomás, manager and co-founder of PBC Coworking . We had the pleasure of interviewing him more than a year ago when he participated as a speaker at the Coworking Spain Conference of 2017. This time he comes to talk about coworking from the point of view of a manager. We start!
As in each interview, we like to start by knowing your opinion about one of the main coworking figures, the manager. What role does it play within communities?
Fundamental. There is no coworking if there are no managers focused on adding value to the spaces and especially to the people who occupy them. Its role as a connector, both among coworkers and with dynamic agents of the environment, is essential. Coworking is synonymous with things happening. Without someone to accelerate this process, all we have is a more or less beautiful space, which responds more to the definition of business center or business incubator than to coworking.
How does a coworking create an adequate ecosystem to obtain a faithful coworking community?
Helping to forge authentic relationships and providing value continuously. Small and medium-sized spaces have no other more powerful ways to compete than to try a community with strong ties between its members and with a high degree of identification with the space.
As a manager of a coworking, do you think the profile of users who choose to work in collaborative workspaces has changed?
Initially, freelance and entrepreneurial profiles predominated, but it seems that more consolidated companies are realizing the value of professional ecosystems. Sometimes they discover it by chance, but it is very gratifying to see how they get to that moment WOW.
Let's talk about PBC Coworking, what is the added value of this center? How have you managed to differentiate yourself from the competition?
From the beginning we bet on professionalization in coworking. Over time, we have become specialists in accompanying those who want to make a living doing what they are passionate about and are recognized for it, both in the private and public spheres. In fact we have always had the vocation to collaborate with the City Council, Petrer, in the case of PBC, and we are achieving great things working together. This has also helped us to evolve with a new company, a cooperative called Genion through which we help manage other public and private spaces. Through Genion, for example, we manage the Hubitat public coworking space in Mutxamel and El Teixidor in Petrer.
You would tell us some mistakes that you have learned during your years of space management to help other managers not comment on them in their new career.
In the beginning we focused too much on entrepreneurial profiles and startups, which had a high degree of rotation due to their financial fragility. To solve it, we seek more heterogeneity in coworkers and, on the other hand, we seek support in the administration to boost local entrepreneurship.
Finally, how do you think a center should adapt to the changes that are taking place in the coworking sector?
A small or medium space, as is our case, must anticipate general trends. Otherwise it has a very complicated existence. Our weapons are the consolidation of communities and the diversification of services. It is also true that in cities with less than 100,000 inhabitants the situation is different from those of large capitals. But in these environments we must also bear in mind the public initiative, which after some awkward beginnings, begins to approach with interest, and in some places with enough success. This has only started.
Thank you for this interview and we look forward to having you with us again.
