A co-working space can be full every day and still feel quiet. People share the kitchen, the Wi-Fi and the coffee machine, then put their headphones on and go home without speaking to anyone. The spaces members stay in are the ones where they know each other, and that rarely happens by accident.
This guide walks through building that community step by step: one place for members to talk, a rhythm that keeps it going, small events people actually come to, and a way for people outside the building to find you.
The short answer: give members one shared place to talk, get the first people in from the front desk, give the conversation a weekly rhythm, run small regular events from the same chat, and make it easy for people outside the building to find you and message you. On Brane all of it is free: a Crowd for the chat, events for the meetups, and a link or an embed for your website.
1. Give your members one place to talk
Most spaces end up with a scatter of email lists, a noticeboard and a group chat somebody started years ago. Pick one place and make it the official one, so nobody has to wonder where the conversation is.
On Brane that place is a Crowd: a group chat for your space, with a photo, a description and a pin at your address. It takes a minute to create in the app. Members join in a tap on iPhone, Android or in any browser at brane.chat, and nobody has to hand over a phone number to take part.
2. Decide who can join
A Crowd is public by default, so freelancers and remote workers nearby can find it on the map and in search. For a space with desks to fill, that is the point: the community becomes the best advert you have.
If you would rather keep it to members, add a Join Code and hand it out at sign-up. Only people with the code can join. Plenty of spaces run both, a public Crowd for the wider community and a members-only one for the building.
3. Get the first members in
A chat with three people in it is hard to post in. Spend the first week getting people through the door, so the next person arrives to a conversation rather than an empty room.
Front desk and kitchen. Put the Crowd's link, brane.im/c/your-crowd-name, where people wait for coffee.
Welcome email and house rules. Make joining part of signing up.
Your regulars first. Ask the people who are in every day to join and say hello before you announce it to everyone.
4. Give the conversation a rhythm
Communities run on habits. A few recurring posts give members a reason to open the chat and an easy way to join in:
Monday: what is everyone working on this week?
Lunch runs: who is heading out, and where?
Ask the room: a standing invitation to ask for an intro, a recommendation or a second opinion.
Friday wins: one thing that went well this week.
Members who would rather not be notified about every lunch run can mute the Crowd in one tap and still read everything when they open it. If somebody @mentions them or replies to their message, they still hear about it.
5. Run small events from the same chat
Events are where members actually meet. Keep them small and regular: a monthly breakfast, a skills swap, a demo afternoon, drinks on the last Friday.
On Brane an event is a Crowd with Is this an event? turned on. Set the start and end times and it gets its own chat, an Add to Calendar button, and a place in Events Near You for anyone within 100km. That last part matters, because a public event is how people who do not work at your space yet walk through the door.
When the event ends it leaves search, and the chat stays open for everyone who came. Running something bigger? See Brane for events.
6. Put the community on your website
Your website already has visitors deciding whether to book a tour. Put the conversation in front of them.
One line of script adds a chat panel to any page. Use a Crowd embed to show the community itself, or a private chat embed so questions about desks, tours and meeting rooms go straight to your community manager. Visitors sign in with an email code and start talking, without installing anything.
<script src="https://embed.brane.chat/embed.js"
data-crowd="your-crowd-name"
defer></script>
Embed a public Crowd for this, because a Crowd with a Join Code cannot be embedded. See how embedding works, or go straight to the setup guide.
7. Give every enquiry one link
Enquiries arrive everywhere: Instagram, LinkedIn, your Google listing, the contact form. Every Brane profile has its own web address. Put your community manager's link in the bio of every account you run, and anyone can tap Message Me and start a chat in their browser, without the app. Every conversation lands in one inbox instead of five.
brane.im/u/your-username
8. Help members find each other
The best thing a co-working community does is introduce people who should know each other. Members add their interests to their Brane profile, and search sorts people who share them nearest first, so the designer can find the developers in the building and the person learning Spanish can find the native speaker two desks over.
Keep it a good place to be
House rules. Write three or four and put them in the Crowd's description.
Block and report. Members can block anyone they would rather not hear from and report anything that is not right.
Mute per conversation. A busy Crowd never has to mean a busy phone.
Common questions
What is the best way to build community in a co-working space?
Give members one shared place to talk, give it a weekly rhythm, run small regular events from it, and make it easy for people outside the building to find you. A free Crowd on Brane covers the chat, the events and the website embed in one place.
Is it free?
Yes. Crowds, events and the website embed are all free.
Do members need to download an app?
No. They can join in any browser at brane.chat. The iPhone and Android apps add push notifications.
Can we keep the chat members only?
Yes. Add a Join Code to the Crowd and only people you give it to can join.
Can people outside our space find us?
Yes, if the Crowd is public. It shows on the map and in search for people nearby, and public events appear in Events Near You for anyone within 100km.
Ready to start? Get Brane free and create your space's Crowd, or open Brane in your browser.