2 Marketers and a Coworking Podcast

26. From "cool coworking space" to multi-state operator with Alex Hughes

Alex Hughes is the founder of CENTRL Office, an 11-location flexible office brand built across Portland, Seattle, San Francisco, and Los Angeles over the last decade.  He started as a real estate broker who got dared into coworking by a landlord, and grew CENTRL from a single Pearl District location into one of the most respected operators on the West Coast. This is a conversation about what it actually takes to grow a flexible office brand across multiple states without losing the feel of the original neighborhood location. In Episode 26, Alex gets into how he built CENTRL from one Pearl District location into a multi-state operator, including: * The origin story behind CENTRL, and the landlord who "dared" Alex to put his money where his mouth was * Why CENTRL evolved from leases to management agreements, and the reframe at the heart of how Alex structures every deal * The Montessori approach Alex uses to build mixed-stage communities of startups, enterprise tenants, and established companies in the same space * Why CENTRL invested in serious branding from day one with just a single location, and how that decision compounded over the next decade * Where flex is heading next, and why enterprise tenants are driving most of the growth most operators have been waiting for If you're running, scaling, or partnering with landlords on a flexible office operation, this conversation is worth your time. Want to connect with Alex Hughes? Find him on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/alex-hughes-9a804327/] and check out CENTRL Office [https://centrloffice.com/] By the way, you can also: * Check us out on YouTube [https://youtube.com/@CoworkingMarketing] * Download all free tools, templates, and resources from 2 Marketers and a Coworking Podcast [https://coworking.marketing/resources] 🛠️ About 2 Marketers and a Coworking Podcast Hosted by Kevin Whelan [https://www.linkedin.com/in/whelankevin/] of Everspaces [https://everspaces.com/] and Taylor Mason [https://www.linkedin.com/in/taylor-mason-37a94a58/] of Talemaker [https://www.talemaker.ca/], 2 Marketers and a Coworking Podcast dives deep into marketing tips, tools, insights, and strategies you can actually use to grow your coworking business.  🔔 Hit subscribe to make sure you don't miss an episode.

25. Building success by throwing out the playbook with Chiko Abengowe

Chiko Abengowe is the founder of Perfect Office Solutions, a portfolio of 25 coworking and flexible office locations that generates over $125,000 per month in virtual mail revenue alone.  He built his first location without knowing the coworking industry existed, scaled to 18 locations before attending his first GWA conference, and created an unconventional business model focused on affordability, flexibility, and entrepreneurial tenants.  This conversation reveals how he did it without following anyone's playbook. In Episode 25, Chiko breaks down the systems, incentives, and marketing strategies that let him scale without typical tools like Google Ads, corporate pricing, or traditional coworking norms. Plus, he gets into guerrilla marketing, virtual mail dominance, and performance-driven team structures, including: * How he filled his first locations with outbound cold calls, guerrilla yard signs on weekends, and Facebook Marketplace listings instead of paid ads. He made 100 calls a day asking one question: "Are you paying too much for rent?" * Why he welcomes hair stylists, lash techs, massage therapists, and braiders to rent private offices at Perfect Office, how that became a recruiting channel, and why it keeps his pricing model sustainable across all tenant types. * The exact staff bonus structure he applies across all of Perfect Offices’ services and how it turned virtual mail from an operational complaint into $1.5 million in annual revenue.  * How marketing competitions every three months encourage top performers to teach their strategies to teammates, creating a built-in training system that raises the performance floor across all 25 locations. * Why he staffs every location with three people, two of whom are roving managers responsible for five to eight locations each, and how that model keeps overhead low while maintaining service quality. * The contract he pitched to his mom in high school to create his own incentive program (and how he went from a 2.0 to a 4.0 and earned a Bill Gates scholarship). If you run a coworking business and think you need to follow the standard playbook to scale, this episode will show you a completely different path. Want to connect with Chiko? Find him on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/chiko-abengowe-6124452] and check out [https://goperfectoffice.com]Perfect Office Solutions [https://goperfectoffice.com/]. By the way, you can also: * Check us out on YouTube [https://youtube.com/@CoworkingMarketing] * Download all free tools, templates, and resources from 2 Marketers and a Coworking Podcast [https://coworking.marketing/resources] 🛠️ About 2 Marketers and a Coworking Podcast Hosted by Kevin Whelan [https://www.linkedin.com/in/whelankevin/] of Everspaces [https://everspaces.com/] and Taylor Mason [https://www.linkedin.com/in/taylor-mason-37a94a58/] of Talemaker [https://www.talemaker.ca/], 2 Marketers and a Coworking Podcast dives deep into marketing tips, tools, insights, and strategies you can actually use to grow your coworking business.  🔔 Hit subscribe to make sure you don't miss an episode.

24. Brokers, personal branding, AI, and scaling with Kane Willmott

Kane Willmott has been building iQ Offices since 2012. Today, he has eight locations across Canada (and counting). He's also the former president of the GWA, the current president of LExC, and, somehow, an Ironman athlete in his “spare” time. Kevin's been calling Kane the unofficial CEO of Coworking for years. The title fits, and this discussion will show you why. In Episode 24, Kane gets into the decisions and strategies behind iQ's growth, including: * How he used AI to analyze iQ's customer data and discovered that 82% of their desks were occupied by enterprise companies, and how that one insight led to a full repositioning of the business. * Why iQ cut hot desks, dedicated desks, and lounge passes entirely, and stopped renting single-person offices, and how knowing your core customer makes every other decision easier. * His broker strategy and why he's making the case to brokerage managing directors that coworking deals are the best way for junior brokers to build a book of business. * Why iQ doesn't try to out-pay competitors on broker commissions, and why speed and ease of doing business is a bigger moat than the rate. * His take on where websites and AI are heading, and why spending $100K on a website right now might be the worst investment a coworking operator could make. * The Van Halen brown M&M story and what it has to do with building a data discipline that actually works. If you're running or scaling a coworking operation, this one's worth your time. Want to connect with Kane? Find him on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/kane-willmott/] and check out iQ Offices [https://iqoffices.com/] By the way, you can also: * Check us out on YouTube [https://youtube.com/@CoworkingMarketing] * Download all free tools, templates, and resources from 2 Marketers and a Coworking Podcast [https://coworking.marketing/resources] 🛠️ About 2 Marketers and a Coworking Podcast Hosted by Kevin Whelan [https://www.linkedin.com/in/whelankevin/] of Everspaces [https://everspaces.com] and Taylor Mason [https://www.linkedin.com/in/taylor-mason-37a94a58/] of Talemaker [https://www.talemaker.ca], 2 Marketers and a Coworking Podcast dives deep into marketing tips, tools, insights, and strategies you can actually use to grow your coworking business.  🔔 Hit subscribe to make sure you don't miss an episode.

23. Smart multi-location marketing with Justin Moran

Check us out on YouTube https://youtube.com/@CoworkingMarketing Download all free tools, templates, and resources from 2 Marketers and a Coworking Podcast 🛠️ https://coworking.marketing/resources --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Connect with Kevin Website: https://everspaces.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/whelankevin/ Connect with Taylor Website: https://www.talemaker.ca LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/taylor-mason-37a94a58/ Connect with Justin Website: http://www.workspacema.com/ [http://www.workspacema.com/]  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justinmoran/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/justinmoran/]  --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- When Justin Moran took over Workspace MA in 2015, it was a single-location coworking operation in Hingham, MA. A decade later, he's grown the business to five locations across the South Shore, all while staying deeply involved in sales, marketing, and day-to-day ops. In Episode 23, Justin shares the tools, tactics, and mindsets behind his multi-location success, including: * Why he stopped caring about social media reach and started obsessing over capturing people who are ready to buy right now (plus how he did it and how it worked out) * How adding video and retargeting killed his Monday morning lead anxiety and made his pipeline predictable. * Why he's got 80+ automations running in Optix, and how it helps ensure every member gets the same experience, whether they're paying $49 one time or $1,000/month. * His approach to following up with every lead immediately and the tools that help him do it to make sure no lead ever goes cold. * His AI chatbot Lillian, named after his grandmother, who lives on his website, answers inquiries 24/7, and has already closed people on a current promotion he's running. * Why he goes to Upwork instead of agencies and how he gets things done in days instead of weeks. * How he uses Gemini to get smart on a topic before engaging a specialist so he can actually evaluate the work. * His thoughts on vetting vendors before partnering up with them (and the $20K horror story that taught him this lesson the hard way). If you’re looking to start or scale a coworking operation, this one’s a must-listen. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- About 2 Marketers and a Coworking Podcast Hosted by Kevin Whelan of Everspaces and Taylor Mason of Talemaker, 2 Marketers and a Coworking Podcast dives deep into marketing tips, tools, insights, and strategies you can actually use to grow your coworking business.  🔔 Hit subscribe to make sure you don't miss an episode.

22. Management agreements and marketing to landlords with Mike Kriel

Check us out on YouTube https://youtube.com/@CoworkingMarketing Download all free tools, templates, and resources from 2 Marketers and a Coworking Podcast 🛠️ https://coworking.marketing/resources --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Connect with Kevin Website: https://everspaces.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/whelankevin/ Connect with Taylor Website: https://www.talemaker.ca LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/taylor-mason-37a94a58/ Connect with Mike Website: https://launchworkplaces.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mike-kriel-a43994/ Flex in Five: https://youtube.com/@flexinfive --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mike Kriel built Launch Workplaces to be a strategic partner for landlords and to run successful coworking centers with them. So, he’s very clear on who his ideal partners are, as well as who isn’t. That positioning drives his entire marketing strategy for Launch, and it’s working. In Episode 22, Mike breaks down his strategy for attracting the right landlord partners: * Know who you're for (and who you're not for): Launch works best with landlords who are curious, accessible, and see flex as strategic. Mike's not interested in landlords who are so insulated he can't have real conversations or ones treating operators like commodities. His marketing attracts the first group and filters out the second. * Lead with education, not pitches: Mike wrote a 50+ page landlord ebook and produces his Flex in Five content series. The goal is simple: teach landlords how flex office works so the right ones see Launch as the obvious partner. * Model what you want back: Mike wants transparent, accessible landlord partnerships. So, he shows up that way. Launch’s marketing attracts the type of relationship he's looking for. * Rising tide mentality: Mike shares what he knows because growing the flex industry creates better opportunities for everyone, including Launch. * Activity creates opportunity: Showing up consistently and helping landlords understand flex compounds over time. This one's for operators who want to attract the right landlord partners instead of competing on price. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- About 2 Marketers and a Coworking Podcast Hosted by Kevin Whelan of Everspaces and Taylor Mason of Talemaker, 2 Marketers and a Coworking Podcast dives deep into marketing tips, tools, insights, and strategies you can actually use to grow your coworking business.  🔔 Hit subscribe to make sure you don't miss an episode.