What happens when good intentions meet bad ROI? This week, Jamie tackles the spending decisions that quietly drain coworking operators' margins—and shares what to do instead.

Fresh from working with clients who are making these exact mistakes, Jamie breaks down the four most common areas where operators overspend: marketing agencies that don't understand local business, IT retainers that sit unused, social media managers in markets where Instagram doesn't drive leads, and $20,000 custom websites that look beautiful but don't convert.

This episode is direct, practical, and yes—a little bit of a rant. But if you've ever wondered whether you should hire an agency, pay for an IT retainer, or invest in a custom site, you need to hear this.

We talk about:

• Why most marketing agencies can't deliver ROI for single-location operators (and the one exception)
• How to set up your IT infrastructure once and stop paying monthly retainers
• The truth about social media for coworking spaces—and when it actually works
• What makes a website convert versus just look pretty
• Why studying marketing as a business owner will save you tens of thousands of dollars

If you're a new operator trying to figure out where to invest—or an experienced one wondering why your margins feel tight—this episode will help you make smarter decisions with your budget.

Resources Mentioned in this Podcast:

SpaceFully

Everything Coworking Featured Resources:

Masterclass: 3 Behind-the-Scenes Secrets to Opening a Coworking Space

Coworking Startup School

Community Manager University

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This week, Jamie Russo tackles a slightly uncomfortable question—especially for someone who runs a program called Community Manager University. But if you're struggling to find quality candidates when you post that job title, this episode might change how you think about recruiting.

Here's the problem: the community manager title anchors candidates on member interaction and engagement. But the actual job? It's pipeline management, CRM updates, billing follow-up, vendor coordination, office turnovers, social media, sales tours, and—oh yeah—also community building.

When you hire someone expecting to spend their day chatting with members and they end up spending three hours in HubSpot, you've got a mismatch. And that mismatch starts with the title.

We talk about:

• Why "Location Manager" might attract better candidates (and who's testing it successfully)
• How to prioritize the five hats: operations, community building, sales & marketing, finance, and leadership
• The front-of-house vs back-of-house split when you have two people on site
• Why the biggest gap is CRM use—and how the title sets the wrong expectations
• How to design a daily schedule based on what actually matters most in your business right now
• When community manager IS the right title (and when it's not)
• The downloadable template to help you prioritize hats and write a job description that matches reality

This conversation is for operators who are tired of hiring people who don't fit the role—or who lose great team members because the job wasn't what they expected.

If you're about to post a job or wondering why your last hire didn't work out, this episode will help you rethink your approach.

Resources Mentioned in this Podcast:

Profit Accelerator Program

Everything Coworking Featured Resources:

Masterclass: 3 Behind-the-Scenes Secrets to Opening a Coworking Space

Coworking Startup School

Community Manager University

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IWG (the parent company of Regus) just cold called you about turning your office building into a coworking space—and you have no idea how to evaluate their offer.

This week, Jamie Russo breaks down exactly what landlords and building owners need to know before signing a management agreement with IWG, Regus, or any other operator offering a partnership model.

Spoiler: they're not calling because your building is special. They're calling because you own a building. And that distinction matters—a lot.

Jamie walks through the IWG partnership model, why they're pursuing landlords so aggressively right now, and the 13 critical questions you need to ask before even considering their offer. Because while IWG is incredibly good at sales, marketing, and designing efficient spaces, their incentives are not the same as yours.

We talk about:

• Why IWG wants dots on the map—and what that means for your building
• How management fees work (and why they get paid even if you don't make profit)
• Why smaller spaces (under 15,000 sq ft) rarely work under a management agreement
• What happens if the space loses money—and who covers operating expenses
• The termination clause question you absolutely must ask
• How to evaluate demand assumptions, pricing, and occupancy ramp in their proforma
• Why you need to validate their numbers with a third party (and how to do that)
• When an IWG partnership might actually make sense
• What other options exist beyond IWG—and why you should explore them

This episode is essential listening if you're a building owner considering flex, an operator who's been approached about a partnership, or anyone trying to understand how management agreements actually work in the coworking industry.


Resources Mentioned in this Podcast:

Revenue Playbook Membership
Profit Accelerator Program

Everything Coworking Featured Resources:

Masterclass: 3 Behind-the-Scenes Secrets to Opening a Coworking Space

Coworking Startup School

Community Manager University

Follow Us on YouTube