What if AI didn't replace your community manager… but actually made them better at their job?

That's exactly what Courtney Schwartz is doing at FireWorks Coworking—and it's such a refreshing take on a topic that can feel overwhelming (or even a little threatening) in our industry.

Courtney is deeply passionate about people, community, and creating meaningful connections. And instead of letting AI take over, she's using it to take admin work off her plate so she can spend more time doing what actually matters inside her space.

In this episode, we cover:

• How Courtney uses AI to streamline time-consuming tasks like blog writing and content repurposing
• Why "garbage in, garbage out" is the reality of AI—and how to get better outputs
• How indie operators can use AI for local SEO and even demographic research
• The role of AI in helping you identify and reach your ideal member
• Why community managers who embrace AI will have a huge advantage
• How to use AI as an extension of your voice, not a replacement

I've had the chance to work with the FireWorks team through Coworking Startup School and Community Manager University, and Courtney is such a great example of what happens when you invest in your people and give them space to grow.

She's curious, driven, and clearly all-in on her community—and this conversation is packed with practical ideas you can actually use.

Resources Mentioned in this Podcast:

Courtney Schwartz on LinkedIn
FireWorks Coworking website

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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Most people don't spend 13 years quietly building one of the most comprehensive datasets in commercial real estate.

But that's exactly what Peter Kolaczynski has been doing at Yardi.

In this episode, Jamie sits down with Peter Kolaczynski, Associate Director of Yardi, to unpack what's really happening beneath the surface of the coworking and office markets.

And this one gets… data-heavy in the best way.

We get into:

• Why coworking is still only ~2.3% of total office space—and why that number could 5x
• How Yardi tracks over 80,000 office buildings and what that unlocks for the industry
• The surprising reality of physical office occupancy (hint: it's still under 60%)
• Why enterprise demand for flexible space keeps growing despite return-to-office pressure
• How AI could reshape not just coworking—but total office demand

One of the most interesting takeaways: even if office demand shrinks overall, coworking may expand. Why? Because uncertainty drives flexibility—and flexibility is exactly what coworking offers.

We also get into:

Office-to-residential conversions.
Why "downtown" may matter less than ever.
The rise of smaller, hyper-local office hubs.
And why building owners—not just operators—may drive the next wave of growth.

If you care about where the office market is actually heading (not just headlines), this is a must-listen.

Resources Mentioned in this Podcast:

Peter Kolaczynski on LinkedIn
Yardi website
U.S. Coworking Industry Report Q4 '25

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

What if you built a coworking space… designed so you barely had to be there?

That's exactly what Glen Hicks did.

After 27 years in IT leadership and a life-changing heart attack at 34, Glen completely rethought how he worked. Instead of jumping into another executive role, he became what he calls a "digital independent."

But he couldn't find a workspace that actually fit the way he wanted to work.

So he built USTATION — a beautifully designed, mostly self-serve workspace in New Brunswick that runs with almost no staff (and Glen lives three hours away).

In this episode we talk about:

• How he runs a 3,500 sq ft coworking space with almost no on-site staff
• Why smaller spaces can actually create better community
• The simple tech setup that avoids the dreaded 5-minute meeting room startup
• Why he installed a private work pod in an airport

Glen is thoughtful, unconventional, and very intentional about how he spends his time (he works about 20 hours a week now).

If you're thinking about building a simpler, smarter coworking model — you'll enjoy this conversation.

Resources Mentioned in this Podcast:

Glen Hicks on LinkedIn
USTATION website

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

What if the secret to running a thriving coworking space isn't fancy software or a massive team… but one incredibly grounded, genuinely caring community manager?

I finally got to sit down with Nicole Antolino, Community Manager at Fireworks Coworking in Marietta, Georgia and this conversation was long overdue.

Nicole has been part of our Community Manager University program since 2022 and I've watched her grow into one of those rare unicorn operators who can truly do it all. She talked about the real balancing act of this role. When to extend flexibility and when to hold the line. How to juggle task lists with real human connection. What it's like to be a working mom running a space. And why she believes customer service experience matters more than industry background when hiring.

We also dig into:

• Why 30 percent meeting room utilization might actually be normal
• How she and her teammate divide and conquer to grow the business
• The evolution of Fireworks' ideal customer profile
• What it really takes to stay energized in this role year after year
  
  

If you're an owner wondering what makes a great community manager, or you are a community manager trying to figure out how to build longevity in this career, this one is for you.

Resources Mentioned in this Podcast:

Fireworks Coworking website
Nicole Antolino on LinkedIn

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

What's worse than overspending on things that don't deliver ROI? Underinvesting in the areas that actually make or break your business. This week, Jamie flips last week's episode on its head and tackles the critical areas where coworking operators consistently underspend—and pay the price in lost revenue, lower margins, and frustrated members.

From soundproofing decisions during construction to the size of your private offices, Jamie breaks down the build-out choices that seem expensive upfront but deliver massive ROI over time. She explains why an 80-square-foot office will always outperform a 120-square-foot one when you're trying to hit $70 per square foot in revenue, and why phone booths aren't optional—they're essential to selling flex memberships.

This episode is packed with specific, actionable advice on where to invest, how to evaluate ROI, and what trade-offs to consider based on your market, lease term, and access to capital.

We talk about:

• Why soundproofing should be built into construction from day one (and what to do if you're already open)
• How small private offices (80 sq ft vs 120 sq ft) dramatically impact your revenue per square foot
• Why phone booths are essential for selling flex memberships—and how to finance them if budget is tight
• The critical importance of professional photography for meeting rooms and day offices (users buy visually online)
• Why SEO is a must-have investment alongside paid ads—and how AI search is changing the game
• How to use a CRM to track every lead and achieve "radical responsiveness" in 2026
• The three audits every operator should run quarterly: customer journey, sales funnel, and competitive market
• Why investing in your team's training and your own professional development always delivers ROI
  
  

If you're trying to figure out where to allocate budget, what's worth the investment, and how to avoid the costly mistake of underspending in critical areas—this episode is essential listening.

Resources Mentioned in this Podcast:

CoLevel (CRM platform)

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

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

Follow Us on YouTube

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

Follow Us on YouTube

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