Patrick Schwerdtfeger is a leading authority on self-employment, small business marketing and the social media revolution, and all three are contributing to the exploding co-working movement. The ranks of the self-employed are exploding. More and more people are working independently or telecommuting every day. Companies are allowing employees to work from home and freelancers have been doing the same for a long time already. And with unemployment likely to remain high for years, many professionals are becoming self-employed as consultants, 1099 contract workers and coaches. If you’re looking for a speaker to address this evolving trend (from W-2 to 1099) in our economy, of if your audience consists of people who are self-employed or work from home, Patrick can deliver an empowering and inspiring message to your conference. The opportunities for personal branding have never been higher and the co-working movement directly supports the self-employment movement and collaborative work environments. More information is included below.
Past speaking clients include:
Recent speaking destinations include:
The Co-Working Movement
Co-working spaces are opening up in major cities across the country, yet the percentage of the population familiar with the movement remains low. The future of work is dramatically different than past employment models and increased awareness will increase usage. In fact, commercial real estate agents will tell you that all their current clients are requesting the same things: an open layout with communal working areas. Even traditional companies want open spaces; spaces resembling a Starbucks on steroids. That’s the future.
In order to thrive, co-working spaces need to promote the community feel for their members. They can organize member lunches, weekly speakers, Friday happy hours and evening events to create that special sense of community. They can install live webcams so members can see who’s at the office before leaving home. They also need to offer tons of electrical outlets, a super fast wireless internet connection and clean desks, tables and chairs. Most co-working spaces also have full kitchens with free coffee as well as communal dishes and silverware.
Co-Working Keynote Speech
Patrick’s keynote program focuses on modern online marketing strategies that co-working spaces can use to promote their membership packages to local small business owners and self-employed service professionals. Between social media (like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn), geo-targeting on search engines and local web platforms like Google Places, Yelp and Foursquare, there are tons of options available. Patrick looks at a variety of success stories and filters out the strategies that consistently deliver results. The keynote program concludes with a 3-part “winning formula” that co-working spaces can begin using immediately to build awareness and attract new members.
