“Nacho is very chill and quiet, and you can find him looking out at the sea, and thinking a lot. He’s a real philosopher.
But Ninja is super active. He wants to play all the time, and always lets his brother know when he’s won.
We went to pick up Ninja, but they were playing together and they were obviously inseparable. They really stick together. They watch Game of Thrones with us and bark at the bears!”
Nacho
Ninja
Happy birthday to us! It’s been a year since we opened the doors to the überlin coworking space, and we’ve learned a lot in the past twelve months. What started as a dream of turning our online community into something tangible has become a bricks-and-mortar reality, an actual business, a space where great things happen, and one with potential for even more awesomeness.
It’s been rewarding, but it hasn’t always been easy. We thought we’d share our experiences, which should be of interest to anyone who’s thinking of starting something, be it a coworking space or any other kind of enterprise. Hope this helps!
Keep it simple
When we first opened our doors, we experimented with flex desks and day rates – until we worked out that we just aren’t big enough to accommodate everyone’s specific needs. We also tried to rent out our downstairs to event organisers, or photographers who wanted to use Zoë’s studio, but the extra income wasn’t worth the disruption to our coworkers.
Now we’re really clear about what überlin is – a coworking space that offers full-time fixed desks, and a private photo studio that doubles as a space in which to host our own workshops. We’re always open to new ideas about how to use our facilities, but we’re focused on being a space where our close community can do its best work.
Not (just) a place for expats
This blog brings us into contact with Berlin’s somewhat transient international community, so we just assumed (but didn’t intend) that ours would be a space for expats, by expats. We were pleasantly surprised to find that, from the very start, actual Germans (even Berliners!) wanted to join as coworkers.
We’ve maintained a nice mix of about 50% Germans and 50% other – people from all over the world who benefit from Deutsch Dienstag practice and just being around native speakers who know how the country works. As an added bonus, our neighbours seem to be into what we’re doing, and some have even rented desks here!
Location, location, location
We always we knew we had a great location – a minute’s walk from Schönleinstrasse on the U8, 10 minutes to Kotti (and the U1) in one direction, and 10 to Hermannplatz (U7) in the other. But what we didn’t appreciate is just how local people like their office spaces to be.
Most of our current coworkers live in Kreuzberg or neighbouring Neukölln, a handful are based in our beloved Graefekiez, and one even lives on the same street! It seems that, in Berlin at least, people love a coworking space they can walk to.
A big empty überlin, this time last year
Be selective
A year ago, we were pretty desperate to fill desks. We had rent to pay, other costs to cover, and our egos on the line, so we let pretty much anyone who was interested rent desk space. That included people who wanted to be in desks part time, wanted to share them with others, only planned to be around for a month – or, for a host of other reasons, just weren’t right for us.
Now we have enough people in place, and enough desk capacity that we don’t have to be stressed about being full all the time. That affords us the luxury of being really selective about who we let join the space, so we pick people we like, who we think will get on with our other coworkers, and are into the idea of sharing – space, ideas and doggy cuddles 😉
This is probably the biggest lesson we’ve learned: pick your coworkers, don’t let them pick you.
Un-break the internet
Forget desks, chairs, doors or a roof – the most important thing in a coworking space is fast, reliable internet. We had some serious teething problems that it took us a while to sort out, even with the help of an expert. But now we have lightning-fast wifi that’s accessible from anywhere in our space – a must-have for an office of any kind.
How to shop at IKEA like a boss
Do It Yourself…
When you run your own small business, you learn how to do everything for yourself. Coworking space managers are often glorified janitors, so we’ve earned our black belts in IKEA construction, unblocked sinks and done so much DIY we’re practically German! But as well as the practical stuff, we’ve learned about accounting, marketing, community management, customer service, tech support… and found people to help with the things that we can’t teach ourselves.
…but know when to ask for help
We couldn’t have done any of this without the help of a wonderful bunch of people. At the risk of getting all awards-speechy, we’d like to thank:
Welance, Morgan, Joel, Danilo for the advice and expertise;
Lavinia and Karin for the business support;
Kathy and Judith for the invaluable interior design input, Olli for branding our space and Dan for building us beautiful custom furniture;
Everyone who came to and helped out at our official opening party;
Expath and Ray for running our workshops;
All of our coworkers, past and present, and all of our friends and family for the support.
Here’s to a great year of coworking, and hopefully many more!
We currently have a few desks open in our coworking space. If you’re interested in joining our little community, check out the full details here, or drop us an email. We look forward to hearing from you!
Happy birthday to us! It’s been a year since we opened the doors to the überlin coworking space, and we’ve learned a lot in the past twelve months. What started as a dream of turning our online community into something tangible has become a bricks-and-mortar reality, an actual business, a space where great things happen, and one with potential for even more awesomeness.
It’s been rewarding, but it hasn’t always been easy. We thought we’d share our experiences, which should be of interest to anyone who’s thinking of starting something, be it a coworking space or any other kind of enterprise. Hope this helps!
Keep it simple
When we first opened our doors, we experimented with flex desks and day rates – until we worked out that we just aren’t big enough to accommodate everyone’s specific needs. We also tried to rent out our downstairs to event organisers, or photographers who wanted to use Zoë’s studio, but the extra income wasn’t worth the disruption to our coworkers.
Now we’re really clear about what überlin is – a coworking space that offers full-time fixed desks, and a private photo studio that doubles as a space in which to host our own workshops. We’re always open to new ideas about how to use our facilities, but we’re focused on being a space where our close community can do its best work.
Not (just) a place for expats
This blog brings us into contact with Berlin’s somewhat transient international community, so we just assumed (but didn’t intend) that ours would be a space for expats, by expats. We were pleasantly surprised to find that, from the very start, actual Germans (even Berliners!) wanted to join as coworkers.
We’ve maintained a nice mix of about 50% Germans and 50% other – people from all over the world who benefit from Deutsch Dienstag practice and just being around native speakers who know how the country works. As an added bonus, our neighbours seem to be into what we’re doing, and some have even rented desks here!
Location, location, location
We always we knew we had a great location – a minute’s walk from Schönleinstrasse on the U8, 10 minutes to Kotti (and the U1) in one direction, and 10 to Hermannplatz (U7) in the other. But what we didn’t appreciate is just how local people like their office spaces to be.
Most of our current coworkers live in Kreuzberg or neighbouring Neukölln, a handful are based in our beloved Graefekiez, and one even lives on the same street! It seems that, in Berlin at least, people love a coworking space they can walk to.
A big empty überlin, this time last year
Be selective
A year ago, we were pretty desperate to fill desks. We had rent to pay, other costs to cover, and our egos on the line, so we let pretty much anyone who was interested rent desk space. That included people who wanted to be in desks part time, wanted to share them with others, only planned to be around for a month – or, for a host of other reasons, just weren’t right for us.
Now we have enough people in place, and enough desk capacity that we don’t have to be stressed about being full all the time. That affords us the luxury of being really selective about who we let join the space, so we pick people we like, who we think will get on with our other coworkers, and are into the idea of sharing – space, ideas and doggy cuddles ????
This is probably the biggest lesson we’ve learned: pick your coworkers, don’t let them pick you.
Un-break the internet
Forget desks, chairs, doors or a roof – the most important thing in a coworking space is fast, reliable internet. We had some serious teething problems that it took us a while to sort out, even with the help of an expert. But now we have lightning-fast wifi that’s accessible from anywhere in our space – a must-have for an office of any kind.
How to shop at IKEA like a boss
Do It Yourself…
When you run your own small business, you learn how to do everything for yourself. Coworking space managers are often glorified janitors, so we’ve earned our black belts in IKEA construction, unblocked sinks and done so much DIY we’re practically German! But as well as the practical stuff, we’ve learned about accounting, marketing, community management, customer service, tech support… and found people to help with the things that we can’t teach ourselves.
…but know when to ask for help
We couldn’t have done any of this without the help of a wonderful bunch of people. At the risk of getting all awards-speechy, we’d like to thank:
Welance, Morgan, Joel, Danilo for the advice and expertise;
Lavinia and Karin for the business support;
Kathy and Judith for the invaluable interior design input, Olli for branding our space and Dan for building us beautiful custom furniture;
Everyone who came to and helped out at our official opening party;
Expath and Ray for running our workshops;
All of our coworkers, past and present, and all of our friends and family for the support.
Here’s to a great year of coworking, and hopefully many more!
We currently have a few desks open in our coworking space. If you’re interested in joining our little community, check out the full details here, or drop us an email. We look forward to hearing from you!
@benweinman on instagram
[EDIT: this competition is now closed. Click here to see if we’re running any open competitions] WTF. The Dillinger Escape Plan have to be the maddest band on the planet. Have a look at their craziest moments, and scroll down
to find how to win 2 tickets to see them test Postbahnhof’s fire codes next Sunday, August 16th.
HOW TO WIN 2 X TICKETS FOR THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN AT POSTBAHNHOF ON 16TH AUGUST: Want to headwalk your way to Postbahnof next Sunday? Just answer this question in the comments below:
What’s the craziest concert you’ve ever been to?
You have until 6pm on Friday 7th August. Good luck!
The Boring Bit (yawn, RULES): 1. You must be at least 18 years old to enter. 2. ONE ENTRY PER PERSON! 3. We will keep a record of each comment in a database and then a random number generator picks the winner. 4. Remember
to include your full (real) name and email address or we won’t be able to put you on the guestlist! 5. We will notify the winners via email.
Jizzworthy vinyl alert! So I’m currently “between turntables”, but when my kit is all set up again, this is going to be the first thing to grace it – the debut by Berlin-based post-90s alt metallers HEADS. Lead track “A Mural Is Worth A Thousand Words”, has already squished our skulls under its size 12 Doc Martens, and the rest of the disc keeps the pressure up, with such grim-faced
noise explorations as “Chewing Up Kittens”, “Skrew” and “Black River”. Recorded live by Jonathon Nido, a former member of The Ocean,
and mastered by Magnus Lindberg (Cult of Luna), HEADS. reaches deep into an abyss of post-hardcore and noise rock influences,
and excavates something else entirely: dense, driving, stripped back, and utterly unique. And it’s available on sick black and white wax! Go to headsnoise.com to pick up the album, and find out where you can see the German-Australian heavyweights live.
Thank you for the 1yr review! We’re writing our own right now and it’s encouraging to hear that young coworking spaces around the world are having similar experiences. Keep up the good work!
Arhhh a lovely piece of writing about yourselves and your business(not forgetting Olive)…well done and long may it thrive.
Herzlichen Glückwunsch zu einer grandiosen Idee von grandiosen Menschen und viel Glück für die weiteren 99 Jahre in Berlin mit Ü-Berlin …Grüße aus dem Rheinland und Knuddler an den weltbesten U-Berlin Bully Olive