Kate Tattersfield Community Tuesday, March 4, 2025

10 Smart Goals for your Coworking Space: How to Set & Achieve Business Objectives

Coworking is synonymous with creativity, collaboration and productivity. Businesses and freelancers love coworking spaces because (by surrounding themselves with fellow workers) they’re more likely to achieve their goals. The coworking environment, while social, is set up to facilitate focused, distraction-free working.

But how do the people who run coworking spaces stay on the right track?

If you manage a coworking space, you’ll know only too well that the challenge often lies in the multi-faceted nature of the role.

You have to foster a sense of community, and handle memberships, marketing and finances, all while creating a positive environment for members, visitors and employees. With all this going on - often against the backdrop of fluctuating occupancy and expenses - your wider coworking business goals can get sidelined.

That’s where goal setting for coworking comes in. Specifically, SMART goals.

What are SMART goals?

A guy called George T. Doran came up with the idea for SMART goals in the early eighties when he penned a paper titled “There's a S.M.A.R.T. Way to Write Management’s Goals and Objectives." In it, the consultant and former director created a framework to help businesses craft clear and achievable objectives.

Today, SMART goals are used universally to improve goal-setting and productivity. Goals, when articulated in this way, are often more effective because the way they are structured makes it easier for people to visualise the outcome. There is less room for ambiguity and so people are more likely to stay on track.

Here’s what SMART stands for:

Specific – A clear definition of what the intention is.

Measurable – The method through which progress is tracked (e.g. numbers).

Achievable – Realistic goals that are challenging but attainable.

Relevant – How it aligns with the company’s overall objectives.

Time-bound – A deadline or milestones for accountability.

Crucially, for those of us operating in busy industries like coworking, clearly outlined objectives help us to prioritise tasks and aim for consistency in progress, which can result in better decision-making. Even the act of writing down SMART goals and revisiting them can make a big difference. In short, we think SMART goals should be one of your go-to - and ongoing - coworking success strategies.

10 smart goals examples for work

SMART goals provide a structured way for coworking operators to achieve success, from increasing memberships to developing an engaging social calendar. The first step is to clearly outline and define your objectives.

Remember, SMART goals should always be flexible. After all, even as you’re working towards a goal, circumstances might change or new insights (or even better opportunities) may emerge. Embracing flexibility will enable you to respond to what’s happening in the real world.

Here are some practical business goals for shared offices looking to work smartly towards their targets, to ensure long-term sustainability and a thriving, collaborative workspace for professionals and entrepreneurs alike.

1. Increase membership by -%

Every square foot of a coworking space contains value, and optimising space is crucial when it comes to operational sustainability, profitability and community growth. Increasing membership is one of the more obvious SMART goals a coworking space owner might choose to adopt.

The percentage of growth aimed for will vary. For instance, a smaller space might aim for between 25-30% growth, while a larger more established coworking operation may aim for 10-15% growth. It also depends on the competitiveness of the market in which your coworking space operates.