November 19, 2025 01:04:03 E17

Real-life monopoly, community-building, and coworking marketing with Josh Mente

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https://youtube.com/@CoworkingMarketing

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https://coworking.marketing/resources

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Connect with Josh

Website: https://cobaltworkspace.com/
Email: josh at cobaltworkspace dot com

Connect with Kevin

Website: https://everspaces.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/whelankevin/

Connect with Taylor

Website: https://www.talemaker.ca
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/taylor-mason-37a94a58/

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Most coworking operators lease a space and hope for the best, but Josh Mente has started buying the whole block.

Josh isn't just the founder of Co-Balt Workspace. He's a seasoned real estate investor playing a real-life game of Monopoly in Hampden, one of Baltimore's most eclectic neighborhoods.

He's buying properties and filling them with businesses that all support each other (including his coworking space) with a long-term real estate play driving the whole strategy.

His approach isn't random. It's calculated, community-focused, and designed to create value on multiple levels at once.

In Episode 17, we dig into how Josh built Co-Balt and the ecosystem around it:

The community-oriented marketing approach Josh used to embed Co-Balt into Hampden's fabric and build awareness through genuine neighborhood engagement
How Josh approached building his coworking business with a real estate investor's mindset, thinking in decades rather than quarters
His "outsourced amenities" model and how Josh's other properties, like Hampden Yards (his beer garden next door to Co-Balt) add extra value for Co-Balt members while also acting as community hotspots
The trials and tribulations of opening a second location and what Josh has learned about expansion
How Josh marketed Co-Balt to full capacity with a waitlist, and the levers he can pull when he wants to reactivate his funnel or expand his market if he opens a second location in a new neighborhood
How and why Josh pivoted away from being the face of his business, and what changed when he let the brand speak for him in the community
The traditional coworking arbitrage play, plus why Josh always advises coworking operators to buy their spaces whenever possible, and how ownership changes the economics and long-term value creation of the entire model

If you've ever wondered what it looks like to think beyond coworking as just an office space business and use it as part of a bigger real estate and community-building strategy, this one's essential.

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About 2 Marketers and a Coworking Podcast

Hosted by Kevin Whelan of Everspaces and Taylor Mason of Talemaker, 2 Marketers and a Coworking Podcast dives deep into marketing tips, tools, insights, and strategies you can actually use to grow your coworking business.

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Creators and Guests

Host

Kevin Whelan

Kevin Whelan is a marketing advisor and trainer helping coworking/flexible office businesses build profitable growth.

Host

Taylor Mason

Taylor works with coworking operators and flex office industry service providers from across North America to craft and implement customized, done-for-you, results-driven content marketing strategies.I work with coworking operators and flex office industry service providers from across North America to craft and implement customized, done-for-you, results-driven content marketing strategies.