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The Carpool CEO: Nobody Wants What You're Selling

Coworking at Workbar

Some of my best thinking happens in the car. Maybe it’s because I’m not distracted by emails or Slacks. Maybe it's because driving forces you to zone out just enough that your mind starts connecting dots.

The other day, while driving, I was thinking about a LinkedIn post I had recently read. The premise was simple: People don't buy what you do. They buy who they become because of what you do. It immediately made me think about why I started calling this series The Carpool CEO.

If you're new around here, here's the backstory. A few years ago, my daughter started attending school nearly 50 miles from our home. Every day meant traveling from the South Shore to the North Shore through Boston. Like so many parents, our lives quickly became a constant juggling act of long drives, carpools, practices, games, and a family calendar that looked more like an airline schedule.

I didn't want to choose between being a good CEO and being a good mom. I wanted a work model that made both possible. That challenge forced me to rethink where work needs to happen.

Some mornings I drop my kids off and head to the nearest Workbar location for a few hours of focused work. Other days I'm in Needham meeting a prospect, Harvard Square checking on construction, Back Bay for a board call, or Burlington balancing meetings. Sometimes I'm writing a proposal before a lacrosse game. Sometimes I'm reviewing a lease amendment while waiting in a school parking lot.

People often ask me how I make it all work. The truth is, I don't have some incredible productivity hack. I just have the flexibility to work where it makes sense.

As CEO (and technically a member) of Workbar, I spend a lot of time talking about offices, coworking memberships, meeting rooms, enterprise WiFi, ergonomic chairs, sound masking, coffee, and phone booths. They're all important. But as a member, I don't use Workbar for any of those reasons. I use Workbar because it lets me be the Carpool CEO.

Nobody wakes up hoping to buy enterprise WiFi. Nobody gets excited about a phone booth. Nobody tells their spouse, "Good news! I finally found a workspace with acoustic insulation." They're looking for something else. They're looking for a space that makes those things possible.

For me, Workbar makes it possible to lead a growing company without spending hours every day commuting to a headquarters. It lets me be present for my family without stepping away from my responsibilities as CEO. It lets me choose the right environment for the work I'm doing that day instead of forcing every day to look the same.

Our members are doing exactly the same thing. Someone who joins Workbar isn't looking for a desk. They're looking for a place where they can actually get through their to-do list before picking up their kids.

A remote worker isn't buying access to multiple locations. They're buying back hours they used to spend commuting. A founder leasing an office isn't buying four walls. They're buying a place where their company finally feels real. A growing team isn't buying meeting room credits or flexible resource allocations. They're buying a workplace strategy that lets them grow without taking on long-term real estate risk.

It also made me wonder how often leaders, including me, fall into the trap of explaining the product instead of explaining the transformation.

It's understandable. We spend years building the thing. We know every feature. Every process. Every improvement. So naturally, we want people to appreciate all the work that went into it. But customers don't experience the work that went into building the product. They experience what the product does for them. That's the part they value.

It's why, when we're designing a new Workbar, I care far less than people expect about the color of the door handles. I care about whether someone can focus without distraction. Whether they'll feel energized when they walk through the front door. Whether a remote employee feels connected instead of isolated. Whether a team collaborates more effectively because they're together intentionally, rather than required to be there.

The furniture. The lighting. The acoustics. The coffee. The WiFi. Those aren't the product. They're proof that we can deliver the outcome. I think this is true for almost every business. It's easy to become so close to what you sell that you forget why someone wanted it in the first place.

The next time you're looking at your website, your sales deck, or your marketing materials, try a simple exercise. Highlight every sentence that explains what you do. Then highlight every sentence that explains what changes for your customer. If the first group is bigger than the second, you might not have a messaging problem. You might have a people problem. Because the best products don't sell features. They sell a better version of life on the other side.

For me, that better life has a name. It's being the Carpool CEO.

Want more coworking tips, trends, and insights from Sarah? Catch up on the full Carpool CEO series:

 
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