David's point about the corollary benefits of having a coworking community are very, very important to us. Our operating overhead is kept low because we can and would likely exist as a community with or without the space. The space itself helps keep things cohesive and gelled, and while we run the space like a business, but the 'not-intending-to-profit' model has let us keep the focus that we had coming into it, generating and extending a sense of civic entrepreneurship into a wider community, while making sure our bills are paid. If you could quantify the non-monetary 'profit' we've made, it's massive. We -- the community, not simply the partners of the LLC that operate the space -- have become an example for city-wide communities that are now being evaluated on the city level, leading to the possibility of things like becoming official 'opportunity zones' with tax benefits, etc. If nothing else, we're a go-to for city officials and institutional leaders when they are trying to tap into grassroots creative human-power. At a recent city council hearing discussing city support of some economic development plans that focus on the creative workforce, IndyHall represented in a very big way, along with 2 other powerhouse grassroots communities with slightly different, but overlapping, audiences (Philly Startup Leaders, and The Hacktory). We caused a stir, and now have city council and a number of other institutions knocking on our door and saying, in not so few words, "we're not entirely sure how you've done all of this in so little time but...we'd like to help or collaborate if we can". That's leading to some other interesting initiatives, but I won't get ahead of myself.
None of this is to say that our checking account is empty and our social capital bank account is full. Ultimately, we strive for balance, recognizing the strength in the opportunity we've created together. This is a business. Period. As far as jobs go, "I'm not just a founder, I'm a client" holds true here too. IndyHall was started out of my own need to have a better way to get my work done. I continue to benefit from my own business, which itself has morphed over the last 10 months due to my participation in IndyHall. And regarding full time staffing, we have someone who will be joining us as sort of an "admin-for-hire", but also helping manage the space some. In the mean time, over the last 10 months, our community members have stepped up in every way we could have thought of (and many we couldn't have) to help make sure things run smoothly. They recognize the corollary benefits as well, and want to see them stick around. I hope this sheds some light on the methods to our madness! -Alex, IndyHall, Philadelphia On Fri, May 16, 2008 at 8:12 AM, davidmoffitt <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > As far as altruism - remember, some people do run not-intending-to- > profit spaces (not sure if they are true "non for profit / 503c etc). > I'm doing it for the "personal" benefit of having more people around, > in my eyes thats the whole reason other coworkers will want to > (hopefully) come - that's not to say I'm truly not profiting - I hope > to do a little better than break even, but I don't care at this point > how MUCH more as long as I can cover what it costs me and get other > non-financial benefits like access to other peoples' opinions and the > energy of having others around. So that leads into an answer for your > other question - I have a full time job and this is not meant to be so > much "income" for me - I plan to work from the space just like the > people I'm expecting to come... > > -dm > > On May 15, 3:37 am, Jerome Chang <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > 1. I couldn't find a way to justify more than 1 staff at a time. I > > also never figured out how any coworking space can survive on such > > low monthly revenues. You'll see my rates are much higher, but I > > also have much higher grade desks, equipment, etc. I would not > > recommend managing the space yourself since you'll just never get > > your own work done otherwise. I never get to do my architecture work > > when I'm managing. > > > > 2. On that note, yes, I still operate as a solo architect to > > supplement my income, at least until operations and sales stabilize. > > As for your altruistic reasons to "not get rich", I think you > > absolutely should maximize your profit; otherwise, you've risked a > > lot and exposed yourself to a lot of liability without any real > > rewards. Ascertain what your market can bear, and charge > > accordingly. In L.A., if I'd charged $200/month, I would've been at > > capacity within 30 days before I even opened - guaranteed, but then > > operated on zero or negative margins. That's just not sound > > business, in my opinion. > > > > Jerome > > ______________ > > BLANKSPACES > > "work wide open" > > > > 5405 Wilshire Blvd (2 blocks west of La Brea) > > Los Angeles, CA 90036 > > 323.330.9505 > > > > On May 14, 2008, at 4:01 PM, Jay wrote: > > > > > > > > > Hey guys, > > > > > My name is Jay and I'm thinking of opening a coworking facility later > > > this year or early next year in Louisville, KY. Opening my own place > > > is something I've thought about doing for a long time (even before I > > > heard the term "coworking"). I know a lot of people that run their own > > > businesses and prefer not to work at home. As far as I know there's > > > nothing like this anywhere around here. I've enjoyed reading through > > > the posts in this group and checking out many of your Web sites. I'm > > > learning a lot. > > > > > I have some basic questions that I'd like to throw out there: > > > > > 1) I've read posts about other places having multiple people on staff > > > full-time. Is it really possible to bring in that much income to pay > > > operating expenses plus staff salaries and make enough for the runs > > > actually running the operation? For example, I'm looking at a 2,500 > > > square foot space. Based on the formulas I've seen on here, I should > > > be able to accommodate approximately 25 people comfortably. If I can > > > get $200 a month from 25 people, that would bring in around $5000. > > > That would probably cover most of my operating expenses but definitely > > > not staff. I guess I'm trying to get a feel for what percentage of > > > total income comes from memberships vs. things like conference room > > > rental, cafe, events, etc. My plan is to have a couple of partners > > > involved in the business to help cover the workload. > > > > > 2) Do most of you that run your own coworking facilities have other > > > businesses on the side to supplement the income? I'm trying to figure > > > out if this would be a way for me to make a living or if I need to > > > have a consulting business focusing on other things. > > > > > I realize I'm being kind of broad in my questions. I'm just trying to > > > make sure that I'm considering opportunities for revenue. I'm not > > > looking for a way to get rich or anything. I just want to be able to > > > support my family and control my own destiny so-to-speak. > > > > > Any feedback or advice would be GREATLY appreciated. > > > > > Thanks so much! > > > > > Jay > > > -- -- ----- -- ----- Alex Hillman round(3)media new! ask me about it digital: [EMAIL PROTECTED] visual: www.round3media.com | www.dangerouslyawesome.com local: www.indyhall.org --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Coworking" group. To post to this group, send email to coworking@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
