Dawn, Your model of giving time back to the community for payment was pioneered (according to my limited research and contact with) by The Hub in London. The mind bank concept is very interesting and I look forward to your updates on it.
Julie Duryea owner, souk 322 nw 6th avenue, suite 200 portland, oregon 97209 p | 503.517.6900 f | 503.517.6901 skype julieduryea http://www.soukllc.com tweet soukportland On Oct 4, 9:03 pm, "Dawn Hayes" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Kudos, Tara. > > Personally, I am down for free drop ins. I know some of the folks in NYC > accept donations for such and it seems to me that when a service is > perceived as providing real value, folks are willing to do what they can to > support it. We see the same happen in the open source software arena, even > if everyone does not contributes financially and if from time to time, > abusers, show up (Wikipedia comes to mind). > > Mike, given that Co-working remains in its early stages, there is room for > more than a few approaches on the profit-focused side of matters if that is > indeed a CW venture's goal. It isn't for everyone, or at least not the > primary focus. So speaking to that side of things, we'll see what normally > happens over time as various business models are tested: shakeout, folds and > consolidation. I wouldn't underestimate the power of regional culture. What > works and can be easily absorbed in NYC doesn't necessarily hold for Austin > or Atlanta. > > My personal hope and vision is that Co-working evolves as a flexible > culture, effort, whatever- that takes into account balance between providing > a service that has social as well as economic value. > Surely there is room for a diverse array of interpretations until the market > signals otherwise. > > I am developing an offering in which members can opt to not be charged at > all, but are sponsored in exchange for spending a portion of their time in > the space collaboratively engaging in entrepreneurial innovations in their > communities. So, a mixed space of paid and sponsored desks is the model I am > focusing upon. Feel free to connect with me off list on this. > > In the end everyone has the ability and right to exercise their discretion > in terms of how they want to drive the bus. Some folks are going to look for > a space that operates under a "strictly business" culture and others will > probably favor something that goes beyond it. > > Those that use our spaces are just as diverse in terms of tastes, > expectations, preferences, willingness and ability to consume as we are. So, > in terms of how it translates into dollars, that really plays into > intentional strategic planning and keeping one's ear to the ground with what > those using the space are expecting and willing to consume. > > Cheers, > > Dawn > > On Fri, Oct 3, 2008 at 12:32 PM, Tara Hunt <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > We have free dropins because: > > > 1. We don't have 'regular' hours - what kind of business says, "Well, > > MAYBE we'll be around to serve?" > > 2. The costs of the space are covered by the deskowners and a few > > keyholders > > 3. We've never had CS in the two years it's been around - and it's a > > popular, buzzing space - be too busy for more dropins or for the rent > > payers (although if it did...the dropins would be asked to skedaddle) > > 4. It's always created more tenants for us > > 5. I don't want to deal with the paperwork around it - I'm too busy for > > that > > 6. CS isn't a business, it's a service - we look at coworking as a > > service to the community, not a business venture > > 7. It makes for good energy in the space to have people and not have > > to be transactional at the get go - we use the gift economy, "You use > > the space for the day for free, or even while you are in town for the > > week for free, then you need to pay it forward and do something nice > > for someone else" > > 8. We've had only 1 incident in hundreds of drop-ins because of the free > > thing. > > 9. When we were originally conceiving coworking, we knew we were > > competing with coffee shops and people's dining rooms/home offices > > which are free to sit in (well, maybe cup of coffee bought), so we > > assumed that getting them out of their houses and into coworking would > > require a similar deal. It kinda works that way. > > 10. It brings me karma > > > On Fri, Oct 3, 2008 at 9:00 AM, Darrell Silver > > <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > I guess I disagree.. > > > I really think that free daily rates is part of a successful business > > model > > > for most spaces. If you have extra capacity, there is zero cost to > > giving > > > away usage of desks to free drop ins, and lots of benefit in free > > > advertising and community. As you mature and fill the space with paying > > > tenants, you simply reduce the supply of free dropins. > > > As Alex said, think of this 'free' as a marketing tool. > > > D > > > > --------------------------------------- > > > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > (917) 841-4079 > > > New York, NY > > > > On Oct 3, 2008, at 11:47 AM, Stephanie Frasco wrote: > > > > Hey everyone, > > > Sorry if that last email came off too sales-y...I forgot to turn off biz > > > mode. With regard to free access, there is no such thing as a free > > lunch. > > > If you want to survive you have to get paid. I think Membership is the > > best > > > way to go or ZipOffices which is something I want to develop the > > technology > > > on. Rent it by the hour, sign up online. Done and Done. any thoughts > > on > > > that? > > > > On Fri, Oct 3, 2008 at 11:29 AM, Stephanie Frasco > > > <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > >> The E.Factor offers access to co-working spaces around the world when > > they > > >> sign up for Premium Membership. http://www.efactor.com- > > >>http://www.efactor.com/p/premium > > > >> We are currently looking for more spaces, if you are interested in a > > joint > > >> profitable deal please contact me. I am looking forward to meeting all > > of > > >> you one day. > > > >> Stephanie Frasco > > >> [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > >>www.twitter.com/askfrasco > > > >> On Fri, Oct 3, 2008 at 11:25 AM, Julie <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > >>> We offer "one free trial day" cards. We also have daily drop in rates > > >>> of $25 (used to be $10/hr, but walk/drop-in was, and has been since > > >>> the rate reduction, an EXTREMELY negligible part of our business). > > >>> One needs to run the numbers as to whether or not it makes sense, > > >>> particularly because some kind of "staffing" is required for drop- > > >>> ins. I think it's great when you first open to have bodies around > > >>> (for free - friends are good), but really, monthly memberships will be > > >>> what sustain you. > > > >>> Do keep in mind that location will make a difference to your drop-in > > >>> traffic. Busy part of town with lots of professionals vs. being > > >>> tucked further away, esp. from public transportation. > > > >>> Wish you the best of luck. > > > >>> Julie Duryea > > >>> owner, souk > > >>> 322 nw 6th avenue, suite 200 > > >>> portland, oregon 97209 > > >>> p | 503.517.6900 > > >>> f | 503.517.6901 > > >>> skype julieduryea > > >>>http://www.soukllc.com > > >>> tweet soukportland > > > >>> On Oct 3, 7:58 am, Darrell Silver <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > >>> > Alex is exactly on target with how dropins fit into the business > > >>> > model. We have seen many times that spaces need a few months to grow > > >>> > into full capacity. During this crucial phase, free dropins provide > > >>> > excellent advertising for people who are new to the concept. > > > >>> > The same applies to holding Jelly events. They are a great way to > > >>> > get the word out, especially early on. > > > >>> > As an aside, have you thought of calling the non-full time > > >>> > memberships 'part-time' instead of 'floaters'? > > > >>> > D > > > >>> > --------------------------------------- > > >>> > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > >>> > (917) 841-4079 > > >>> > New York, NY > > > >>> > On Oct 2, 2008, at 4:09 PM, Alex Hillman wrote: > > > >>> > > Think of "free use" as a marketing tool. It varies space to space. > > > >>> > > For instance, we don't have a "free dropin" policy like some, but > > >>> > > some of our signup rates include free days. Also, consider Jelly > > >>> > > (http://workatjelly.com/) as a market growing technique. I know > > >>> > > there are already multiple Atlanta Jelly groups. > > > >>> > > Bottom line, though, is if you want to be a sustainable business, > > >>> > > include memberships that a) work for your members and b) work for > > >>> > > you. > > > >>> > > -Alex > > > >>> > > -- > > >>> > > ----- > > >>> > > -- > > >>> > > ----- > > >>> > > Alex Hillman > > >>> > > im always developing something > > >>> > > digital: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > >>> > > visual:www.dangerouslyawesome.com > > >>> > > local:www.indyhall.org > > > >>> > > On Thu, Oct 2, 2008 at 2:35 PM, Mike Schinkel > > >>> > > <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > >>> > > Hi all: > > > >>> > > I'm hearing that a lot of you are allowing people to use the > > >>> > > coworking > > >>> > > spaces for free. In trying to plan a facility I've run the numbers > > >>> > > and I > > >>> > > don't see how that is possible. First I don't see how you can get > > >>> > > people to > > >>> > > pay for what you are giving for free and second I don't see how you > > >>> > > can make > > >>> > > the density work. > > > >>> > > I understand that coworking is all about providing an open > > >>> > > environment and > > >>> > > letting people use it w/o signing up is in the spirit of things but > > >>> > > in order > > >>> > > for us to pull this off it needs to be profitable, i.e. not > > >>> > > operating at a > > >>> > > loss. > > > >>> > > Could anyone speak to this please? Thanks in advance. > > > >>> > > -Mike Schinkel > > >>> > > President; NewClarity LLC > > >>> > > Organizer: Atlanta Web Entrepreneurs > > >>> > >http://www.linkedin.com/in/mikeschinkel > > >>> > >http://mikeschinkel.com > > >>> > >http://atlanta-web.org > > > >> -- > > >> Stephanie Frasco > > >> Special Operations > > > >>http://www.efactor.com > > > > -- > > > Stephanie Frasco > > > Special Operations > > > >http://www.efactor.com > > > -- > > -- > > tara 'missrogue' hunt > > > Book: The Whuffie Factor: Using the Power of Social Networks to Build > > Your Business ( > >http://www.amazon.com/Whuffie-Factor-Capital-Winning-Communities/dp/0... > > ) > > Company: Citizen Agency (http://www.citizenagency.com) > > Blog: HorsePigCow: Marketing > > ... > > read more ยป --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ 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 -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
