Susan, Your point that every market is different is exactly the point I'm making: not that you should go in unplanned, but a traditional business plan template isn't going to properly serve a venture like this in my opinion.
The plan you described: *bullet points & flexible goals*, and I'll even go so far as to define a *mantra* or set of *core values,* is going to help you have the check points for making decisions along the way. Planning is extremely important, and running your coworking space like a business is important for your sustainability. Just be ready for that plan to change once new people enter the mix :) -Alex -- ----- -- ----- Alex Hillman im always developing something digital: a...@weknowhtml.com helpful: www.unstick.me visual: www.dangerouslyawesome.com local: www.indyhall.org On Wed, Feb 25, 2009 at 10:46 AM, Susan Potter < su...@acropolisproperties.com> wrote: > While I completely agree with Alex that walking in to a bank with financial > statements that show revenue already coming in is far better than going into > a bank with an idea, a business plan should be used a tool by business > owners. I am not sure about Alex's business/startup experiences, but as > someone who has started a number of ventures from scratch I have found > having a basic business plan (just in bullet point format for my own and > partner reference) to be very beneficial, especially when you have partners. > You might be able to "wing it" by chance or because you have the right > connections, but if you don't have connections on your side, basic > preparation is key no matter what business you want to start. > > There isn't just one exact model for a coworking space or any business idea > out there, there are multiple and every situation will likely be different. > I am not suggestion you violate the notion that a coworking space is about > the people - not at all. > > Each market (in this case physical location and target audience) has > slightly different needs (i.e. in larger cities people might be > willing to travel 20 miles to a coworking space - in a small college town > that would NEVER fly without anything *very* different about the offering, I > don't know what though?). Also while the target markets for all coworking > spaces might seem to be the exact same in every location, I don't think that > is true. For example, I know in some areas there are large numbers of tech > freelancers (e.g. SF bay area and Raleigh-Durham both places I have lived > and worked in before - not to mention Boston, DC metro, etc), whereas in > other areas the types of freelancers will be less tech more professionally > oriented (e.g. architects, lawyers, designers, etc.). Having a plan to > target the specific target audiences that are relevant to your area is > definitely a good idea. It helps you think through things like "who do I > really want to attract to my space to make it a better experience for all > involved", which creates a better overall ambiance and will be the backbone > of your longer-term success. > > Home grown spaces can work, in fact, many on this list have proved it can > work. However, that does not mean planning and preparation don't go a long > way too. I use business plans as a tool for organizing my thoughts and > addressing potential pitfalls before they show up. Since leaving the bay > area I have steered away from VCs and only occasionally sought loans from > banks or private investors, but I now always "write" a business plan if for > no one else than for myself. If you are using a business plan this way it > doesn't need to suck the soul out of a venture. > > Best, > Susan > -- > Susan Potter > Collective Turf Coworking > Urbana, IL USA > > > On Wed, Feb 25, 2009 at 9:19 AM, Alex Hillman < > dangerouslyawes...@gmail.com> wrote: > >> Trevor, >> Stop right there: >> You don't need a business plan just yet, you need some people. Those >> people will be your business plan. >> >> Yes, you could walk into a bank with a 10 page document explaining how and >> what you are going to do with their money...or you could walk in with signed >> checks from 10 paying members and say "see, they're already willing to pay >> for it". >> >> Developing the community before you think "business plan" is critical, >> because your business plan is likely to NOT jive with the people you're >> ultimately trying to reach. >> >> There are some great recent posts about community development roadmaps, >> and I have one that's a little more abstract that I crafted after seeing >> MILK at the end of last year: >> >> >> http://www.dangerouslyawesome.com/2008/12/22/a-roadmap-for-community-organization-and-mobilization-harvey-milk/ >> >> Good luck! >> >> -Alex >> -- >> ----- >> -- >> ----- >> Alex Hillman >> im always developing something >> digital: a...@weknowhtml.com >> helpful: www.unstick.me >> visual: www.dangerouslyawesome.com >> local: www.indyhall.org >> >> >> >> >> On Tue, Feb 24, 2009 at 4:58 PM, Trevor <trevord...@gmail.com> wrote: >> >>> >>> Hi everyone, >>> >>> My name is Trevor I live in Mississauga, Ontario which is very close >>> to Toronto for those of you who aren't familiar with the area. I'm >>> relatively new to the concept of coworking but I'm so excited that >>> this exists. I have been thinking about creating my own space and I >>> would like to start preparing a business plan. I don't really know how >>> to get started writing a business plan are there any good templates to >>> use? Can anyone suggest a good starting place? >>> >>> >>> >> >> >> > > > > > > > --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ 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 coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
