Working on the Lima, Peru Coworking space has made me think of how many possible options are to make a space self sustainable. So far I see that there's probably no right business model for a space, but just to think of ideas to make some cash along the way to keep the space open. For me the decission to open a Coworking Space is not to make a profit or money, but to start integrating the design, consulting and tech community here in Lima, as Tara points out is not about the money economics. But I surely want the space to be self sustainable and right now I'm brainstorming (alongside with my Coworking and Business Partners) ways in which the space can get some cash in order to have a couple of months of spare cash for the tough times. But like Alex Hillman said in his blog post and comment on other discussion here: there needs to be case studies in order to know what to do or at least use as a guide.
For me what's most important in a Coworking space is the Passion that you put to build it and to promote it and make it sustainable. It's like a 'small business' in some form, you need to be there and hustle for sponsorhips, donations, memberships and work out a model that will work. That passion and higher purpose will make a space happen, not because of the money, but because you're creating a space for sharing ideas, thoughts, debates and learning. And also because you're innovating in the way freelancers and small teams work giving people and new approach to freelance-independent work. Jorge Jaime On Aug 20, 9:06 pm, Tara Hunt <horsepig...@gmail.com> wrote: > For me it has less to do with the money economics (CS has been more of a > money suck than a money maker over the years) and more with the social > economics. Coworking as a movement has been personally rewarding for me as > has being part of Citizen Space. I meet all sorts of cool people, get to > give back to my community and take pride in watching a movement grow over > the world. > That's worth more than money to me...and I have a feeling that many others > who are part of coworking are probably in it for the social and personal > benefits over the monetary benefits. But I could be projecting... > > Tara > > p.s. Interesting to note that Bill and Dane sold Workspace a year ago to > someone else who hasn't really reached out to the coworking community like > Bill and Dane used to. I > haven't met Jayson nor his wife and hadn't stopped by Workspace since > the transition. > > > > > > On Thu, Aug 20, 2009 at 9:30 PM, Christian <gamesa...@gmail.com> wrote: > > > Having read about the impending closure of Workspace, I wanted to > > start a dialogue regarding the sustainability of coworking spaces. The > > reality for most coworking spaces is that the space itself does not > > provide reasonable income for the space owner. The situation for most > > spaces seems to be that either the space is a break even or slightly > > above water venture used as a primary office for the owners work, or > > the space is one that the owner would have occupied regardless of the > > other users, and coworking is a means of giving back and creating a > > beneficial environment while recouping some of the expenses you would > > have had anyway. > > > So, the real question is, can coworking BE a reasonable profit > > business. Do you think the business model allows for sustainable > > profit? If your design or programming firm begins to hemorrhage > > clients due to economic conditions, will your coworking space be > > sustainable? If you have a sustainable model, or are even making your > > living from the space itself, what are your suggestions for those that > > are not? > > > It seems to me that there IS an economic tipping point, where the > > expense of the space for the member is too much to justify the benefit > > of the space. How do we begin to gauge this? It will be different for > > all areas, certainly, but do you feel there are economic or activity > > indicators that can serve as a warning to a space owner that they are > > approaching a cost-benefit switch? > > > And I suppose the last question is, should we worry about it? Is the > > situation for Workspace unique enough that coworking as a whole will > > be free of impact from it? > > -- > tara 'missrogue' hunt > > Book: The Whuffie Factor (http://www.thewhuffiefactor.com) > Blog: HorsePigCow: Marketing Uncommon (http://horsepigcow.com) > Twitter:http://www.twitter.com/missrogue > phone: 514-679-2951 --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ 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 -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
