Laban, this is not a conglomerate; it's a movement. Coworking will prosper with or without coworking.com: there is no threat of 'losing everything.'
This thread has veered away from an important issue: how will this community fund it's needs. The purchase of coworking.com was well executed and should serve as the foundation for developing community fundraising best practices. Community Fundraising Procedure [The Purchase of Coworking.com] 1. An individual conceives a project idea. [Alex decides he wants to buy coworking.com] 2. He/she articulates the project idea to the community. [Alex informs the Coworking Google Group that he wants to buy Coworking.com.] 3. Community provides feedback on the idea. [Community tells Alex it's interested.] 4. He/she estimates the amount needed for the project. [Alex figures out how much he needs to raise to buy the the domain.] 5. He/she solicits the community for the amount the project needs. [Alex solicits the community via the Coworking Google Group.] 5. Community donates funds into the account specified in the solicitation. [Alex asks people to send him funds to buy the domain.] 6. The individual keeps the donors and community updated about the project's progress. [Alex provides periodic reports on his progress to the Coworking Google Group.] 7. The individual provides proof of project completion. [Alex invites us all to coworking.com] I think this serves as a good model that we can improve and articulate more clearly. Full disclosure: I run beex.org, a community fundraising platform that individuals can use to raise money for nonprofits. We're also opening a coworking space. It's my intention to bring coworking and the nonprofit sector together. Nonprofits can provide our movement with tax-free fundraising vehicles. We can provide them with support, space and paradigm shifting ways to organize. Exciting stuff. On Mar 3, 12:19 pm, Laban Johnson <labanjohn...@gmail.com> wrote: > I find it interesting, if not ironic, that the idea of taking an extra step > to protect yourself to allow for growth would evoke such a strong reaction. > Obviously there's a story there. > > Speaking not only as your friend, Alex, Tara and others, but also as risk > manager for a $7B global conglomerate with hundreds of legal structures in > several countries which has existed and prospered for 176 years (with *all > kinds *of liabilities, present, past and future!) - as unpleasant the > thought of doing something now to prevent losing everything later may be, > until the legal system changes, *until the unpleasant reality changes*, you > HAVE to do better than "the ostrich defense" to protect and defend your > assets, limit your liabilities and cap your exposures - its *one of the many > * costs of doing business (for profit or not!), and to shirk that duty is > irresponsible, period. > > There are many reasons why most small businesses fail. What kinds of things > *aren't* they doing? What business exists without risk? Mitigate it before > it is incurred. > > If nothing else, all websites should have a very good Terms of Service and > Privacy Policy as a first line of defense. > > One of my favorite quotes: If it can't hurt and it might help, it should be > done. > > Just free advice, I'm not charging for this free consultation. :) > > Laban -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Coworking" group. To post to this group, send email to cowork...@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.
