Hi.
FYI, BLANKSPACES is at 4800 sf. In central L.A., $2 is rare - usually
it's higher. We are stable now, with about 90% filled/paid for on a
monthly basis. We have 28 desks, 4 offices, two meeting rooms, and a
lounge. We definitely could have fit in more.
I believe the new coworking space in Atlanta, run by Mike Schinkel, is
about the same 5,000 sf size.
Jerome
______________
BLANKSPACES
"work wide open"
www.blankspaces.com
5405 Wilshire Blvd (2 blocks west of La Brea)
Los Angeles, CA 90036
323.330.9505 (office)
On Mar 21, 2010, at 3:18 PM, Tara Hunt wrote:
I should add:
Citizen Space started out in a 1500ft2 space and it took about a
year to stabilize. Now at 3500ft2 and over a year into it, we aren't
quite stabilized. Rebecca had asked about spaces from 4-10k ft2. I
don't know what Coworking space across the country is bigger than 5k
ft2 (other than Caroline Collective), but that's a huge space to
take on and fill to pay the rent.
Even at $24/ft2 (the low end of SF real estate) = $8000/month for
4,000ft2 - $20,000/month for 10kft2
Full disclosure...even at 3,500ft2, we can only really fit in 20
desks. We are rarely at capacity. Our desks go for $425/month and we
have, on average, 15 filled at a time - that's $6375/month income.
Even with a HUGE break from our landlord, we don't have much left
over at the end of the month to go to bills, savings, promotions,
staff, etc.
And remember, we've been a pioneer space - meaning most people know
about it and we've been around since 2006 (almost 4 years now! omg).
We've been written up in multiple articles. People speak highly of
us. Events happen there all of the time. Etc. And we still struggle
month to month.
I don't want to discourage people from starting coworking spaces
ever, but I'd encourage people to support the existing ones before
seeing this as a good space to go into for financial benefit. This
movement - to me - is about creating community spaces (necessary to
the growth of our local small businesses), not about becoming real
estate moguls.
T
On Sun, Mar 21, 2010 at 5:04 PM, Heather <heatheracto...@gmail.com>
wrote:
Tara - Thanks for this grounding perspective, specifically on starting
a coworking space being a labor of love not a profitable venture, and
that it isn't a "build it and they will come" type of venture.
Like Rebecca, I've also been "tossing around" the idea of starting a
coworking space, but in the far north suburbs of Chicago, because
there simply isn't a facility like that up here. I've started a group
called Envision Lake County with the thought that we'd getogether to
collaborate once in a while at restaurants & coffee shops, and maybe a
community would grow out of it that would all want to go in on a
space. What you said validates some of my thought, and makes me feel
more secure in slowing down the process of securing space early/
quickly. I was looking to lease some space soon, thinking that "if I
build it they will come", but I realize now I need to be more patient
to ensure I don't make a bad business decision.
So again, thanks for these thoughts - very grounding and real, and I
appreciate it.
-Heather
On Mar 20, 5:05 pm, Tara Hunt <horsepig...@gmail.com> wrote:
> My question would be:
>
> What is precipitating your need to start another space in SF?
>
> There are at least 3 in SOMA: Citizen Space (mine), PariSoma,
Sandbox Suites
> - two in Dogpatch: Hat Factory and Felicity 's new place - at
least one in
> the Mission...
>
> Not to mention the dozens of coffee shops that people are still
very fond of
> that seem to suit them well.
>
> If this is a business decision, let me tell you as a fellow SF
coworking
> space owner (and one of the pioneers), this is a labour of love,
not a
> profitable venture. Citizen Space is now fairly sustainable, but
it's been
> 3.5 years and a great deal of work and community building. I also
don't
> expect to get my $25k+ I've personally invested over the years back.
>
> If this is a need decision, fabulous, but it's better to have the
need
> yourself first and notice a community around you that is seriously
lacking a
> space. Coworking is not a build it and they will come situation.
It's a
> build a community and then a space may emerge (or may not) out of
it.
>
> I don't want to make assumptions, but have you visited and worked/
spent time
> in any of the established coworking spaces in SF? I'd recommend
trying them
> all. We did a coworking space crawl in 2007 that was awesome.
Rented a
> biodiesel bus to hop around.
>
> Tara
>
> typed choppily on my Nexus One....
>
> On Mar 20, 2010 3:43 PM, "Rebecca Brian" <rebecca.br...@gmail.com>
wrote:
>
> Hello!
>
> Thank you for welcoming me into your group. I'm in "catalyst"
stage of
> launching a coworking space in San Francisco. I'd love some advice
on
> some key questions if you have a moment.
>
> One of the most important things to figure out is where - multiple
> locations already exist in SoMA, with more on the way. One is in the
> Dogpatch. One in Berkeley. Emerging locations in the Mission.
>
> I put together a little poll to get your feedback - where needs it
the
> most? Downtown where the clients are? In one of the outer
> neighborhoods like the Sunset? I'd love feedback, or feel free to
> answer the poll directly at the blog we set up:www.whiteboardsuites.com
.
>
> The second most important after location is, how big? The bigger it
> is, the more potential profit, but the largest capital raise needed.
> The smaller it is, the easier to get off the ground, but less room
for
> profit without expanding. What is ideal? 4k sqft? 6k? 10k?
>
> Thank you for any wise words.
>
> Best,
>
> Rebecca
>
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tara 'missrogue' hunt
Company: Shwowp (http://www.shwowp.com)
Book: The Whuffie Factor (http://www.thewhuffiefactor.com)
Blog: HorsePigCow: Marketing Uncommon (http://horsepigcow.com)
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