Having gone through the process of opening a space the size that was needed at the time (1800 sq feet) and then growing it until it was full and moving into a larger space (4500 sq feet), I'd highly recommend the process. It's not only healthier for the business (you're not hemorrhaging money while filling a huge space), but gives you multiple opportunities to include the community in the growth and expansion, which will ultimately be beneficial for your retention and growth.
Having a waiting list is a great problem to have to solve! Also, at some point in the past, Geoff (my partner) said that you should open a space as if it were going to be knocked down or taken away in a year. The space is a utility for the more important thing you should be developing - the community - and if the space is viewed as less permanent, its easier to keep the focus on the right stuff. Best of luck. -Alex P.S. I'm working with a software development team from Springfield, MO, called Classy Llama and they're awesome. If you end up moving ahead with this, I'd love to pass your name along to them! /ah indyhall.org coworking in philadelphia On Fri, Jun 4, 2010 at 12:51 AM, DeeDee <hendersondm...@hotmail.com> wrote: > Hi, everyone! Just like a lot of other people, I have been watching > this group for a long time and have finally decided to jump in. I > have been researching coworking for about a year now and am now > seriously considering opening a space. > > I live in Springfield, MO (area population about 250,000) and as far > as I have been able to determine there are no other coworking places > open here. My background is taxes and bookkeeping so I've spent a lot > of time in offices! But just in my own family, I have found a real > need for coworking (built-in customers, right?). And just discussing > this with family members who are in networking groups, I think there > is a real need here. > > I have started building a budget and looking at property for lease. I > have found 3 properties of various sizes in an area that I think would > work well. Here is my dilema: Prop 1 - decent size, smallest of the > three but not a lot of room for expansion, all inclusive lease, no > long term lease required. Prop 2 - larger space, triple NNN 3-5 yr > lease. Prop 3 - even larger space, won't use all of it to start, so > have room to grow, all inclusive lease, 3 yr min with some free rent > for longer lease. All three spaces have comparable sq footage rates > and can get in with minimal expense and time delay. > > Question: Is it better to start smaller, keeping expenses to a > minimum, then expand by opening a second location in another area of > town OR lock in good rent rate now on bigger space and expand there > rather than opening a second location? > > I have knocked the pros and cons around on this for a few days now; > but wanted to see what you all thought. > > Thanks in advance for your help! > Diane > > -- > 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<coworking%2bunsubscr...@googlegroups.com> > . > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en. > > -- 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.
