These are some of the issues we faced when we (myself and two others) bought Workantile. Our situation is little different - there are only three co-owners while it sounds like you going for more of a co-op model.
We found that having the several of us, with input from community members, helped with the look and feel of our space. Talking through the aesthetics with others helped improve the way Workantile looks. The compensation for prior work is a tough issue to work out. The way we approached it was to have the previous owner come up with a number for the amount of money he put into the space. This number was backed up by receipts and other documentation. Other people had put time and effort into it as well. We also asked those people for a number backed by documentation. Once we had those numbers, we executed an excess revenue sharing agreement, whereby once cash reserves reached the point where we could cover three month's of expenses, the revenue over operating costs would be split among the previous owner and the others. This guaranteed that the business would not be starved of income by the demands of the previous owner, but the previous owner would be compensated for the time he put assuming the business is successful. Sharing the workload is another tough issue. The approach we are taking is to figure those tasks that need to be done, ask for volunteers to handle them, and recruit if necessary. We are very careful to not overload people. I hope all this helps. On Fri, Apr 20, 2012 at 1:12 PM, davis work shop <vincid...@gmail.com>wrote: > Hi, > > This is an open request for stories, advice, warnings, inspirations, > etc. on transitioning an individually-owned/managed coworking space to > a collectively-owned and managed space. > > I opened The Work Shop, a modest (in size and complexity) coworking > space in downtown Davis, CA exactly 5 weeks ago, and it has been a > huge success.... on a tiny scale: 7 fantastic people plus drop-ins, > breaking even on monthly costs, lots of community interest/curiosity, > we're a stop on the downtown art tour, and lots of future project > ideas from the group. > > Part of the success is that what I hoped for has happened: People who > have joined the project are excited about shaping its future, and are > willing to share in the risks and responsibilities of owning and > managing the space. Anyone have experience with exactly this process, > or something like it, and have some wisdom to share? > > My concerns include: > > 1. losing some of the integrity/coherence of the physical space that > come from one person's vision for how it should look and feel > > 2. finances... is there a fair way for me to be compensated, at least > in part, for some of the time I put into setting the space up and > getting it going - I took this on as a very bare-bones project with > just the basics, but still it has been a huge time investment finding > the right location, choosing a space with the right feeling, procuring > desks, table, chairs, wi-fi, printer, scanner, water, fridge, > microwave, doing some light carpentry, painting, and doing a lot of > negotiating on the rent, outreach, answering questions, etc.). > > 3. making sure that people can join the space without a requirement > that they take on coworking as another time-consuming project (people > for whom coworking is first and foremost a reliable work space, away > from other demands) > > Thanks! > Vinci Daro > daviscoworking.blogspot.com > > > -- > 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. > > -- twb member, Workantile <http://workantile.com/> @twbrandt -- 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.
