The real answer to your question is in knowing your market, not know what works for us. The reason we've made it work is because we took the time to build our community, who they were and what they wanted, and they effectively answered all of the questions that you have and more.
I agree with Jerome that there isn't a perfect ratio, and what you offer leading to success will depend on your community and the demand. We have zero private offices and are profitable. The "secret sauce" to coworking business models is to strike the appropriate balance between offering flexibility without creating high-turnover memberships. Month-to-month memberships are very attractive to coworking prospects compared to office rentals, but if people come in simply to rent cheap workspace month-to-month, you're going to end up losing a ton of money to turnover. Every community has a different blend of full time, flex, offices, events, and other income streams. The difference isn't the business plan, it's the community. Build that first, and the business plan will be informed by the people. I have a ton of recommended reading that I've collected, including business & marketing stuff, over here: http://masterclass.indyhall.org/recommended-reading.html -Alex -- /ah indyhall.org coworking in philadelphia pre-order my new eBook, "the business of community" On Dec 13, 2012, at 3:49 PM, Jerome Chang <jer...@blankspaces.com> wrote: > Sorry, that kind of business plan totally varies for everyone. I believe > Alex knows more about a few popular templates that have been discussed in > these group threads. However, note that what you're asking for is to some > for-profit ventures, their "secret sauce." In general, simply managing a > facility is just totally different than whatever your previous business might > have been. > > As an architect and space operator, I can say that I don't have a formula for > office:desk ratio. I will say that I like having a lot of offices because > they are quite popular, but by no means do offices ever outnumber desks or > other open workspaces. I will also say that offices are NOT the largest > revenue driver for me, if you use a $/sf metric. They can initially seem to > be as an aggregate $ amount but not $/sf. Alex will probably agree with me > as his desk-only model proves that case. > > Alex - chime in please. > > > Jerome > ______________ > BLANKSPACES > "work FOR yourself, not BY yourself" > > www.blankspaces.com > 5405 Wilshire Blvd (2 blocks west of La Brea) Los Angeles, CA 90036 > 323.330.9505 (office) > > On Dec 13, 2012, at 10:38 AM, Alison Baker <21beachpl...@gmail.com> wrote: > >> Alex and Jerome, thanks for your responses. 30% of rent (which includes >> parking, cleaning services and utilities) to gross revenue is what we're >> projecting so it's good to get confirmation on that. Would either of you >> also be able to point me to a business plan for opening a new co-working >> space? It would be very helpful to understand all the other various >> operating costs we should plan for. >> >> Also, and I know this depends on a lot of variables (e.g., membership terms, >> available square footage, population of market area, etc), but in your >> experience, is there a percentage of reserved private offices vs communal >> desk space that seems to be a profitable formula? We don't want to lean too >> heavily on private offices at the expense of communal tables and therefore >> defeat a primary draw/essence of a co-working space, but reserved private >> offices do appear to be the largest revenue driver (at least on paper) for a >> profitable co-working space. Any insight would be appreciated! Thanks again. >> >> >> >> On Wednesday, December 12, 2012 4:22:14 PM UTC-5, Alison Baker wrote: >> We're in the planning stages for the opening of a co-share space. I was >> wondering what percentage of projected gross revenue should be devoted to >> rent. A "traditional" or "standard" percentage for commercial leases is 10% >> of projected gross revenue, but I think that's really low for a co-share >> business which isn't overhead intensive like a retailer or service provider, >> e.g., software developer. I'm looking at leasing 3,000 square feet, which in >> my target area runs around $20/square foot. This translates to about $5,000 >> in monthly rent. Using the "traditional" figure of 10% of gross revenues be >> devoted to rent, I'd have to generate $50,000/month in revenue, an >> unrealistic figure. We want this venture to be a profitable enterprise so >> that I could make a living running the space at some point. So keeping this >> in mind, I would greatly appreciate it if someone could please provide a >> realistic percentage of rent to projected gross revenue that I should use in >> drawing up my business plan. And by they way, I'd love to see any a >> sample/template business plans you recommend or would care to forward of >> your own (redacting any confidential information of course). Thanks! >> >> >> -- >> Visit this forum on the web at http://discuss.coworking.com >> --- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >> "Coworking" group. >> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out. >> >> > > > -- > Visit this forum on the web at http://discuss.coworking.com > --- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "Coworking" group. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out. > > -- Visit this forum on the web at http://discuss.coworking.com --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Coworking" group. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
