Elliot -
Both of those scenarios – while they sound troubling in lots of ways – don’t strike me as the actual reason for the closure of a space. Symptoms, but not causes, ya know? -Alex ------------------ The #1 mistake in community building is doing it by yourself. Join the list: http://coworkingweekly.com Listen to the podcast: http://listen.coworkingweekly.com On Tue, Jan 13, 2015 at 10:30 AM, Elliott Williams <ellio...@gmail.com> wrote: > Sorry for being late in this conversation. I just wanted to add a few > types/subtypes: > 2.1 unsustainable but with unlimited funds (usually connected with some > sort of govt initiative). > 5 - coworking spaces as feeders for real estate. These are spaces that will > never be sustainable, but the owner of the building doesn't care because > the owner is just trying to get these companies to grow to get an "actual" > office. > On Sun, Jan 4, 2015 at 3:42 PM, Alex Hillman <dangerouslyawes...@gmail.com> > wrote: >> Turns out that surveys are terrible for collecting this kind of >> information :) I’ve had to do a lot of more hands on work to find real, >> valuable information. >> >> I’ve used some of my findings to help fuel other articles, like this one >> in the Philadelphia Biz Journal (I pubilished the full interview to >> suppliment the piece): >> *http://dangerouslyawesome.com/2014/07/behind-the-scenes-of-a-front-page-interview-coworking-any-old-space-wont-do/ >> <http://dangerouslyawesome.com/2014/07/behind-the-scenes-of-a-front-page-interview-coworking-any-old-space-wont-do/>* >> >> The issue is that *demand for space* is a red herring for success in >> coworking, and worse, it’s a magnet for opportunism. >> >> Take a look at every corner of the “sharing economy”…and you’ll find the >> same thing. Utopian sharing quickly devolves into mass exodus. There’s a >> bigger problem in doing the research, though…and that’s collecting >> information from founders/leaders. >> >> Founders and leaders of failed spaces (generally) won’t talk, and when >> they do, it’s platitudes or outright lies. Because let’s be honest, nobody >> likes facing their failures. There are, of course, a couple of exceptions >> and they’ve written about their experiences here on the Google Group. >> >> The *best* sources of insight have been former members and former staff. >> The problem is that THEY generally don’t respond well to being approached >> out of the blue (I’ve learned first hand). >> >> We see that coworking spaces are opening at accelerating rates, but >> what’s not as obvious is that the vast majority of them are dealing with >> high turnover and/or burn rates that make their business model completely >> unsustainable. Because of the nature of these businesses, it’s very hard to >> see the effects of these problems until “reality” sets in about 2 years >> after the start. >> >> There’s clues before then (a mix of highly visible ones, and others that >> are much more subtle), but any coworking space younger than 2 years old >> really should be focusing on getting GREAT at one thing: knowing their >> members. >> >> We’re going to see a lot more closings in the near future. I’d say that >> most coworking spaces open today fall into one of four categories: >> >> 1- they’re generally unsustainable, and will die within 2 years. >> 2 - they’re generally unsustainable, but somebody is pumping cash into >> them to extend the 2 year life expectancy. Some will right the ship, but >> many will not before the cash dries up. >> 3 - they’re growing sustainably >> 4 - they’re growing unsustainably >> >> I’d say that 80%+ of coworking spaces I encounter fall into unsustainable >> categories 1 and 2. ~18% (maybe a bit less) are safely in category 3, and >> less than 2% in category 4. >> >> -Alex >> >> ------------------ >> *The #1 mistake in community building is doing it by yourself.* >> Join the list: http://coworkingweekly.com >> Listen to the podcast: http://listen.coworkingweekly.com >> >> >> >> On Sat, Jan 3, 2015 at 3:32 AM, Farhan Abbasi <findfar...@gmail.com> >> wrote: >> >>> Hi Alex, >>> >>> Glad you did this survey in 2012. Any chance you still have the results? >>> Farhan >>> On Wednesday, 19 September 2012 09:19:57 UTC-4, Alex Hillman wrote: >>>> >>>> Excellent suggestion on location data, and the little formatting fix. >>>> On their way. >>>> >>>> I've got a dozen or so submissions overnight. Keep 'em coming people. >>>> >>>> -- >>>> /ah >>>> indyhall.org >>>> coworking in philadelphia >>>> >>>> On Wednesday, September 19, 2012 at 8:45 AM, rachel young wrote: >>>> >>>> >>>> Hi, >>>> >>>> Thanks for starting this, Alex. I'm curious about the results too. >>>> >>>> I suggest adding mandatory fields for City, Province/State, and Country >>>> so that you can easily search and sort by region. The two entries I just >>>> sent were from Toronto, ON Canada. >>>> >>>> Also you copied the notes ("It doesn't have to be a eulogy...") from the >>>> second last question to the last question. Just a formatting thing. >>>> r. >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> *____________________ rachel young*rac...@camaraderie.ca >>>> >>>> *Find us in person:* >>>> Camaraderie >>>> 102 Adelaide St E 2nd Floor >>>> Toronto, ON M5C 1K9 >>>> (647) 861-4350 >>>> >>>> *Find us online:* >>>> Website/blog <http://camaraderie.ca> and Newsletter >>>> <http://bit.ly/camaraderienewsletter> >>>> Google+ <http://bit.ly/CamaraderiePlus>, Twitter >>>> <http://twitter.com/camaraderie>, Facebook <http://bit.ly/9zv3Fx>, and >>>> LinkedIn <http://bit.ly/CamaraderieGroup> >>>> >>>> *Be in business for yourself, not by yourself! * >>>> *Continue the conversations you started on May 27* >>>> *at FLCTO2 by joining the LinkedIn group <http://linkd.in/FLCTO>.* >>>> >>>> *Are you a coworking commitmentphobe? * >>>> *Try the Coworking Toronto Passport Program >>>> <http://bit.ly/CTOPassport2012>* >>>> *for a day pass to seven spaces for one price.* >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> On 18 September 2012 22:46, Alex Hillman <dangerous...@gmail.com> wrote: >>>> >>>> Thanks Chris. Great idea on opening up the closure dates to the future. >>>> I don't expect to close the form so we can continue to collect data over >>>> time. >>>> >>>> I've removed the "required" part of the date fields to allow for more >>>> flexible entry and updated the intro. >>>> >>>> More suggestions and sharing welcome :) >>>> >>>> -Alex >>>> >>>> >>>> -- >>>> /ah >>>> indyhall.org >>>> coworking in philadelphia >>>> build amazing communities: masterclass.indyhall.org >>>> >>>> On Tuesday, September 18, 2012 at 10:40 PM, Chris DiFonzo wrote: >>>> >>>> Alex - >>>> >>>> Props for starting this thread. I think the information will be valuable >>>> and hopefully help some current owner/operators succeed in spite of >>>> adversity. >>>> >>>> I think you will get more responses, and perhaps salvage more existing >>>> cases, if you include owners/spaces that fear or outright anticipate >>>> failure in the next 12 months. >>>> >>>> Btw, If you like we will tweet survey tomorrow. >>>> >>>> Best, >>>> Chris >>>> >>>> On Sep 18, 2012, at 10:14 PM, Alex Hillman <dangerous...@gmail.com> >>>> wrote: >>>> >>>> I'm sure I'm not the only person on this group who has google alerts >>>> set up for the words "coworking" and, sigh, "co-working". >>>> >>>> Between the number of new space announcements that show up in those >>>> alerts, Deskmag's reporting on coworking growth trends, and many amazing >>>> success stories that we've all been privy to seeing unfold, there's no >>>> doubt in any of our minds that coworking isn't disappearing any time soon. >>>> >>>> But speckled in the success stories are sadder ones. Coworking spaces >>>> who struggled and failed. >>>> >>>> Another one hit my Google Reader tonight, in St Louis. Hence this email >>>> and this project being spurred right now. >>>> >>>> On one hand, the *business of coworking *is susceptible to all of the >>>> rules of starting a new business - there's going to be a failure rate. Not >>>> every business is meant to be. The rate at which I hear about closings is >>>> increasing, but it's hard to tell if it's growing in or out of proportion >>>> of openings. >>>> >>>> Between coworking spaces that struggle to keep the lights on and >>>> coworking spaces that have closed (for good or bad reasons), there's >>>> patterns in closures that I personally find very interesting, far more >>>> interesting in "new hotness variations" on the coworking models. >>>> >>>> The pattern-watcher that I am, I see *some *things, but I need more >>>> information to start building a hypothesis that can be proven or disproven. >>>> >>>> I can't do this alone. If you've started and closed a coworking space, >>>> been a member of a coworking space that struggled and failed, or are simply >>>> a passionate observer who saw an unfortunate closing, please take a few >>>> minutes to help fill out this survey: >>>> >>>> https://indyhall.wufoo.com/forms/coworking-space-closings/ >>>> >>>> This information is personal and potentially sensitive. I don't expect >>>> all of the replies to include names or all of the details. Many people on >>>> this list have shared their personal stories before, and we should all be >>>> thankful for that. >>>> >>>> The best solution I could come up with is to choose how anonymous you >>>> would like to be. >>>> >>>> *1) The name and email address fields are optional and will ONLY be used >>>> to reconnect with the submitter for more information.* >>>> *2) The final required question asks for your consent to share the data >>>> you enter, beside the optional name/email fields which are anonymous by >>>> default. In case you have an alternate preference, you can specify it in >>>> "other".* >>>> >>>> There's researchers on the list, so if there's other fields that you >>>> think I should include (or better ways to collect the same data), I'm all >>>> ears. >>>> >>>> *Even if you're not aware of closings you can share about, I need help >>>> getting the word out about this project. *I'm hoping for some >>>> assistance from Steve King & Team Deskmag since I know this stuff is >>>> already on their radar. If there's anyone else already studying this (all >>>> of the quiet grad students on this list, I'm looking at you), I'd love to >>>> share work reciprocally. >>>> >>>> My goal is to organize this information and share some hypothesis that >>>> we all study together and share back again, overall helping the ecosystem >>>> not just learn from successes but also avoid repeating historic failure >>>> patterns. >>>> >>>> My hope is to be buried under a mountain of responses and have to >>>> recruit some of you to help me dig myself out :) >>>> >>>> Thanks y'all. >>>> >>>> -Alex >>>> >>>> >>>> -- >>>> /ah >>>> indyhall.org >>>> coworking in philadelphia >>>> build amazing communities: masterclass.indyhall.org >>>> >>>> -- >>>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google >>>> Groups "Coworking" group. >>>> To post to this group, send email to cowo...@googlegroups.com. >>>> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to >>>> coworking+...@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 cowo...@googlegroups.com. >>>> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to >>>> coworking+...@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 cowo...@googlegroups.com. >>>> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to >>>> coworking+...@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 cowo...@googlegroups.com. >>>> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to >>>> coworking+...@googlegroups.com. >>>> For more options, visit this group at >>>> http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en. >>>> >>>> >>>> -- >>> 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. >>> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an >>> email to coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. >>> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. >>> >> >> -- >> 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. >> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an >> email to coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. >> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. >> > -- > 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. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. -- 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. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
