Haha. Ok, then a gathering of, say, owners of 6+ year old operations. We can talk about “the good ‘ole days.”
Jerome www.BLANKSPACES.com > On Feb 12, 2018, at 11:10 AM, Will Bennis, Locus Workspace > <w...@locusworkspace.com> wrote: > > Thanks for the feedback, Jerome. > > It's nice to hear that felt like a special event from others who have been > around for a while. Definitely did for me, but I don't make it to a lot of > coworking owner/manager events. > > I like the idea of a 10+ year event, but you'll have to give me 2+ years. :) > >> On Monday, February 12, 2018 at 6:02:05 PM UTC+1, Jerome wrote: >> Hi all. >> >> I recall that Oct 2011 gathering at my space. It was truly collaborative, >> and a milestone in my eyes of coworking history. I never thought of the >> other participants as competitors as no one was even in the same geography, >> and even if so, the industry was growing so quickly. >> >> Thank you Will for your honest revelation about closing your first location. >> I did the same last month after 10 years in our original Wilshire location, >> which I believe was the first in the SoCal/Southwestern US area. I agree >> that it’s hard to let go of the original, which I consider a prototype. >> Nonetheless, the memories of how we started, and how the photos were used in >> a lot of PR/press...are now just photos of memories. >> >> I would say that closing that location didn’t exactly get me to work “on my >> business,” but I really don’t miss having either that location, or a 4th - >> not sure yet. That said, I’m a glutton for punishment and plan to open a >> downtown Long Beach location this Spring. Yikes. :-/ >> >> Maybe it’s time for another gathering of folks, not with 1 year experience, >> but 10+? :-) >> >> Jerome, founder & architect >> www.BLANKSPACES.com >> >>> On Feb 11, 2018, at 11:36 PM, Will Bennis, Locus Workspace >>> <wi...@locusworkspace.com> wrote: >>> >>> Thank you so much for this feedback, Steve. Really cool to hear about your >>> influences and experiences with my father's writing. He was actually >>> sitting in the back of the room at a long-ago small coworking conference >>> that you were at, I think the only time I met you in person (a meeting at >>> Blankspaces in Santa Monica for coworking space owners who had been in >>> business for a year or more, maybe in 2012 or so). He kind of just wanted >>> to sneak in and see what his son was working on, but was truly inspired by >>> the optimism and willingness to openly collaborate among a roomful of >>> competitors. I know you're in most many ways the same kind of observer, but >>> thought you'd be interested to know. >>> >>>> On Sunday, February 11, 2018 at 6:38:59 PM UTC+1, Steve King wrote: >>>> Will: Excellent essay that I enjoyed on several levels. First, your >>>> father's work had a major impact on my career. I was slugging it out >>>> climbing the corporate ladder in the late 80's and 90's. On Becoming a >>>> Leader and his other work greatly helped me shift from being a front line >>>> manager to an exec. In particular, his work made me understands the >>>> importance of developing and communicating what George Bush senior called >>>> "the vision thing". I was also fortunate enough to hear your father speak >>>> several times. He was very inspiring. >>>> >>>> Second, in our work advising startups we often find startup CEO's and >>>> other execs struggle making the shift from working for the company to on >>>> the company. This is a very hard transition - especially for founders - >>>> and many fail because of their inability to do so. >>>> >>>> And I also agree with your points on the importance of environment and its >>>> importance to independent workers. >>>> >>>> Good luck with the new location. >>>> >>>> Steve >>>> >>>> >>>>> On Saturday, February 10, 2018 at 5:42:37 AM UTC-8, Will Bennis, Locus >>>>> Workspace wrote: >>>>> Finally finished the final post in a long promised three part series >>>>> about closing a branch of my coworking space. >>>>> >>>>> It's about the optimism that can come from scaling down, about overcoming >>>>> the entrepreneur's central challenge of transitioning from "working for >>>>> your company to working on your company" (from maintaining your business >>>>> to developing it), about the role of external context in work success, >>>>> and a tribute to my father (who was a pioneer in leadership studies and >>>>> who passed away in 2014). >>>>> >>>>> Would love to hear others' thoughts, as I think it has a lot to do with >>>>> common challenges we all face, and not much to do with my particular >>>>> coworking space! >>>>> >>>>>> On Tuesday, August 1, 2017 at 6:10:23 PM UTC+2, Alex Hillman wrote: >>>>>> Thanks for sharing this, Will. Part two, about relief, was especially >>>>>> resonant for me! >>>>>> >>>>>> Seems bittersweet - excited to read part three about optimism :) >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> ------------------ >>>>>> The #1 mistake in community building is doing it by yourself. >>>>>> Better Coworkers: http://indyhall.org >>>>>> Weekly Coworking Tips: http://coworkingweekly.com >>>>>> My Audiobook: https://theindyhallway.com/ten >>>>>> >>>>>>> On Sun, Jul 30, 2017 at 7:54 AM, Will Bennis, Locus Workspace >>>>>>> <wi...@locusworkspace.com> wrote: >>>>>>> Just adding to this thread to announce another coworking space closing >>>>>>> (Locus Workspace's first location in Prague, Czech Republic). We're not >>>>>>> out of business, just consolidating from two to one space. And >>>>>>> ultimately it was a great thing. But it was our first location and >>>>>>> really a difficult choice to make. Anyway, here's a blog post about the >>>>>>> sadness that came with closing the space. Running that space was a >>>>>>> really important part of my life, and much of it would not have been >>>>>>> possible without the inspiration, ideas, and general good will that >>>>>>> came from this group. >>>>>>> >>>>>>> Best, >>>>>>> Will >>>>>>> >>>>>>> >>>>>>>> On Monday, February 9, 2015 at 8:32:37 AM UTC+1, OphelieR wrote: >>>>>>>> Thanks Andy for sharing these data. In our coworking the trend is a >>>>>>>> bit different. >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> The average churn rate is 5% on all our memberships except the full >>>>>>>> time coworking (different from resident/dedicated desk) which has a >>>>>>>> churn rate of 8%. We don't have data around the main reason for >>>>>>>> living, it's something we're putting in place at the moment but >>>>>>>> basically if someone cancel from full time coworking it doesn't >>>>>>>> necessarily mean they will upgrade to resident desk or downgrade to >>>>>>>> part time. >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> Moreover, the number of full time coworker is much lower compare to >>>>>>>> our resident members or part time coworkers. I was discussing this >>>>>>>> with another coworking space owner at the GCUC in Bali last week and >>>>>>>> they had a similar issues. >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> Is it something other coworking spaces are experiencing with full time >>>>>>>> coworker ? Does anyone have any explanation for this ? >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>> On Wednesday, September 19, 2012 at 10:14:37 AM UTC+8, Alex Hillman >>>>>>>>> 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 unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send >>>>>>> an email to coworking+...@googlegroups.com. >>>>>>> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. >>>>>> >>> >>> -- >>> 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+...@googlegroups.com. >>> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. > > -- > 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. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Coworking" group. 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