Re: [Coworking] Membership pricing and structure, add on amenities, etc

[Jeannine van der Linden]

Funny thing, our process was different but from halfway around the world 
from you, I can say that we ended up at nearly the exact same place with 
memberships and levels.

I started out with standard memberships and standard packages.  Thereafter 
I gave that up and started doing everything on a bespoke basis.  This was 
great until we appraoched 80 coworkers, at which point it became difficult 
and with mroe spaces it became impossible. So then we went back to the 
community with the numbers and came up with something we all liked, which 
looks very much like what you have there.

In the "rural" spaces where the population is less than 50K (we have two) 
we find far more "non-standard"  use of the space and therefore more custom 
agreements.  (I have scare quites aroudn rural because in the Netherlands a 
place with a population under 50K can be quite urban)..
  
I also don't see anything about specifically corporate memberships, have 
you dealt with that at all?  Or do you just approach them all the same?  We 
have a couple of contracts with large companies who contract for use of the 
space by their employees; this is a little weird in the beginning because 
the person you deal with to set up the membership and the person who 
actually shows up are not the same but also they have different interests. 
 We haven't had a direct conflict yet but it took a little getting used to 
for everybody.

In any event, the setup for corporate memberships turns out to be also 
mostly custom.  At least here.

Cheers,

Jeannine

On Monday, October 5, 2015 at 7:06:52 PM UTC+2, Alex Hillman wrote:
>
> I got a LOT of emails off list about my reply to this post, so I decided 
> to put a little extra time into fleshing it out and filled in some more 
> specific details that I left out of my original post. I give you...
>
> The ultimate guide to structuring your coworking space memberships 
> 
>  
>
> :) 
>
> Did I miss something you want to know more about? Or leave something out? 
> Lemme know. 
>
> -Alex
>
>>
>>>
>>

-- 
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.

[Coworking] Re: Google calendars for reserving conference rooms

[Jeannine van der Linden]

We also use Google Calendar for reservations and we have the same problem. 
 The less technically fluent coworkers blocak out their time on their own 
Google Calendar and miss the drop down that would ptu it on the shared 
calendar.

Also with Apple users who do the same thing, apparently the integration 
there is truicky.

Either I or one of the Communty Managers usually shows them how to do it 
the first time.  I used Skitch to make a cheat sheet for folks, which I 
give them at that time.  This leaves about 15% who just keep having 
trouble/need some hand holding.  I have tried several things for this but 
int he end mostly they send us an emaila nd we book it in for them.  These 
folks tend not to book in much, after two or three tries everybody else 
catches on.  :-)

Cheers,

Jeannine

On Wednesday, September 30, 2015 at 10:48:40 PM UTC+2, Aloma Loren wrote:
>
> We've been using Google calendars to allow our members to reserve the 
> conference rooms and it has worked really well so far. 
> The only issue we've run into is user based with people who aren't 
> familiar with Google calendars. It is really nice because members can just 
> get on and see what's available and add their event.
>
> I'm curious how other people manage their conference room reservations?
>

-- 
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.

Re: [Coworking] Re: Google calendars for reserving conference rooms

[Jonathan Markwell]

I recommend trying https://youcanbook.me. It adds a nice layer of user
experience over your existing Google Calendars.

We've been using it for the last year at The Skiff and it's removed all the
manual steps in our room booking process.

Jon

On 8 October 2015 at 10:02, Jeannine van der Linden <
flexkantoorkame...@gmail.com> wrote:

> We also use Google Calendar for reservations and we have the same
> problem.  The less technically fluent coworkers blocak out their time on
> their own Google Calendar and miss the drop down that would ptu it on the
> shared calendar.
>
> Also with Apple users who do the same thing, apparently the integration
> there is truicky.
>
> Either I or one of the Communty Managers usually shows them how to do it
> the first time.  I used Skitch to make a cheat sheet for folks, which I
> give them at that time.  This leaves about 15% who just keep having
> trouble/need some hand holding.  I have tried several things for this but
> int he end mostly they send us an emaila nd we book it in for them.  These
> folks tend not to book in much, after two or three tries everybody else
> catches on.  :-)
>
> Cheers,
>
> Jeannine
>
> On Wednesday, September 30, 2015 at 10:48:40 PM UTC+2, Aloma Loren wrote:
>>
>> We've been using Google calendars to allow our members to reserve the
>> conference rooms and it has worked really well so far.
>> The only issue we've run into is user based with people who aren't
>> familiar with Google calendars. It is really nice because members can just
>> get on and see what's available and add their event.
>>
>> I'm curious how other people manage their conference room reservations?
>>
> --
> 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.
>
> --
> Jonathan Markwell
>
> Lessons learned building better workplaces: http://jonathanmarkwell.com
>
> Work better in Brighton: http://theskiff.org
> Coworking community with workspace in North Laine.
>
> Find your coworking community: http://worksnug.com
> Worldwide workspace directory that puts communities first.
>
> Ship your digital product: http://coderfounders.com
> Coaching for businesses that want to make money while they sleep.
>
> +44 (0)7766 021 485
> skype: jlmarkwell | twitter: http://twitter.com/jot
>
>

-- 
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.

[Coworking] Pitch for Corporate Sponsors

[Weebiz Media]

Hi all,
I'm looking for a template of a pitch for corporate sponsors for a planned 
coworking space. Has anyone a doc they would be willing to share that I could 
use?
Thanks
Ken

-- 
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.

Re: [Coworking] Pitch for Corporate Sponsors

[jonathan . markwell]

Two questions I recommend you consider:



Are you sure you need a corporate sponsor?


Are you sure you want a corporate sponsor that needs a pitch doc to make a 
decision?




Sorry this doesn't directly answer your question but I've heard more bad things 
about having corporate sponsors than I have good.




Jon



—
Jonathan Markwell

Follow my adventures in space, time and code: http://jot.is/sustainablyindy

The Skiff: Brighton Coworking Community http://jot.is/sharing-space
Coder Founders: Digital Product Consultancy http://jot.is/investing-time
CoGrid: Meeting Room Booking Software http://jot.is/writing-code

+44 (0)7766 021 485
skype: jlmarkwell | twitter: http://twitter.com/jot

-- 
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.

Re: [Coworking] Membership pricing and structure, add on amenities, etc

[Jennifer Kready]

IF there was some way to dance for joy on the Internet, I'd be doing it. 
 Short of making a video, just assume I'm doing it.

Thanks Alex!

On Wednesday, September 30, 2015 at 4:42:13 PM UTC-5, Alex Hillman wrote:
>
> A common mistake is thinking that lots of "upgrade" options turns into 
> more money. I hope to break that opinion for you today :)
>
> In fact, lots of upgrade options creates a paralyzing collection of 
> options and a fear of being nickled and dimed. People hesitate to join 
> because they're confused by how they're going to budget for all of the 
> things they MIGHT need...even if they don't actually need them yet. 
>
> And limiting access by the hour means record keeping for you, record 
> keeping for them, and worrying about "staying longer and going over". 
> Especially when your hourly limits don't coincide with hours in an 
> 'average' work day, people feel like you're a phone company keeping track 
> of their minutes instead of a cozy place to go and get productive when they 
> need it. 
>
> *So with that in mind, in my experience, you'd be able to make more money 
> with LESS options...but better ones. *
>
> When we launched, we had three membership levels, all inclusive:
>
> - Basic membership. $25/month (now $30/month). Includes one drop-in day 
> per month. Additional days $15/day a la carte. 
> - Lite membership. $175/month (now $200/month). Includes 3 days a week, or 
> 12 days a month. 
> - Full time membership, $275/month (now $300/month). Your own desk where 
> you can leave your stuff. No extra charges. 
>
> And about 3 years in, our book keeper pointed out that we had a lot of 
> basic members coming in roughly 6 times a month. We could create a 6 
> day/month membership and save everyone a bunch of book keeping on the extra 
> $15/day drop in rates. So we did that and added:
>
> - Six-pack membership: $100/month (now $120/month). Includes six drop-in 
> days a month. Additional $15/day. (note that there's no actual 
> savings...just less paperwork). 
>
> *Six-pack membership quickly became our second most popular membership. Go 
> figure. :)*
>
> The lower levels are often overlooked because the assumption is "more 
> money from bigger memberships, right?"
>
> Except...a LOT of people just need to get out of the house or office once 
> a week or once a month. Far more than need a dedicated space. And for 
> people who don't NEED to commute, there's not a lot of incentive to work 
> from the same place every day. Finally, not every kind of work makes sense 
> in a coworking space. Having strong and easy to choose flex options makes 
> coworking attractive to more people, including the ones who only come in 
> once or twice a month. 
>
> All levels of membership are valuable, but basic membership and six pack 
> membership make coworking feel less like "an office I use" and more like "a 
> place where I can go when I need a change of scenery" which we've found 
> resonates with a LOT more people. 
>
> The other benefit of having basic and six pack memberships is that over 
> 1/3rd of our revenue comes from people who *almost never use a desk. *
>
> We've done the math and if we charged for some of the things we include in 
> all memberships (member conf room usage, printing, etc) it'd come out to a 
> small fraction of that same amount of revenue. And best of all, we get to 
> tell all of our members, "don't worry, that's included in your membership." 
>
> That makes them feel *awesome*.
>
> Last thing we added was in 2014 as an experiment. The source of the 
> experiment was that we noticed two trends:
>
> 1 - more people were saying "I'll join Indy Hall when I quit my job/need a 
> place to work"
> 2 - more people who joined Indy Hall later cancelling, saying "I'm not 
> using it enough"
>
> Both of these were relatively new patterns. Prior to that, people happily 
> joined with Basic membership just to be a card-carrying member. But as 
> coworking mainstreamed, more people started to see coworking as "something 
> I'll buy when I need an office, but better". This also explained our new 
> cancellation reason. "I'm not using it enough" signaled that they viewed it 
> as a thing to consume vs a thing to belong to. 
>
> That's a problem we can fix. 
>
> So we added a new membership, the *Community Membership. $20/month or 
> $200/year prepaid. NO coworking days included. *
>
> Just online community (we use a power-combo of GroupBuzz 
>  and Slack , as I've mentioned in 
> other posts) which are amazingly vibrant, plus they can come to our free 
> events without feeling like a freeloader. 
>
> And we made it our FLAGSHIP membership 
> . All of our coworking memberships 
> came with community membership included. There wasn't a way to join Indy 
> Hall without having a community membership. 
>
> Crazy? Well, the language and positioning worked amazingly. 
>
> We started to see a reversal in BOTH tre