Re: [Coworking] What to do when someone gives 30 day notice and then doesn't move out?

[Scott Novotny]

In the past, when I've had members in a situation when a member is
struggling to leave after giving me notice, I generally try to change the
motivating factor for them. If you let them think about it on the lines of
'we're staying until our space is done and it will keep slipping forward',
you're at their whim and they're only motivated by when they can get into
the other space, rather than considering when they also need to be out of
yours.

If you can get them to be thinking about their last day in your space as
well as their first day in the other, you're an active participant in the
process, not an afterthought. Once I have a firm move out date, I talk to
them about the process. IE: "Your last day is 9/30. We'll check the
following day for damages and return your deposit via check through the
mail once the space is vacated and we confirm that there aren't any
issues."

If, in the days before the move they don't seem to have made progress in
removing their things, I'll follow and let them know that their last day is
approaching, and ask what their plans are to be out by said date. This
again puts you in an active role in the process. At any point, if they
communicate a desire to extend and I don't already have a signed contract,
I'll evaluate that on a case-by-case basis. If I do extend, an invoice will
be immediately issued. Our final round of followup if someone hasn't made
any effort to leave in the last couple days of their agreement, is to let
them know that their electronic keys will be deactivated, so their access
to the space will be terminated on X day at X time, and request a move out
plan from them. I don't generally get to this point, but if I do, I tend to
hold firm on that date and time. This has only happened a couple of times,
and these folks weren't communicating their plans to us and wouldn't commit
to paying for additional time. I will offer an extension of hours: "We'll
keep your keys on until midnight, rather than terminating them at 5PM so
that you have time to get your belongings out after hours". This short term
extension lets people know that you're serious and really forces them to
make plans to move on.

There's always room to be accommodating and hopefully the time that you've
spent with these folks in your community has given you some rapport. Clear
communication has helped us keep members from taking advantage of the month
to month nature of the industry in overstaying their issued departure
dates. Generally, people are thankful for having the reminders and they get
the feeling that we're looking out for them by helping them to not let time
slip by, rather than hurrying them out.

Good luck!

On Fri, Sep 7, 2018 at 10:25 AM Alex Hillman 
wrote:

> That makes a lot of sense!
>
> Sothis doesn't directly address your question, but we've been able to
> avoid a lot of the receivables headache by doing some form of auto-debit as
> the default for our memberships. If someone NEEDS to pay with a check
> (usually a company accounting requirement) we allow it with a minimum 3
> month prepayment at a time - we don't offer a discount for that, since it's
> us making a change to our usual workflow to accommodate for their
> accounting needs. All other notices stay the same (for us, 30 days notice
> required to get their deposit back). This pre-payment flow just reduces the
> number of times per year that I have to think about someone being late, and
> lets me focus on everything else.
>
> We do have to deal with failed payments via auto-debit (cards expire, get
> lost, etc), and similar to your situation I've learned that *sometimes it
> takes a firm but friendly communication directly from the "head" of the
> organization* (vs a location manager) to get people to take action. I
> don't like that I have to step in, but it works nearly every time my
> teammates have been unable to get someone to address a billing issue.
>
> As for stuff you can put into writing for future reference, you might
> include something that puts a firm per-day rate that will be billed outside
> of active membership. We have this in place for when members periodically
> add a person to their team for an unknown amount of time - we just make it
> clear that those days are billed at X rate and automatically added to their
> next monthly invoice & charge.
>
> Communication is really the key to all of this - I'm very, very flexible
> (and encourage my team to be) as long as people are proactive
> communicators. Changes happen, and we always try to find a fair compromise
> when we can. When someone abuses our flexibility by *not communicating
> with us* my flexibility becomes much more limited.
>
> Hope this helps!
>
>
>
>
> --
> *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 Thu, Sep 6, 2018 at 6:30 PM Aloma Loren 
> wrote:
>
>> Oh 

Re: [Coworking] Opening a Space, have many questions!

[Alex Hillman]

>
> I'm trying my best to figure out that my "onramps" are as accessible as
> possible but I feel that it isn't. Maybe it relies too much on when I can
> host an event and people might lose interest. I have a coworking meetup
> tonight at wework and hopefully if all goes well I can have someone host
> another sooner than next time I originally wanted to host (scheduling
> conflicts).
>

Consistency is a LOT more important than how often.

Doing small, low-impact gatherings (happy hours & pot luck dinners, demo
nights & casual coworking sessions) more often is ultimately more valuable
than big, complex events that have lots of dependencies (special event
spaces, speakers/presenters, etc).

Deep connections are more valuable at this stage than a large audience.


> The connecting members is another one, maybe I should have people offer if
> they'd like to post their personal portfolio being we are mainly artists, I
> do sometimes get the "how can I keep in touch with everyone that came?"
> chat.
>

That's a good sign! Give people a place to connect online in between
events. I strongly prefer email discussion lists over social media
platforms, but anything is better than nothing. Encouraging people to have
discussions that are productive and valuable, e.g. asking for
help/recommendations on how to solve a problem, or sharing/celebrating each
others' work.

The continuity of online interaction between offline events is a HUGE part
of how we got started, and our online community is still larger than our
active day-to-day coworking by more than double. This episode has a bunch
of examples of how we use Slack
, but they could easily be
applied to any platform and should inspire more that are relevant to you
and your community.

I definitely think it's way too early to open a space and the
> funding/sponsors question is mainly for networking events I throw and
> hopefully I can generate interest from nearby companies/organizations
> (autodesk, adobe, wacom, ves society) to help with cost / promotion of the
> event, this being a digital artist networking event. Is this too much of a
> reach? haha. I been to successful events in NYC and LA where I've seen this
> happen, why not here?!
>

It can never hurt to ask (and I know personally that Adobe is generally
interested in supporting local community efforts). My only advice here is
to make sure you don't get sucked into serving sponsors more than the
members. It's not hard to make an event that benefits a sponsor and the
community without it becoming an advertisement. It just means keeping your
members first, *always*, and showing sponsors how to "show up" in ways they
aren't always used to .

-Alex

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Re: [Coworking] What to do when someone gives 30 day notice and then doesn't move out?

[Alex Hillman]

That makes a lot of sense!

Sothis doesn't directly address your question, but we've been able to
avoid a lot of the receivables headache by doing some form of auto-debit as
the default for our memberships. If someone NEEDS to pay with a check
(usually a company accounting requirement) we allow it with a minimum 3
month prepayment at a time - we don't offer a discount for that, since it's
us making a change to our usual workflow to accommodate for their
accounting needs. All other notices stay the same (for us, 30 days notice
required to get their deposit back). This pre-payment flow just reduces the
number of times per year that I have to think about someone being late, and
lets me focus on everything else.

We do have to deal with failed payments via auto-debit (cards expire, get
lost, etc), and similar to your situation I've learned that *sometimes it
takes a firm but friendly communication directly from the "head" of the
organization* (vs a location manager) to get people to take action. I don't
like that I have to step in, but it works nearly every time my teammates
have been unable to get someone to address a billing issue.

As for stuff you can put into writing for future reference, you might
include something that puts a firm per-day rate that will be billed outside
of active membership. We have this in place for when members periodically
add a person to their team for an unknown amount of time - we just make it
clear that those days are billed at X rate and automatically added to their
next monthly invoice & charge.

Communication is really the key to all of this - I'm very, very flexible
(and encourage my team to be) as long as people are proactive
communicators. Changes happen, and we always try to find a fair compromise
when we can. When someone abuses our flexibility by *not communicating with
us* my flexibility becomes much more limited.

Hope this helps!




--
*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 Thu, Sep 6, 2018 at 6:30 PM Aloma Loren 
wrote:

> Oh no we've been in contact (my office manager, not me personally) and
> they just keep saying their new space isn't ready yet. We're totally fine
> with that but now we don't have last month's dues on file and they keep
> saying they will for sure be out by such and such a date but then that time
> comes and they aren't out. I think we have this specific situation figured
> out - they just gave us another "for sure" date and asked for an invoice
> but I'd like to have a policy in place for how to approach this in the
> future. I am not hard line on our policies, I think one of the values of
> being a part of a coworking space is certainly offering members flexibility
> but I do like to have something in writing for when we need to fall back on
> that and to make sure expectations are clear in the beginning.  We have had
> several other issues with this member so I want to make sure we are very
> clear as they have been one of our more difficult members (this situation
> aside).
>
> On Thursday, September 6, 2018 at 3:23:26 PM UTC-7, Alex Hillman wrote:
>>
>> If the question is “what do I say” then the big question is...what have
>> you already said?
>>
>> “I’m not sure what to say to them” makes me think...no conversation has
>> been had about this yet?
>>
>> Before invoking policy, I always start by trying to understand the
>> context and figure out what’s going on. Did some plans change and they
>> forget to tell you? Or are they ignoring attempts to contact completely?
>> Something else that’s out of your field of view?
>>
>> Alex
>>
>> On Sep 6, 2018, 6:17 PM -0400, Jerome Chang ,
>> wrote:
>>
>> You should cut off their wifi if you want to evict/vacate them asap.
>> Or insist payment for another month.
>>
>> I would recommend never applying their deposit toward their last month.
>> We hold deposits until after they move out, assess their space for damages,
>> reconcile their account, etc. Usually a month+
>>
>> *JEROME CHANG*
>> *talk to us: (323) 330-9505*
>> *chat w/ us: http://www.BLANKSPACES.com/chat
>> *
>>
>> *WEST: Santa Monica | 1450 2nd St (@Broadway)*
>> *CENTRAL: Culver City | 9415 Culver Blvd   (@Main St) *
>> *EAST: DTLA* | 529 S. Broadway, Ste 400
>> *(@Pershing Sq)*
>> *NORTH: Pasadena* | 680 E. Colorado, Ste 180 (b/w Lake and Los Robles)
>> *SOUTH: Long Beach* | 309 Pine Ave (@Broadway) - opening 2018
>>
>> On Sep 6, 2018, at 3:04 PM, Aloma Loren  wrote:
>>
>> We have a member who gave their 30 day notice that July would be their
>> last month so we applied their last months dues we had on file.
>> They are still in the office and keep saying they will be out by this or
>> that date and then the date comes and they are still there. They said
>> around August 5th they would definitely be out by the 15th and to 

Re: [Coworking] Pandora stations for coworking space

[Alex Hillman]

I’m a strong advocate for music playing softly in common areas and depending on 
the design details of the space, some (but not all) work areas too.

In environments where people intend and desire to interact with one another, a 
little bit of music helps a LOT to break the silence that otherwise discourages 
people from even saying hello.

We also avoid putting speakers in all areas to make it possible for people to 
choose quieter areas - and some definitely do! Giving people a certain range of 
choices that encourage movement and self-selection is an important part of the 
coworking design process.

The exact kind of music can vary - we have been building a collection of 
playlists for years and often enjoy using Spotify to create new artist or genre 
based stations depending on the vibe/mood of the room, time of day, other 
activities taking place, etc.

One of my fav experiences is when I can look across a room and see a bunch of 
people softly bobbing their heads to a beat, or even mouthing the words to the 
songs being played. Encouraging members to suggest or help build playlists is 
also a major opportunity for bonding and working together on something with low 
stakes but that lots of other members can enjoy together.

Contrast that to a common experience I hear from people visiting other spaces 
where they comment on it feeling cold, impersonal, and most commonly “like a 
library - nobody talks to anybody.”

To be clear, the music itself is just one small part of the overall “vibe” and 
no one thing alone matters as much as the whole experience. I think of it like 
the ingredients needed to grow a garden. Sunshine, water, nutrient rich soil, 
etc...the acoustic experience in a space is going to shape what happens, who is 
attracted, how they interact, and what grows from there.

I also know that there are spaces that specially are advertising “silent” 
spaces for when you need heads down focus time. I think this is a great idea, 
depending on what you’re able to facilitate with your physical space. I will 
say that we really struggled with this. Having an environment within our space 
that felt “policed for quiet” made it a hotbed of conflict, most commonly 
because people have a wide range of expectations of what quiet is. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Sound design can take a lot of forms, and I strongly encourage people to start 
by deciding WITH YOUR COMMUNITY what the priorities are, and then making design 
choices that support those priorities.

Alex
On Sep 7, 2018, 8:15 AM -0400, Kewal Parmar , wrote:
> Hello all!! Hope everyone is doing great.
>
> I have been researching over how coworking spaces can be made more lively and 
> engaging. Tony mentioned about having music stations. Does anybody mind 
> sharing some more insights to this point?
>
> Regards
>
> > On Sat, Sep 1, 2018 at 7:11 PM, Tony Bacigalupo  
> > wrote:
> > > Ooh boy, I love this topic!
> > >
> > > Music in a coworking space is a fascinating thing. It’s actually quite 
> > > important, and it’s something that occupies (in many spaces) every hour 
> > > that the space is open.
> > >
> > > 40+ hours a week of music programming is no small undertaking! You’re 
> > > basically managing a tiny radio station.
> > >
> > > On Pandora specifically, I found good fortune with:
> > >
> > > - Emancipator
> > > - Gotan Project
> > > - Tycho
> > >
> > > However, the one station that lasted the longest for us (years!) was the 
> > > Indie Pop Rocks station on Soma FM:
> > >
> > > http://somafm.com/home.html
> > >
> > > Somehow it manages to blend into the background but still be interesting 
> > > and catchy and upbeat and never seems to get repetitive. It was as 
> > > perfect as anything we could find.
> > >
> > > There are now also sites that specifically cater towards music for 
> > > focusing, like:
> > > https://www1.brain.fm/
> > >
> > > Let us know what you end up finding!
> > >
> > > Tony
> > >
> > >
> > > > On Sat, Sep 1, 2018 at 3:42 AM  wrote:
> > > > > From experience, what Pandora stations have you found work best in 
> > > > > your space? I want something modern, catchy, but not offensive, 
> > > > > annoying, or sleepy. Trying to find a good medium!
> > > > > --
> > > > > 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 
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> > > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
>
>
>
> --
> Thanks and Regards
> Kewal Parmar
> Business Development Manager
>
> M: +917202857076
> --
> You received this message because you are 

Re: [Coworking] Opening a Space, have many questions!

[Jesse Flores]

Wow! thanks Alex this was very helpful. 

I'm trying my best to figure out that my "onramps" are as accessible as 
possible but I feel that it isn't. Maybe it relies too much on when I can 
host an event and people might lose interest. I have a coworking meetup 
tonight at wework and hopefully if all goes well I can have someone host 
another sooner than next time I originally wanted to host (scheduling 
conflicts). 
The connecting members is another one, maybe I should have people offer if 
they'd like to post their personal portfolio being we are mainly artists, I 
do sometimes get the "how can I keep in touch with everyone that came?" 
chat.

I definitely think it's way too early to open a space and the 
funding/sponsors question is mainly for networking events I throw and 
hopefully I can generate interest from nearby companies/organizations 
(autodesk, adobe, wacom, ves society) to help with cost / promotion of the 
event, this being a digital artist networking event. Is this too much of a 
reach? haha. I been to successful events in NYC and LA where I've seen this 
happen, why not here?! 







On Tuesday, September 4, 2018 at 8:30:39 AM UTC-7, Alex Hillman wrote:
>
> *How did you market to begin growing your community?*
>>
>
> Your best "marketing" will be direct invitations, in two forms. 
>
> 1 - you reaching out to specific people and inviting them to come, and
> 2 - you encouraging your existing members to do the same!
>
> Also, don't feel like everything needs to be run by you. Are there other 
> things that are going on that your community could attend/participate in 
> together?
>
> *How did you keep the community engaged? *
>>
>
> Engagement is a lousy metric IMO. It tends to lead to all kinds of stuff 
> designed to distract and demand attention, and inevitably burn people out 
> (including yourself). 
>
> Instead, the one main metric I focus on is that people feel connected. 
> - What "onramps" to interacting with other members do you have? Are they 
> tied directly to things that your members already do, or want to do?
> - Are your "onramps" accessible? To who? Who are you leaving out, 
> intentionally or accidentally? (Not saying you have to include EVERYBODY at 
> once - but I've learned to recognize my blind spots for people who'd love 
> to participate but, for instance, don't like going to bars.)
> - Is it easy for new members to connect with existing members, even in 
> small group and 1-1 settings?
> - Is there some regular rhythm of support and encouragement for these 
> kinds of interactions? i.e. if people miss one opportunity, is there 
> another one coming up again soon?
>
> Any advice on events I should host in order to keep momentum?
>>
>
> Consistency. 
>  
>
>> Is it too early to look for a space?
>>
>
> Are your members ready to put their money where their mouth is? How many? 
> Would they write a check for 1-3 months of membership today?
>
> If so, then maybe...but don't forget to do it WITH them. 
>
> If not, then yeah it's too early. 
>  
>
>> Funding? Sponsors?
>>
>
> For what?
>  
>
>> What did you do for social media outreach?
>>
>
> Talk to people like a person. :)
>
> -Alex 
>

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[Coworking] Hello!

[Katrina Dye]

Excited to put my ideas into action and pioneer the first ever Co-working 
space in Alexandria, LA.  We are perfectly located and there is nothing 
here like this today which I think is a big advantage.  The challenge in 
this area is finding my market when I have been working from home for so 
long!  I've met with the Economic Development Center, Chamber of Commerce, 
and Small Business Development Center and I've received GREAT feedback.
I turned to social media exposing my vision and am fearful the local 
business folks I've shared my idea with jump to it before I can get it off 
the ground.  Any recommendations?  As soon as I start talking about it, 
they seem clueless, follow up conversations become something more like, "I 
was also thinking of this"

I don't want to rush the process!  How can I grow my interest, and identify 
my market without losing valuable time.  Great spaces, but the rent is 
ridiculous!

Anxiously, terrified!

Katrina :)


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Re: [Coworking] Pandora stations for coworking space

[Kewal Parmar]

Hello all!! Hope everyone is doing great.

I have been researching over how coworking spaces can be made more lively
and engaging. Tony mentioned about having music stations. Does anybody mind
sharing some more insights to this point?

Regards

On Sat, Sep 1, 2018 at 7:11 PM, Tony Bacigalupo 
wrote:

> Ooh boy, I love this topic!
>
> Music in a coworking space is a fascinating thing. It’s actually quite
> important, and it’s something that occupies (in many spaces) every hour
> that the space is open.
>
> 40+ hours a week of music programming is no small undertaking! You’re
> basically managing a tiny radio station.
>
> On Pandora specifically, I found good fortune with:
>
> - Emancipator
> - Gotan Project
> - Tycho
>
> However, the one station that lasted the longest for us (years!) was the
> Indie Pop Rocks station on Soma FM:
>
> http://somafm.com/home.html
>
> Somehow it manages to blend into the background but still be interesting
> and catchy and upbeat and never seems to get repetitive. It was as perfect
> as anything we could find.
>
> There are now also sites that specifically cater towards music for
> focusing, like:
> https://www1.brain.fm/
>
> Let us know what you end up finding!
>
> Tony
>
>
> On Sat, Sep 1, 2018 at 3:42 AM  wrote:
>
>> From experience, what Pandora stations have you found work best in your
>> space? I want something modern, catchy, but not offensive, annoying, or
>> sleepy. Trying to find a good medium!
>>
>> --
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>> "Coworking" group.
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>>
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>



-- 
*Thanks and Regards*
*Kewal Parmar*
*Business Development Manager*

*M: +917202857076*

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[Coworking] Re: Opening a Space, have many questions!

[Ramon Suarez]

Hi Jesse, welcome to "the club". 

You can start by taking a look at all these coworking resources 
: 

   - Coworking Books & Readings 
   - Tools for Coworking Spaces 
   - Community Building Resources for Coworking Spaces 
   
   - Coworking Statistics, Surveys, Research and Studies 
   
   - Coworking Associations and Organizations 
   
   - Coworking Conferences 
   
   - Make Your Coworking Business Plan: Coworking Space Finance Resources 
   
   - Coworking News, Magazines and Podcasts 
   
   - Coworking Checklists 
   
I also recommend that you read my book The Coworking Handbook 
 for structured practical knowledge. 

For the community side of the business a great complement to The Coworking 
Handbook is Tony Bacigalupo's book No More Sink Full of Mugs 


When you have questions, search this group. It has years worth of answers . 

Best of luck, 

Ramon

On Saturday, September 1, 2018 at 9:42:37 AM UTC+2, Jesse Flores wrote:
>
> Hello everyone,
>
>  After a long time of wanting to open up a coworking space I've 
> finally gotten the initiative to begin building a community in one of the 
> most competitive cities (San Francisco, California). How will I stand out 
> from the rest? I am a professional Visual Effects artists and I've worked 
> in some of the most prestigious commercial, film and tech companies in the 
> United States and along with it came a great community of digital artists. 
> Unlike New York City and Los Angeles that have a strong digital artist 
> community, I find the bay area is more catered to the tech and medical 
> industries however there is a market sitting there looking for a place to 
> work. The digital artist nomads who design/ create and render those 
> beautiful images of products / web / feature film and commercial work. The 
> bay area is a hub for nomadic professionals and with this vfx networking I 
> have I am trying to build a community here and targeting all the major art 
> industries. I'm at the very beginning, rallying networking events at bars 
> and began coworking nights using the help of meetup/ wework. I have a 
> million questions and any feedback be great! I'm hungry and eager to open 
> and do it correctly.
>
> How did you market to begin growing your community?
> How did you keep the community engaged? 
> Any advice on events I should host in order to keep momentum?
> Is it too early to look for a space?
> Funding? Sponsors?
> What did you do for social media outreach?
>
> Thank you for your time. 
>
> If interested in where I am, I have a meetup and a facebook group. 
>
> https://www.meetup.com/Welcome-to-MyStudio/
> https://www.facebook.com/groups/mystudioCommunity/
>
>
>

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