[Coworking] Re: New Work City membership agreement - version 1

[Alex Linsker]

Hi Alex,

I'd like to help create an open source working agreement.  Although
I'm not a lawyer, I've worked for lawyers in relevant fields, and have
written employment, partnership, client and outsourcing contracts
which have been greenlighted by some of the best lawyers.  I'm great
at writing really plain-language, simple, direct, easy-to-read
contracts.

What's the next step?

-Alex

Alex Linsker
(646) 269-4915
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
www.alexlinsker.com
Organizational democracy: helping people work together in companies

On Sep 26, 11:01 am, "Alex Hillman" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
wrote:
> To the many of you who've worked from our agreement:
> Ours was taken from a very generic "shared space" agreement that I found
> somewhere on the web. We needed something FAST, so we slightly modded the
> TOS that I'd found and worked from there.
>
> It's been my desire for over a year now to tone down that agreement, it's
> got a lot of garbage and legalese in it.
>
> If anyone is interested in working with Geoff and myself, as well as if
> anyone has any legal resources that could chip in, I'd love to work together
> to create an open source coworking agreement that covers what really needs
> to be covered, and cuts out all of the other crap.
>
> -Alex
>
> --
> -
> --
> -
> Alex Hillman
> im always developing something
> digital: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> visual:www.dangerouslyawesome.com
> local:www.indyhall.org
>
> On Fri, Sep 26, 2008 at 10:58 AM, Tony Bacigalupo
> <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>wrote:
>
>
>
> > Agreed all around. So should we simply removed the "disparaging" or get rid
> > of the clause altogether? Is it important to have protection against
> > defamation?
>
> > Also, since the space isn't open yet, we'll be adding stipulations that
> > membership won't start until after the space is open, and that the space
> > will open within a certain range of dates or the agreement is null and void.
>
> > Anything else?
>
> > On Fri, Sep 26, 2008 at 8:27 AM, [EMAIL PROTECTED] <
> > [EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>
> >> > statements or comments of a defamatory or disparaging nature to any
> >> > third party regarding NEW
>
> >> Yeah, we based our contract on IH too (thanks Alex!) but took out
> >> "disparaging" after the first round of signings, "defamation" is one
> >> thing but with "disparaging" in there it looks like we don't want to
> >> be critiqued either.
>
> >> Btw, if anyone opens up a space in Canada, our version has a couple of
> >> local tweaks so feel free to ask for the file.
>
> >> Patrick
> >> station-c.com- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

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[Coworking] Re: New Work City membership agreement - version 1

[Alex Linsker]

David, I like your idea of a legal library and an open source
agreement for coworking.

> * A license governing all of the documentation.  It can't contain
> legalese specific to on of the contributing organizations.
Maybe we can create an overall "operating system" coworking agreement
which can apply to all coworking groups, and we can also create
"plugins" -- paragraphs which can be inserted to the agreements of the
organizations to which they apply?  For example, we might create a one-
page "General Coworking Legal Agreement," and we might create plugin
paragraphs/clauses, for example:
  - if you have a few members who own the lease and sublease to other
members, or another paragraph if
  - you have all the members share the lease.

> * A way of collaborating on the CoWorking Legal Agreement
I'll ask Vanessa Scanlon if we can use MixedInk.com, which is in
beta.  MixedInk is an awesome way for groups to write agreements and
agree on what the final text will be.

> * A permanent repository for the CoWorking Legal Library

-Alex (of CooperBricolage/New Work City in NYC)
--
Alex Linsker
(646) 269-4915
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
www.alexlinsker.com
Organizational democracy: helping people work together in companies

On Sep 30, 12:53 pm, "David J. Kordsmeier" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> Great ideas.
>
> So there are several things here:
> * A CoWorking Legal Library
> * An Open Source CoWorking Legal Agreement (in various forms)
>
> Can we agree as a group, in principle on a few things:
> * A license governing all of the documentation.  It can't contain
> legalese specific to on of the contributing organizations.
> * A way of collaborating on the CoWorking Legal Agreement
> * A permanent repository for the CoWorking Legal Library
> ?
>
> Did I miss anything?  Eventually we would need to develop some FAQs
> and such for the Legal Library.
>
> -
> David
>
>
>
> On Tue, Sep 30, 2008 at 12:10 AM, Dusty <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>
> > I'd also dig helping with an open source coworking member agreement.
> > We're currently not using one at Conjunctured! :o
>
> > We are however, working up a very thorough partnership agreement for
> > an LLC. Anyone need one of those? :)
>
> > Would be nice to have a open source coworking legal library.
>
> > Dusty
> >http://conjunctured.com
>
> > On Sep 29, 11:51 pm, "Mike Schinkel" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> >> An open source working agreement would be GREAT.
> >> I don't know how much I can contribute (legally), but would love to see one
> >> created and will provide ideas the best I can.
>
> >> -Mike Schinkel
> >> President; NewClarity LLChttp://mikeschinkel.com
>
> >> -Original Message-
> >> From: coworking@googlegroups.com [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On
>
> >> Behalf Of Alex Linsker
> >> Sent: Monday, September 29, 2008 5:04 AM
> >> To: Coworking
> >> Subject: [Coworking] Re: New Work City membership agreement - version 1
>
> >> Hi Alex,
>
> >> I'd like to help create an open source working agreement.  Although I'm not
> >> a lawyer, I've worked for lawyers in relevant fields, and have written
> >> employment, partnership, client and outsourcing contracts which have been
> >> greenlighted by some of the best lawyers.  I'm great at writing really
> >> plain-language, simple, direct, easy-to-read contracts.
>
> >> What's the next step?
>
> >> -Alex
>
> >> Alex Linsker
> >> (646) 269-4915
> >> [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> >> Organizational democracy: helping people work together in companies
>
> >> On Sep 26, 11:01 am, "Alex Hillman" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> >> wrote:
> >> > To the many of you who've worked from our agreement:
> >> > Ours was taken from a very generic "shared space" agreement that I
> >> > found somewhere on the web. We needed something FAST, so we slightly
> >> > modded the TOS that I'd found and worked from there.
>
> >> > It's been my desire for over a year now to tone down that agreement,
> >> > it's got a lot of garbage and legalese in it.
>
> >> > If anyone is interested in working with Geoff and myself, as well as
> >> > if anyone has any legal resources that could chip in, I'd love to work
> >> > together to create an open source coworking agreement that covers what
> >> > really needs to be covered, and cuts out all of the other crap.
>
> >> > -Alex
>
> >&g

[Coworking] A coworking space with a Constitution? (limits on the founders)

[Alex Linsker]

Hi, does anyone know of a coworking space with a charter or a
Constitution?  By that, I mean a written document that says what the
people who run the space are responsible for doing, and what they
CAN'T do.

Thanks,

Alex

--
Alex Linsker
(646) 269-4915
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
www.alexlinsker.com
Organizational democracy: helping people work together in companies
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[Coworking] Re: Nonprofit status

[Alex Linsker]

Hi Nancy, What is your vision statement for your business? Do other
people see what you see, when they hear your vision statement?

Have you asked someone in town why they haven't come to one of your
events? What did they say?

Alex
--
 Alex Linsker, "Collective Agency" Coordinating Council member
 (503) 517-6900 landline  (503) 517-6901 fax  (503) 369-9174 mobile
 322 NW Sixth Ave, Suite 200, Portland, Oregon 97209
 http://CollectiveAgency.co

On Feb 16, 11:51 am, Niki  wrote:
> Thanks for all the thoughts, guys. I really don't want to be a non-profit.
> I've worked in the non-profit arena for years and know many of the ins and
> outs. However, as discussed here previously -- I can't get funding for
> things (they all say "only for non-profits") and the recognition I'm trying
> to garner, the opportunities to work with the community won't come because
> the county and city I'm located in will not talk with "the competition",
> with for profits, with outsiders (I'm not originally from this town). The
> trials of small town farming communities. I'm just trying to figure out
> what would make the mentality of people change to evolve and want to build
> community. So far, I've offered free spaces on the weekends for
> entrepreneurs to showcase their wares in my downtown storefront. We're
> holding a FREE CYCLE event Saturday, but no one has shown interest (can't
> even get the newspaper to cover it). Want to do a Dress for Success program
> where entrance is free and women get professional clothes (free), a free
> lunch, resume writing and work etiquette classes... Keep in mind I am in
> one of the hardest hit economic locations in the country (was reliant on
> auto industry up until a few years ago), and most people have lost jobs and
> are now trying to start biz themselves. I'm really just trying to figure
> this all out. It is MUCH different than when I did the same type of thing
> in Washington, DC a few years ago when I had LOTS of people flocking to me.
>
> I'll get it figured out some day, I'm sure. Thanks, again, all.
>
> Nancy
> Business Success Unlimited
> where we help business grow: connecting, motivating and 
> collaboratingwww.success4biz.biz
>
>  Post reply
> [image: More message actions]
>  Feb 15 (22 hours ago)

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[Coworking] Re: Nonprofit status

[Alex Linsker]

If I lived there, I would come to the mastermind group, because I've
already been to a great mastermind group in another town. Each week
for 10 weeks, we reviewed business basics, read from a text, and
talked about building our businesses. I made friendships, and am
constantly reminded of the importance of the basics, which help me
manage my time, plan priorities, communicate, etc.

I'd recommend getting advice from the Chamber and from SCORE about
your business. The experience that you have with them will give you
the experience that people in your town expect to have with Business
Success Unlimited. I think that has to be the first step, if you
haven't already.

Then the question is: what does a different experience, the one that
you are confident can happen (but people there don't yet know can
exist in their town), what does that look like? what actually happens?
what are the results? what does it feel like? How do people in town
describe an experience similar to what you will do, in their own
words?

And then the challenge is finding some people (likely in one or two
industries only will attract more people total) who will do that with
you. Who will pay you (either immediately or later on) and especially
who will tell their friends to have the exact same experience with
you.

To rephrase: the experience you want to create, people will only
believe after it happens to them, or after they make it happen
somehow. So the way to make happen it is to do it somehow, with the
resources you already have, the people and places you already know. To
make your vision real, you will need to do it by educating and being
educated, skill-sharing and having skills shared with you (you are
already doing that by posting to this group), resource-sharing and
having resources shared with you, collaborating on your own projects
and other people's projects, and identifying the ways (and making
those visible to the people around you) that you already have a self-
sufficient prosperous life, and identifying the ways that the people
around you already have a self-sufficient prosperous life: and sharing
those ways so that they appreciate the prosperity they already have,
themselves.

Then there is no need for anything, there is a growing appreciation of
what and who already exists, and  then people can breathe to
appreciate and participate in and grow your vision along with their
own.

Alex
--
Alex Linsker, "Collective Agency" Coordinating Council member
(503) 517-6900 landline  (503) 517-6901 fax  (503) 369-9174 mobile
322 NW Sixth Ave, Suite 200, Portland, Oregon 97209
http://CollectiveAgency.co


On Feb 17, 1:14 pm, Niki  wrote:
> Alex, good questions. My vision statement is my dreams come to reality.
>
> Within the next five years,Business Success Unlimited will have helped
> create a energetic, productive community filled with entrepreneurs and
> small businesses acquiring the education,skills and resources necessary,
> along with a place to work, a group to share and collaborate with and
> programs to help build self-sufficient prosperous lives. Along with this
> success of others, BSU will also see success through at least $100,000 a
> year from rentals, meeting memberships and admin support work.
>
> When I ask people to come to meetings (i.e., a twice a month mastermind
> program) they say, wow sounds great. I'm too busy. Can't come. Or -- they
> simply ignore the invitations. I have had people say, you're no different
> than the Chamber or SCORE -- they didn't help me, why should I think you
> will?

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[Coworking] Pausing membership?

[Alex Linsker]

Do you get requests from members to "pause membership" at your coworking
place? Many of our members at Collective Agency travel a lot, some for
several months or more at a time. What policies do you have with members
quitting and rejoining, or pausing membership?

Do any coworking places require a year lease, or is everywhere
month-to-month, some with two months payment required up front?

What do you do to increase the amount of time people stay members?
Expressing appreciation to people for who/how they are, and having a vision
for the place that's something big people can be part of and contribute to
somehow, are two ways that work for us.

I'm also interested in how much your members like variety in their life?
Ours tend to like a lot.

And how long your average member stays a member for less than 3 months? We
get a percentage who are between jobs, or just moved to Portland and are
looking for jobs.

And for more than 2 years? We've had 16 people stay members for the past 2
years, out of 50 members currently.

What are the main reasons people stop being members? Ours is members travel
to another city, and after that, the top reason is getting a job at another
company.

Thanks,

Alex
-- 
Alex Linsker
Collective Agency's Community Organizer / Proprietor
 (503) 517-6900 http://collectiveagency.co
Tax and Conversation's Statewide Community Organizer
 (503) 369-9174 taxandconversation.com
(503) 369-9174 mobile   (503) 517-6901 fax
322 NW Sixth Ave, Suite 200, Portland, Oregon 97209

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[Coworking] Re: Ownership/partnership structuring

[Alex Linsker]

Hi Sharon, 

To shift risk, you can:
- sign up enough members each paying enough months up front to open without 
need of a loan.
- get loans from members or supportive people at a high interest rate to be 
paid back conditional on money coming in.
- negotiate to have an early termination fee on the lease.
- minimize expenses on lease, furniture, staff early on. Take over an 
existing business' lease and furniture.
- get early revenue from event rentals as priority until recurring revenue 
from members becomes the main business.
- get people who know and refer many people to refer their communities to 
you.
- start by having monthly then weekly then daily Jellies to start with many 
people working together.

Sincerely,

> Alex Linsker
> Collective Agency's Community Organizer / Proprietor
>  (503) 517-6900 http://collectiveagency.co
> Tax and Conversation's Statewide Community Organizer 
>  (503) 369-9174 taxandconversation.com
> (503) 369-9174 mobile   (503) 517-6901 fax
> 322 NW Sixth Ave, Suite 200, Portland, Oregon 97209
>

On Wednesday, November 20, 2013 7:18:36 AM UTC-8, Sharon Schanzer wrote:
>
> After much effort and with press received in the last few days, I am 
> starting to see real interest from investors regarding my effort to open a 
> substantial coworking space on the upper west side in Manhattan. Rents are 
> high as are all costs associated with a venture of this size in the city so 
> I want to minimize risk for myself and whoever works on this with me.
>
> I'm wondering what others have done regarding ownership and partnerships, 
> debt vs equity etc. Any advice would be greatly appreciated! I want to 
> structure something that is fair for all.
>
> Feel free to reply here or to contact me privately at 
> sha...@rldgroup.com
> .
>
> Thanks!
> Sharon Schanzer
> HelixNYC.com
> sha...@rldgroup.com 
>
>

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Re: [Coworking] "Corporate Memberships"

[Alex Linsker]

At Collective Agency in Portland Oregon, not offering 
discounts/subsidies/exceptions/financial incentives to big companies makes big 
companies and small companies more likely to rent (for memberships or 
meetings). See "Veblen good" on Wikipedia: 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veblen_good. Also see perception of stability from 
offering higher or lower rates.

Collective Agency clients have included Walmart Labs, Mozilla, EngineYard, 
Nike, Intel, and many many more. Half our clients and revenue are 
proprietors/self-employed and half are businesses of various sizes.

Raising rates has led to increase in members and meetings; lowering rates led 
to decrease.

Side note:
I think of some coworking as providing a place for interactions similar to a 
small town or city. There is research comparing 844 counties and districts 
across the U.S.: that local governments providing grants or loans to businesses 
(mostly to big corporations) expect more economic growth (in $) but actually 
have economic loss (in $) compared with places that don't discount.

As you can see in Table 3 "Incentivizing Economic Development: An Empirical 
Examination of the Use of Grants and Loans": 
http://scholarcommons.sc.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1061&context=scjilb    
governments that made neither grants nor loans had 74% growth and 10% decline, 
better than governments that made grants & loans for 69% growth and 19% decline.

Studies 
http://m.theatlanticcities.com/jobs-and-economy/2012/12/uselessness-economic-development-incentives/4081/
 show governments providing subsidies expect new jobs (members working)but for 
every 10 new jobs expected to be hired from subsidies there is 0 jobs total 
hired and net 6 jobs fired.

If you'd like to support or learn more about the Oregon constitutional 
amendment I'm leading: https://taxandconversation.com

-- 
Alex Linsker
Collective Agency's Community Organizer / Proprietor
     (503) 517-6900 http://collectiveagency.co
Tax and Conversation's Statewide Community Organizer
      (503) 517-6904 taxandconversation.com
(503) 369-9174 mobile   (503) 517-6901 fax
322 NW Sixth Ave, Suite 200, Portland, Oregon 97209

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Re: [Coworking] Strategies for showing which members are on-site on a given day?

[Alex Linsker]

I agree with Alex, it's true. At Collective Agency the most important signage 
we have is a wall of member bios: name, photo, some questions and answers. 

People can then match a name to a face, find a skillset, or start a 
conversation. Most importantly, the member bios on the wall are a sign of 
appreciation: people like being valued here not for the work they do, but for 
who they are as people. Their info on the wall is a sign they belong to the 
community:  it's next to the Community Guidelines sheet (the limits of how we 
are here).

The inspiration for member bios on the wall was a company I worked at that had 
a bulletin board with photos of employees on fishing trips, with friends and 
family and each other, with names written below the employees.

We've found any online info about people is not what members and meetings are 
paying for here; they are paying to be in a cozy place working alongside people 
doing a variety of work they're passionate about and committed to, where 80% of 
people say hi.

Alex
-- 
Alex Linsker
Collective Agency's Community Organizer / Proprietor
     (503) 517-6900 http://collectiveagency.co
Tax and Conversation's Statewide Community Organizer
      (503) 517-6904 taxandconversation.com
(503) 369-9174 mobile   (503) 517-6901 fax
322 NW Sixth Ave, Suite 200, Portland, Oregon 97209

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Re: [Coworking] Re: Strategies for showing which members are on-site on a given day?

[Alex Linsker]

For wifi and AP's: we have 4 AP's and sometimes more than 100 devices. We have 
a second wifi network for members when desired, it's rarely used but great to 
have. Stephouse Networks is great, they do full service install and maintenance 
in Portland Oregon.

Reading the comments above, I was reminded of the old workatjelly.com wiki -- 
back before New Work City was called that and was Cooper Bricolage, and for 
Amit Gupta and Luke and other's Jelly coworking, people writing their name, 
estimated time of arrival and departure, and what we'd each be working on that 
day, often with a link to a website, was a great way for people to attract 
other people, a day or a week in advance.

We do that in person now at weekly Lightning Talks: your name, and in 10 
seconds or less what are you working on today. (We do that before the talks, it 
is amazing for bonding.)

Alex Linsker, Collective Agency, Portland Oregon

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[Coworking] Re: Coworking Visa Map

[Alex Linsker]

Please add Collective Agency. There are photos in the blog posts at 
http://collectiveagency.co/blog

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Re: [Coworking] Who's tracking their membership churn?

[Alex Linsker]

I track churn and am fascinated in ways we might reduce it. 

For example, raising rates for future members only (as long as people stay 
members, they keep the rate they signed up at) seems to work well. Changing 
rates of current members up or down seems to cause severe churn.

Can seasonality be offset by vision/expectations of leaders/activities? I'd 
love to know.

The question is also: what themes cause members to quit, or to stay?

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[Coworking] Re: Who's tracking their membership churn?

[Alex Linsker]

I have a google spreadsheet with equations that tracks the start and end date 
etc.

What themes have ya'll noticed with how to get members to stay longer? and what 
gets members to quit in groups? 

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[Coworking] Board for your cowork space

[Alex Linsker]

Collective Agency started with a two-house democratic system: 
- a Council, similar to a board. Three or four people seemed to be the ideal 
size. We had 2 elections; the first council was people I asked who had wide 
networks and complementary skill sets and could lead parts of the culture.
- members, who when we started were people who led large groups of people, and 
who later were changed to all people who paid for 24/7 access.
We won worldwide awards for this: 
http://www.worldblu.com/awardee-profiles/2013.php

This system worked great in the first 4 months: marketing/sales/PR, and 
operations/governance, and community. As we grew and staff and business owners 
got expertise and trust, members eventually voted to end their 
democratic/cooperative business management, but now even more so democratically 
initiate and lead community activities, welcome new members, etc.

Community is cooperative/relationships (initiating and leading activities, 
various potluck things in the kitchen, conversations, members referring more 
members and meetings, etc).

Marketing/sales work here is expertise/efficiency (making materials, closing 
sales). Of course the experience here is shaped by operations and community 
(the product, which is the most important thing and makes 
promotions/placement/price easy).

Operations/governance is bureaucratic/hierarchical (treating everybody equally 
within the rules, payment, opening up/closing up on weekdays, answering the 
phone).

-- 
Alex Linsker
Collective Agency's Community Organizer / Proprietor
 (503) 517-6900 http://collectiveagency.co
Tax and Conversation's Statewide Community Organizer 
 (503) 517-6904 taxandconversation.com
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[Coworking] Re: To what extent have you articulated your higher purpose?

[Alex Linsker]

Hi Tony,

I think "higher purpose" can be one of four things (or maybe more, or a 
combo):
1) Vision
2) Mission
3) Community Guidelines (limits)
4) Culture

At Collective Agency, we have a strong mission statement:

"A cozy place to work alongside people doing work they’re passionate about 
and committed to, where 80% of people say hi. Come and work here!"

The Community Guidelines (limits) are: 
http://collectiveagency.co/community-guidelines/

The culture "values us for who we are as people, not for the work we do." 
It focuses on "we're great/life's great" rather than "life sucks/my life 
sucks/I'm great (and you're not)." Expressing appreciation is important.

As for vision, Collective Agency is a full-fledged democracy, a 
cooperative. We are a mini-city; if something wouldn't be right for a city, 
it's not right for us. (And we go for a cozy fireplace feel; if something 
doesn't feel like a cozy fireplace, we don't do it.) We have the 7 
cooperative principles, and all surplus (after quality of life and good 
things for members) goes into the Oregon constitutional amendment I'm 
leading with Collective Agency employees (and occasional input from 
members).

We've found community with other places that (and people who) share those 
goals, in Portland and around the world.

Does any of that sum up the kind of common purpose you're thinking of?

Alex
-- 
Alex Linsker
Collective Agency's Community Organizer / Proprietor
 (503) 517-6900 http://collectiveagency.co
Tax and Conversation's Statewide Community Organizer 
 (503) 517-6904 taxandconversation.com
(503) 369-9174 mobile   (503) 517-6901 fax
322 NW Sixth Ave, Suite 200, Portland, Oregon 97209

On Monday, June 30, 2014 2:42:38 PM UTC-7, Tony Bacigalupo wrote:
>
> Hi coworkers!
>
> I was thinking recently about an issue I've noticed locally and in other 
> regions, where friendly neighboring coworking spaces sometimes struggle to 
> develop good ways to collaborate. I believe the issue stems from a lack of 
> a well-articulated higher purpose that people from multiple spaces could 
> rally behind.
>
> I think about this phenomenon also in the context of how we communicate 
> with prospective members. The majority of people who express interest in 
> New Work City are, at first, looking for workspace, and think we're in the 
> business of renting workspace. While we can use that as a starting point 
> for educating prospective members about the deeper values behind and 
> benefits of coworking, I'm thinking about how we can do a better job of 
> connecting with prospective members in a way that's about something more 
> meaningful.
>
> Have any of you experienced something similar? Have you witnessed or 
> participated in the development of an ambition in your space or region that 
> gives coworking space managers something higher to shoot for than simply 
> getting enough members to pay the bills?
>
> Cheers,
> Tony
> --- 
> Blog <http://happymonster.co> // New Work City <http://nwc.co> // Coworking 
> Community NYC Meetup <http://meetup.com/coworking-nyc>
>
> 

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Re: [Coworking] Re: To what extent have you articulated your higher purpose?

[Alex Linsker]

of
people). This was very city -- and we eventually outgrew it, but it helped
us start, by providing lots of knowledge and perspective and advice, and
people volunteering to do sales because this is their place, they even had
a Constitution!

By choosing a few simple terms and rates that worked for almost everybody,
everybody knew they were treated the same.

I think we're the only place (or one of very few) in Portland that lists
the total rates for meetings and events on our website, including all
amenities -- and it lets other people sell for us -- because it's so simple
to remember and share the rates for memberships and meetings, and there are
no special deals here, which actually leads to more revenue and community
(and property).

Alex
-- 
Alex Linsker
Collective Agency's Community Organizer / Proprietor
 (503) 517-6900 http://collectiveagency.co
Tax and Conversation's Statewide Community Organizer
 (503) 517-6904 taxandconversation.com
(503) 369-9174 mobile   (503) 517-6901 fax
322 NW Sixth Ave, Suite 200, Portland, Oregon 97209

On Tue, Jul 1, 2014 at 11:50 AM, Alex Hillman 
wrote:

> Hey Alex, this is such a rad post. You gave one subtle example:
>
>  We are a mini-city; if something wouldn't be right for a city, it's not
>> right for us. (And we go for a cozy fireplace feel; if something doesn't
>> feel like a cozy fireplace, we don't do it.)
>
>
> I'm wondering if you can share other examples of that kind of
> decision-making? Specific things you've done (or not done)? Bonus points
> for "tough" decisions where the right thing was also the hard thing...and
> EXTRA bonus points for the sharing the outcome of making that tough choice.
>
> -Alex
>
>
>
> --
>
> /ah
> indyhall.org
> coworking in philadelphia
>
>
> On Tue, Jul 1, 2014 at 4:58 AM, Alex Linsker 
> wrote:
>
>> Hi Tony,
>>
>> I think "higher purpose" can be one of four things (or maybe more, or a
>> combo):
>> 1) Vision
>> 2) Mission
>> 3) Community Guidelines (limits)
>> 4) Culture
>>
>> At Collective Agency, we have a strong mission statement:
>>
>> "A cozy place to work alongside people doing work they’re passionate
>> about and committed to, where 80% of people say hi. Come and work here!"
>>
>> The Community Guidelines (limits) are:
>> http://collectiveagency.co/community-guidelines/
>>
>> The culture "values us for who we are as people, not for the work we do."
>> It focuses on "we're great/life's great" rather than "life sucks/my life
>> sucks/I'm great (and you're not)." Expressing appreciation is important.
>>
>> As for vision, Collective Agency is a full-fledged democracy, a
>> cooperative. We are a mini-city; if something wouldn't be right for a city,
>> it's not right for us. (And we go for a cozy fireplace feel; if something
>> doesn't feel like a cozy fireplace, we don't do it.) We have the 7
>> cooperative principles, and all surplus (after quality of life and good
>> things for members) goes into the Oregon constitutional amendment I'm
>> leading with Collective Agency employees (and occasional input from
>> members).
>>
>> We've found community with other places that (and people who) share those
>> goals, in Portland and around the world.
>>
>> Does any of that sum up the kind of common purpose you're thinking of?
>>
>> Alex
>> --
>> Alex Linsker
>> Collective Agency's Community Organizer / Proprietor
>>  (503) 517-6900 http://collectiveagency.co
>> Tax and Conversation's Statewide Community Organizer
>>  (503) 517-6904 taxandconversation.com
>> (503) 369-9174 mobile   (503) 517-6901 fax
>> 322 NW Sixth Ave, Suite 200, Portland, Oregon 97209
>>
>> On Monday, June 30, 2014 2:42:38 PM UTC-7, Tony Bacigalupo wrote:
>>>
>>> Hi coworkers!
>>>
>>> I was thinking recently about an issue I've noticed locally and in other
>>> regions, where friendly neighboring coworking spaces sometimes struggle to
>>> develop good ways to collaborate. I believe the issue stems from a lack of
>>> a well-articulated higher purpose that people from multiple spaces could
>>> rally behind.
>>>
>>> I think about this phenomenon also in the context of how we communicate
>>> with prospective members. The majority of people who express interest in
>>> New Work City are, at first, looking for workspace, and think we're in the
>>> business of renting workspace. While we can use that as a

[Coworking] Re: Daily average show rate? - what can we expect?

[Alex Linsker]

I think the maximum on any one day is the main number to be aware of as you 
plan for growth -- that way everybody always has room for them when they 
come in, and the room capacity within your city's zoning laws is never 
exceeded.

1/3rd (members and guests and visitors there at any one time as a percent 
of members) is high for any coworking place I've visited or worked at that 
has mostly memberships with open seating. Memberships with reserved desks 
can be as high as 100% or more. In comparison, I've heard that most gyms 
are 10%.

-- 
Alex Linsker
Collective Agency's Community Organizer / Proprietor
 (503) 517-6900 http://collectiveagency.co
Tax and Conversation's Statewide Community Organizer 
 (503) 517-6904 taxandconversation.com
(503) 369-9174 mobile   (503) 517-6901 fax
322 NW Sixth Ave, Suite 200, Portland, Oregon 97209

On Monday, July 28, 2014 12:45:54 PM UTC-7, Paz Chentnik wrote:
>
> I completely understand that everyone has different attendee rates. 
> However I am wondering if there is an average show rate or a show rate that 
> we should be striving for? Obviously understanding that not all 100% of our 
> members will be in on the same day, what is the average show rate?
>
> Thanks!!
>

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[Coworking] sign-up rates by employee/volunteer vs owner?

[Alex Linsker]

Have any of you found ways to get the sign-up rates that employees or
volunteers get when they meet and sign up a new person, to equal or exceed
the rates that you as an owner of the business get when you meet and sign
up a new member? For example, if you sign up 1 in every 2 people who tours
on average, and other people sign up 1 in every 4 people on average, have
you found ways to get other people to sign up 1 in every 2 people who
tours? Either training, or confidence, or expectations, or scripts, or
sales consultants, or giving them profit-sharing, or a title as business
owner? (I've tried all of those and haven't found any to have an extreme
difference except for the first 3, and even then I'd like to find something
better.)

Would be interested in what you share.

Thanks,

Alex
-- 
Alex Linsker
Collective Agency's Community Organizer / Proprietor
 (503) 517-6900 http://collectiveagency.co
Tax and Conversation's Statewide Community Organizer
 (503) 517-6904 taxandconversation.com
(503) 369-9174 mobile   (503) 517-6901 fax
322 NW Sixth Ave, Suite 200, Portland, Oregon 97209

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[Coworking] Re: Background Music in a Coworking Space

[Alex Linsker]

At Collective Agency we've developed some guidelines for what works for us. 
The measurable goals I look at for playing music is:
- to maximize the number of people who choose to not wear headphones, and 
- to maximize the number of people who say they enjoy the music a lot and 
that it helps them focus.

Music that works for what our members expect:
- music without words in English (other than Christmastime or Ella 
Fitzgerald-era jazz). If people understand words, it's distracting. World 
music with other languages works well too.
- music without a strong bass.
- our defaults are jazz and classical radio stations.
- we have some members who change the stations (very rarely, a couple times 
a week total) if they don't like the song that's playing. 
- There's a sheet on top of the stereo with these guidelines on it, so 
people know how music is chosen.

For volume, there's a very specific range where it's not loud enough to be 
distracting, and not quiet enough where most people have to strain to hear 
it. Radio stations tend to moderate the songs to a pretty tight volume 
range. Having music on within that range when someone new walks in 
definitely increases the percent of people who sign up and become members 
here, compared with when music is too quiet or not on.

My main joy from having music on is because it leads to smoothing out the 
sound in the main room, for more conversations spoken in normal voices, and 
because all that leads to more people signing up.

Alex
-- 
Alex Linsker
Collective Agency's Community Organizer / Proprietor
 (503) 517-6900 http://collectiveagency.co
Tax and Conversation's Statewide Community Organizer 
 (503) 517-6904 taxandconversation.com
(503) 369-9174 mobile   (503) 517-6901 fax
322 NW Sixth Ave, Suite 200, Portland, Oregon 97209

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Re: [Coworking] Re: Coffee brokers/wholesale recommendation

[Alex Linsker]

Does anyone who buys coffee in bulk also have a lot of member contributions 
of potluck food and members bringing in their favorite bags of coffee 
often? I tend to have staff buy across the street one bag at a time because 
often members then bring in bags of their favorite coffee, which is then 
appreciated by other members and talked about.

Does anyone buy fresh fruit or vegetables for members? For around 2 years 
we had weekly fresh fruit and vegetables, but I wasn't sure if that was 
increasing perceived value or not. It didn't seem to increase members 
bringing potluck food, which I like as one of the best ways of sharing and 
appreciation (for bringing favorite things).

Does anyone do theme days? Halloween has been one of our more popular open 
house days, maybe because it's a costume open house (or maybe because it's 
after the start of autumn and before the holiday season). I'm wondering 
about other theme days we might have.

Thanks,

Alex
-- 
Alex Linsker
Collective Agency's Community Organizer / Proprietor
 (503) 517-6900 http://collectiveagency.co
Tax and Conversation's Statewide Community Organizer 
 (503) 517-6904 taxandconversation.com
(503) 369-9174 mobile   (503) 517-6901 fax
322 NW Sixth Ave, Suite 200, Portland, Oregon 97209

On Thursday, August 21, 2014 1:36:33 AM UTC-7, Jeannine wrote:
>
> Well, that's what we are talking about.  In principle anywhere of course, 
> but coffee beans weigh something.  If they can get them out of Africa 
> (which they do) then I feel confident thaet can get them to the US.  :-)
>
> I have a baby pilot project going in my spaces whereby we share the costs 
> of logistics and fulfillment for webshops and import/export.  So the costs 
> of this kind of project stay low by sharing them.  That was sort of the 
> takeoff point for some of our discussions.
>
> If you are interested, I can certainly get you with them, or if more folks 
> are interested we can really get busy.  
>
> Maybe we should open a Coworking Customs along with the Coworking Visa. 
>  :-)
>
> On Wednesday, August 20, 2014 5:20:53 PM UTC+2, Jacob Sayles wrote:
>>
>> Where can they sell/ship to?  
>>
>> Jacob
>>
>> ---
>> Office Nomads - Individuality without Isolation
>> http://www.officenomads.com -  (206) 323-6500
>>
>>
>> On Wed, Aug 20, 2014 at 2:47 AM, Jeannine  wrote:
>>
>>> How marvellous of you to bring this up.
>>>
>>> I was recently approached by a business involved in my Amsterdam space, 
>>> Moyee Coffee <http://www.moyeecoffee.com/>.  They have a Fair Chain 
>>> thing going on.  We have been talking about how they can get involved with 
>>> Open Coworking; we are in preliminary talks and so nothing has been given 
>>> any kind of shape at all.  They are nevertheless intrigued by the 
>>> possibilities and that is as far as we have gotten.
>>>
>>> Until now the discussion has centered around exactly what Alex says, 
>>> they don't really want a "we talk you up and get a discount"  kind of 
>>> relationship but are interested in the long term.  And I am not at all 
>>> interested in sending a pitch to the community, I don't think that is what 
>>> I am for.  And the logistics of course are both daunting and interesting.
>>>
>>> The coffee, I have to tell you, is FAB.
>>>
>>> So I am just throwing that out there as food for thought.  Maybe I 
>>> should set up a list for folks interested in taking this particular notion 
>>> further?  Or should we just get a show of hands?  :-)
>>>
>>> Cheers,
>>>
>>> Jeannine
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> On Tuesday, August 19, 2014 3:48:20 PM UTC+2, George Aye wrote:
>>>>
>>>> Dear coworkjng gurus, 
>>>>
>>>> Our space in Chicago has been on a weekly subscription to Metropolis 
>>>> coffee since we started 1.5 yrs ago. We've been ramping up our consumption 
>>>> as we add more people and we're now level at 4 lbs/week for $60. We're at 
>>>> a 
>>>> total headcount of 27 individuals. 
>>>>
>>>> Anyone have any recommendations on a coffee broker or a wholesaler that 
>>>> can get offer better pricing? Or simply suggestions on managing cost? 
>>>>
>>>> Many thanks in advance! 
>>>>
>>>> George 
>>>>
>>>> Ps. Chicago has a strong coffee culture with metropolis and 
>>>> intelligentsia being the two big roasters in town. Both are fantastic but 
>>>> expensive. Switching to dunkin don

[Coworking] Re: Basic elements for a definition of coworking

[Alex Linsker]

Steve, what do you mean by "open" vs "closed"? Is an application form with 
"fill out your info and maybe we'll let you work here if we think you're a good 
fit based on our criteria which we can't/don't publicly disclose" closed? I 
would hope so.

I think this whole thread is fascinating.

Jeannine, "members" has a similar implication in the U.S., but business 
democracies/cooperatives are not as common or enforced here as in some European 
countries.

Alex
-- 
Alex Linsker
Collective Agency's Community Organizer / Proprietor
 (503) 517-6900 http://collectiveagency.co
Tax and Conversation's Statewide Community Organizer 
 (503) 517-6904 taxandconversation.com
(503) 369-9174 mobile   (503) 517-6901 fax
322 NW Sixth Ave, Suite 200, Portland, Oregon 97209

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[Coworking] Coworking as summer camp?

[Alex Linsker]

At Collective Agency in Portland Oregon we're starting to look at vision
and values again, we update every now and then.

I'm trying to find an overall metaphor/unifying theme of what most members
want -- in the past it was "cozy fireplace" (which worked great for years)
and "small democratic city" (which could have worked but didn't totally
work), but we're outgrowing those for something even better.

Part of what I'm trying to figure out is: when someone leaves or quits or
chooses not to be there anymore, what is the metaphor (how do you tell
people in a way that makes them want to be here even more, or at least not
any less, or how do you think of it/feel about someone not being there who
used to be)?

Recently we had something that seemed like a summer camp reunion, with some
past members, current members, recently joined members, everybody seemed
happy to see each other.
http://collectiveagency.co/2014/09/16/chapman-swifts/ I'm wondering if
"summer camp" is a theme that might work for a co-working place, and if
anyone here has thought about it, what works about it as a metaphor, what
doesn't work. We have optional activities, people each have ongoing program
commitments which ideally they are passionate about and committed to,
people make friends who ideally they hang out with here and outside of
here, etc. Differences from summer camp: it's year-round, people are paying
for themselves, and they live nearby. Are there any other differences?

Personal values that members have expressed a desire for (that we love
having here and want even more of) include: friendships, laughter,
expressing appreciation, inspiration, learning.

Does anyone know any vision statements of summer camps?

Also, I'm starting to put together a booklet of improv games for members
and staff to organize activities such as lunch and thinking about doing
sales. Has anyone done a games format to coworking (or community organizing
or project management)?

Thanks,

Alex
-- 
Alex Linsker
Collective Agency's Community Organizer / Proprietor
 (503) 517-6900 http://collectiveagency.co
Tax and Conversation's Statewide Community Organizer
 (503) 517-6904 taxandconversation.com
(503) 369-9174 mobile   (503) 517-6901 fax
322 NW Sixth Ave, Suite 200, Portland, Oregon 97209

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Re: [Coworking] Re: Getting rid of the "co-working" hyphen

[Alex Linsker]

I would very much prefer coworking places to coworking spaces. Space is 
pictured by most people as outer space, empty space, emotionally cold and 
distant.

Place is a physical place, like a fireplace or a workplace or a marketplace or 
meet me at the place where...

When Collective Agency was around awhile, more than a few people said they'd 
"thought coworking spaces couldn't work in Portland, but we were the first 
place that did."

Alex
-- 
Alex Linsker
Collective Agency's Community Organizer / Proprietor
 (503) 517-6900 http://collectiveagency.co
Tax and Conversation's Statewide Community Organizer 
 (503) 517-6904 taxandconversation.com
(503) 369-9174 mobile   (503) 517-6901 fax
322 NW Sixth Ave, Suite 200, Portland, Oregon 97209

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[Coworking] Hiring business partner in Portland Oregon, might you know someone?

[Alex Linsker]

I'm hiring a business partner for Collective Agency, one of the main
co-working places in Portland Oregon, might you know someone? It pays
$50,000-$65,000 per year, and involves sales/marketing, operations, and
community organizing. I'd prefer someone who's a woman to balance the
gender ratio, although I'm open to the best person for the job.

http://collectiveagency.co/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/collective-agency-community-organizer-job-description091914c.pdf

Thanks,

Alex
-- 
Alex Linsker
Collective Agency's Community Organizer / Proprietor
 (503) 517-6900 http://collectiveagency.co
Tax and Conversation's Statewide Community Organizer
 (503) 517-6904 taxandconversation.com
(503) 369-9174 mobile   (503) 517-6901 fax
322 NW Sixth Ave, Suite 200, Portland, Oregon 97209

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Re: [Coworking] Re: Basic elements for a definition of coworking

[Alex Linsker]

I think the "open/closed" part might be summarized as:

"Open decision-making:  sets explicit, transparent, public limits on who 
can be a member and how they can participate; does not have implicit or 
hidden rules or processes for determining or excluding potential members."

That still leaves some room for the processes to be various degrees of 
transparency, but would exclude a place that says, "We let some people work 
here but we don't tell you how we choose who gets in." 

It would include a place that says, "Tech-only," or a place that says, "You 
must meet these criteria to work here." It would include a place that says 
"Submit your application and we'll get back to you soon." as long as the 
criteria are transparent. By transparent, that might be defined as "someone 
who guesses if they'll be able to become a member or not, will be right 
almost all of the time." There can be transparent discrimination against 
industries or work styles, and that would be "open" under this definition.

It would exclude a place that says, "Please send 3 references of former 
employers/co-workers" without saying what criteria is being looked for 
when the references will be called. 

It would not include a "curated membership" if how the curation process 
worked wasn't transparent, but it could if it was transparent.

All of these are actual examples of places I've seen.

What do you think?

Alex
-- 
Alex Linsker
Collective Agency's Community Organizer / Proprietor
 (503) 517-6900 http://collectiveagency.co
Tax and Conversation's Statewide Community Organizer 
 (503) 517-6904 taxandconversation.com
(503) 369-9174 mobile   (503) 517-6901 fax
322 NW Sixth Ave, Suite 200, Portland, Oregon 97209

On Monday, September 22, 2014 4:48:15 AM UTC-7, Ramon Suarez wrote:
>
> Based on your responses I've got this: 
>
>
>- 
>
>Calls itself a coworking space. 
>- 
>
>Has a fully dedicated space for coworking (not just a few hours or a 
>cafeteria shared with patrons). 
>- 
>
>Has an active community of members, not just clients. 
>- 
>
>Has  a facilitator dedicated to connect the members and build trust 
>among them, engaging in activities to build the coworking community. 
>- 
>
>Treats coworkers as 1st class clients. 
>- 
>
>Promotes and encourages collaboration, interaction and serendipity.
>- Offers one or many kinds of membership (full or part time) 
>
> I did not know how to phrase the open/closed part. 
>
> What would you add, remove, change? Be specific :) 
>
> Ramon Suarez
> Serendipity Accelerator, Betacowork
> Author: http://coworkinghandbook.com
> email & hangouts: ra...@betacowork.com 
> Phone: +3227376769
> GSM: +32497556284
> Twitter:http://twitter.com/ramonsuarez
> Skype: ramonsuarez
> Try coworking: http://betacowork.com
>
> <http://betacowork.com/free-coworking-tryout/?utm_source=email&utm_medium=468x60_banner&utm_content=girl-home&utm_campaign=ramon-signature>
>
> On Fri, Sep 19, 2014 at 5:29 PM, Ramon Suarez  > wrote:
>
>> Jon, I do as you do. They are members of a community and at the same time 
>> they are clients. They pay for a service, not only for belonging. 
>>
>> Ramon Suarez
>> Serendipity Accelerator, Betacowork
>> Author: http://coworkinghandbook.com
>> email & hangouts: ra...@betacowork.com 
>> Phone: +3227376769
>> GSM: +32497556284
>> Twitter:http://twitter.com/ramonsuarez
>> Skype: ramonsuarez
>> Try coworking: http://betacowork.com
>>
>> <http://betacowork.com/free-coworking-tryout/?utm_source=email&utm_medium=468x60_banner&utm_content=girl-home&utm_campaign=ramon-signature>
>>
>> On Tue, Sep 16, 2014 at 11:58 AM, Jon Stever, The Office RW <
>> jst...@gmail.com > wrote:
>>
>>> Re: "clients" vs. "members".  
>>>
>>> I would definitely agree on the philosophical distinction.  
>>> Essentially,it's trying to tease out whether the space exists to build a 
>>> community ("members") or to earn a margin on real estate ("clients").  This 
>>> is an important dichotomy, but it's also strictly false as we all exist on 
>>> a sliding scale between these two extremes. 
>>>
>>> I don't think we want to start to see "client" as a dirty word...at a 
>>> nice restaurant the clients will be on a first-name basis with staff, have 
>>> a special table, regular meal selections, and even Christmas cards in the 
>>> mail 

Re: [Coworking] Importance of space

[Alex Linsker]

Is there interest in a discussion of the branding of "place" instead of 
"space"? I have a coworking place. I think it's  very important to people new 
to the concept and place leads to a warmer feel.

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/_/dict.aspx?rd=1&word=place

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/_/dict.aspx?word=space

I don't sell space in a community, I sell place in a community.

Alex
-- 
Alex Linsker
Collective Agency's Community Organizer / Proprietor
 (503) 517-6900 http://collectiveagency.co
Tax and Conversation's Statewide Community Organizer 
 (503) 517-6904 taxandconversation.com
(503) 369-9174 mobile   (503) 517-6901 fax
322 NW Sixth Ave, Suite 200, Portland, Oregon 97209

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[Coworking] Pricing for small groups

[Alex Linsker]

I price groups the same as one person, and companies can be up to 20 people. To 
get to do that, I asked (with other members/founders) what our values are (why 
is pricing a certain way and not other ways). When things are toughest and when 
things are easiest, that's when values are worth honoring the most. Alex 
Linsker, Collective Agency

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[Coworking] community manager vs business owner, and sales?

[Alex Linsker]

This past month I've had a lot of business choices to make. I'd be
interested in hearing other people's perspective from similar
businesses/communities.

For coworking places that earn enough to pay salaries to all staff
including the owners, I'd be interested to hear:

   - How do the community manager and the business owner roles overlap and
   how are they different?
   - Specifically I'm interested in the role of sales. Is the community
   manager expected to sign up members without members talking with the
   business owner? How do you hire a community manager who can do sales almost
   as well as, or better than, the business owner?
   - Do you have staff who are paid full-time (or half-time or more) who do
   not do sales?
   - For every 10 people who visit to tour, or for a trial day, what % do
   you expect to sign up that day, and what % do you expect to sign up later
   on? (I'm especially interested in people who sign up for memberships that
   are over $175 per month.)
   - Do any coworking places sign up more than half of members before the
   potential members visit? (I know that some places specifically want people
   to visit before signing up, but I don't have that as a requirement and
   sometimes people have signed up before visiting, which I always enjoy.)
   - Which business owners integrate their coworking places into their
   second businesses, where the two businesses support each other and share
   the same vision? What issues have you had with that, and what successes?

Thanks,

Alex

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Re: [Coworking] community manager vs business owner, and sales?

[Alex Linsker]

I'm wondering what is reasonable to expect for the next 10 years.

I was thinking I could get input without skewing the answers. But I'll give 
my answers, and would be interested in other perspectives from people whose 
coworking places earn enough to pay salaries to all staff including the 
owners.

   - How do the community manager and the business owner roles overlap and 
   how are they different?
   
Collective Agency is 5,000 square feet. We have 50 members, everybody has 
24/7 access, and almost everybody pays $250 a month or $2400 for 12 months 
prepayment. $2400 is the newest and now the most popular option. I sell to 
between 1 and 5 and 1 in 2 people who visit, and members I sign up stay on 
average for more than a year, some for many years. All of that gets members 
referring more people. In contrast, various people I've trained to do sales 
have only signed up people at the $250/month option (not the $2400/year 
option), and on average the people they sign up have been members for a 
shorter amount of time. Less than 1 in 10 by a couple people, to around 1 
in 3 to 1 in 5 (but for much shorter periods of time) by two other people, 
has been the sales here.

A large part of interacting with members as it relates to sales, is members 
referring people, and talking about how Collective Agency affects their 
lives to people (which could be a happy lunch, or an event, or a 
conversation, or a sign, etc etc etc). So I want the community manager's 
actions to lead to long-term sales through any marketing or community 
organizing. Going to events to represent our community is also only useful 
to me if it leads to sales. So I'm wondering how other people of places 
that pay salaries to employees and owners manage their sales, and whether 
you can delegate it out, either through a website that gets signups before 
getting visits, or through employees.

For these questions, I'm not interested in places where people volunteer or 
barter in exchange for membership, both because I value paying staff for 
work, and because members already help with sales by interacting with 
people who visit.

If you do delegate sales, what is your conversion ratio? What kind of 
training do you do or backgrounds do you look for? How much do you pay 
staff and for how many hours per week?

My last question: I used to do lots of different things and found it very 
difficult. Doing one thing (one business) I find very fun and fulfilling. 
I'm doing two businesses now, and have tended to focus on one, then the 
other, and back again, through what feels like necessity. I would love to 
have a physical place with a community, and a broader social/economic 
justice work, and to integrate them, and for people who pay for meeting 
space and membership to value both the broader collective agency and the 
more internal collective agency focus, while not feeling devalued in any 
way by not participating in that broader work. I'm wondering of places that 
do that; EcoTrust is an event space, office space, and 
environmental/economic organization in Portland, but is much bigger than 
5,000 square feet and has many staff and a very large budget. I would be 
interested in other examples.

Thanks,

Alex

   - Specifically I'm interested in the role of sales. Is the community 
   manager expected to sign up members without members talking with the 
   business owner? How do you hire a community manager who can do sales almost 
   as well as, or better than, the business owner?
   - Do you have staff who are paid full-time (or half-time or more) who do 
   not do sales?
   - For every 10 people who visit to tour, or for a trial day, what % do 
   you expect to sign up that day, and what % do you expect to sign up later 
   on? (I'm especially interested in people who sign up for memberships that 
   are over $175 per month.)
   - Do any coworking places sign up more than half of members before the 
   potential members visit? (I know that some places specifically want people 
   to visit before signing up, but I don't have that as a requirement and 
   sometimes people have signed up before visiting, which I always enjoy.)
   - Which business owners integrate their coworking places into their 
   second businesses, where the two businesses support each other and share 
   the same vision? What issues have you had with that, and what successes?


On Monday, December 8, 2014 10:01:14 PM UTC-8, Alex Hillman wrote:
>
> Based on the way you asked these questions and your intro about decisions, 
> I think it'd be helpful to get a bit more context so our advice can 
> actually help you :) 
>
> Otherwise, we're going to be answering questions based on some conclusions 
> you've already drawn...but we aren't aware of. That's a great way to get 
> crappy advice, in general. 
>
> What's the reason for these questions being asked now?
&g

Re: [Coworking] Starting a new coworking space while employed fulltime

[Alex Linsker]

I agree and can relate very much to what Jacob wrote. When I started Collective 
Agency in 2011, I got a Council of myself and 3 other people in June, and 5-15 
group organizers by July, and 50 volunteers regularly doing outreach in August, 
and 150 people regularly promoting each day in September. I put in a few 70 
hour work weeks, and was there full-time. People want to talk with the person 
who has the autonomy to make agreements, and who has the willpower and the 
vision to shape this vision that is bigger than everyone individually involved.

Years in, unless you can (and want to) sell it, I think you will still need to 
focus a lot of your willpower and relationships around it. 

"Why does this exist as a place?" always is slightly changing, sometimes 
buffered, sometimes solved, and always needs someone to steer the rudder of the 
ship, while having a good work-life balance and having fun with it.

Alex
--
Alex Linsker | Business Owner
Collective Agency | CollectiveAgency.co
(503) 517-6900 office | (503) 369-9174 mobile
322 NW Sixth Ave, Suite 200 | Portland, Oregon 97209

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[Coworking] Re: Wired vs Wireless?? Does anyone use wired anymore?

[Alex Linsker]

I agree with all of the above. 

Having a backup network is good for your brand, too, even if your main provider 
goes down for 1 minute per every 6 months, it's a relief to know there is a 
backup. And if one network blocks someone, the backup often has different 
settings that work for them.

For wired, I have jacks along the wall, and hubs on some desks. Keeping the 
cords orderly can be solved by keeping the cords extended towards each seat.

To get the ethernet to the hubs from the wall, you can use gaff tape or buy a 
cover.

I keep an ethernet cord accessible in each conference room to give people the 
option.

Power cords are very similar in terms of accessibility with floor routing and 
hubs. I love the 'hub-and-spoke' model for many things.

Alex Linsker, Collective Agency, Portland Oregon (sent from my phone)

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[Coworking] Re: Member board/photos

[Alex Linsker]

I was inspired by bulletin boards at an office I used to work at, with 
photos of employees doing what they're passionate about: fishing trip, 
silly faces on a plane, hugging their kids, etc.

At Collective Agency we have hallways with white walls, and as people come 
in, the photos are on the walls. Most photos have a series of questions and 
answers below that most members fill out the answers to when they join -- a 
mini-interview. I use double-sided tape on the pages, which makes it easy 
to move them around, and add new members, and provide a sense of continuity 
and anyone-can-do-this relaxed feel.

We tried online bios years ago, but that quickly did not work -- it wasn't 
supporting the reasons why we exist (in the minds of the people who are 
willing to value us by paying), and actually detracted value.

Alex Linsker, Collective Agency, Portland Oregon http://collectiveagency.co/

On Tuesday, January 13, 2015 at 7:53:37 AM UTC-8, Gretchen Bilbro wrote:
>
> Hi all,
>  What have you used to create your member boards? I have a giant old metal 
> sign that I want to use for the board itself and place photos with brief 
> write ups on with magnets for our member board. For those that have done 
> something similar did you print photos on your printer or buy an instant 
> camera for this purpose? I seem to recall hearing at GCUC last year that 
> the instant camera idea was not the best option but can't remember why or 
> who said that. Any suggestions?
> Thanks!
> Gretchen
>

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[Coworking] Who's looking for a virtual co-working group?

[Alex Linsker]

Hi JC, I'd be interested in hearing what you find. If you post back in the 
future on a new thread, "comparing online with in-person coworking", I would 
read that.

There are studies showing different benefits from in-person communication than 
from online communication. However there are Google Hangouts, listserves, IRC, 
and hundreds of other ways to interact that aren't "co-working". I don't think 
"virtual co-working" could have as much benefit (but if it could, I'd be 
interested to hear why people pay for it) or deeply value it as something 
life-changing.

Most coworking I'm aware of starts as one in-person all-day coworking meeting, 
then a monthly meeting, then weekly, then in a no-charge space like a living 
room, cafe or a favor at an office, then getting its own place.

Alex Linsker, Collective Agency, Portland Oregon.

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Re: [Coworking] Who's looking for a virtual co-working group?

[Alex Linsker]

Yelp, Google reviews, and http://newworker.co/mag/all-articles/ among 
others would be channels for outreach, to find people who wrote about 
coworking but aren't paid for it, as would the WorkAtJelly.com listserves 
and wikis. Also work co-ops of all kinds could count as coworking if 
virtual coworking counts, and would have many of the same issues but 
different solutions and fun and innovation as "coworking", and I think 
would benefit this group.

Alex Linsker, Collective Agency, Portland Oregon

On Monday, January 19, 2015 at 5:29:12 AM UTC-8, Will Bennis, Locus 
Workspace wrote:
>
> J.C.'s post does point to what I take to be the greatest loss for this 
> discussion group: that it is almost devoid of participation from people who 
> cowork and don't also have some deeper connection to the movement. But I 
> suppose that's the nature of the beast? Is there *ongoing* value in a 
> coworking discussion group for *members* of coworking spaces? 
>
> My sense is we'd all benefit from getting greater input/perspective from 
> that side of the coworking world (the member side), though I'm not sure 
> that side would benefit from taking the time to give it.
>
> I do wonder if there's some tweak we could do as a community here that 
> would make this list more diverse in terms of who can get benefit from 
> being on here so that coworkers too could participate and add their 
> perspective and also feel as though they're getting value from doing so?  
>
> On Monday, January 19, 2015 at 2:22:25 PM UTC+1, Will Bennis, Locus 
> Workspace wrote:
>>
>> Hi J.C.: 
>>
>> I'm sure there are people out there who share your need and would want to 
>> cowork with you over the Internet and for whom a physical coworking space 
>> isn't the solution. Unfortunately, I don't think this list is the best 
>> place to find those people. As you might have gathered from the replies, 
>> most of the people active on this list are coworking space proprietors or 
>> are otherwise invested in the coworking space industry or the coworking 
>> movement. That's not by design. In my opinion it's just by virtue of what 
>> has kept a consistent group actively interested in discussing *coworking*.
>>
>> Anyone know of a good non-affiliated discussion list where "coworkers", 
>> or people seeking to be coworkers, congregate? My guess--J.C.--is that 
>> you'd be better posting this question on some group where digital nomads, 
>> location-independent professionals, freelancers, home workers, teleworkers, 
>> etc., congregate. But I don't know where that is (or if those groups suffer 
>> from the same trait of hosting primarily people who build their careers 
>> around that topic, rather than the participants in those activities 
>> themselves). 
>>
>> I'd love to hear others' suggestions for where to find this niche. Or 
>> J.C., if you find a place to post this inquiry that brings you success, I'd 
>> love to hear where you found it.
>>
>> Best,
>> Will
>>
>> On Monday, January 19, 2015 at 10:23:56 AM UTC+1, Jeannine wrote:
>>>
>>> We are workinig towards this as a community, the impulse came mostly 
>>> when we shifted form one space to 2. The secopnd space is a sort of a 
>>> daughter location, which has options the original space simply did not 
>>> have.  (I know th espace isn't supposed to matter.  But when the webshop 
>>> has taken up all the tables with inventory and packing materials, or the 
>>> importer is sending home machines on pallets which have to be put 
>>> somewhere, it starts to matter.  A lot.  lol)
>>>
>>> It isn't quite mature yet, but it has been a really interesting ride so 
>>> far.
>>>
>>> For a Euro-development, the newest initiative/proposal we are discussing 
>>> is to stop with the discussion group thing altogether and move to Whatsapp 
>>> groups for this function.  Not sure how that will go, but I guess I will 
>>> know in a couple of months.
>>>
>>> Cheers,
>>>
>>> Jeannine
>>> On Monday, January 19, 2015 at 3:26:47 AM UTC+1, Alex Hillman wrote:
>>>>
>>>>  Hey J.C.,
>>>>
>>>> I’m honestly not sure why people are getting all fussy about this, it 
>>>> seems to me like your goals are totally reasonable to accomplish. 
>>>>
>>>> I don’t get the sense that you’re trying to avoid a coworking 
>>>> space…maybe you’ve even tried it but because you’re often on the phone it 
>>>&

Re: [Coworking] Member Growth first months - 1 Year

[Alex Linsker]

Hi Cynthia, Collective Agency got 26 members in the first 3 months and 54 in 
the first year, and has had around that many ever since, enough to pay every 
staff and owner for work we do here. We could go up to 100 or 140 members. In 
the first 3 months 80% of revenue was from meetings and 20% was from members, 
and then I flipped the revenue model, which works well for recurring revenue. 
-Alex Linsker, Collective Agency, Portland Oregon http://collectiveagency.co

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[Coworking] Re: Funding Expansion? Open Desks vs Dedicated Desks

[Alex Linsker]

I like Angel's ideas. Collective Agency in Portland Oregon has almost no 
memberships with reserved desks, no private offices (it's less fun), and almost 
all memberships with open seating.  All staff and business owners are paid. 
http://collectiveagency.co

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Re: [Coworking] Conversion at end of tours

[Alex Linsker]

At Collective Agency, when someone comes by, if they are interested, then I 
express my interest in them signing up and show them how to do that. I 
often sign people up when they come in, or when they call on the phone 
before coming in. I've found the experience is better and people seem 
happier overall, and the community here is better, when I do that.

Don't be pushy or aggressive ever. Instead, I like people being assertive 
-- expressing what they want to happen, if they can ask for one thing, what 
is it.

There's a model I like for interaction styles which groups people into 4 
types: driver, expressive, amiable, analytical. My natural style is 
analytical: I like time to think about things. People who are drivers are 
more likely to want to sign up upon walking in. To bring in revenue and 
community, my style is driver.

I've found that talking about why we exist and why I'm happy here, from a 
personal perspective, is most important to get people to join. I like a 
high-expectations, responsive style of leadership (democratic style) and 
people see that in talking from me, and we attract people who like that. 
(The typical coworking style is not that.)

Alex
--
Alex Linsker | Business Owner
Collective Agency <http://collectiveagency.co/>
(503) 517-6900 office | (503) 369-9174 mobile
322 NW Sixth Ave, Suite 200 | Portland, Oregon 97209

On Thursday, June 18, 2015 at 8:13:54 AM UTC-7, Glen Ferguson wrote:
>
> My two cents: If that happened to me during a tour, I'd look around 
> wondering if I had mistakenly wandered into a vacation timeshare sales 
> pitch. Then I'd run for the door.
>
> Web CTAs at their best are a mechanism to take the one-way communication 
> (website to visitor) and engage them to turn it into a two-way 
> communication that leads to building a relationship. At their worst they're 
> a sales pitch.
>
> You had the tour with the prospective member. I'm sure there's been a back 
> and forth discussion to find out how they heard about you, why they might 
> want to become a member, what kind of work they do, etc. You already have 
> the interaction going.
>
> You're building a relationship. If you were dating and on the first date 
> the person proposed marriage, what would your reaction be? Or, what about 
> the well-meaning friend that is on some great diet (for them) and they 
> insist it will do wonders for you and you should get on it too? Either 
> situation is uncomfortable.
>
> I'd rather get a member that will be a part of our community instead of 
> one that joins, never shows up and then leaves after a couple months. How 
> we've been doing it is to have several small, qualifying hurdles:
>
>- Take a tour. My stats show that people who join without having set 
>foot inside our space rarely show up at all and don't stay members more 
>than 1-2 months.
>- Do a test drive (daypass). It's pretty rare to find someone that 
>will buy a car without doing a test drive first. Again, my stats show if 
>they've never worked in a coworking community for even a day, they leave 
>after 2-4 months. If they try us out with a daypass first, retention is 
>much higher.
>- A couple days after the tour, our reservation system sends out a 
>follow up email. I ask what they thought of our community and space, any 
>likes/dislikes they have and any suggestions for improvements. I also 
>invite them to come back for that test drive.
>
> I'd rather give the tour and make them feel welcome whenever they're 
> ready, rather than push to close the deal and risk alienating them along 
> with whoever else they share their story of the "pushy salesperson". That's 
> not a reputation I want to start.
>
>*Glen Ferguson*   
>   Phone: 301-732-5165 
>  Email: gl...@coworkfrederick.com  
>  Website: http://coworkfrederick.com 
>  Address: 122 E Patrick St, Frederick, MD 21701 
>   
> On Wed, Jun 17, 2015 at 9:18 PM, oren.s...@gmail.com  <
> oren.s...@gmail.com > wrote:
>
>> Hi all, 
>>
>> This is just a general question regarding your protocols and processes 
>> during tours, specifically whether or not you include a conversion 
>> opportunity. 
>>
>> In other words, do you offer or suggest the touring guest an opportunity 
>> to sign up on the spot?  Do you follow up after the fact?
>>
>> Our registration is currently done on the website here via a Paypal 
>> subscription: www.dallasfortwork.com/#joinUp
>>
>> The reason I ask is that one of my staff suggested that we push this 
>> conversion point harder during tours and directly suggest they sign up on 
>> the spot by loading the page

[Coworking] Re: Open Coworking: It's time to talk about it!

[Alex Linsker]

Thanks for this exploration. As part of Open Coworking, I would value regular 
check-ins and phone and in-person talk time on specific topics with people who 
own and manage coworking businesses with similarities to mine. I've been part 
of small groups (up to 14 people) that meet each week at the same time, with 
similarities between our businesses and shared interest in actionable learning. 
I'd like to be in a group with other coworking owner-managers where:
- the business is talked about transparently in a safe space
- the business pays at least a living wage to at least one person full-time
- the values defined previously by Steve King and others on this group for what 
is coworking are honored
- the coworking places in the group have existed at least 1 year and the people 
in the group are passionate about learning and building vision somehow for 
their place and community.
- we meet for at least 10 weeks, an hour each week, and participants are on the 
calls at least 7 out of the 10 calls.
- there could be a text to read or topics to discuss for each call, where we 
share what we're working on and get support for, and relate with, our goals.

I would be open to facilitating that group and open to others facilitating 
instead. It would need at least 6 people.

Alex Linsker, Collective Agency business owner
(503) 517-6900 office | (503) 369-9174 mobile
322 NW Sixth Ave, Suite 200 | Portland, Oregon 97209

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[Coworking] Re: What were your initial build-out costs?

[Alex Linsker]

I budgeted $0-$5,000 and needed to spend $0 on buildout. Our costs (in this 
order) are: staff, rent, contractors (including utilities), equipment, 
office supplies. That supports the values that members have for here.

For Collective Agency we chose a place that already had a history and a 
feel, and then we modified it. Buildouts of $10,000 or $30,000 might happen 
in the future, but aren't needed.

Alex Linsker, Collective Agency, Portland Oregon http://collectiveagency.co

On Wednesday, July 15, 2015 at 8:28:52 AM UTC-7, jo...@ironfire.co wrote:
>
> Hey All,
>
> I've been developing my plan for a new coworking space for about six 
> months now and finally reached the point of opening negotiations with 
> landlords this week. Some have already offered to throw in tenant 
> improvement dollars to help with my build-out, which prompted me to 
> double-check my build-out estimates with a local architect who understands 
> the type of space I want to create. I asked him what I should budget for 
> the build-out of a 6,000 sq ft space - bearing in mind that I'm not 
> planning anything opulent - and he estimated (by rule of thumb) $55/sqft. 
> If your eyes are popping out of your head right now, we're on the same 
> page, because that would amount to $330,000!!! So my question is...
>
> WHAT DID EACH OF YOU BUDGET AND/OR ACTUALLY SPEND ON YOUR INITIAL 
> BUILD-OUT? (in total or per sq ft, bearing in mind that build-out does not 
> include furnishings or equipment)
>
> I realize answers will vary a lot based on prior use of the space or the 
> condition it was in when you found it. Most of the spaces I'm considering 
> would be delivered as "warm shells," meaning one big empty space with 
> utilities (water, power, HVAC) piped in. So while I'd love to hear from as 
> many of you who are open to sharing, I'd especially like to hear from 
> anyone who started with a warm shell of similar size. Thanks in advance!
>
> Josh Rencher
> Founder, Ironfire LLC
> http://ironfire.co | @ironfireLB
> Long Beach, CA
>

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[Coworking] room temperature for members?

[Alex Linsker]

For people who have ideal room temperature with heat and air conditioning, 
how do you accommodate people who prefer a warmer or cooler temperature 
than the average person at your location? At Collective Agency, we have 
central heat and air conditioning, with pipes on two sides of the building. 
Each of the 6 conference rooms has its own temperature control, and there 
are mini quiet fans in the big shared room for people who prefer it cooler. 
People who prefer it warmer often work on the side of the building closer 
to the sun, but do you have a good way to localize/personalize heat? It 
came up today and I'm trying a local floor heater that blows hot air 
towards a person, and am wondering if you have favorite models, or other 
solutions?

Alex Linsker, Collective Agency

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[Coworking] Re: What are some of your Key Performance Indicators?

[Alex Linsker]

I'm very appreciative of this conversation thread, I've been interested in 
this in a long time and curious to hear from other people here, thank you.

The main statistics I look at and work on:
1) culture http://culturesync.net/toolbox/culturemeter-survey/
2) alignment with/success of our values throughout the day and week (the 
values are pretty well described on our homepage at 
http://collectiveagency.co and we're in the process of updating them)
3) how much active outreach is happening and being asked for, for us to 
reach more people

Those provide the base for:
1) referrals and reviews online and in-person
2) revenue and expenses by category, per day, per week, per month and per 
year. I think monthly is most important for me to measure.
3) number of members (which comes from people being members for years, new 
people signing up, people returning after awhile not here, and people 
quitting or pausing)
4) growth in success of the above

Alex Linsker, Collective Agency, Portland Oregon, http://collectiveagency.co

On Monday, July 20, 2015 at 1:24:49 PM UTC-7, Jenifer Ross wrote:
>
> Hey Coworking World-
>
> I am working on identifying benchmarks for our space. Can you share with 
> me some of you Key Performance Indicators and how you track them?
>
> Thank you!!
>
> Jenifer Ross
> Founder + Co-owner
> W@tercooler
> www.watercoolerhub.com
>

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Re: [Coworking] Who has agreements w/ outside groups?

[Alex Linsker]

Hi Glen, I can totally relate to what Tony wrote about costs and valuing a 
place. At Collective Agency, we started out with a no charge option, and that 
worked great until many unintented consequences happened. 

I'm very happy to rent out conference rooms for meetups and user groups. 
Members get 3 hours per day in conference rooms. Non-members pay. Event space 
rental is always paid, for up to 45 or up to 125 people, and only after hours.

I do not think groups or boards or companies can be responsible for an event. I 
think individuals can be responsible. If one person isn't responsible for 
something, no one is responsible, is a belief I have. But individuals can work 
together, and responsible decisive responsive leaders, and setting assertive 
limits, and systems and processes, is the best.

Alex Linsker, Collective Agency, Portland Oregon

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Re: [Coworking] Do you have 'anchor' members?

[Alex Linsker]

Alex, thanks for sharing the 'why' parts of your email. I've been working on 
updating values, mission and vision for Collective Agency with staff and 
members and your blog post is super-helpful as an example. 

Is anyone else here working on this?

Alex Linsker, Collective Agency, Portland Oregon

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[Coworking] organization website vs coworking space website

[Alex Linsker]

Ask your members what they want, if you are a member-led coworking place. 
Otherwise, don't ask your members, unless you are a market-driven coworking 
place and your members are marketing-savvy.

I don't think there is a big difference on what your website is. It's a 
branding identity question. Can go either way and be 'right'. In Portland we 
have the Hatch, a nonprofit-led coworking place.

Right now I am thinking about a similar question, but as to whether and how 
Collective Agency should do social/economic/other outreach outside our walls, 
as a new product or as a separate thing. We are member-led, a workplace 
democracy, so soon I will ask members.

Alex Linsker, Collective Agency in Portland Oregon.

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

[Alex Linsker]

Alex Hillman, would you say the main value of IndyHall is the online community 
space or the in-person community place? If online (which is what it sounds 
like, being your flagship), could you see a coworking community that is only 
paid for online, and not for in-person, and what would that look like? It 
sounds like if IndyHall place ended, you would still have most of your revenue 
and members and community, is that accurate? It also sounds like that could be 
how a new coworking community starts - purely online. What value are people 
then getting? The same values as in-person community, but through online 
community? Also, do you have a sense of how much your more inexpensive 
memberships reduced your number of more expensive memberships? Thanks, Alex 
Linsker

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[Coworking] Cowork benefits that don't have to be used within the physical space?

[Alex Linsker]

Jennifer, I would be fascinated to hear the answers to what people said about 
the benefits of coworking online or not in person?

To answer your last question, yes, you can offer too many things. People tend 
to average the value of each thing they hear in a group. So if I offer you 24/7 
access, conference room access, and community activities, there are other 
things I could say in that group that would lower the average value and your 
interest.

Your members will be different from members at another place, and the people 
you want to be additional future members may have different priorities. Any 
group will value some things a lot. If they value getting a deal and price 
savings over other things, then that's good to know and prioritize. If they 
don't, then it's good to minimize.

Alex Linsker, Collective Agency in Portland Oregon

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[Coworking] Re: How Niche Can You Go?

[Alex Linsker]

Alex, I like the idea vs customer concept. I've lately been saying I can have 
big ideas but I get paid for rent with a great community.

I would back up what you said - coworking primarily as a way to make money, 
without a more community-focused/human-motivated why, does not work well from 
what I've seen. 

Alex Linsker, Collective Agency in Portland Oregon

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Re: [Coworking] Music in your coworking space?

[Alex Linsker]

I agree with Jacob too. 

At Collective Agency we have a big loft room with various areas (all open and 
connected, but various areas feel different), a kitchen, an entry lounge and 6 
conference rooms. In the middle of the big loft room, we have the radio classic 
music on from 9am to after lunch, then radio jazz until 4pm, then classical 
from 4 to 5pm, then off. Other music is done when requested or changed by a 
member, which is pretty rare, and we keep it at a very specific volume to 
encourage conversation. We have birds chirping on the skylights now and then 
which causes us to laugh in surprise. Conversations happen more when music is 
at a specific volume. The fan is on which creates a sound most people like. 
This all meets the strongest desires that the most members have expressed, and 
supports our community values: productive work, cozy workplace, community, 
socializing, inspiration, friendships. Alex Linsker, Collective Agency.

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[Coworking] BuddyPress?

[Alex Linsker]

It's been 4 years since BuddyPress has been mentioned on here. Has anyone used 
a BuddyPress site they've enjoyed in the past couple of years, and if so, which 
one? Has anyone here tried to build a BuddyPress site in the past couple of 
years, and how did it go?

I'm considering starting a broader collaboration-marketing-data platform in 
addition to the coworking website for Collective Agency. I know Slack is 
popular but it doesn't work for my needs, and so I'm specifically wondering 
about BuddyPress. (My team and I are super-fans of Wordpress and its plugins.) 
Otherwise Facebook groups and a separate additional Wordpress site would be the 
next most likely option. Thanks, Alex Linsker
http://collectiveagency.co

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[Coworking] Children in a coworking space

[Alex Linsker]

We have community guidelines which cover this: 
http://collectiveagency.co/community-guidelines Holding people accountable is 
then expected, once started. It is amazing and joyful and appreciative.

Alex Linsker, Collective Agency, Portland Oregon

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Re: [Coworking] Stats of our first 5 years coworking

[Alex Linsker]

Elias, start by figuring out who you do and who you don't want to be in your 
coworking place. Write it down and share it -- it can be only positive wording 
but if it is meaningful it will exclude people who know they don't belong. You 
don't want everybody.

If you write "We are a coworking place where everybody is worthy of love and 
belonging" and you truly intend that, you will exclude people who don't want 
everybody there, people who want cliwues or don't consider themselves worthy of 
love or belonging. (As an example.)

Common advice on this group is, stsrt with community before you rent a place.

Find people who care about many people and who have communities they will 
benefit by referring.

Find people who have strong feelings and experiences about the place you will 
fent or will rent in, who actively want something. That is how I start things.

If it isn't fun while doing it, don't do it.

Alex Linsker, Collective Agency, Portland Oregon http://CollectiveAgency.co 

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[Coworking] Re: Ideas for flexible mail delivery?

[Alex Linsker]

Get a mail rack/shelving unit with shelf slots that easily remove, or get 
nametags that easily remove (Velcro or tape on the back or laminated sheet 
inserts).

Leave enough blank shelves in between every 5 or 10 members, so when new 
people come, you only have to move 5 or 10 slots (or whatever), not 100.

If moving slots is still hard, you could give each member a number and have 
a searchable sheet on the iPad or whatever device is near your slots, with 
autosuggest, that shows number, face, and name, to just add new members to 
the last number available and find them pretty easily.

For overflowing mail, you could have a 2-week (or whatever) limit, where 
every two weeks you do something with mail that has been there more than 1 
month. You could add a manila folder on top of the mail ever week and date 
it, or something. We do that with the fridge, every week the food that 
looks old is thrown out by a staffperson, and otherwise we date the food so 
we know how long it's been there. It actually is super-quick to do that, 
after the first few times.

How much value does the mail add to membership, and how much cost 
(emotional and time and financial) does the mail add to you? Could you pay 
someone to do it or find another way to make your work on it fun?

-Alex Linsker, Collective Agency, Portland Oregon 
http://colllectiveagency.co

On Tuesday, December 8, 2015 at 11:55:11 AM UTC-8, Megan Holcomb wrote:
>
> Hi All,
>
> I am exploring options for a flexible mail delivery system. Currently we 
> have small, square, stacked mailboxes with member names on labels 
> (alphabetized). We sort the mail ourselves into the member's mailbox and 
> they (members) are responsible for checking their box. But every time we 
> get a new member the labels have to be shifted. Some members have 
> overflowing mail or rarely check their box. Often mail arrives for 
> past/non-members. For reference we have between 100-200 members.
>
> Maybe there are some creative mail management solutions out there?! New to 
> this google group so thought Id ask. Haven't seen it in previous topic 
> threads.
>
> Thanks!
>
>

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[Coworking] Re: Our first 18 months: we doubled our revenue, and we're still losing money.

[Alex Linsker]

Hi Dana, I'm in Portland too. Collective Agency is my only source of 
revenue. I'm open to expanding the brand to multiple locations. If you 
might want to collaborate or license, email me at a...@collectiveagency.co 
Why are you interested in coworking, instead of, say, a restaurant? What do 
you want your role to be / what tasks do you want to do that you're great 
at? Alex Linsker, Collective Agency http://collectiveagency.co

On Tuesday, January 19, 2016 at 4:06:09 PM UTC-8, Dana Cofer wrote:
>
> Matt,
>
> Thank you so much for sharing this information. I have been working on my 
> business and financial model to open a coworking space in Portland, Oregon 
> so this is very timely. It also reinforces what I am seeing in my initial 
> pass, which is "how can something so right be so unprofitable?" Portland 
> office space costs don't help where we have to pay $20-25/sf/yr for 
> anything desirable. So for 6,500 sf I am looking at $10,000 just for rent. 
> Memberships alone won't pay the bills. 
>
> My research has reinforced the market need for meeting space that is 
> aesthetic, creative, and flexible. Basically, an alternative to the hotels 
> that put you in a basement and force you to eat (and pay for) their food. 
>
> I wonder if I should design my model to weigh more heavily on private 
> offices, meeting space rental, and business support services over communal 
> desk space. Obviously that is the nerve center for a community, but maybe 
> shifts to 50% of the space/revenue. 
>
> I guess I am interested in the communities advice for someone wanting to 
> start a cowork business as their sole business and not have a side job to 
> put food on the table. 
>
> Thanks for any advice and for being so transparent with your experience!
>
> Dana
>
>
> On Friday, January 8, 2016 at 4:21:04 AM UTC-8, Matt D. wrote:
>>
>> Hey everyone. 
>>
>> We just hit the 18-month mark, and we decided to take an honest look at 
>> how we're doing. Turns out we've had some nice growth, but were still 
>> losing money. 
>>
>> We've laid it all out - data, financials and some honest analysis of 
>> what's still gotdoing we're in our coworking business/operations in order 
>> for us to find profitability - which we will! If you're interested, please 
>> take a read:
>>
>>
>> http://www.theskillery.com/blog/2015/12/29/we-doubled-our-revenue-in-2015-but-were-still-losing-money-heres-why
>>
>> Hope you find it useful. Let me know if I can answer any questions! 
>> Thanks!
>>
>> -Matt @mattdudleytn, from The Skillery @theskillery
>>
>>

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[Coworking] Re: Revenue models for workshops

[Alex Linsker]

We have had the most success with rentals that want our values, since that 
is the one thing we are paid to do (rentals that meet and grow our values). 
We have many member events that are no charge, but those events are truly 
for current members and do not bring in other revenue.

When I used to produce theatre years ago (I was not the venue then), as a 
producer when I started by enjoying ticket splits, but as I grew and 
learned what to expect, I enjoyed paying a low fee (paying rent). 

What do you see as the need that people you know already want to pay for? 
What are your priorities that support that? What are your priorities that 
do not support that?

-Alex Linsker, Collective Agency, Portland Oregon http://collectiveagency.co

On Friday, January 22, 2016 at 5:17:42 PM UTC-8, Trudi Eisenhour wrote:
>
> Hi All! I'm curious about revenue models on workshops that your space 
> offers. We are flushing out our workshop calendar of which some will be 
> hosted by members and some will be hosted by community experts. I have read 
> a bunch of things that said workshops are a ton of work  (from a marketing 
> and coordination perspective) without a big payoff, but my city is in need, 
> so I want to see if I can fill it, but I also want to make it a revenue 
> stream. Thoughts on ticket splits, straight space rental, or some combo of 
> both with minimums. I imagine your answers will vary based on member hosted 
> vs public hosted, so please include that as well. Thanks!!!
>

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Re: [Coworking] Re: Startup Valuation

[Alex Linsker]

I had Collective Agency valued in 2012. Contact me at a...@collectiveagency.co 
if you want to see the methods; I would charge to share that information 
privately. Alex Linsker

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Re: [Coworking] Co-ops and Coworking: the best-kept secret in coworking.

[Alex Linsker]

This is a great thread. I'm interested in talking with everyone who has a co-op 
or workplace democracy and is interested in sharing more best practices. 

Collective Agency started very similarly, out of Jellies, then we did presales. 
Members have not wanted to be a legal co-op and have not wanted a board, and 
voting rights are without needing buy-in, like voting in a city or village. We 
went too far in the direction of members-only, and lost some serendipity, but 
instantly got that back recently at open events. We are a workplace democracy, 
and have been described as a "hybrid model" between being a workers coop and a 
buyers/members coop. We are a member organization of the US Federation of 
Worker Cooperatives; sister companies in Portland include Equal Exchange, 
People's Food Coop, and CityBikes. We were a member of WorldBlu and won awards 
in 2013.

Alex Linsker, Collective Agency, Portland Oregon http://collectiveagency.co

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Re: [Coworking] Co-ops and Coworking: the best-kept secret in coworking.

[Alex Linsker]

igher on the 
quiz.
5. Community Mission Statement. We started with a council, and the council 
came up with this mission statement, and no matter what it seems hard to 
make it better for us as a place and community.

For action, we have:
1. Civics/optional member meeting. This is a Q&A forum for clarifying 
questions, advice, suggestions, planning. Members and anyone who passes the 
quiz can show up and participate. We always start by going around in a 
circle and each person says saying their name and something they're 
passionate about in 30 seconds or less. This sets personal values for the 
meeting (the Venn diagram). Then no one steps on anyone else's values; we 
honor and are appreciative of each other's values during the meeting and 
after. During the meeting, we talk through upcoming events, and ask for 
input on making them even better and for RSVP's/commitments, and for ideas 
for future events. Any question can be asked and answered within the 
community guidelines. Sometimes members initiate and organize other 
members, such as the time that part of the room was rearranged during a 
Feng Shui happy hour, as led by two members, making it much more usable. 
Pluralism is a value (not universalism); we try to have something that 
everybody really likes. If one person really likes one area of the room, 
and really dislikes another area of the room, that's great, because they 
have a place they really like. If no one really likes that area of the 
room, then we make it so that someone who isn't thrilled by most parts of 
the room really like that part of the room. This ends up with roughly four 
groups of people, in a literal Venn diagram, we have a main table in the 
middle that has the most social interactions.
2. Lunch each day. This is the most natural event for us. Members initiated 
it from the start, and lead it when staff doesn't. We walk to the food 
carts nearby, or sometimes other places. Then we come back and eat on the 
sofas in the big loft room.
3. Happy hours. The holiday party each year is the most popular event. We 
have a happy hour roughly each month, about half here and half out at a 
bar. Members suggest the happy hour and enough people commit to it.
4. Works-in-progress presentations. When we opened, Lightning Talks were 
suggested by more than 10 people. Three people would share, roughly 10 
minutes each, with a presentation. That evolved into works-in-progress 
sharing, which is less expert-sharing and more peer-to-peer. Recently 
members haven't had as much interest in that.
5. Impromptu conversations. This comes out of the earlier events. People 
ask advice and form friendships.
6. Individual initiatives and group initiatives. People (members and people 
here free) can: move furniture, write on the Suggestions and Appreciations 
posterboards in the kitchen, host user groups or coworking/conversation 
meetings in conference rooms or in the big loft room (up to 14 people), and 
anything else within the Community Guidelines/Terms of Service. 

VI. The value of democracy for a business (see Rosabeth Kanter's book 
Confidence: How Winning Streaks and Losing Streaks Begin and End):
1. Initiative. 
2. Accountability
3. Collaboration.

I agree with everything Alex Hillman wrote on this thread about the value 
of new member contributions. We went through a rough patch 2.5 years ago, 
where our level of culture had gone way down. Some members said they should 
have more rights because they had been a member for longer. And other 
members said no, in a democracy, it's not about how long you've been there, 
it's one vote per person. Recently my favorite example of this is how we 
have tampons in restrooms now, because a newer member suggested them, and 
more new members and people here for meetings said they appreciated them. I 
think what people start with experiencing, is what they expect long-term, 
and that's been hard for me sometimes to throw off old baggage and get used 
to the new phase (whatever it is), which seems to happen every 3 months, we 
move into a new phase (and mistakes can last for 9 months without becoming 
a major problem). People coming in free, see what it is right now, and can 
verbalize it, and be heard, and solve it, and even lead it, in an 
appreciative, openness, productive workplace democracy.

Curious to hear more thoughts/questions/similar models.

Alex Linsker, Collective Agency, Portland Oregon, 
http://collectiveagency.co/

On Wednesday, March 30, 2016 at 5:18:38 AM UTC-7, Trevor Twining wrote:

> Alex, this is fascinating. I want to make sure I understand: are you 
> saying that anyone can walk in off the street and have no financial stake 
> in your organization, but still participate in making decisions? 
>
>
> Trevor Twining 
> trevor...@gmail.com  
> 416-201-2254 
> twitter/skype/linkedin: trevortwining 
>
> > On Mar 29, 2016, at 8:38 , Alex Li

Re: [Coworking] Co-ops and Coworking: the best-kept secret in coworking.

[Alex Linsker]

Trevor, how would you rate your co-op on each of the 7 cooperative 
principles? What works great? What could work even better? 

Other questions (answers to any of them would be great) :

Are there any cooperative principles that don't match up exactly with what 
members want? Are there any cooperative principles that members 
super-value? How are people on the board perceived as different from 
members not on the board? What do you do for non-board members to feel they 
own the organization? Do you have a period of time or criteria when someone 
joins, before they become a member-owner, or are members, as soon as they 
join, instantly equal in terms of your goals for their cooperative 
decision-making? 

If you wanted more capital, such as to expand, how would you see that most 
likely working within your members' values (would it be pre-sales, a bank 
loan/loan from outside organizations, or a few members with more money 
individually buying a building or receiving an interest rate higher than 8% 
per year, or all or most members contributing equally into a capital fund 
and not receiving a return higher than 8% per year)? Do you have financial 
reserves, and why or why not? How do various members think about the future?

I'm interested in the principle of subsidiarity/federation/localism for 
opening additional locations; is that something you've thought about, and 
if so, how would new locations interact with the current location?

Alex Linsker, Collective Agency, Portland Oregon, 
http://collectiveagency.co/

On Thursday, February 18, 2016 at 10:55:31 AM UTC-8, Trevor Twining wrote:
>
> Here’s a link to the Ontario Co-operative Association, whose resources and 
> advice were particularly valuable when we set up. If you’re in Ontario, 
> they’re more than happy to offer some initial assistance. If you’re 
> outside, they’re happy to refer you to the group in your area who can help. 
> We’ve become quite involved in the Niagara Regional Co-op Network which is 
> closely connected with On Co-Op.
>
> http://www.ontario.coop/programs_services/coop_development/starting_a_coop
>
> It’s a rich resource, but there’s still a lot of jargon. I’ll try to break 
> our experience down in plain language.
>
> 1. We were already meeting as a jelly group for 18 months before we 
> started with our space, so we had a core community from which to build.
> 2. As we were talking about the mutually-invested community we wanted to 
> build, someone who was already working on a food co-op in our city asked if 
> we had considered the model.
> 3. We looked at the resources at the link above and enough connected that 
> we decided this was the model for us.
> 4. We filled out the incorporation forms ourselves. It took a couple of 
> hours. (I can walk you through if you get to this stage)
> 5. The membership fees from the founding members gave us the capital we 
> needed to create the corporation and get the initial paperwork filed.
> 6. Members pre-paid first, last and as many months as they could up-front 
> so that we could build a nest egg. Some members provided member loans.
> 7. Our membership model also encourages participation that doesn’t 
> directly involve the space, so we have a larger group of members than space 
> users. (our current membership is 70, but less than 30 use the space 
> 1d/week or more)
> 8. With that money in the bank, we were able to sign our lease, get our 
> utilities set up, and hang our sign on the door.
> 9. We have a board of 8 directors, and they help guide the long term 
> direction of the group. I’m still chief resident volunteer 
> cat-herder/tummler, and we’re working on expanding our service offering so 
> we can pay someone to be in this role.
> 10. Annually we have a meeting to review finances, vote on key changes in 
> direction, and when we get to the point where we’re managing a surplus, the 
> group will decide how that’s allocated.
>
> Next coworking meetup-type thing we do, I’d be happy to present this as a 
> talk in more detail.
>
> 
> Trevor Twining
> Cowork Niagara
> http://coworkniagara.com
> Home of Niagara’s independent workforce
> twitter: @coworkniagara, @trevortwining
>
>
>
>
> On Feb 18, 2016, at 12:00 PM, Trevor Twining  > wrote:
>
> Thanks all, for your feedback so far.
>
> Sounds like I need a (few?) follow up post(s). I’ll also post some links 
> shortly to resources we used. In Canada, most co-ops are provincially 
> incorporated, so I assume that in the US each state will have its own co-op 
> legislation.
>
> I’ll share what we did here in Ontario, and you should be able to figure 
> out how that works in your province/state.
>
> I’m not sure how this works in other countries, but the co-op movement

[Coworking] offering mail at what $ amount: to all members, or some?

[Alex Linsker]

Hi all,

Question: I could see offering mail delivery at memberships that are 1-day
a month, and I have one request to offer it at 6-days a month, but am
wondering if some members would switch to those less expensive options. (1
person definitely would, another two people at least might, or might feel
resentful if they stay at the current option when they wouldn't then need
it). And if they do, what is your experience with more people signing up,
do you think it's worth it? I know some places offer mail delivery as the
'hook'/least expensive option, and some places offer it starting at the
more expensive full-time memberships.

What are the themes of places that do offer it at the less expensive
part-time options, and places that offer it at the more expensive full-time
options, and what's your advice in terms of business and community? (It
seems like a business choice and not too related with community, from what
I've heard from members here, although as a community choice there would be
a preference by members for total equality of access for all members,
including mail.)

Thank you!

Context if of interest:

Recently more than 12 Collective Agency members and more than 7 non-members
gave advice and input on a wide range of additional membership options. One
of the themes was that many members don't want different 'classes' of
members, which surprised me some, but reminded me of the mandate from many
people when we started to treat everybody the same under the rules, with
openness/transparency/equality/democracy process. We did have full
consensus; everybody asked prefers this new version better than the old
version and an intermediate version.

This is the new membership page: http://collectiveagency.co/membership/

We now have 1-day a month, 6-days a month, as-many-days-as-you-want, and
with-a-reserved-desk options (the first two are new). Currently all members
except for one have as-many-days-as-you-want membership, which was the main
option before. The only difference in terms of access between the 1- and
6-day a month options and the as-many-days-as-you-want options are that the
latter have mail delivery, and locker storage, included. Mail delivery
makes this people's business address.

Recently I realized that an additional 300 people at 1-day a month is as
good or maybe better than an additional 30 people here on the
as-many-day-as-you-want membership options (many of the other long-lasting
places do that, including Alex at IndyHall, and places where people visit
from and become members from when they move here and say we're
super-similar, such as Jacob at OfficeNomads, and NextSpace and others).
And having an extended community larger than 140 people (an early goal)
supports the value of openness and the values people have in Portland of
wanting their place to grow and grow.

Alex
--
Alex Linsker | Business Owner
Collective Agency <http://collectiveagency.co>
(503) 517-6900 office | (503) 369-9174 mobile
322 NW Sixth Ave, Suite 200 | Portland, Oregon 97209

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Re: [Coworking] Advice Requested - New Space in NY

[Alex Linsker]

Sounds great, and I like what Tony said.

Find leaders of hundreds or thousands of people and make your place their work 
home.

Write a contract with then, a Constitution or Charter or at least a Bill of 
Rights or Community Guidelines, that gives them autonomy and sets limits, so 
they can do sales for you and know it will stay theirs. Have monthly meetings 
with them, open to members and the public, and they know what their people 
want. Then you have a pluralistic community-of-communities, and are well on 
your way to being a workplace democracy.

Alex Linsker, http://CollectiveAgency.co

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Re: [Coworking] Parking

[Alex Linsker]

How does parking work for you now? I'm considering getting some parking 
permits for Collective Agency, am thinking members could pick them up here 
then put them in their car then bring them back when done.

Collective Agency would pay a monthly permit fee. Am wondering whether to 
charge members who want passes for themselves and visitors a monthly fee, 
maybe $75 or $100 per month. We have paid meetings and am wondering whether 
to charge them too. It would likely get us more meetings and members to 
have car parking downtown; the meetings parking would pay for themselves 
but for members, do you charge, or not, if the amount you pay per parking 
spot costs almost as much as how much a person pays for membership?

Downtown parking is currently a deterrent for some potential members, and 
some members have said they would buy additional memberships if there was 
free parking. So I think it makes sense to have 5 parking spots to start, 
but am wondering if charging extra for parking might be worse than 
providing it included in membership.

We expanded to second location recently, and a third location I'm 
considering would be in a different neighborhood with free street parking; 
am wondering if providing different amenities at each location has worked 
for anyone, and how?

Thanks,

Alex Linsker, http://CollectiveAgency.co/

On Thursday, January 31, 2013 at 5:34:23 AM UTC-8, Jerome wrote:
>
> We just implemented a new policy: we issued out parking permits to hang 
> from rearview mirrors. 
>
> Old policy: daily sign-in sheet at the front desk.  We would go across the 
> street and randomly spot check unauthorized parking. 
>
>
> 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 Jan 31, 2013, at 5:22 AM, David Matthews  > wrote: 
>
> > All, 
> > 
> > If you have a coworking space with limited parking facilities, or are a 
> block or more away, how do you get around this situation and how does it 
> affect your business? 
> > 
> > Thanks in advance, 
> > 
> > David 
> > 
> > -- 
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> > 
> > 
>
>

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[Coworking] minimum length of memberships that are beneficial for you?

[Alex Linsker]

At Collective Agency, sometimes people sign up who only plan on being in 
Portland for a month or six weeks. They sign up and pay first and last 
month. Then they leave on schedule. While they're here, they form 
friendships. When they leave, the relationship ties they have formed, pull 
at the other people who are members, and get them more likely to leave, 
because one of their new friends has left. I've talked with someone who 
does economics for a major roleplaying game and she says this happens in 
their universe too; players are more likely to leave after their friends 
leave.

One solution is to have members form many friendships and not be as fazed 
out when one of their friends leaves. But recently we saw a cluster of 
people form tight friendships, including a crafting circle, and then when 
one person left, another person was more likely to leave, and so on, 
creating more of a cascade effect than usual.

My question is: do you set minimum expectations on whether someone is 
wanted to join for a month if they are definitely leaving after that? 
Currently we don't. Anyone staying less than 6 months seems to not be worth 
it for revenue and community here, since long-term friendships are highly 
valued by members, and most people stay much more than that, but I'm 
hesitant to enforce or tell people a minimum length of membership before 
they sign up.

Thanks,

Alex Linsker, Collective Agency http://collectiveagency.co/

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[Coworking] Re: Mentors for Business Growth

[Alex Linsker]

At Collective Agency, five years ago, there was interest in peer-to-peer 
skill-sharing more than in 'mentors' and 'mentees' specifically. We have 
Lightning Talks where people share what they're working on with the goal of 
learning by sharing, and then get feedback from members. So the learning is 
reciprocal.

Recently people have talked about and provided mutual support on: personal 
relationships, parenting, JavaScript, blues dancing, salsa dancing, 
crafting, sewing, capital expansion, buying and renting houses in Portland, 
hiring employees, etc.

The infrastructure we have to do this is: 
- everybody works alongside everybody else in a big room, with access to 
conference rooms 3 hours per day per person. That gets us overhearing 
conversations and starting conversations and getting to know each other.
- optional events: lunch almost every day, Lightning Talks (or other 
similar events) every month, happy hour once a month, optional member 
meeting once a month where people suggest ways to make here even better, 
and other events.
- member names and photos on the wall here.
- potlucks which makes it easy for people to feel appreciated and be 
appreciative.
- impromptu conversations.
- wording on the Membership page attracts people who want all this.
- Community Guidelines posted on the website and outside the kitchen which 
makes almost all conversations inspiring and energizing by filtering out 
conversations where people aren't considerate and mindful of other people.

Alex Linsker, Collective Agency http://collectiveagency.co/

On Tuesday, May 10, 2016 at 12:59:35 PM UTC-7, Trudi Eisenhour wrote:
>
> We have been exploring integrating mentors into our coworking space. I 
> have looked at office hours and slack channel usage, but I'm curious how 
> others are providing their members access to a mentor network and how you 
> are best getting the two connected. 
>

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[Coworking] previous threads on having multiple locations?

[Alex Linsker]

Hi all,

Other than searching the Google Group for "multiple locations", what would 
you recommend searching for, for info on coworking places with multiple 
locations? Collective Agency is almost signed on our third location in 
Portland and I'm curious to see what questions have come up for people 
who've done this before. 

The vision is for each location to be slightly different, with locally 
influenced community and different amenities, but a similar overall feel. 
This will be our second location for members (the other location is just 
for event rentals right now, but could become for members in the future).

Questions I have:
- the pros and cons of members of each location having membership at all 
the locations. (Most members at the main location will not want to switch, 
and all will want the ability to come to our main location, but about 1 in 
10 people are interested in mainly being at the third location.)
- the pros and cons of having multiple web pages, one for each location.
- local experimentation: the best ways to try new policies at one location, 
and when to try something and when to not try something.
- pros and cons of local parties vs combining locations for parties? Do you 
rotate locations sometimes, and combine sometimes?
- local governance: including, when applicable, what benefits have your 
members said they've had from being involved in governance? Do any places 
have local representatives from each location get together to talk 
governance for the organization overall?

Thanks,

Alex Linsker http://CollectiveAgency.co/

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Re: [Coworking] Re: previous threads on having multiple locations?

[Alex Linsker]

Thanks Jeannine and Jamie for your suggestions!

Jamie, thanks, I'll look at all those places.

Jeannine, I love thinking about cities and places in the way you wrote at
the start of your email, would like to talk more and hear how you think
about that, either on a phone call or online, whichever you prefer.

Could you say more about what all your places share and how they are
different?

You write 'the Community Manager in the home space' is the main organizer
for each location; do you mean there's one person at one main location for
you, who is contacted for all the locations, or each location has a person
who is physically there most of the time who is the organizer?

That's lovely to hear about the rolling/rotating parties across the
locations, I'd love to do that.

You write it's a lot of fun when members start their own locations; could
you write more about why/how it's fun? (Collective Agency members have
independently started at least 5 locations of which at least 3 are still
continuing, plus private offices often modeled on us, often when there is a
split in a requirement, like another city/location, a specific demographic
niche, a corporate request, or when a certain ethos or experiment is
desired by two or more members that wouldn't fit within the Community
Guidelines. Gangplank in Chandler Arizona has a licensing model that I
always love hearing about.)

It's helpful to hear about membership at one location and 'as if
membership' at the other locations, people have suggested that. I'm
wondering for key and alarm access, how that works? (I could see having the
same alarm code at each location, or different codes at each location. To
start, we'll have different door key systems at each location; magnetic key
fob at one, and metal key at the others.) Do you have one key and code for
all locations, or are there resident members who open and close, and
members at other locations can visit during those hours?

How do people at the various places dream up ideas and make them happen? Do
they ever do that without going through a Community Manager or you? Do you
tend to have one person at a time or groups of people who come up with
ideas and make them happen? What roles/autonomy do they have, and are their
roles/autonomy broadly written down?

Right now with 2 locations I'm seeing confusion/disappointment sometimes,
and joy/excitement/surprise sometimes (of all the emotions, it's mostly
excitement/anticipation), that one place is physically different with
different amenities than the other.

We have an Instagram account shown on all our website pages that seems to
be a main emotional connection for many people. The disappointed people
want either wood and brick Loft, or white-wall Gallery, but not both, and
showing the second location reduces inquiries in the first location, and
showing the first location reduces expectation for the second location.

So I could see having different Instagram accounts for each location, and
show the main Instagram at the top, and the second Instagram below, and
then Facebook and other more community/human things, to share, and the
Membership page to share (as long as members at the third location want the
same rates as the main location). Or I could see just having enough variety
in the Instagram, the same way we currently have variety of photos with
humans (which attract most people more) and photos without humans (which
attract some other people more).

Alex http://collectiveagency.co/

--
Alex Linsker | Business Owner
Collective Agency <http://collectiveagency.co>
(503) 517-6900 office | (503) 369-9174 mobile
322 NW Sixth Ave, Suite 200 | Portland, Oregon 97209


On Tue, Jun 28, 2016 at 2:19 PM, Jamie Russo 
wrote:

> Alex,
>
> Here are a few folks with multiple locations that you might reach out to,
> or do secondary research on their websites:
>
> Blankspaces (LA)
> Workbar (Boston)
> COCO (Minneapolis)
> The Commondesk (Dallas)
> Link (Austin)
> Grind (NY, Chicago)
>
> Best,
> Jamie Russo
> Founder, Enerspace Coworking <http://www.enerspacecoworking.com>
> Host, Everything Coworking Podcast <http://www.everythingcoworking.com>
> Executive Director Global Workspace Association
> <http://www.globalworkspace.org>
>
>
> On Friday, June 24, 2016 at 7:37:25 PM UTC-7, Alex Linsker wrote:
>>
>> Hi all,
>>
>> Other than searching the Google Group for "multiple locations", what
>> would you recommend searching for, for info on coworking places with
>> multiple locations? Collective Agency is almost signed on our third
>> location in Portland and I'm curious to see what questions have come up for
>> people who've done this before.
>>
>> The vision is for each location to be slightly different, with locally
>> influenced comm

Re: [Coworking] Re: previous threads on having multiple locations?

[Alex Linsker]

Hi Matt,

I'm interested in being in a group of people who have or are starting
multiple locations; feel free to reach out directly for one-on-one or group
conversations anytime. I'm at +1 (503) 517-6900 in the U.S. (Monday to
Friday 9am to 5pm PST), or a...@collectiveagency.co and can do the internet
phone/video chat things like Skype too, where I'm 'alexlinsker'.

Alex
--
Alex Linsker | Business Owner
Collective Agency <http://collectiveagency.co>
(503) 517-6900 office | (503) 369-9174 mobile
322 NW Sixth Ave, Suite 200 | Portland, Oregon 97209


On Mon, Jun 27, 2016 at 2:31 AM, Matt G  wrote:

> Hey Jeannine,
>
> Thank you for that reply to Alex, it's really really useful. While we only
> have one small location we hope to open a second next year by the success
>  we are fortunate to be having, so these sorts of questions also cross my
> mind.
>
> You say your spaces are throughout the country? are any of them in the
> same town as each other?
>
> Thanks,
> Matt
>
>
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[Coworking] Principles for workplace democracy?

[Alex Linsker]

I've been asked to give a speech and to write an article about principles
for workplace democracy, for coworking as small villages, and would value
your feedback/questions/suggestions. 6 principles are below, after 2
paragraphs of intro.

I think there are 4 categories of coworking places, and this might be
helpful for one of the types, which I call 'workplace democracies'; another
way to define them are places where the ideal is to 'work alongside other
people, who are doing a variety of work.' (the ideal for this type of
coworking place isn't to work in private offices, and the ideal for most
members isn't to work alongside 'like-minded people').

Are these all true requirements for democracies, or are some specific
choices and not principles? Are they grouped in ways that make sense? Is
more context needed? Does this define what "democracy" is? (Each could be
rated on a scale of 1 to 5, where 5 is completely, 1 is not at all, 3 is
somewhat, all the scores of the questions could be averaged, and then a
country or business or relationship could be categorized by how much of a
democracy it is or isn't. I think the U.S. governance scores pretty low on
this, and some workplace democracies and co-ops and coworking places score
very high.)

Principles for Democracy:
1. RESOURCES ORGANIZED BY THE DEMOCRACY'S MEMBERS: No individual has the
right to inflict harm upon others or to destroy or lessen resources which
should be available to all. The democracy is an autonomous, self-help
organization responsible to its members. If they enter into agreements with
other organizations, including governments, or raise capital from external
sources, they do so on terms that ensure democratic responsibility to their
members and maintain their autonomy.
2. EQUAL TREATMENT: Everybody is treated the same when we’re here, with the
same access to everything (unless it is delegated through a public process
involving transparency and consent, such as fees for services or private
ownership, a process that sets explicit, transparent, public limits on how
things work and how people can participate; does not have implicit or
hidden rules or processes for determining or excluding people or things).
3. BEING GOOD HUMANS: People own responsibility for their actions, hold
each other accountable and, if needed, confront with respect (how you’d
like to be confronted).
4. HAVING INITIATIVE: People ask for and/or make happen the things they
very much want, in ways that are considerate of other people.
5. GIVING CONTEXT: Decisions and limits that affect other people have
accessible why’s and context. There are regular accessible check-ins on
things that anyone likely very much cares about, and on democracy. Laws are
publicly written down and understandable, along with other constraints on
decisions that any person might very much want to know (finances,
operations, governance processes, etc).
6. PLURALITY: There is freedom of speech and association. There is freedom
of travel and choice of residence, employment, and education.

Thanks!

Alex
--
Alex Linsker | Business Owner
Collective Agency <http://collectiveagency.co>
(503) 517-6900 office | (503) 369-9174 mobile
322 NW Sixth Ave, Suite 200 | Portland, Oregon 97209

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[Coworking] Re: How to manage Internet Bandwidth Usage for Power Users

[Alex Linsker]

What we do is our internet provider automatically caps the bandwidth per 
device, and after 5 minutes of high continuous usage that bandwidth is then 
halved (but still enough for reliable Google chat). People are super-happy 
with it. 99% of the time it's super-fast for everybody and 1% of the time 
it's fast but not super-fast. 

On Friday, July 15, 2016 at 9:33:35 AM UTC-7, JE J wrote:
>
> Hi all,
> I'd be interested in hearing how others manage Internet Bandwidth usage 
> for power users. Specifically users who do heavy downloading and uploading 
> of large files, or video editing that takes up a significant amount of 
> bandwidth. We have a number of users who fall into this category and can 
> use almost 100% of the 20M of upload bandwidth available as an example. We 
> currently use Unifi and have bandwidth limits in place, however there are 
> complaints about slow internet speeds as a result. I'd be interested in any 
> feedback. 
>

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[Coworking] Do we need to be friends with all of our coworkers?

[Alex Linsker]

Why do people most value your place and community? How often do they want the 
things they say they value?

You are the leader with the rudder steering the ship; express your wants and 
whys. However it is fine if what you want (your why) is different from what all 
or most members want to pay for (their why). 

When it varies and when it is similar, then there is a chance for collaboration!

Vision is never fully reached.

Mission is how you get there. What is your community mission statement?

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Re: [Coworking] Re: Standard Operating Procedures (SOP)

[Alex Linsker]

Hi Alex, Thanks so much for sharing this! I love seeing explicit guidelines 
for interactions/decisions. It inspired me to think about how Collective 
Agency is similar and different, and vision. We have Community Guidelines 
(9 rules and a preface) which I look to whenever a 'decision' comes up (in 
quotes because it usually isn't a decision once I look at the guidelines, 
and I love that). http://collectiveagency.co/community-guidelines/ It's our 
Bill of Rights and Responsibilities for everybody there including staff 
(and interactions with staff).

I love how you have "We always" "...help people tell the stories of the 
experiences they have in Philadelphia." -- that's come up recently for us.

I'm curious about "We never" "...accept a "no" at face value." What does 
that mean to you? About a year ago we started always accepting a no at face 
value and also accepting an unenthusiastic yeah as a no, and a maybe is 
open to the person saying what they want, but if they don't become 'hell 
yes' or 'enthusiastic yes' or 'fuck yes' then it is a no. So if someone 
really wants X and we don't provide it, it's either on them to figure out 
what will get them to a fuck yes, or it's a no. Since then I think there's 
more joy and presence here, and certainly more people and $$$.

On Thursday, July 21, 2016 at 6:50:40 AM UTC-7, Alex Hillman wrote:
>
> This is something that we've slowly been getting better at, and we're 
> trying to stay thoughtful about it while we do it.  
>
> I don't have a problem with rules, I have a problem with creating an 
> environment that creates rule-following machines.* I see a LOT of 
> coworking spaces where staff and members alike are more worried about 
> following the rules than looking after each other. *
>
> So about 5 years ago, I started this by trying to write down the 
> fundamentals about how *I *make decisions, so that our community could 
> better understand why things work. The result has been live on our public 
> website  for quite a while, broken down 
> into a sort of "plinko board" of actions that we always strive for, and 
> actions we try to avoid. It's sort of like a hybrid of a SOP and a living 
> breathing action-oriented version of our community values, documented:
>
> *We always:*
>
> ...help unlikely groups of likeminded people form relationships.
> ...focus on people and their interactions, and the formation of 
> relationships.
> ...help people tell the stories of the experiences they have in 
> Philadelphia.
> ...trust people to do the right thing.
> ...guide people to being good citizens of Indy Hall and of Philadelphia.
> ...support people in their goals of building businesses to last, in 
> Philadelphia and for Philadelphia.
>
> *We never:*
>
> ...do anything against our community’s interest.
> ...focus on desks or square footage.
> ...create something only because we think we’re supposed to.
> ...accept the status quo.
> ...accept a "no" at face value.
> ...compromise our core values.
> ...prioritize a transaction before a relationship.
>
> *Every day, we:*
>
> ...keep people at the center of every action, interaction, and decision.
> ...welcome new community members, and make it clear that Indy Hall is 
> theirs, not just ours.
> ...always look for a way to say yes.
> ...teach others in our immediate and neighboring communities how we 
> operate.
>
> I literally use these guidelines for decision making 100x a day, and it's 
> awesome to watch my team and even members use and reference this when 
> figuring out how to make things work. 
>
> A simpler version that we put on our welcome one-pagers, and include as a 
> major part of our tour, is to:
>
>- Look after yourself
>- Look after each other
>- Look after this place
>
> In all cases, we're SUPER careful in our language choice to make it clear, 
> before providing SOP documentation, that anything documented is meant to 
> help, but not constrain. Any "rule" is open to being adjusted, adapted, or 
> rewritten to help us better achieve our goals working together.
>
> I'm curious how others have found balance between SOP and handbook-style 
> documentation, and still allowing/encouraging people to "color outside of 
> the lines" and trusting people to do what's right? 
>
> -Alex
>
>
> --
> *The #1 mistake in community building is doing it by yourself.*
> Weekly Coworking Tips: http://coworkingweekly.com
> My Audiobook: https://theindyhallway.com/ten
>
> On Thu, Jul 21, 2016 at 5:38 AM, Vaibhav N  > wrote:
>
>> Hey Brian,
>>
>> We've been doing the same, except didn't term it as SOP, but rather 
>> created a FAQ Document where we had several questions about coworking and 
>> coworkers being answered. And keeping it on Google Docs make sense so that 
>> you can make edits and additions while on the go. You never know when the 
>> right idea might just pop and you would want to make that necessary 
>> addition to it on the phone or tab.
>>
>> 

Re: [Coworking] Abridged summary of coworking@googlegroups.com - 5 updates in 1 topic

[Alex Linsker]

Portland Oregon's women-owned coworking places are: Pep Coworking, and ADX.
(And depending on your definition of ownership, maybe: Hatch, and
Collective Agency.)

In NYC: Impact Hub NYC (formerly GreenSpaces NYC).



--
Alex Linsker | Business Owner
Collective Agency <http://collectiveagency.co>
(503) 517-6900 office | (503) 369-9174 mobile
322 NW Sixth Ave, Suite 200 | Portland, Oregon 97209


On Thu, Aug 4, 2016 at 1:13 AM,  wrote:

> coworking@googlegroups.com
> <https://groups.google.com/forum/?utm_source=digest&utm_medium=email#!forum/coworking/topics>
>  Google
> Groups
> <https://groups.google.com/forum/?utm_source=digest&utm_medium=email/#!overview>
> <https://groups.google.com/forum/?utm_source=digest&utm_medium=email/#!overview>
> Today's topic summary
> View all topics
> <https://groups.google.com/forum/?utm_source=digest&utm_medium=email#!forum/coworking/topics>
>
>- Can you help me find other Woman-Owned Coworking Spaces?
>Spotlighting for Int'l Coworking Day 2016!
><#m_9014844808617965176_group_thread_0> - 5 Updates
>
> Can you help me find other Woman-Owned Coworking Spaces? Spotlighting for
> Int'l Coworking Day 2016!
> <http://groups.google.com/group/coworking/t/e0058b379e28dd05?utm_source=digest&utm_medium=email>
> Jeannine van der Linden : Aug 03 05:21AM
> -0700
>
>
> > Hi!
>
> My name is Jeannine van der Linden <https://about.me/jvdlinden>, I am the
> founder, chief cook and bottle washer for deKamer, <http://dekamer.eu/> a
> network of 5 coworking spaces in the ...more
> <http://groups.google.com/group/coworking/msg/730b70686ad8f?utm_source=digest&utm_medium=email>
> Stacy Kessler : Aug 03 06:03AM -0700
>
> Hi Laura! My name is Stacy Kessler and I am the owner and founder of
> Platform 53 in Cincinnati, OH (technically it's across the river in
> Covington, KY). My info is below:
>
> Stacy Kessler ...more
> <http://groups.google.com/group/coworking/msg/733055afc4481?utm_source=digest&utm_medium=email>
> Jen Thoemke : Aug 03 07:48AM -0700
>
> Hi Laura,
>
> I founded Connects Workspace located in Golden, CO in June 2015. Take a
> look at www.connectsworkspace.com
>
> Thanks for doing this!
> Jen Thoemke
>
>
> On Sunday, July 31, 2016 at ...more
> <http://groups.google.com/group/coworking/msg/73a979d4f206c?utm_source=digest&utm_medium=email>
> alli...@freerangeoffice.com: Aug 03 03:44PM -0700
>
> Hi Laura! I work at Free Range Office in Chicago, IL which is owned and
> operated by all women. The founder's name is Liane Jackson. We've been
> open
> since 2013. ...more
> <http://groups.google.com/group/coworking/msg/7535c97bb3ece?utm_source=digest&utm_medium=email>
> Jerome Chang : Aug 03 03:57PM -0700
>
> Add Co+Hoots in Phoenix, by Jenny Poondingo.
>
> Jerome
>
> ...more
> <http://groups.google.com/group/coworking/msg/75371024bdaed?utm_source=digest&utm_medium=email>
> Back to top <#m_9014844808617965176_digest_top>
> You received this digest because you're subscribed to updates for this
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> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it send an
> email to coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com.
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[Coworking] Re: How do you build community?

[Alex Linsker]

I, or other members, ask people what they very much want, and when 3 
members RSVP (verbal commitment to show up and RSVP on a signup sheet in 
the kitchen and/or online and often to invite other members) then we make 
it happen. 

To facilitate that, I say what I want, now and then, as the rudder/overall 
vision for the ship.

People tend to imitate what they see, so one happy hour game night will 
lead to requests for more happy hour game nights. New people will bring new 
ideas, and asking people about things that relate to what they're 
passionate about and great at, leads to volunteering.

To nurture connections, in-person conversations at more formal events lead 
to friendships over time.

For our first 5 years, lunch has been the most frequent 'event', it's the 
same time each day. Almost everybody knows how to do lunch, and almost 
everybody eats. So it's a good way here to have recurring events that lead 
to recurring conversations outside the events, and friendships. Also the 
optional member meeting (which started as civics), and Lighting Talks 
(which turned into Works-in-Progress Sharing), and happy hours (which come 
and go in frequency), and overhearing conversations here in the Loft and 
joining in, or people saying hi in the kitchen and starting conversations, 
have been the best ways to meet people.

Collaborations: various members have met other members, became friends, and 
then been hired, either a year later, or much sooner or later. Members have 
asked other members for advice, such as on book cover design, or website 
design, or business, parenting, spouse/life-partner, or a buying a house. 
At least one long-term couple has met here. A crafting circle formed here, 
started by members requesting a sewing machine, which was brought in, which 
led to a member-led workshop, which led to a weekend group that met at that 
members' house.

Our biggest collaboration (with the most people involved) has been around 
governance; whether re-organizing parts of the Loft at a happy hour, or 
writing our Constitution when we started, or rewriting the membership page 
and setting the rates. Workplace democracy is the best way for large groups 
of people to become friends at work here.

-Alex Linsker, Collective Agency http://collectiveagency.co/

On Thursday, August 4, 2016 at 9:22:31 AM UTC-7, Carolyn Cirillo wrote:
>
> I am working on a blog post on how co-working spaces build community 
> between members and would love to hear some ways you nurture connections at 
> your space (e.g events such as happy hours, member list-serves, etc.).
>
> Would also love to hear any success stories about collaborations that have 
> emerged from members meeting each other.
>
> Thanks!
>
> Carolyn
>
> 
>*718 283 4025*
> *   caro...@carolyncirillo.com*
> 
> *marketing insights | strategy | content*
> * for design driven companies*
> *   in interior environments*
>  *carolyncirillo.com 
> <http://carolyncirillo.com/>*
> * LINKED IN 
> <https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolyncirillo?trk=nav_responsive_tab_profile> | 
> INSTAGRAM 
> <https://www.instagram.com/carolyn_cirillo/> | PINTEREST 
> <https://www.pinterest.com/carolyn_cirillo/> | UNTETHERED 
> <http://carolyncirillo.com/untethered>*
>

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[Coworking] Re: Monthly Costs for a business plan

[Alex Linsker]

Angel, that looks great. Also I'd add city and state fees such as permits 
and licenses, and marketing if there is any desired budget for that. 

On Friday, September 16, 2016 at 8:10:30 AM UTC-7, Angel Kwiatkowski wrote:
>
> Hi,
> Here is a template we put together to help new spaces with business 
> planning! 
> https://docs.google.com/document/d/1opzWF84cx3AbLZ_2tK3BChRZodrFovmckn3USiy-HD4/edit?usp=sharing
>
> Angel
>
> On Thursday, September 15, 2016 at 5:22:43 PM UTC-6, Cecilia Neher wrote:
>>
>> Hello all,
>> We are working on a business plan for a coworking space in Washington DC 
>> and I'm wondering if we are leaving something out in the list of monthly 
>> costs.
>> Would you mind telling me if there is something missing from this list?
>>
>>
>>- Rent
>>- Taxes
>>- Electricity
>>- Water (is this significant?)
>>- Phone/Internet
>>- Insurance
>>- Cleaning
>>- Salaries
>>- Administration software
>>
>> I'm not sure if adding coffee, sugar, etc, and office supplies. Are 
>>  those significant costs as to consider them in the business plan?
>>
>> We are also debating on the ratio between private offices and open seats 
>> (in assigned and unassigned desks). Do you have more seats in private 
>> offices than in open spaces? Does the private offices have less rotation 
>> than the open desks?
>>
>> Thanks for your feedback
>> Cecilia 
>>
>

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[Coworking] Re: Examples of partnerships and franchises

[Alex Linsker]

Hi Ramon, Thanks for asking. I'm interested in this as well. Currently we 
are doing pre-sales led by members to open additional locations.

Alex Linsker, Collective Agency

On Thursday, September 15, 2016 at 2:42:20 AM UTC-7, Ramon Suarez wrote:
>
> Hi all, 
>
> I would like to look at the way some spaces advertise their partnership 
> opportunities to open a new coworking space with their brand. I've checked 
> a few of the big ones but found nothing. 
>
> Can you give me some links ? 
>
> If there's nothing public, could you please share with me privately? 
>
> Thanks, 
>
> *Ramon Suarez* / Serendipity Accelerator
> *Betacowork Coworking Brussels*
>
> http://www.betacowork.com 
> 4 Rue de peres blancs. 1040, Etterbeek, Brussels, Belgium
>
> <https://twitter.com/ramonsuarez>  <https://www.facebook.com/ramonsuarez>  
> <https://plus.google.com/+ramonsuarezv>  
> <https://www.linkedin.com/in/ramonsuarez>  
> <https://www.instagram.com/ramonsuarez/>  
> <https://www.youtube.com/c/ramonsuarezv>  
> <https://vimeo.com/search?q=ramon+suarez>  
> <https://github.com/ramonsuarez>  <http://coworkinghandbook.com/> 
> <https://business.facebook.com/events/106668806414114/>
>

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[Coworking] Re: Slack for Coworking

[Alex Linsker]

We just started a Slack channel. How do you set guidelines, and what do you 
do if one person is trying to make rules (or is coming across as a downer) 
that other people aren't into? Do you and members facilitate Slack online 
similarly to how you facilitate the physical coworking place? It sounds 
like it's primarily social chatty and that's the goal, or is it something 
else?

On Tuesday, September 15, 2015 at 10:32:11 AM UTC-7, Gregory St. Fort wrote:
>
> Hey everyone! My name is Greg, I am the executive director of 100state, a 
> 200+ member coworking community in Madison, WI. Has anyone used slack for 
> internal communications with members? 
>
> Also I have been following these discussions and wondered if anyone would 
> be interested in joining a slack group about coworking. similar to this 
> google group. 
>
> - 
> Gregory St. Fort
> www.100state.com
>

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Re: [Coworking] Re: Examples of partnerships and franchises

[Alex Linsker]

Hi Ramon, 

What I meant is, for our first and second membership locations (second one 
is opening November 
1st: 
http://collectiveagency.co/2016/10/07/press-release-after-five-years-collective-agency-members-start-second-location-at-3050-se-division/
 
) people voted on a general need and geographic area of interest, and then 
visited a location, and for the first location members prepaid rent (and 
one person who didn't want to be a member but wanted to support, gave a 
donation) and I put in $35 of my own money and risked being paid (and we 
recouped all expenses within 5 weeks), and for the second membership 
location members prepaid more than 100% of what was needed to prepay the 
lease and furniture/equipment to start.

For our second meetings location, we're paying base monthly rent to an art 
gallery and sharing a percentage of gross revenue when the base rent is 
exceeded, and doing a timeshare. Their artists provide the art, and we 
provide the meetings. (It also recouped all expenses in the first 5 weeks 
and total revenue was 2x total expenses after 4 months.)

In both cases, there are regular weekly meetings and members ask for and 
make happen what they very much want, including setting the rates 
(self-governance), at Collective Agency for the membership locations and at 
the art gallery for their artist co-op members (and here for the second 
meeting location, which was inspired because enough members here strongly 
didn't want part of our Loft to be blocked off for a new conference room to 
be built).

Alex Linsker

On Saturday, September 17, 2016 at 1:29:49 AM UTC-7, Ramon Suarez wrote:
>
> Can you please explain what you mean? Maybe an example will help me 
> understand :) 
>
> Ramon Suarez
> Author: http://coworkinghandbook.com
>
>   
>
> 
>
> On Sep 16, 2016 21:53, "Alex Linsker" > 
> wrote:
>
>> Hi Ramon, Thanks for asking. I'm interested in this as well. Currently we 
>> are doing pre-sales led by members to open additional locations.
>>
>> Alex Linsker, Collective Agency
>>
>> On Thursday, September 15, 2016 at 2:42:20 AM UTC-7, Ramon Suarez wrote:
>>>
>>> Hi all, 
>>>
>>> I would like to look at the way some spaces advertise their partnership 
>>> opportunities to open a new coworking space with their brand. I've checked 
>>> a few of the big ones but found nothing. 
>>>
>>> Can you give me some links ? 
>>>
>>> If there's nothing public, could you please share with me privately? 
>>>
>>> Thanks, 
>>>
>>> *Ramon Suarez* / Serendipity Accelerator
>>> *Betacowork Coworking Brussels*
>>>
>>> http://www.betacowork.com 
>>> 4 Rue de peres blancs. 1040, Etterbeek, Brussels, Belgium
>>>
>>> <https://twitter.com/ramonsuarez>  
>>> <https://www.facebook.com/ramonsuarez>  
>>> <https://plus.google.com/+ramonsuarezv>  
>>> <https://www.linkedin.com/in/ramonsuarez>  
>>> <https://www.instagram.com/ramonsuarez/>  
>>> <https://www.youtube.com/c/ramonsuarezv>  
>>> <https://vimeo.com/search?q=ramon+suarez>  
>>> <https://github.com/ramonsuarez>  <http://coworkinghandbook.com/> 
>>> <https://business.facebook.com/events/106668806414114/>
>>>
>> -- 
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Re: [Coworking] Coworking "chains"?

[Alex Linsker]

Thanks for the list. What are more non-U.S. coworking chains, especially from 
non-Western cultures, and especially from Scandinavian cultures with better 
socialism than the U.S.?

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[Coworking] where do people of color cowork?

[Alex Linsker]

Hi all, I am passing along a question from a member which we'll talk about
on Wednesday at our weekly open meeting - where are people of color
coworking, why/how?

We are in Portland Oregon, which has its own issues. But I'd value knowing,
and we'll talk about:
- what are the coworking places with the lowest % of white members, and
why? I know of one in Rwanda, what are others?
- what are alternatives to coworking places for persons of color? I would
think homes and cafes and private offices and churches are some options,
what are others?
- what are some coworking places with at least 15% persons of color, and
how do the individuals self-identify?
- we're open to reframing the questions too.

Thanks!

Alex Linsker, Collective Agency


-- 
--
Alex Linsker | Business Owner
Collective Agency <http://collectiveagency.co>
(503) 517-6900 office | (503) 369-9174 mobile
322 NW Sixth Ave, Suite 200 | Portland, Oregon 97209

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Re: [Coworking] Re: where do people of color cowork? (Podcast?)

[Alex Linsker]

Bernie, I'll ask the members involved if they'd like to be on the podcast 
and we'll set a date. OuiShare looks neat, and I've been curious about the 
culture at Enspiral and Loomio for awhile now.

Chris, Allison, and Alex Hillman: We'd value any tips and I can share what 
we do and learn via this group. I've also thought about starting a group 
for growing healthy place-based communities with monthly or weekly meetings 
via phone. The core principles (and the questions that led to this topic 
coming up) would be: 
https://collectiveagency.co/2016/11/19/governance-guidelines/ I could see 
that being a membership organization of membership organizations - might 
you be interested? To participate or listen in on the open member meetings, 
people need to be members or visiting here with a member. Our current 
membership options are at http://collectiveagency.co/membership/

Allison - 
 - how many members total are at Free Range, and how many members 
self-identify as persons of color (and how many subgroups have more 
specific labels, such as Cuban, or African American, or Somalian, or 
otherwise)? 
 - Do you see any differences in interaction style or desired amenities or 
work style or types of companies they're at, or after-work 
activities/lifestyles?
 - Do people tend to group by demographics? At Collective Agency it seems 
that people do not group by demographics, although some people whom I'd 
guess self-identify as differently from how they perceive other people tend 
to self-isolate more.
 - What other places do you look to for inspiration? 
- With the meetings you host that attract members, my sense is that having 
a "Persons of Color" meetup (or for women, in the years before we got to be 
pretty equal on the women-men ratio, a "Women Who Code" meetup) would not 
increase membership, but having a meetup where some people happen to be 
persons of color would increase membership. Do you have thoughts on that?

I'm treating this topic the way I treat all topics here - we'll meet on the 
sofas in the Loft for the weekly open member meeting (it's 20 minutes at 
each location, but we go over to 30 minutes sometimes if people want), 
we'll start by going around and each person says their name and something 
they're passionate about in 30 seconds or less, we'll cover upcoming events 
like the holiday party and check in on any other items people want to 
cover, and then focus on: clarifying questions, then concerns, then 
suggestions for things we can do, all within the Community Guidelines 
http://collectiveagency.co/community-guidelines/ Two or three of us have 
done research (this is part of my research), and one of my clarifying 
questions will be: on a day that we have 40 members here, how many do we 
want to self-identify as what labels? This is the topic at the NW location 
where 3 members other than myself have said they very much want more 
diversity (but not at the Division location, where no one has requested 
it), it came out of a vision/values survey which included the governance 
questions above. 3 members who very much want something is enough for us to 
make it happen.

Alex Linsker, Collective Agency

On Tuesday, December 6, 2016 at 3:37:29 AM UTC-8, Bernie J Mitchell wrote:
>
> I have been thinking about this post too.
>  
> Trevor and I do a podcast for OuiShare called Brave New Work  
> <https://goo.gl/XeXiGb> -  
> We'd be up to drive a conversation about this - book a Friday session here 
> <https://www.google.com/url?q=https%3A%2F%2Fcalendly.com%2Fberniejmitchell%2Fouisharefridayinterview&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNHUgdnETwTyYEOoF8dsT--wAi_zjg>
>  and 
> let's see what we can do.
>  
> Also:
> (We have episodes from Coworking Europe dudes Taylor, 
> <https://www.spreaker.com/user/ouishare/brave-new-work-06-taylor-tran-innovation>
>  
> Gareth 
> <https://www.spreaker.com/user/ouishare/brave-new-work-07-gareth-jones-welsh-ice>,
>  
> Lenneke 
> <https://www.spreaker.com/user/ouishare/brave-new-work-21-make-a-better-world-by>
>  
> and daily round up's from Copass Camp 
> <https://www.spreaker.com/user/ouishare/live-from-the-copass-camp-at-coworking-e_2>
> )
>  
> In the new year, we'll be exploring coworking and Platform Cooperatives as 
> we lead up to Open 2017 in London <https://2017.open.coop/>
> --- 
>
>  
> Have a remarkable day
>
> Bernie J Mitchell
> 0777 204 2012
>
> Do you use Trello?  <http://berniejmitchell.com/blog/>
> www.berniejmitchell.com <http://berniejmitchell.com/>
>
> Sent from my mobile device
>
> *Unless we agree otherwise, this email conversation is confidential.
>
>
> -Original Message- 
> Re: [Coworking] Re: where do people of color cowork?
> F

Re: [Coworking] Re: where do people of color cowork? (Podcast?)

[Alex Linsker]

ny issues, what is the goal?*

Not venting/feelings, but opportunities for problem-solving (was what at 
least 3 of us very much wanted, and none of us in this group very much 
doesn't want that for these meetings). There was not a request for meetings 
on expressing feelings/venting, but there was a request for learning ways 
for individual members to do things.

*Is Portland Oregon a geographic issue for diversity?*

History and demographics were talked about some, but it's not a determining 
factor, there are lots of options for what we can do (that's paraphrase 
from 4 people).


*Are labels offensive?*

Terminology is region- and culture-specific, some words are offensive in 
some places or in referring to other places, and appropriate for other 
places.

*What demographics do we have data on at Collective Agency members 
currently?*


*What labels would you like data on? Alex can research or guess. We don't 
ask members to self-identify on any identity labels. *Gender - binary 
and non-binary."


On Tuesday, December 6, 2016 at 9:56:39 AM UTC-8, Alex Linsker wrote:
>
> Bernie, I'll ask the members involved if they'd like to be on the podcast 
> and we'll set a date. OuiShare looks neat, and I've been curious about the 
> culture at Enspiral and Loomio for awhile now.
>
> Chris, Allison, and Alex Hillman: We'd value any tips and I can share what 
> we do and learn via this group. I've also thought about starting a group 
> for growing healthy place-based communities with monthly or weekly meetings 
> via phone. The core principles (and the questions that led to this topic 
> coming up) would be: 
> https://collectiveagency.co/2016/11/19/governance-guidelines/ I could see 
> that being a membership organization of membership organizations - might 
> you be interested? To participate or listen in on the open member meetings, 
> people need to be members or visiting here with a member. Our current 
> membership options are at http://collectiveagency.co/membership/
>
> Allison - 
>  - how many members total are at Free Range, and how many members 
> self-identify as persons of color (and how many subgroups have more 
> specific labels, such as Cuban, or African American, or Somalian, or 
> otherwise)? 
>  - Do you see any differences in interaction style or desired amenities or 
> work style or types of companies they're at, or after-work 
> activities/lifestyles?
>  - Do people tend to group by demographics? At Collective Agency it seems 
> that people do not group by demographics, although some people whom I'd 
> guess self-identify as differently from how they perceive other people tend 
> to self-isolate more.
>  - What other places do you look to for inspiration? 
> - With the meetings you host that attract members, my sense is that having 
> a "Persons of Color" meetup (or for women, in the years before we got to be 
> pretty equal on the women-men ratio, a "Women Who Code" meetup) would not 
> increase membership, but having a meetup where some people happen to be 
> persons of color would increase membership. Do you have thoughts on that?
>
> I'm treating this topic the way I treat all topics here - we'll meet on 
> the sofas in the Loft for the weekly open member meeting (it's 20 minutes 
> at each location, but we go over to 30 minutes sometimes if people want), 
> we'll start by going around and each person says their name and something 
> they're passionate about in 30 seconds or less, we'll cover upcoming events 
> like the holiday party and check in on any other items people want to 
> cover, and then focus on: clarifying questions, then concerns, then 
> suggestions for things we can do, all within the Community Guidelines 
> http://collectiveagency.co/community-guidelines/ Two or three of us have 
> done research (this is part of my research), and one of my clarifying 
> questions will be: on a day that we have 40 members here, how many do we 
> want to self-identify as what labels? This is the topic at the NW location 
> where 3 members other than myself have said they very much want more 
> diversity (but not at the Division location, where no one has requested 
> it), it came out of a vision/values survey which included the governance 
> questions above. 3 members who very much want something is enough for us to 
> make it happen.
>
> Alex Linsker, Collective Agency
>
> On Tuesday, December 6, 2016 at 3:37:29 AM UTC-8, Bernie J Mitchell wrote:
>>
>> I have been thinking about this post too.
>>  
>> Trevor and I do a podcast for OuiShare called Brave New Work  
>> <https://goo.gl/XeXiGb> -  
>> We'd be up to drive a conversation about this - book a Friday session

Re: [Coworking] Recommended TED Talks - Your Favorites!

[Alex Linsker]

3 on business and self-governance:
- https://youtu.be/chXsLtHqfdM Ernesto Sirolli
- 
https://www.ted.com/talks/jacqueline_novogratz_invests_in_ending_poverty#t-436978
 Jacqueline Novogratz
- https://youtu.be/xTkKSJSqU-I Dave Logan

3 on sharing:
- https://www.ted.com/talks/brene_brown_on_vulnerability Brene Brown
- https://www.ted.com/talks/jonathan_haidt_on_the_moral_mind Jonathan Haidt
- https://www.ted.com/talks/richard_wilkinson Richard Wilkinson

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[Coworking] bread and circuses?

[Alex Linsker]

Hi all,

I'm wondering when do you have the experience of members asking for more
and more (amenities or other things that cost $), and when do you think
that's good, and when do you think that's bad, and what actually happens
(the asking process, and the making-happen process) when it's good and when
it's bad? I'm curious for perspectives.

Another way of asking it might be, what's a 'best practice' you have of
members asking for things that cost $, and what's a challenge you have with
members asking for things that cost $.

Cooperatively,

Alex
--
Alex Linsker | Business Owner
Collective Agency <http://collectiveagency.co>
(503) 517-6900 office | (503) 369-9174 mobile
322 NW Sixth Ave, Suite 200 | Portland, Oregon 97209

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[Coworking] Re: bread and circuses?

[Alex Linsker]

Brian, why are those things good and/or bad?

At Collective Agency, we had awhile when we got fresh fruit and vegetables 
and cream delivered each week. I think that was bad - potluck contributions 
by members seemed to decrease day-to-day except on special holidays, when 
it increased. Day-to-day, fewer members brought in cake they'd baked at 
home, or candies, or snacks. Then we stopped doing the weekly deliveries, 
and potluck contributions seemed to increase - and potlucks here are an 
easy way to be appreciated and feel like one is contributing personally. 
But coffee and tea are part of the Maslow's hierarchy of needs here, it's 
part of what people expect, and so providing that I think is good, and we 
do.

Something we provide that I think is good is parking pass reimbursement, up 
to 3 days a month, for our downtown location. We used some of the sharing 
practices that we do with conference rooms and equipment, and that let us 
provide an option that other places can't offer.

A challenge I'm wondering about nowadays and would like advice/other 
people's experiences on is conference rooms. Our second location has 1 
conference room and signs up members much faster than our first location 
ever has. Partly this is because of location, but I think it's also because 
it's a much simpler offering - people are closer together physically and 
there is 1 room, and potential members visit and see it all at once and 
say, "This is it?" And I say, "Yes." And then I show them the other areas 
but that's super-simple, and then they pay. Whereas at our first and bigger 
location, there are 6 conference rooms, it takes minutes to show 
everything, and much fewer people sign up. Our first location is a place to 
be in conference rooms up to 3 hours every day, and our second location is 
a place to work alongside other people, really, only, although there is a 
conference room. So I'm wondering, at our second location, how much do 
members know what they want? If they want more members, more than anything, 
and also some members want more conference room access, and my gut is that 
more conference rooms will result in fewer people signing up, do you think 
there's a way for members to judge whether more conference rooms will 
result in more or fewer people signing up? Curious for similar experiences 
or advice or questions.

On Friday, January 20, 2017 at 6:19:44 AM UTC-8, bfi...@t-werx.com wrote:
>
> We provide chair massages every other Thursday afternoon. It is first come 
> first serve and only from 1 to 4 pm.
>
> Of course we have coffee, soda, snacks. 
>
> We have arranged discounts with other businesses for members to take 
> advantage of like mobile oil changes, Gold's Gym Membership, mail and 
> printing services for example.
>
> On Thursday, January 19, 2017 at 12:37:42 PM UTC-6, Alex Linsker wrote:
>>
>> Hi all,
>>
>> I'm wondering when do you have the experience of members asking for more 
>> and more (amenities or other things that cost $), and when do you think 
>> that's good, and when do you think that's bad, and what actually happens 
>> (the asking process, and the making-happen process) when it's good and when 
>> it's bad? I'm curious for perspectives.
>>
>> Another way of asking it might be, what's a 'best practice' you have of 
>> members asking for things that cost $, and what's a challenge you have with 
>> members asking for things that cost $.
>>
>> Cooperatively,
>>
>> Alex
>> --
>> Alex Linsker | Business Owner
>> Collective Agency <http://collectiveagency.co>
>> (503) 517-6900 office | (503) 369-9174 mobile
>> 322 NW Sixth Ave, Suite 200 | Portland, Oregon 97209
>>
>>

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[Coworking] Re: Introduction and Broker/Referral Question

[Alex Linsker]

Mark, what % of your members are from brokers? Do members also get a discount 
for referring, or not. What % of your members are referred total (not just word 
of mouth or online reviews, but "I learned about you through Sara"

We have a referral program designed by our members (which enough members very 
much wanted, and no one very much didn't want), it's about 6 months old and 
gets used less than I'd like: 12% of members since then were referred, and all 
at our newest location.

How else do you get members? (If you could add whether or not you make enough 
from coworking to pay yourself and other people full-time, that'd be helpful to 
see what works.)

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[Coworking] Re: coworking beyond sharing office space

[Alex Linsker]

You might want to check out Enspiral in Wellington, New Zealand. And their 
emergent projects such as Loomio.

You might also want to check out the writings of Charles Handy, a business 
management theorist. He writes about a company where people can hire each 
other, get paid by anyone, etc.

You might also want to check out the many books on 'organizational 
democracy' or 'democratic workplaces' or 'workplace democracy' or 
'self-governing communities', and how cities and very small towns are 
formed at the very beginning - a town or city is a startup, a theatre 
production, with the first 2 or 20 or 100+ people. Portland Oregon had a 
promoter and a funder. The promoter later moved on to another city. A town 
in Kansas had 20 people, and when a doctor came down the road, they asked 
him to join them because they wanted a doctor. Jane Jacobs' books on cities 
and economies and ecosystems are brilliant.

Part of what is involved is 'good governance' - increasing the wellbeing of 
people overall, including when that means working oneself out of a job 
(someone at Enspiral just did that). I'd suggest 
http://collectiveagency.co/governance-guidelines/ Or Elinor Ostrom's Common 
Pool Resource writings. Part of what is involved is pitching in where 
needed - in a downturn, construction workers will go out and do sales when 
needed, and do it better than the usual salespersons, and almost everyone 
is joyful about that.

Tisch Talent Guild at NYU was the first coworking organization that I 
helped start in 1999. We got 1,000 members in the first year. We were 
potential collaborators on each others' projects, whether by coworking in 
the office or through the jobs newsletter or the project management Excel 
spreadsheet that listed the bios of what we were each looking for/to do. We 
didn't keep track of most projects once they found collaborators, but we 
kept track of the central part of the organization, the umbrella. There are 
a lot of nonprofits in NYC that are umbrella organizations that connect 
artists. We maintained a database, sent out the job listserve back when 
that was a new thing, and had volunteers for various projects, and got 
funding from the university which was distributed in various ways. We were 
part of a federation of other student clubs at NYU, with monthly meetings 
among 30 of us, representatives from each club.

-Alex Linsker, Collective Agency, Portland Oregon 
http://collectiveagency.co/membership/

On Monday, February 13, 2017 at 10:12:38 AM UTC-8, Caner Onoglu wrote:
>
> I like to think coworking as a company where members share their 
> expertise, resources with others on project basis. Wouldn't it be nice 
> coworking you attend not only free you from renting an office but also free 
> you from establishing a company and hiring people for specific roles? This 
> would cut fixed costs and create a dynamic environment with easy entry and 
> exit. 
>
> Coworking I envision is a company/an organization where members are 
> potential partners on each others projects. Coworking organization shall 
> keep track of projects, maintains databases, manage information, allocate 
> tasks among willing members on projects and distribute profits according to 
> contributions done.
> (as per smart contracts)
>
> I will be glad if you can recommend case studies, examples in this line of 
> thought.
>
> Thanks,
> Caner
>

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Re: [Coworking] Is it possible for a space manager to leave for 2 weeks? What should I do to prepare?

[Alex Linsker]

Alex, I super-like how you wrote that. The 1 2 3 4 is a great system, it gives 
words to what I've been observing the past few months without words for it, 
many things went from 1 and 2 to 4 once our second membership location opened; 
two is easier than one. 

I'd be curious, what are 1's? I think nothing is a 1 except being oneself/being 
fully human/sharing of oneself/being assertive/asking and making what one very 
much wants.

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Re: [Coworking] Is it possible for a space manager to leave for 2 weeks? What should I do to prepare?

[Alex Linsker]

he whole thing), or some new kind of 
governance approach will make itself known; likely there'll be enough of a 
group skillset by then to have members lead the meetings; we already have 
members who know how to start the meeting without me, and who do.

On Wednesday, February 22, 2017 at 1:45:47 AM UTC-8, Jeannine van der 
Linden wrote:
>
> I cannot speak for Alex but that was surely my experience.  Just like 
> having kids, once you have two you must accept the reality that you cannot 
> be all things to both of them all the time, unless you do not sleep or have 
> managed bilocation.  And when you get to three it's Kitty bar the door.
>
> I leave the country every year for at least six weeks, so this came up 
> early for us and had to be factored in.  But I think one of the most 
> important things about running a business -- or being part of a community 
> actually -- is the notion that everyone is replaceable including me. If 
> they are not I think i am doing it wrong.
>
> This may also be traceable to a high tolerance for uncertainty and a form 
> conviction that there are few things that cannot be corrected after they go 
> terribly wrong . :-)
>
> There are several 1's in running this group we have here, but few of them 
> require my physical presence at any given moment.  
>
>
>
> On Tuesday, February 21, 2017 at 2:41:54 PM UTC+1, Alex Hillman wrote:
>>
>> Thanks Alex :) that exercise is adapted from the community masterclass 
>> that Tony, Adam and I designed a few years back. 
>>
>> Genuine "1s" in this case are generally pretty limited, like you said. 
>> Operationally, it can include ownership & authorizations that aren't 
>> readily shareable without major changes to the org. Naturally this depends 
>> heavily on how you set up your org in the first place :)
>>
>> Curious what you mean by "two is easier than one"? Do you mean that by 
>> having to run two spaces, you're essentially *forced* to 
>> federate/delegate more?
>>
>> -Alex
>>
>>
>> --
>> *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 Tue, Feb 21, 2017 at 3:52 PM, Alex Linsker  wrote:
>>
>>> Alex, I super-like how you wrote that. The 1 2 3 4 is a great system, it 
>>> gives words to what I've been observing the past few months without words 
>>> for it, many things went from 1 and 2 to 4 once our second membership 
>>> location opened; two is easier than one.
>>>
>>> I'd be curious, what are 1's? I think nothing is a 1 except being 
>>> oneself/being fully human/sharing of oneself/being assertive/asking and 
>>> making what one very much wants.
>>>
>>> --
>>> 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.
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>>> an email to coworking+...@googlegroups.com.
>>> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
>>>
>>
>>

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[Coworking] Pro's and con's

[Alex Linsker]

For starters: 
http://www.theonion.com/graphic/the-pros-and-cons-of-open-plan-offices-38377

For more in-depth, it depends on the level of culture. 5 levels summarized 
here, which are pros or cons: 
http://www.culturesync.net/toolbox/culturemeter-survey/ To get from one to the 
other, just start doing the one you want. They wrote a book which is amazing.

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Re: [Coworking] Is it possible for a space manager to leave for 2 weeks? What should I do to prepare?

[Alex Linsker]

Hi Jeannine, I'm glad you've enjoyed the governance guidelines! 
http://collectiveagency.co/governance-guidelines/

All six of them were written iteratively and revised from a lot of 
feedback, and will be revised more if members have questions about them 
and/or want to revise them. 

The benefit of #4 is that freedom of speech is pretty cool, and if people 
don't view themselves as having the other freedoms, such as freedom of 
where to live, then they are likely to not be a member. So members 
supporting each other on all these things is rad. Recently, #4 was helpful 
for me, because a member asked why I'd been asking people not to whisper, 
and to talk in normal voices. And that got me thinking, after five and a 
half years, that if people want to whisper, even if I have reasons for 
thinking it's not as good, then those reasons don't matter as much as 
freedom of speech. So I've stopped myself from reminding anyone who's 
whispering not to whisper. The other guidelines could also do that too, but 
the specifics helped. 

Also I have a friend (not a member and not at a coworking place) who was 
working delivering kombucha via truck, and she was talking with a towtruck 
driver, and he thought he had freedom of travel on the job, and she thought 
she didn't. So that was interesting to hear. She ended up quitting that job 
a couple months later, she just wasn't as happy with it and the freedom of 
travel was how she defined her main issue with it. They both thought the 
governance guidelines would be neat as a kind of Glassdoor/Yelp way to rate 
workplaces and to recruit people to work there.

You write about political parties; while we have (or at least aspire to) 
freedom of speech, the Community Guidelines are more core to the Terms of 
Service and members view the Community Guidelines as the day-to-day thing 
to look to. http://collectiveagency.co/community-guidelines/ #4 of those 
is "IF needed, confront with respect (how you’d like to be confronted)." 
and members agree that badmouthing anyone behind their back or who isn't 
here based on any label isn't within the guidelines. So that would block 
out political fighting and groups that do that, from doing that here, which 
is the main form of politics in the U.S., since most people in politics 
don't want to lose but want other people to lose, which isn't treating 
people the way you'd want to be treated.

I think that the wording will vary from place to place. Accessibility and 
openness are important to members although not rated in surveys as the most 
important values. Radical inclusion, in my view and in the view of members 
who don't prioritize certain groups over other groups (when we checked in 
on that wording a few years ago) doesn't cover what we do. But I think 
whatever wording works for a community is the best wording for that 
community! The governance guidelines were helpful in another survey months 
ago in strengthening accountability, people making happen what they very 
much want, and the freedoms question. Having the option to answer 
anonymously or with one's name is how we do the surveys, for this survey so 
far 3 people filled out their name. 

Founders bias is the founder's biases affecting the group? I definitely 
have biases and love being aware of them. I also love when I want something 
and members don't want it. The first time that ever happened was when I 
wanted to throw out the plants, and we put a tally sheet on the wall of the 
kitchen with 'yes' and 'no' and I was the only 'yes'. We kept the plants 
and now they're five and a half years old and I've come to love them, 
although they live by members who are not me actively caring for them. I 
also love having written guidelines, such as criteria for membership, that 
is written and approved by members - people read it and can see whether or 
not the group is for them, and often sign up without ever talking with me. 
And the best is at our Division location, members have stepped up to 
organize events like a feng shui happy hour on their own, everything from 
the planning to the poster to the reorganizing, and now everyone I've heard 
from is super-happy with the new layout (I was going for too much of a 
'ballroom' layout, and now the room has subdivisions because Sara suggested 
it and got members together who wanted to move things after drinking a 
little.

Right now members are voting on proposals by members from February and 
March, and the governance guidelines being formally on the website is less 
important so far than more locations or LED lighting but more important 
than terms for member-hosted events. (Out of 7 people who've filled out the 
Google Form, I chose 'very much yes', and 3 members chose 'yes' and 3 
didn't have a preference, and no one chose 'no' or 'very much no': "About 6 
months ago I drafted 'Governance Guidelines' 
http://collectiveagency.co/governance-guidelines/ based on what seems to 
work well. Do you want these to be formally added to

[Coworking] coworking thesis

[Alex Linsker]

Coworking/coliving/sharing books with a focus on self-governing communities:
- 
https://www.amazon.com/Commitment-Community-Communes-Sociological-Perspective/dp/0674145763
 by Rosabeth Kanter and her company version 
https://www.amazon.com/Confidence-Winning-Streaks-Losing-Begin/dp/1400052912
- Jane Jacobs' books on cities
- Charles Handy's books on companies
- ic.org and usfwc.org and couchsurfing.org
- Elinor Ostrom on common pool resources
- college student life handbooks
- Sudbury and Summerhill democratic free school books

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[Coworking] open book management/member-led budgeting

[Alex Linsker]

Do any other coworking places do any form of open book
management/member-led budgeting?

Right now Collective Agency has a monthly fund of revenue-sharing from a
portion of revenue that exceeds fixed expenses, and members make choices on
how to collectively spend it (computer monitors or parking pass
reimbursement or new furniture, etc), facilitated by me.

I'm thinking of proposing that member collective autonomy over the big
decisions that exceed money in the fund be expanded, reducing my role and
members' proxy agency, and increasing members' collective agency. For
example, how do we pay for/do we want to pay for additional conference
rooms/phone rooms.

What have you seen work well, and what have you seen not work well, with
collective budgeting, or member-led committeee of any kind?


-- 
--
Alex Linsker | Business Owner
Collective Agency <http://collectiveagency.co/>
(503) 517-6900 office | (503) 369-9174 mobile
3050 SE Division, Suite 245 | Portland Oregon 97202
1410 SW Morrison, Suite 850 | Portland Oregon 97205

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Re: [Coworking] Question about commissions or bonuses for Community Managers

[Alex Linsker]

I agree with Alex Hillman, if I offered a commission I would want it to pay 
more if someone stays a member for 10 years than for 10 months.

I don't see any problem with cash incentive to get members especially if a 
place is already paying cash for someone to do other things that members could 
do -- if it actually incentivizes.

Other than business partners who are cofounders or buy the business, I haven't 
heard of commissions working for coworking -- the $ per client is usually so 
small compared to traditional leasing, unless you have a bigger company, in 
which case a broker prefers a prepaid commission on a 5 year lease. Do any 
coworking places do 3 or 5 year leases, where the client and coworking venue is 
locked into an agreement?

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[Coworking] Re: What does everyone use for checking users in?

[Alex Linsker]

Angel, I love how you write that. 

We have "honor system"/community guidelines if anyone asks how it's counted, 
and if anyone makes a face, I say, "you can tally it and if you want it to be 
tallied for you, we can make a Google Spreadsheet for you to add a 1 each time, 
or stick a Post-It note for Robinson Crusoe one-day-at-a-time markings on a 
locker here", and then they relax (or I explain Robinson Crusoe or say 
nevermind about Robinson Crusoe, and then they relax). But yeah, honor system, 
personal responsibility, etc.

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[Coworking] Re: Seeking recommendations for glass walls/offices

[Alex Linsker]

I'd suggest finding a local makerspace nearby and having them price and do it. 
Then it becomes more human than just a glass wall. If you run the options by 
your members, $4K (or $10K) for a 2-person quality phone booth built by 
localMakerspace that goes inThisSpot or $4K or ($10K) for _ over time, 
what do they choose. (They probably want lots of things.)

I looked at glass walls (and other walls) and personally it isn't a project I 
will lead, but if members ever want to lead, I could assist, and would share 
any leads from here.

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[Coworking] Traditional Office aspects in Coworking

[Alex Linsker]

People who pay for coworking are paying for some things, from tangible material 
objects to human values. I like asking people before maybe starting something 
new, "What would you pay for? Why? How much do you want that, on a scale of 1 
to 5? How much would you pay for ___ which has that?" $ is a way to show 
value and whether we will lose or gain $. And align $ goals with community 
goals, always.

For example, in choosing a location, there are lots of office features, lots of 
reasons why.

You can group people into various groups; some people will want views and 
conference rooms, some people will want natural light and people sitting 
nearby, etc. The 'why' will be non-objects: feelings or actions. You can refine 
how you interpret what your people think they want and how you group their 
wants over time. (User experience; customer personas; cultural anthropology is 
what this is called.)

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Re: [Coworking] Re: Coworking interaction

[Alex Linsker]

This is a neat conversation, thanks to everyone for writing in it! 

As far as the introvert/extrovert goes, I'm definitely an extrovert, and most 
of our members are definitely introverts.

I would recommend the book Impro by Keith Johnstone, and even more: 
http://www.culturesync.net/toolbox/culturemeter-survey/ and the book by Dave 
Logan. If you have ways of doing that introvertedly (and there are many, from 
online surveys, to long-term commitments of members to be there a long time so 
people build relationships gradually, to going to lunch together, and so many 
things I will never think of - what are yours?), then I think it's awesome.

For events, I view it as:
- ask people in person, and if at least 3 members (who aren't staff) agree to 
definitely show up and very much want to, then it'll very likely be a success.
- bringing food potluck-style is an easy way for people to feel appreciated, 
altho I rarely say that explicitly.
- to share values and find common themes/interests between members as Alex 
Hillman mentioned, I open every weekly optional member meeting by starting, 
"What's your name and something you're passionate about, in 30 seconds or less?"

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[Coworking] longest lease for coworking place?

[Alex Linsker]

What's the longest lease for a coworking place or other businesses that you
know of that works well? Anything 15 or 20 years or more?

Context:

After getting paid to do this for 6 years, and having experimented with not
actually leading coworking for a portion of that, I can see doing it for 50
more years or my entire paid work, whichever is more.

Why not buy: I don't currently personally have resources to buy a
multi-million dollar building, and we're not yet where I see us buying a
building as a group, and I (and most members) see us growing into multiple
locations, so we could always buy buildings in the future.

Why not do a shorter lease: When a lease ends, my sense is that rents go
up, and in Portland Oregon, rents have gone up quite a bit and seem to be
on track to go up quite a bit. I haven't found owners would would put a
renewal option into the lease other than to renew at 'market rate' which
isn't really a renewal option.

The plus to a shorter lease could be that the business model is revised in
5-7 years (moving out totally benefited us after 5.5 years at our first
location, when we moved to two very different locations), but right now we
are doing well with the current business model, and while I see how that
could change, it doesn't seem likely.

So I could see a longer lease being better than a 5- or 7- year lease. Do
you know of businesses, or coworking places, that have signed long leases
and enjoyed that? The longest I know of for coworking are 12-year leases,
and that seems like it can work great; I know one company where it makes
total sense. I could see doing a 15- or 20- or even longer lease, with the
option to sublease or assign the lease. I've heard of one big retail
company that does 75-year leases, which seems too long to me, but where I'm
at right now, I could see between 15 and 20 years feeling good. I could
also see doing 7-year leases, and renegotiating or moving every 7 years,
and having rent go up 15% every year until we hit peak, whenever that will
be (I don't think we will for at least 15 years).

A related question is risk management; if we have 2 venues now and grow to
more, what are the risks of growth and other risks (obviously not growing
too fast or overcommitting -- which could be what a too-long lease does --
but under-committing seems to be what a too-short lease does, so it seems
to balance out), and how does one balance that.

Would love your perspectives and hearing about your own experiences.

--
Alex Linsker | Business Owner
Collective Agency <http://collectiveagency.co/>
(503) 517-6900 office | (503) 369-9174 mobile
3050 SE Division, Suite 245 | Portland Oregon 97202
1410 SW Morrison, Suite 850 | Portland Oregon 97205

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Re: [Coworking] longest lease for coworking place?

[Alex Linsker]

Thanks Jerome, I didn't know about restaurants and hotels for those lease 
lengths, that makes sense and is helpful to have perspective. I think I'd 
be happiest right now with 17 years total (including free rent, and 
including various benefits in the lease for length) and less would feel 
slightly stressful and more would feel slightly heavy.

Liz, the most I've heard of for a place getting crowdsourced contributions 
for a building purchase or improvement in Portland Oregon is $25,000 and 
$50,000, and the rest from banks. I think in a few years we would be able 
to do $2.4 million from members to buy a building, but I don't see how that 
would benefit us as a community compared to leasing or loans, since members 
would want individual benefit to outweight risk and reward compared to (or 
similar to) their best alternative options. We're part of the US Federation 
of Worker Cooperatives and the vast majority of building purchase capital 
of our sister organizations comes from banks. (At least in my limited 
knowledge on this.) We've always had 100% of our financing be from members 
and visitors (which until recently included meetings).

On Monday, May 1, 2017 at 8:52:13 AM UTC-7, Jerome wrote:
>
> Restaurants will sign for 20-25+ years.
> Hotels might lease for 50+ years, as they do not always own their own 
> buildings.
> Anytime where the location is critical, as in business cannot transact 
> elsewhere, you’ll want to stay put.
>
> In these past 5-8 years, I can completely sympathize with itches to lock 
> in lower rates, as rates have only gone up. But cycles do happen, and this 
> bull run has been some 8+ years. I would say that building ownership is 
> only for those with iron stomachs, or those like you, who are committed to 
> staying put with one particular building for a long time. This is no 
> different than those who own vs rent their homes.
>
> Be careful re:sublease. Landlords can sometimes require that they get 50% 
> of the sublease rent increase, which quickly evaporates any profit you 
> might take. And then as the sublessor, you effectively become a landlord, 
> without any of the perks of being the landlord.
>
> Having more locations is like having kids: each has its pros/cons. You 
> just hope the average is better, and/or one’s pros more than compensate for 
> the other’s cons.
>
>
> *JEROME CHANG*
>
> talk to us: (323) 330-9505
> chat w/ us: http://www.BLANKSPACES.com/chat <https://lc.chat/now/7173741/>
>
> *WEST: Santa Monica* | 1450 2nd St (@Broadway)
> *CENTRAL: Mid-Wilshire* | 5405 Wilshire Blvd (2 blocks west of La Brea)
> *EAST: Downtown* | 529 S. Broadway, Ste 4000 (@Pershing Square)
>
> On Apr 30, 2017, at 8:27 PM, Alex Linsker  > wrote:
>
> What's the longest lease for a coworking place or other businesses that 
> you know of that works well? Anything 15 or 20 years or more?
>
> Context:
>
> After getting paid to do this for 6 years, and having experimented with 
> not actually leading coworking for a portion of that, I can see doing it 
> for 50 more years or my entire paid work, whichever is more.
>
> Why not buy: I don't currently personally have resources to buy a 
> multi-million dollar building, and we're not yet where I see us buying a 
> building as a group, and I (and most members) see us growing into multiple 
> locations, so we could always buy buildings in the future. 
>
> Why not do a shorter lease: When a lease ends, my sense is that rents go 
> up, and in Portland Oregon, rents have gone up quite a bit and seem to be 
> on track to go up quite a bit. I haven't found owners would would put a 
> renewal option into the lease other than to renew at 'market rate' which 
> isn't really a renewal option.
>
> The plus to a shorter lease could be that the business model is revised in 
> 5-7 years (moving out totally benefited us after 5.5 years at our first 
> location, when we moved to two very different locations), but right now we 
> are doing well with the current business model, and while I see how that 
> could change, it doesn't seem likely.
>
> So I could see a longer lease being better than a 5- or 7- year lease. Do 
> you know of businesses, or coworking places, that have signed long leases 
> and enjoyed that? The longest I know of for coworking are 12-year leases, 
> and that seems like it can work great; I know one company where it makes 
> total sense. I could see doing a 15- or 20- or even longer lease, with the 
> option to sublease or assign the lease. I've heard of one big retail 
> company that does 75-year leases, which seems too long to me, but where I'm 
> at right now, I could see between 15 and 20 years feeling good. I could 
> also see doing

[Coworking] Re: longest lease for coworking place?

[Alex Linsker]

Rik,

What do you get with a 99 year lease that a shorter lease wouldn't do as
well, other than number of years?
What options if any do you have for an out, other than the nonprofit entity
closing down?
Is the lease a token dollar amount like $100 per month, did you bid for it
along with other nonprofits for a somewhat reduced rate, or is it market
rate?

Thanks, Alex

On Tuesday, May 9, 2017, Rik Ahlberg  wrote:

> We are negotiating a 99-year lease on a municipal building for an
> arts-focused creative workspace. It's a nonprofit effort which will have a
> signifigant education and economic development focus, so it different from
> a typical coworking space.
>
> You can find out more about Provincetown Commons at our web site:
> http://commonsptown.org
>
> Cheers,
> Rik
>
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--
Alex Linsker | Business Owner
Collective Agency <http://collectiveagency.co/>
(503) 517-6900 office | (503) 369-9174 mobile
3050 SE Division, Suite 245 | Portland Oregon 97202
1410 SW Morrison, Suite 850 | Portland Oregon 97205

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[Coworking] commercial property managers conference?

[Alex Linsker]

Is there a conference for commercial real estate property managers? I'm
interested in learning how to think more like that, especially finance,
operations, and strategy.

Alex
--
Alex Linsker | Business Owner
Collective Agency <http://collectiveagency.co/>
(503) 517-6900 office | (503) 369-9174 mobile
3050 SE Division, Suite 245 | Portland Oregon 97202
1410 SW Morrison, Suite 850 | Portland Oregon 97205

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