[Coworking] Re: Space owner question on drop-ins
Tony, as usual, sums it up brilliantly. And as Tara mentioned, Citizen Space stands firmly behind our free drop-in policy. Even in tight times when it's tempting to try to charge hourly or daily, it really is the drop-ins that make CS what it is. For me, that's the core of what coworking at CS is about -- collaboration, accelerating serendipity, etc. Hillary On Tue, Aug 18, 2009 at 6:27 AM, Tony Bacigalupotonybacigal...@gmail.com wrote: Drop-ins tend to be important for a few reasons: 1. Reluctant potential members try it out before committing 2. Adds variety to your daily membership. Part of what is nice (and important) about coworking is that you get to meet new interesting people-- for instance, right now we have two awesome folks from Nashville in the space, and they wouldn't have come if we didn't offer dropins. 3. The people for whom coworking is useful are inherently independent by nature, and often just can't commit to a regular schedule. On top of this, people are compelled to sign up for membership because: 1) it saves them money 2) it's more convenient than paying every time, and 3) they get to call themselves a member. How does that sound? PS congrats on 30 members! Tony --~--~-~--~~~---~--~~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Coworking group. To post to this group, send email to coworking@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en -~--~~~~--~~--~--~---
[Coworking] Re: Space owner question on drop-ins
Without drop-ins, Citizen Space would be boring IMO. We have always allowed for free drop-ins because they bring energy to the space. Even with 12-20 permanent residents, we find that only a few are there at a time. And their time is justified and made more exciting by the fact that we have between 5-10 drop-ins per day. Only one person in the past 2 years has abused this. Otherwise, it's been what: 1. brings in new members 2. keeps current members feeling like they are coming to an energetic space 3. keeps the buzz going about Citizen Space I can't imagine our space without the drop-ins. We've added a tip jar, which regular drop-ins pop a couple of bucks into now and then, but nobody is obligated. T On Thu, Aug 20, 2009 at 4:37 AM, JeroenR jrieds...@gmail.com wrote: Tx for all your contributions - this is really helpful stuff. Our profile very much fits what Jacob is describing so we look at drop-ins as a trial before potential conversion. At the same time having some new faces in the door as Tony describes every now and then does contribute to the general buzz of the place... We'll put some things in action and keep you updated! -- tara 'missrogue' hunt Book: The Whuffie Factor (http://www.thewhuffiefactor.com) Blog: HorsePigCow: Marketing Uncommon (http://horsepigcow.com) Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/missrogue phone: 514-679-2951 --~--~-~--~~~---~--~~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Coworking group. To post to this group, send email to coworking@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en -~--~~~~--~~--~--~---
[Coworking] Re: Space owner question on drop-ins
On Aug 20, 2009, at 11:07 AM, Tara Hunt wrote: Without drop-ins, Citizen Space would be boring IMO. We have always allowed for free drop-ins because they bring energy to the space. Even with 12-20 permanent residents, we find that only a few are there at a time. And their time is justified and made more exciting by the fact that we have between 5-10 drop-ins per day. I can't imagine our space without the drop-ins. We've added a tip jar, which regular drop-ins pop a couple of bucks into now and then, but nobody is obligated. T Actually, that is pretty amazing. The only time I've been to a space (Brikolodge, Miami, FL) with that many drop-ins in one days was during FOWA last year and all the drop-ins were from Orlando and there with me. Good Work, Tara. - Eric Marden . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . http://ericmarden.com --~--~-~--~~~---~--~~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Coworking group. To post to this group, send email to coworking@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en -~--~~~~--~~--~--~---
[Coworking] Re: Space owner question on drop-ins
We at BLANKSPACES have a surprisingly [to me] high # of what we call walk-ins, that is, those who just rent for a day or a few hours, or even a few hrs each week for a few weeks. That retail side of this concept has really shown me the need for these conference/offsite business centers. As for random drop-ins - I'd say no more than 5/day however, if that answers the original question. Jerome __ BLANKSPACES work wide open www.blankspaces.com 5405 Wilshire Blvd (2 blocks west of La Brea) Los Angeles, CA 90036 323.330.9505 (office) On Aug 20, 2009, at 1:17 PM, Eric Marden wrote: On Aug 20, 2009, at 11:07 AM, Tara Hunt wrote: Without drop-ins, Citizen Space would be boring IMO. We have always allowed for free drop-ins because they bring energy to the space. Even with 12-20 permanent residents, we find that only a few are there at a time. And their time is justified and made more exciting by the fact that we have between 5-10 drop-ins per day. I can't imagine our space without the drop-ins. We've added a tip jar, which regular drop-ins pop a couple of bucks into now and then, but nobody is obligated. T Actually, that is pretty amazing. The only time I've been to a space (Brikolodge, Miami, FL) with that many drop-ins in one days was during FOWA last year and all the drop-ins were from Orlando and there with me. Good Work, Tara. - Eric Marden . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . http://ericmarden.com --~--~-~--~~~---~--~~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Coworking group. To post to this group, send email to coworking@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en -~--~~~~--~~--~--~---
[Coworking] Re: Space owner question on drop-ins
I want to touch on the point of converting drop-ins to members. It's not automatic, but if you're smart about it, you can really make drop-ins a huge recruitment opportunity. I'm in a story-telling mood, so you all get the brunt of it. Last friday, we had a drop in come by, grab a desk, the usual story. I introduced myself around 10am and mentioned, hey, we're having a new member lunch today...no big deal, just a bunch of people going to lunch together, hang out away from the desks...you should come!. He said something to the effect of, wow, I picked the right day to be here. I said, actually..the right day is thursdays...those are the days that Dana bakes cupcakes and brings them in for people to try. I don't know if he believed me. Not only did he come to lunch, but he met a bunch of his soon-to-be coworkers. He bonded. Unicorns, puppies, lollipops. On monday morning, he reserved a desk again, with a note I want to do a lite membership, friday was awesome. Today, he came up to Dana and I and said, I can't work from home anymore. I need to go full-time. This is obviously an isolated incident, but I think it illustrates what happens when you spend that bit of time with a drop-in and make it clear to them that this could be their clubhouse, too. Better yet, if it wasn't me, it would have been another one of our full time members who went over, introduced themselves, and invited him to lunch. -Alex -- - -- - Alex Hillman im always developing something digital: a...@weknowhtml.com helpful: www.unstick.me visual: www.dangerouslyawesome.com local: www.indyhall.org On Fri, Aug 21, 2009 at 12:10 AM, Jerome Chang jer...@blankspaces.comwrote: We at BLANKSPACES have a surprisingly [to me] high # of what we call walk-ins, that is, those who just rent for a day or a few hours, or even a few hrs each week for a few weeks. That retail side of this concept has really shown me the need for these conference/offsite business centers. As for random drop-ins - I'd say no more than 5/day however, if that answers the original question. Jerome __ BLANKSPACES work wide open www.blankspaces.com 5405 Wilshire Blvd (2 blocks west of La Brea) Los Angeles, CA 90036 323.330.9505 (office) On Aug 20, 2009, at 1:17 PM, Eric Marden wrote: On Aug 20, 2009, at 11:07 AM, Tara Hunt wrote: Without drop-ins, Citizen Space would be boring IMO. We have always allowed for free drop-ins because they bring energy to the space. Even with 12-20 permanent residents, we find that only a few are there at a time. And their time is justified and made more exciting by the fact that we have between 5-10 drop-ins per day. I can't imagine our space without the drop-ins. We've added a tip jar, which regular drop-ins pop a couple of bucks into now and then, but nobody is obligated. T Actually, that is pretty amazing. The only time I've been to a space (Brikolodge, Miami, FL) with that many drop-ins in one days was during FOWA last year and all the drop-ins were from Orlando and there with me. Good Work, Tara. - Eric Marden . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . http://ericmarden.com --~--~-~--~~~---~--~~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Coworking group. To post to this group, send email to coworking@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en -~--~~~~--~~--~--~---
[Coworking] Re: Space owner question on drop-ins
Hey Tony, Tx for your response - useful stuff. I think we'll start promoting drop-ins more actively... By the way your I Love NWC sticker is up on our wall of fame! Cheers, Jeroen --~--~-~--~~~---~--~~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Coworking group. To post to this group, send email to coworking@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en -~--~~~~--~~--~--~---
[Coworking] Re: Space owner question on drop-ins
Sweet! That reminds me, I have to order more of those... On Aug 19, 2009, at 5:55 AM, JeroenR jrieds...@gmail.com wrote: Hey Tony, Tx for your response - useful stuff. I think we'll start promoting drop-ins more actively... By the way your I Love NWC sticker is up on our wall of fame! Cheers, Jeroen --~--~-~--~~~---~--~~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Coworking group. To post to this group, send email to coworking@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en -~--~~~~--~~--~--~---
[Coworking] Re: Space owner question on drop-ins
We do offer drop-ins, but have/have had very few of them--so, not enough to have that variety flavor to which Tony alludes. On the other hand, we do have many people use our free trial day, so if you count that as a drop-in Drop in business may change as we now have the public transportation MAX line running on our street. Feel free to check in with us later on any changes. Cheers, Julie Duryea owner, souk (Portland, Oregon) http://www.soukllc.com @soukportland On Aug 18, 1:14 am, JeroenR jrieds...@gmail.com wrote: Hello all, I am a frequent follower of this fantastic group sharing information about coworking in different parts of the world. I am space owner at Igluu in Utrecht, the Netherlands and we have been open now since march. We just beat the 30 member mark which is a good thing. An experience question I have for others is the following: we work with a membership model - this gives you an access pass and the right to use any free desk for retty much a flat-rate (some variations apply for desk and/or meeting room reservations). We have been struggling a bit with the idea of drop-ins... We offer them with the idea this gets people exposed to our location, on the down side we don't want to become a drop-in center. We figured the price instrument would weed out the truly interested (with future conversion to membership in mind) but the fact is we hardly get any... To cut a long question short: do you offer drop-ins, at what price and what has your experience been (when compared to 'real' memberships). Is it something you feel you should market actively or is it on the bottom of the menu only to be offered in case someone asks for it? Hoping to hear from some of you out there! Jeroen Riedstra Igluu - WorkSpace for Professionalshttp://www.igluu.nl/ --~--~-~--~~~---~--~~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Coworking group. To post to this group, send email to coworking@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en -~--~~~~--~~--~--~---
[Coworking] Re: Space owner question on drop-ins
Drop-ins not only make up a fair part of our revenue, but as I've mentioned to Tony, have a fairly high conversion rate to membership. Because our basic membership is priced at the same rate as our daily rate, it's pretty easy to say if you are going to come back again any time this month, it makes sense to get a basic membership and save $10/day from here on out, as well as get one free day a month and be more in the loop for office functions, etc. -Alex -- - -- - Alex Hillman im always developing something digital: a...@weknowhtml.com helpful: www.unstick.me visual: www.dangerouslyawesome.com local: www.indyhall.org On Wed, Aug 19, 2009 at 12:28 PM, Julie of souk soukju...@gmail.com wrote: We do offer drop-ins, but have/have had very few of them--so, not enough to have that variety flavor to which Tony alludes. On the other hand, we do have many people use our free trial day, so if you count that as a drop-in Drop in business may change as we now have the public transportation MAX line running on our street. Feel free to check in with us later on any changes. Cheers, Julie Duryea owner, souk (Portland, Oregon) http://www.soukllc.com @soukportland On Aug 18, 1:14 am, JeroenR jrieds...@gmail.com wrote: Hello all, I am a frequent follower of this fantastic group sharing information about coworking in different parts of the world. I am space owner at Igluu in Utrecht, the Netherlands and we have been open now since march. We just beat the 30 member mark which is a good thing. An experience question I have for others is the following: we work with a membership model - this gives you an access pass and the right to use any free desk for retty much a flat-rate (some variations apply for desk and/or meeting room reservations). We have been struggling a bit with the idea of drop-ins... We offer them with the idea this gets people exposed to our location, on the down side we don't want to become a drop-in center. We figured the price instrument would weed out the truly interested (with future conversion to membership in mind) but the fact is we hardly get any... To cut a long question short: do you offer drop-ins, at what price and what has your experience been (when compared to 'real' memberships). Is it something you feel you should market actively or is it on the bottom of the menu only to be offered in case someone asks for it? Hoping to hear from some of you out there! Jeroen Riedstra Igluu - WorkSpace for Professionalshttp://www.igluu.nl/ --~--~-~--~~~---~--~~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Coworking group. To post to this group, send email to coworking@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en -~--~~~~--~~--~--~---
[Coworking] Re: Space owner question on drop-ins
We calculate our numbers around monthly members and focus our efforts there as it's the best way to build community. We want folks in the space, day after day, building relationships with each other. We use drop-ins as a way for folks to try out the space and make sure it's a good fit. It's not a significant contribution to our revenue. Over the almost 2 years we've been open we've had almost 300 people come through the space. Here are some fun numbers: Monthly Resident 19 7% ExResident 17 6% Regular 3 1% ExRegular 9 3% Basic 4 1% 52 18% Daily Free Trial Only 139 48% Dabbler 77 27% Regular Daily 20 7% 236 82%Total Members 288 Jacob --- Office Nomads - Individuality without Isolation http://www.officenomads.com - (206) 323-6500 On Tue, Aug 18, 2009 at 1:14 AM, JeroenR jrieds...@gmail.com wrote: Hello all, I am a frequent follower of this fantastic group sharing information about coworking in different parts of the world. I am space owner at Igluu in Utrecht, the Netherlands and we have been open now since march. We just beat the 30 member mark which is a good thing. An experience question I have for others is the following: we work with a membership model - this gives you an access pass and the right to use any free desk for retty much a flat-rate (some variations apply for desk and/or meeting room reservations). We have been struggling a bit with the idea of drop-ins... We offer them with the idea this gets people exposed to our location, on the down side we don't want to become a drop-in center. We figured the price instrument would weed out the truly interested (with future conversion to membership in mind) but the fact is we hardly get any... To cut a long question short: do you offer drop-ins, at what price and what has your experience been (when compared to 'real' memberships). Is it something you feel you should market actively or is it on the bottom of the menu only to be offered in case someone asks for it? Hoping to hear from some of you out there! Jeroen Riedstra Igluu - WorkSpace for Professionals http://www.igluu.nl/ --~--~-~--~~~---~--~~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Coworking group. To post to this group, send email to coworking@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en -~--~~~~--~~--~--~---
[Coworking] Re: Space owner question on drop-ins
This is the 80/20 rule in action. Honestly to have a 20% conversion rate should be applauded, and to have 1/3 of that 80% pay the day rate is pretty good as well. Peace, Ryan Price CoLab Orlando FloridaCreatives.com @liberatr On Aug 19, 2009, at 2:02 PM, Jacob Sayles wrote: We calculate our numbers around monthly members and focus our efforts there as it's the best way to build community. We want folks in the space, day after day, building relationships with each other. We use drop-ins as a way for folks to try out the space and make sure it's a good fit. It's not a significant contribution to our revenue. Over the almost 2 years we've been open we've had almost 300 people come through the space. Here are some fun numbers: Monthly Resident 19 7% ExResident17 6% Regular 3 1% ExRegular 9 3% Basic 4 1% 5218% Daily Free Trial Only 139 48% Dabbler 77 27% Regular Daily 20 7% 236 82% Total Members 288 Jacob --- Office Nomads - Individuality without Isolation http://www.officenomads.com - (206) 323-6500 On Tue, Aug 18, 2009 at 1:14 AM, JeroenR jrieds...@gmail.com wrote: Hello all, I am a frequent follower of this fantastic group sharing information about coworking in different parts of the world. I am space owner at Igluu in Utrecht, the Netherlands and we have been open now since march. We just beat the 30 member mark which is a good thing. An experience question I have for others is the following: we work with a membership model - this gives you an access pass and the right to use any free desk for retty much a flat-rate (some variations apply for desk and/or meeting room reservations). We have been struggling a bit with the idea of drop-ins... We offer them with the idea this gets people exposed to our location, on the down side we don't want to become a drop-in center. We figured the price instrument would weed out the truly interested (with future conversion to membership in mind) but the fact is we hardly get any... To cut a long question short: do you offer drop-ins, at what price and what has your experience been (when compared to 'real' memberships). Is it something you feel you should market actively or is it on the bottom of the menu only to be offered in case someone asks for it? Hoping to hear from some of you out there! Jeroen Riedstra Igluu - WorkSpace for Professionals http://www.igluu.nl/ --~--~-~--~~~---~--~~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Coworking group. To post to this group, send email to coworking@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en -~--~~~~--~~--~--~---
[Coworking] Re: Space owner question on drop-ins
Drop-ins tend to be important for a few reasons: 1. Reluctant potential members try it out before committing 2. Adds variety to your daily membership. Part of what is nice (and important) about coworking is that you get to meet new interesting people-- for instance, right now we have two awesome folks from Nashville in the space, and they wouldn't have come if we didn't offer dropins. 3. The people for whom coworking is useful are inherently independent by nature, and often just can't commit to a regular schedule. On top of this, people are compelled to sign up for membership because: 1) it saves them money 2) it's more convenient than paying every time, and 3) they get to call themselves a member. How does that sound? PS congrats on 30 members! Tony On Aug 18, 2009, at 4:14 AM, JeroenR jrieds...@gmail.com wrote: Hello all, I am a frequent follower of this fantastic group sharing information about coworking in different parts of the world. I am space owner at Igluu in Utrecht, the Netherlands and we have been open now since march. We just beat the 30 member mark which is a good thing. An experience question I have for others is the following: we work with a membership model - this gives you an access pass and the right to use any free desk for retty much a flat-rate (some variations apply for desk and/or meeting room reservations). We have been struggling a bit with the idea of drop-ins... We offer them with the idea this gets people exposed to our location, on the down side we don't want to become a drop-in center. We figured the price instrument would weed out the truly interested (with future conversion to membership in mind) but the fact is we hardly get any... To cut a long question short: do you offer drop-ins, at what price and what has your experience been (when compared to 'real' memberships). Is it something you feel you should market actively or is it on the bottom of the menu only to be offered in case someone asks for it? Hoping to hear from some of you out there! Jeroen Riedstra Igluu - WorkSpace for Professionals http://www.igluu.nl/ --~--~-~--~~~---~--~~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Coworking group. To post to this group, send email to coworking@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en -~--~~~~--~~--~--~---
