Questions for Alex:
2. Our goal is to get 100 members paying $50 to 100 / month for > flexible access to the space. Once we reach a certain critical mass > of folks who can pledge that amount, we'll secure a space. Not that I don't think this will happen, but a couple of former projects had a very tough time getting any sort of critical mass to commit to a monthly fee...especially 100 people. If you do get 100 people, what kind of commitment do they have to make? Month to month? Yearly? Lifetime? Continuing that critical mass may be difficult. Other options? People pay for stuff and tangible services...courses, coffee, books, etc. We've found that $350/month for a desk and 24/7 access for a desk is about 1/2 the price of most execusuites (plus, we are friendlier) and people find that reasonable. It allows us to cover the costs of our space. We tried a 'lite' model of membership, but nobody went for it (well a few did, but only for a month or two) because they wanted to leave their stuff at the space. Coffee shops allow for the impermanence at a pay-as-you-go thing that isn't really that broken (hell, people still by and large prefer Starbucks and now that they will be offering FREE wifi, look out). Even if they end up paying MORE per month, it doesn't require a big commitment. 6. We're planning to host ongoing classes, seminars, book clubs, and > events on life design, entrepreneurship, and social responsibility. > We're also currently developing a Web platform that can assist with > scheduling these events. You should look into stuff that already exists, too. No need to reinvent the wheel if you can utilize already useful tools. Plus, these tools (eventbrite, upcoming, confabb, facebook events, etc.) allow you to leverage their current traffic to promote your events. 7. Through the community we'd also like to find someone to help us > organize social events both inside and outside of the space. We've met both Betsey and Alex and they are amazing, fabulous people who have the right idea about everything...the only thing I wonder is if this plan is too ambitious for current community needs. Coworking is currently more of a vitamin than a pain killer and is becoming MORE of a vitamin with changes to the way coffee shops are trying to attract customers (I've even heard of a Starbucks plan to add reasonably rentable private meeting spaces to many of their locations). Not that I would ever want to discourage people from pursuing big dreams, but I would caution small steps will be more likely to get one there...and faster, really. Chris and I have been chipping away at things for the past year and a half and are really seeing an explosion of everything we've been working on. That isn't really that long if you consider the average business takes 3 years to be profitable (if they survive year 1). Tara Be well, > > Alex Lavidge > > > > > -- tara 'miss rogue' hunt co-founder & CMO Citizen Agency (www.citizenagency.com) blog: www.horsepigcow.com phone: 415-694-1951 fax: 415-727-5335 --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Coworking" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
