I don't want to be taken the wrong way: I wouldn't suggest that childcare and coworking aren't compatible, but that it will vary space by space, and that, depending on your broader goals and ambitions, you may choose to put the extra work in to be more accommodating or not. I like Alex's suggestion to partner or locate near an existing childcare center as that seems to acknowledge the reality of parenthood if you expect to be serving an audience that will include parents, especially of young children.
To overstate my point, I'm not just talking about childcare when I'm talking about thinking about goals... We could be debating plants, animals, food... The point is to be clear and honest with your desires and then act to support them, while being mindful that the marketplace will reveal opportunities (or demands) you'd not thought of. I would never say "childcare is bad" (or something to that effect) -- I'd be more interested in saying these are our goals, this is what fits in the context of our space, and here are external resources to support those whose needs might fall outside our original design. Chris On 1/9/08, Alex Hillman <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > I'm in personal agreement that having a crying baby would not only be > distracting, but detract from the aspects of professionalism that we at > least *try* to conduct, loose as they may be, at our office. > > I think the last time we talked about this, someone suggested when planning > an office try to find a location near an existing, reputable childcare > center and work out a deal where members of the space get a preferred rate. > This is good for both businesses, and could be helpful for parents who want > to check in on their child during the day. > > If you search the google group for childcare/daycare, I'm sure you'll find > our previous discussion interesting and valuable. > > Cheers, > Alex, IndyHall, Philadelphia > > On Jan 9, 2008 11:20 AM, Design ICU <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > > > I'm just at the start of the process of getting something off the > > ground but, already, this has come up for me. It's a very touchy > > subject. I wonder if some of it is simply that people interpret the > > word 'coworking' differently. Down the road, I'm looking to set up a > > professional space with 6-8 regulars and a lot of drop-ins. A communal > > office for writers and designers/coders. Crying babies? No way. (And I > > have 2.5 year old so I'm fairly inured to the sound.) Others maybe see > > the word 'coworking' as something a little less office-like, maybe > > concentrating on the community aspect of things a bit too much. > > > > One suggestion has been to find a space with an extra room and work > > out a childcare arrangement. To be honest, this doesn't appeal to me > > at all. Getting a co-working space off the ground is going to be > > complex and onerous enough. Maybe it could be a Phase II sort of > > thing. Maybe we'll find a great space that's just perfect--but I > > wouldn't want to reject a good space on the basis that it didn't have > > a room for childcare. > > > > My feelings on the topic are probably going to alienate a lot of > > people but I agree with Chris that you can't be all things to all > > comers. > > > > > > > > > > -- > ----- > -- > ----- > Alex Hillman > web.developer.innovation.consultant > vocal: 484.597.6256 > digital: [EMAIL PROTECTED] | skype: dangerouslyawesome > visual: www.weknowhtml.com | www.dangerouslyawesome.com > local: www.indyhall.org > > > > -- Chris Messina Citizen-Participant & Open Source Advocate-at-Large Work: http://citizenagency.com Blog: http://factoryjoe.com/blog Cell: 412.225.1051 IM: factoryjoe This email is: [ ] bloggable [X] ask first [ ] private --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ 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 -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
