As far as altruism - remember, some people do run not-intending-to- profit spaces (not sure if they are true "non for profit / 503c etc). I'm doing it for the "personal" benefit of having more people around, in my eyes thats the whole reason other coworkers will want to (hopefully) come - that's not to say I'm truly not profiting - I hope to do a little better than break even, but I don't care at this point how MUCH more as long as I can cover what it costs me and get other non-financial benefits like access to other peoples' opinions and the energy of having others around. So that leads into an answer for your other question - I have a full time job and this is not meant to be so much "income" for me - I plan to work from the space just like the people I'm expecting to come...
-dm On May 15, 3:37 am, Jerome Chang <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > 1. I couldn't find a way to justify more than 1 staff at a time. I > also never figured out how any coworking space can survive on such > low monthly revenues. You'll see my rates are much higher, but I > also have much higher grade desks, equipment, etc. I would not > recommend managing the space yourself since you'll just never get > your own work done otherwise. I never get to do my architecture work > when I'm managing. > > 2. On that note, yes, I still operate as a solo architect to > supplement my income, at least until operations and sales stabilize. > As for your altruistic reasons to "not get rich", I think you > absolutely should maximize your profit; otherwise, you've risked a > lot and exposed yourself to a lot of liability without any real > rewards. Ascertain what your market can bear, and charge > accordingly. In L.A., if I'd charged $200/month, I would've been at > capacity within 30 days before I even opened - guaranteed, but then > operated on zero or negative margins. That's just not sound > business, in my opinion. > > Jerome > ______________ > BLANKSPACES > "work wide open" > > 5405 Wilshire Blvd (2 blocks west of La Brea) > Los Angeles, CA 90036 > 323.330.9505 > > On May 14, 2008, at 4:01 PM, Jay wrote: > > > > > Hey guys, > > > My name is Jay and I'm thinking of opening a coworking facility later > > this year or early next year in Louisville, KY. Opening my own place > > is something I've thought about doing for a long time (even before I > > heard the term "coworking"). I know a lot of people that run their own > > businesses and prefer not to work at home. As far as I know there's > > nothing like this anywhere around here. I've enjoyed reading through > > the posts in this group and checking out many of your Web sites. I'm > > learning a lot. > > > I have some basic questions that I'd like to throw out there: > > > 1) I've read posts about other places having multiple people on staff > > full-time. Is it really possible to bring in that much income to pay > > operating expenses plus staff salaries and make enough for the runs > > actually running the operation? For example, I'm looking at a 2,500 > > square foot space. Based on the formulas I've seen on here, I should > > be able to accommodate approximately 25 people comfortably. If I can > > get $200 a month from 25 people, that would bring in around $5000. > > That would probably cover most of my operating expenses but definitely > > not staff. I guess I'm trying to get a feel for what percentage of > > total income comes from memberships vs. things like conference room > > rental, cafe, events, etc. My plan is to have a couple of partners > > involved in the business to help cover the workload. > > > 2) Do most of you that run your own coworking facilities have other > > businesses on the side to supplement the income? I'm trying to figure > > out if this would be a way for me to make a living or if I need to > > have a consulting business focusing on other things. > > > I realize I'm being kind of broad in my questions. I'm just trying to > > make sure that I'm considering opportunities for revenue. I'm not > > looking for a way to get rich or anything. I just want to be able to > > support my family and control my own destiny so-to-speak. > > > Any feedback or advice would be GREATLY appreciated. > > > Thanks so much! > > > Jay --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ 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 -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
