Wow! Great answers from Chris and Tony and Geoff. I really appreciate the insights.
Just from reviewing the coworking web sites out there and talking to a couple folks directly involved, it does seem as though it's a blended mission/service that's most prevalent. I've been considering whether I could run a coworking business as a primary income stream, but all my calculations so far suggest that that's just not feasible (of course, I could be way off on calculations -- I've only just started in the last week). Seems like I'd need to be doing contracting/consulting work of my own on the side, or combine the coworking stuff with another part-time job. Anyway, thanks for the insights! I have another question, but I'll post it separately. --John On Thu, Mar 19, 2009 at 8:22 AM, Chris Conrey <[email protected]>wrote: > >>[1] Does that description sound about right to you? > Not really, I think its less black and white - with a ton more gray areas > in between. > > >>[2] Is one model more "sustainable" than the other, or is it too early > to tell? Put another way, is the for-profit model more sustainable > because the profit motive draws in enough cash to keep going (and > offers the owner incentive to keep it going), or is the not-for-profit > model more sustainable because the participants are mutually committed > to a shared success? > > I think obviously if you can strike the balance with the for-profit model > and have the right people there - then it is certainly sustainable, but I > think your reason for the not-for-profit being sustainable is backwards. It > is going to be a small core of people that sustain the not-for-profit model > - the majority of people will be freeloaders (I couldn't think of a less > pejorative term to use). Not in that they are leeching off of the others > for their own profit, but that they are going to be unable to contribute > financially yet their community influence or skills are going to be > irreplaceable. > > >>[3] Has anyone out there created a coworking space that you would say > has split the two models down the middle, making SOME money but also > actively providing support for participating coworkers by playing > connector / booster? > > I would imagine nearly everyone in this group who runs a co-working space > will say that they are walking that razor edge every day. I know that we at > Gangplank do aim to make some money to support our endeavours here but it > comes a distant second to growing the community in Phoenix and enriching the > environment. > > > Chris Conrey > chrisconrey.com > Human->Geek Relations at Integrum > @conrey on Twitter > > > On Wed, Mar 18, 2009 at 6:24 PM, jmproffitt <[email protected]> wrote: > >> >> As we're evaluating whether/how to start a coworking office in the >> Anchorage area, it strikes me that there's a spectrum of possible >> approaches. >> >> On the one hand, there's the sort of "retail" coworking space where >> people simply rent desks by the day, week, month, etc. The space is >> helpful to those participating simply by being there. Camaraderie is a >> welcome byproduct, but not a primary goal. This business approach is a >> pure for-profit play that must make money for the owner(s) to remain >> viable. >> >> At the other end of the spectrum is the break-even "community" >> coworking space where the objective is to support independent digital >> workers and even foster community amongst them. It might even be an >> advocacy space that promotes the businesses that participate in the >> coworking venture. In this case, the coworking space might make money, >> but that's a byproduct of the venture rather than the primary goal. >> >> And then there's a spectrum of variations in between these two models. >> >> A few questions... >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> --John >> jmproffitt [at] gmail [dot] com >> @jmproffitt >> >> >> > > > > --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ 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 -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
