John it is my true belief that if you run a co-working space with the primary intent to be a revenue stream you will fail. Not because of the math, but because people won't find it to be authentic. There is a "real"ness that is necessary to have a successful working space. There a many models for how it can work - but I don't know of anyone who is using co-working as their business model successfully.
Chris Conrey chrisconrey.com Human->Geek Relations at Integrum @conrey on Twitter On Thu, Mar 19, 2009 at 11:32 AM, John Proffitt <[email protected]>wrote: > 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 -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
