Alex -- When you say you've made plenty of money from your other activities, would that be your weknowhtml.com work?
Because that's more or less the angle I'm considering -- yes, setup the coworking space and strengthen the digital indepdents community around it, but also work separately on projects I can scare up in IT, web, new media / social media areas. --John On Thu, Mar 19, 2009 at 11:12 AM, Alex Hillman <[email protected] > wrote: > To riff on Chris's point, I feel like my decision making abilities are > always in the communities best interest and that fact is never at risk of > being dissolved into my interest in a bigger paycheck. > > I make plenty of money from the things that coworking has enabled me to do > without making money directly from renting desks. > > -Alex > > -- > ----- > -- > ----- > Alex Hillman > im always developing something > digital: [email protected] > helpful: www.unstick.me > visual: www.dangerouslyawesome.com > local: www.indyhall.org > > > > 2009/3/19 Chris Conrey <[email protected]> > > 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 -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
