The matter of sustainably running a co-working space is something that I have pondered quite a bit with friends/associates. Breaking even doesn't leave much room for improvement to the space unless there was a collective agreement or kitty to pull from for repairs or purchases for the space. The space owner/catalyst will need to draw enough money from the co-working community so that all bills are covered without question and that there is some money left over. Also, the time of the person who monitors the space must be taken into consideration.
Not that you would be paying someone to watch a space $20.00 an hour because they'd probably be doing their own work too, but you have to keep in mind that unless everyone took turns on a schedule watching the place and administering anything that needed to be done, you'd need to accommodate at least one person for their time. This is the problem with having a "small" co-working space, which is the model I'm working on now. Basically the number of people who join the community feel the financial burden of the rent and administrative fees more than if it was distributed to a larger group in a larger space. It seems the small spaces with a small number of co-workers are not impossible to maintain, but definitely are less sustainable if the chemistry and financial situation are not just right. James Ryan Moreau http://jrmgetscreative.com http://notsoliteral.blogspot.com On Mar 24, 6:29 pm, Philippe Chetrit <[email protected]> wrote: > Hmmmm. This is a great discussion. I believe, to be sustainable you > have to be profitable and you have to focus on your community. A > coworking space requires a lot of work and down the line, as an owner, > you will get very frustrated with a financial ball-and-chain. A > profitable coworking space and a great culture are not mutually > exclusive. We run a profitable space which supports local > entrepreneurs and creatives and we have a developed and maintained a > very democratically run, collaborative, nurturing space. The key is > understanding your metrics and their direct factors. Profitability is > tied to quantity of space and space distribution. Culture is tied to > programs, space design, member procurement and communication. For us, > space and culture are our core businesses and we focus on both equally > and it has been working. > > Philippe Chetrit > Affinity Labwww.affinitylab.com > > On Mar 18, 9:24 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... > > > [1] Does that description sound about right to you? > > > [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? > > > [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? > > > --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 -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
