Hey Matt, First, thanks for your honesty about facing 'empty space' issues. I'll bet that more spaces face this issue than we may care to admit. IMHO, this thread has been one of the most interesting for awhile, and I think it's because you had courage to share a real problem.
Anyways, the topic came up of letting other meetup groups use your space. Is it normal to charge for this? If so, how much would be normal (assume a meetup of about 20 ppl). Let's also assume that this is a strategy for additional revenue, not just to attract new members (otherwise, I'm guessing 'free' would be the answer). -- pat cheung [email protected] www.methink.com On Tue, Jun 2, 2009 at 9:31 AM, Dave Troy <[email protected]> wrote: > > Matthew, > > I would also submit that population density and potential population > near your space have a lot to do with participation and growth. > > Our experience in Baltimore has been that we have a consistent > population that shows up regularly. > > Baltimore City has about 637,000 people, and the surrounding counties > add another 1.3M people, for a total of about 2M in the immediate > metro area. > > Philadelphia, by contrast, has about 1.45M people in the city alone, > and its metropolitan area might be considered to be 3-6M people. New > York, of course, is both huge and dense, and has had a good experience > also. > > So, while I do think your low population density in Dallas is likely > an issue, I think you need to look at that as a factor to take into > consideration than as a reason why it can't work. > > As Alex and Tony have said, figure out who your constituency is and > then figure out how to love them. If they have special needs and/or > intrinsic motivators, find them and hammer on them. Things may go > slower for you there because of low population density, etc, but > that's not an excuse not to start on your growth trajectory. > > I like to imagine that we are on the same path as IndyHall and NWC > here at Beehive Baltimore, with the realization that a) it's a > different growth curve, due to the uniqueness of our location and > population, b) we got started later. That all said I feel that we are > 100% on track and what's most important is that we be the best space > we can be for *Baltimore* and not necessarily try to replicate exact > strategies that others have used elsewhere. > > The New York Times recently published an article by Steven Strogatz > that discusses city sizes and densities, and what effects variations > in these numbers mean for a variety of internal design factors -- I > found it fascinating: > http://judson.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/05/19/math-and-the-city/ > > Best, > Dave > > -- > Dave Troy > blog: www.davetroy.com (@davetroy) > community: www.beehivebaltimore.org (@bhivebmore) > investing: www.baltimoreangels.org (@baltimoreangels) > events: @barcampbmore, @socialdevcamp > projects: www.twittervision.com, www.flickrvision.com > Partner, Roundhouse Technologies > > On Jun 2, 12:18 pm, Tony Bacigalupo <[email protected]> wrote: > > > I thought it would be better to admit to what is probably a consistent > > > problem (even for those well established places) and get some help than > to > > > remain stoic and let the problem continue without new eyes. > > > > +1 agreed. > > > > it seemed as if asking the question could be taken as a sign of weakness, > > > > > and that approaching people in such a direct manner might be > alienating. > > > Given that I'm already in a lack of people, that would be bad. Then > again, > > > it's not like it can hurt anything. > > > > Weakness = human = something people can connect with. > > > > Obviously you don't want to seem too needy; one thing you have to do as > the > > leader of your space is to engage people well. You will have to find ways > to > > get people psyched to help without it seeming like a charity case. > > > > Coworking naturally gets people fired up. Rely on that! Cubicles suck. > > Working in Starbucks sucks. Talking to your cat sucks. There must be > > something better! > > > > > The thing I'm having trouble is that there are more groups I've talked > to, > > > and plenty of people who want to use us as a free space for meetings, > but > > > after that initial "Hey, this would be a great idea" they go silent. > > > > If they need the space, they need the space. When someone does host an > event > > at your space, don't be shy about telling people about your space and > > encouraging people to join. > > > > At this stage, your goals are actually pretty narrow: one person. One > person > > who will totally get what you're doing and is insanely excited about it. > > That's all you're looking for right now, but to find them you have to > really > > get to know people one at a time. When you find that one person, get them > on > > board however appropriate. Then go from there. > > > > > I've been pushing hard to help promote not only my space, but the > events > > > and what not around here, but the reciprocation has not been exactly > what I > > > would like it to be. > > > Maybe I should be more hard nosed about that? > > > > I vote no on that. This is the tricky part about building your social > > capital... you make lots of deposits without necessarily being able to > > withdraw for a long time, and you can't necessarily force it. > > > > Just keep at it, and keep genuinely going good for people. It will come > back > > around. > > > > T > > > > > > > > > > > > > Matthew > > > --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ 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 -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
