Hi Raines! I don't know how I missed your reply - I'm just seeing it today, many days later. Sorry!
> I know that the town has its own independent economy, but I'm curious if > you're seeing regional fallout from the Detroit collapse, in people's > perception of business opportunity... and whether this is driving folks to > your cooperative community space as an alternative to spending/investing > more to do things on their own. We've had our own local economic disappointments here, like Pfizer leaving town, and we are seeing some people who are 'refugees' of sorts from some of those larger establishments. We do have an old skool economic development agency here, called SPARK, and they handle the folks who have 'An Idea' and are seeking VC - and some of the 'refugees' certainly fall into that category. But SPARK has no idea what to do with people who don't want to be incubated, but do want some support as they enter the world of freelance or independent work. But they've been trickling into our space, and we're delighted to have them. > coworking is a "big tent" and the pioneering tech-driven > rent-a-desk-by-the-month spaces are no longer the only game in town. Good to hear it! > in group work, decision-making, and meetings. It doesn't sound like that's > going to be a challenge for you, but do make sure that members have a voice > without having to spend lots of time shouting to feel heard. Thanks for the cautionary note - our current model doesn't require any sort of participation, although we're building systems/events to encourage interaction - both social and professional - for those who are interested. But we're nowhere near being a co-op and don't intend to be! > As to the space rental Q: we're finding lots of interest in our downtown > Berkeley spot, especially for evening and weekend classes and MeetUps. I > recommend setting a significant price differential to incentivize > people/groups to become members, working out partnerships so they come for > the meeting space but stay for the community. Excellent - that's exactly what we've done, but were a little unsure of that decision. Glad to hear from an outside source that it's a reasonable strategy! > Just one final Q, given your location: will events be catered by > Zingerman's? ;-) Not yet - the restaurant down a couple doors, Vinology, is catering our opening day next week. And the coffee shop is carrying pastries from the Pastry Peddler, not Zingerman's - but we're sure to hook up with them sometime soon! Good to hear from you, and I do hope that if you're ever out this way, you'll pop in and say hello. - Laura --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ 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 -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
