Having read about the impending closure of Workspace, I wanted to start a dialogue regarding the sustainability of coworking spaces. The reality for most coworking spaces is that the space itself does not provide reasonable income for the space owner. The situation for most spaces seems to be that either the space is a break even or slightly above water venture used as a primary office for the owners work, or the space is one that the owner would have occupied regardless of the other users, and coworking is a means of giving back and creating a beneficial environment while recouping some of the expenses you would have had anyway.
So, the real question is, can coworking BE a reasonable profit business. Do you think the business model allows for sustainable profit? If your design or programming firm begins to hemorrhage clients due to economic conditions, will your coworking space be sustainable? If you have a sustainable model, or are even making your living from the space itself, what are your suggestions for those that are not? It seems to me that there IS an economic tipping point, where the expense of the space for the member is too much to justify the benefit of the space. How do we begin to gauge this? It will be different for all areas, certainly, but do you feel there are economic or activity indicators that can serve as a warning to a space owner that they are approaching a cost-benefit switch? And I suppose the last question is, should we worry about it? Is the situation for Workspace unique enough that coworking as a whole will be free of impact from it? --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ 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 -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
