Hi Cam, BTW - can't get much more of an authority on coworking than Alex. But figured I'd share some of our learning as well as we just completed our 1st year in Akron and are preparing to open a 2nd location in a nearby city (Cuyahoga Falls).
>>Do you break even? *Just about* - I expect we'll be at our break even point in December. We learned a lot in the first year and both our location, market & pricing model is slightly different than Philly. Akron isn't a top 10 city -- not even close :) We're definitely a small city with midwest sensibility for space & work environement. We found our members are less accustomed to the shared corporate environment than larger cities. In our experience, we found most people in our area are *first* taken aback at the concept of sharing a work area, office or even a table with someone else. Some come in with the idea they are going to get an executive suite. Many immediately embrace it. But still - we found most of our members wanted private areas they could reserve & sneak away to for phone calls, meetings, etc. We changed suites within the same buildling and went from 3600 sq feet to 2200 -- it gave us more private space for people to break away from the bustle of the main work area and certainly cut down on our expenses. We also raised prices recently which helped a lot. We were greatly under priced at first and that was a mistake. We didn't see any price resistance. >>Is there anyone who is experiencing growth even with the recession? We are experiencing growth. We gain 2-3 new members each month -- and haven't seen much attrition. We're currently at 35 members. We're preparing to launch a second location as well. Our local community has been VERY supportive -- and we've tried to be very involved on that front. That has given us a good reputation so neighboring cities have been reaching out asking for us to open locations in their area as well. We're committed to starting this one off at break even and have entered an agreement with the building owner re: revenue sharing to ensure that. If we get 6 members to commit to the launch - we'll move forward. Then every member will benefit because they can use either space -- extending our value. >>What are your membership plans? http://www.officespacecoworking.com/membership-pricing/ >>Does being profitable have to do with charging for extra services? Not yet. We expect to offer additional services soon -- secretarial, book keeping, simple lead generation etc. These are the services most of our members are needing and we've already helped a couple get some things off the ground. >>Most of all, is this a business that one should approach with a mind frame of >>making money or with one of community, or both? Both -- can't do one without the other. As Alex points out you can't enjoy the benefits of the community unless that community can financially sustain itself. We try to be honest with that -- we have to make money or we won't exist. People respect that -- we all need to earn a living. Best of luck! Kelly Brown Office Space Coworking http://www.officespacecoworking.com --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ 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 -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
