Nicely said. Thank you. Jacob
--- Office Nomads - Individuality without Isolation http://www.officenomads.com - (206) 323-6500 On Thu, Mar 4, 2010 at 9:07 AM, Devin <[email protected]> wrote: > Laban, this is not a conglomerate; it's a movement. Coworking will > prosper with or without coworking.com: there is no threat of 'losing > everything.' > > This thread has veered away from an important issue: how will this > community fund it's needs. The purchase of coworking.com was well > executed and should serve as the foundation for developing community > fundraising best practices. > > Community Fundraising Procedure > [The Purchase of Coworking.com] > > 1. An individual conceives a project idea. > [Alex decides he wants to buy coworking.com] > 2. He/she articulates the project idea to the community. > [Alex informs the Coworking Google Group that he wants to buy > Coworking.com.] > 3. Community provides feedback on the idea. > [Community tells Alex it's interested.] > 4. He/she estimates the amount needed for the project. > [Alex figures out how much he needs to raise to buy the the domain.] > 5. He/she solicits the community for the amount the project needs. > [Alex solicits the community via the Coworking Google Group.] > 5. Community donates funds into the account specified in the > solicitation. > [Alex asks people to send him funds to buy the domain.] > 6. The individual keeps the donors and community updated about the > project's progress. > [Alex provides periodic reports on his progress to the Coworking > Google Group.] > 7. The individual provides proof of project completion. > [Alex invites us all to coworking.com] > > I think this serves as a good model that we can improve and articulate > more clearly. > > Full disclosure: I run beex.org, a community fundraising platform that > individuals can use to raise money for nonprofits. We're also opening > a coworking space. It's my intention to bring coworking and the > nonprofit sector together. Nonprofits can provide our movement with > tax-free fundraising vehicles. We can provide them with support, > space and paradigm shifting ways to organize. Exciting stuff. > > On Mar 3, 12:19 pm, Laban Johnson <[email protected]> wrote: > > I find it interesting, if not ironic, that the idea of taking an extra > step > > to protect yourself to allow for growth would evoke such a strong > reaction. > > Obviously there's a story there. > > > > Speaking not only as your friend, Alex, Tara and others, but also as risk > > manager for a $7B global conglomerate with hundreds of legal structures > in > > several countries which has existed and prospered for 176 years (with > *all > > kinds *of liabilities, present, past and future!) - as unpleasant the > > thought of doing something now to prevent losing everything later may be, > > until the legal system changes, *until the unpleasant reality changes*, > you > > HAVE to do better than "the ostrich defense" to protect and defend your > > assets, limit your liabilities and cap your exposures - its *one of the > many > > * costs of doing business (for profit or not!), and to shirk that duty is > > irresponsible, period. > > > > There are many reasons why most small businesses fail. What kinds of > things > > *aren't* they doing? What business exists without risk? Mitigate it > before > > it is incurred. > > > > If nothing else, all websites should have a very good Terms of Service > and > > Privacy Policy as a first line of defense. > > > > One of my favorite quotes: If it can't hurt and it might help, it should > be > > done. > > > > Just free advice, I'm not charging for this free consultation. :) > > > > Laban > > -- > 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]<coworking%[email protected]> > . > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en. > > -- 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.
