I should add: Citizen Space started out in a 1500ft2 space and it took about a year to stabilize. Now at 3500ft2 and over a year into it, we aren't quite stabilized. Rebecca had asked about spaces from 4-10k ft2. I don't know what Coworking space across the country is bigger than 5k ft2 (other than Caroline Collective), but that's a huge space to take on and fill to pay the rent.
Even at $24/ft2 (the low end of SF real estate) = $8000/month for 4,000ft2 - $20,000/month for 10kft2 Full disclosure...even at 3,500ft2, we can only really fit in 20 desks. We are rarely at capacity. Our desks go for $425/month and we have, on average, 15 filled at a time - that's $6375/month income. Even with a HUGE break from our landlord, we don't have much left over at the end of the month to go to bills, savings, promotions, staff, etc. And remember, we've been a pioneer space - meaning most people know about it and we've been around since 2006 (almost 4 years now! omg). We've been written up in multiple articles. People speak highly of us. Events happen there all of the time. Etc. And we still struggle month to month. I don't want to discourage people from starting coworking spaces ever, but I'd encourage people to support the existing ones before seeing this as a good space to go into for financial benefit. This movement - to me - is about creating community spaces (necessary to the growth of our local small businesses), not about becoming real estate moguls. T On Sun, Mar 21, 2010 at 5:04 PM, Heather <[email protected]> wrote: > Tara - Thanks for this grounding perspective, specifically on starting > a coworking space being a labor of love not a profitable venture, and > that it isn't a "build it and they will come" type of venture. > > Like Rebecca, I've also been "tossing around" the idea of starting a > coworking space, but in the far north suburbs of Chicago, because > there simply isn't a facility like that up here. I've started a group > called Envision Lake County with the thought that we'd getogether to > collaborate once in a while at restaurants & coffee shops, and maybe a > community would grow out of it that would all want to go in on a > space. What you said validates some of my thought, and makes me feel > more secure in slowing down the process of securing space early/ > quickly. I was looking to lease some space soon, thinking that "if I > build it they will come", but I realize now I need to be more patient > to ensure I don't make a bad business decision. > > So again, thanks for these thoughts - very grounding and real, and I > appreciate it. > -Heather > > On Mar 20, 5:05 pm, Tara Hunt <[email protected]> wrote: > > My question would be: > > > > What is precipitating your need to start another space in SF? > > > > There are at least 3 in SOMA: Citizen Space (mine), PariSoma, Sandbox > Suites > > - two in Dogpatch: Hat Factory and Felicity 's new place - at least one > in > > the Mission... > > > > Not to mention the dozens of coffee shops that people are still very fond > of > > that seem to suit them well. > > > > If this is a business decision, let me tell you as a fellow SF coworking > > space owner (and one of the pioneers), this is a labour of love, not a > > profitable venture. Citizen Space is now fairly sustainable, but it's > been > > 3.5 years and a great deal of work and community building. I also don't > > expect to get my $25k+ I've personally invested over the years back. > > > > If this is a need decision, fabulous, but it's better to have the need > > yourself first and notice a community around you that is seriously > lacking a > > space. Coworking is not a build it and they will come situation. It's a > > build a community and then a space may emerge (or may not) out of it. > > > > I don't want to make assumptions, but have you visited and worked/spent > time > > in any of the established coworking spaces in SF? I'd recommend trying > them > > all. We did a coworking space crawl in 2007 that was awesome. Rented a > > biodiesel bus to hop around. > > > > Tara > > > > typed choppily on my Nexus One.... > > > > On Mar 20, 2010 3:43 PM, "Rebecca Brian" <[email protected]> > wrote: > > > > Hello! > > > > Thank you for welcoming me into your group. I'm in "catalyst" stage of > > launching a coworking space in San Francisco. I'd love some advice on > > some key questions if you have a moment. > > > > One of the most important things to figure out is where - multiple > > locations already exist in SoMA, with more on the way. One is in the > > Dogpatch. One in Berkeley. Emerging locations in the Mission. > > > > I put together a little poll to get your feedback - where needs it the > > most? Downtown where the clients are? In one of the outer > > neighborhoods like the Sunset? I'd love feedback, or feel free to > > answer the poll directly at the blog we set up:www.whiteboardsuites.com. > > > > The second most important after location is, how big? The bigger it > > is, the more potential profit, but the largest capital raise needed. > > The smaller it is, the easier to get off the ground, but less room for > > profit without expanding. What is ideal? 4k sqft? 6k? 10k? > > > > Thank you for any wise words. > > > > Best, > > > > Rebecca > > > > -- > > 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]> > <coworking%[email protected]<coworking%[email protected]> > > > > . > > For more options, visit this group athttp:// > 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]<coworking%[email protected]> > . > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en. > > -- tara 'missrogue' hunt Company: Shwowp (http://www.shwowp.com) Book: The Whuffie Factor (http://www.thewhuffiefactor.com) Blog: HorsePigCow: Marketing Uncommon (http://horsepigcow.com) Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/missrogue phone: 514-679-2951 -- 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.
