Bang-on response, Raines. /ah indyhall.org coworking in philadelphia
On Fri, Jul 23, 2010 at 12:09 PM, Raines Cohen <[email protected]> wrote: > Comments embedded below. > > On Fri, Jul 23, 2010 at 7:42 AM, ruyoung <[email protected]> wrote: > >> >> Well, it's certainly happening right here in our back yard now. Two >> employees of a large bank just walked into our space and said that >> they are opening a coworking facility at a new location that is a 8min >> walk from our door. > > > Congratulations! I really mean that. Until now, you've had to do all the > work yourself of local market development, explaining the term, outreach, > and so on. Now, you'll have an established business, one even trusted in > some circles that otherwise wouldn't pay attention to what you're doing, > doing the hardest part for you. Once someone "gets it" about coworking (and > in the case of a larger business, gets approval from management) and perhaps > tries it in their space, they'll be much easier to get into yours. > > >> They will have their bank on the ground level and >> a separate coworking space on the second level. Meeting rooms, event >> space, hot desks, participate in the visa program, the works. >> > > I've noticed a certain trend of banks and other longtime "old-school" > institutions having surplus ex-office space upstairs as they > consolidate/automate/slim down, sometimes becoming coworking; for example, > CubeSpace in Portland, OR; a local Oakland community bank in Oakland, CA > (never opened as a space, but they were exploring it, and sub-leasing using > conventional office-rental models). And the shrinking of the San Francisco > Chronicle (and outsourcing printing) led to the 5M project which includes > The Hub coworking (already quite full, within a month of opening) and soon a > hacker space. > > I was open minded when they first walked in, thinking maybe there >> could be a way to make this work, but in the end I didn't believe a >> word they said about how they want to help the community. > > > And if you don't believe it, why should anybody else? Just because they can > talk a good line, doesn't mean they can deliver in the way you can. > > While they >> may still attract a different crowd, they are co-opting the word >> coworking, using it as a marketing tool to reach more banking clients >> and strengthen existing clients, > > > If a bank wants to attract and retain small business clients (and keep > their business as it grows), then it is a good thing for it to be in the > business of running incubator spaces and helping those clients succeed. > > and every dollar they earn takes away >> from the rest of us. > > > I fundamentally disagree. This "zero-sum-game" approach only holds true if > there is a fixed market size for coworking. In my observation of spaces so > far, this has not been the case. In general (and this may not hold true > forever), the more coworkers you have in an area, the more salespeople you > have for the concept. > > >> Our current biggest competitor in town doesn't >> need to care because they just got a $4million dollar loan from the >> city to buy their next building. > > > It seems like they need to care a lot more since they now have to run a > sufficiently-profitable business to pay off $4 million in debt over the next > x years. > > >> It's the rest of us (including the >> spaces that essentially do coworking but that don't brand themselves >> as coworking) that have to worry about how this is going to affect our >> bottom line. And if this affects our bottom line, then we can't be as >> great a resource to the freelance community. >> > > It might be worth looking at how much of the resource is a matter of > dollars invested, and how much comes from your community organizing, and > from community members, coworkers helping each other. If you're working the > social aspect and creating a learning community, you'll remain a destination > of choice. > > And for us in particular, it really stings that they will be so close. >> > > Congratulations, you're now in the coworking district! And your business > plan/location has been validated. That could be useful if you're seeking > additional investment. > > Seriously, look at car dealers. There's reasons they cluster together - > because that's where the customers are. And people then go there because > they know they have a choice. > > In the end, I told them that they will be doing a disservice to the >> coworking community if they proceed, and if they really want to help >> the community, they should go back to their management and tell them >> that they are making a mistake, that they should be investing in/ >> offering grants to independent coworking facilities instead and offer >> services or discounts or training sessions or something to our >> members, but that moving forward with opening a coworking facility of >> their own is, quite simply, wrong. >> > > It shouldn't be either/or. If they're serious about building coworking as a > line of business, they'll invest in getting folks working with you, because > you will reach different types of coworkers in different ways than they can, > more affordably and with greater relational integrity than they could > accomplish on their own. > > I still maintain that competition is healthy, but this is not fair >> competition. > > > Agreed on this point, except not the way you think. You have a totally > unfair advantage over them, IF you and your community choose to engage in > that fashion. But rather than see it as a threat, consider it an > opportunity. > > So what do your members think? That's what matters. > > Raines Cohen, Coworking Coach <http://www.CoworkingCoach.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]<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.
