Hi folks! Haven't been very active here lately, but eclau, the coworking space I started in Lausanne, has been doing well: I was recently able to build a not-too-shabby conference room in the back of the space (not easy to photograph, but http://www.flickr.com/photos/bunny/4716835802/) and we're going to celebrate the space's two year birthday in November.
I'd be interested in hearing what kind of LEGAL structure your coworking spaces have, and how it's working out for you. In the case of eclau, I'm the person who signed the lease and who is "the boss". I'm aware this makes for a pretty different atmosphere than a coworking space which is run, for example, as a non-profit. However, I'm very open to listening to the other coworkers (I think!) and encourage people to speak up if they have suggestions or issues. In the end, yes, I'm the one who makes decisions, and the space isn't a democracy, but I leave a huge amount of space for people to make themselves "at home". I recently discovered this was not working as well as I thought it was, when a few people complained that they couldn't feel at home because it was "my" space, and that there was no point in making suggestions as I could say no. (On the other hand, many people reacted to this internal "blow-up" by saying they really didn't see where the problem was and were perfectly happy with the way things were. So, I'm not /too/ worried.) I guess I'm struggling a bit to find a balance between my need to remain the "owner" of the vision for the space, the fact that I'm legally the tenant, and my desire to encourage coworkers to get more involved. Am I wanting the impossible, here? I'm looking forward to hearing your stories, bearing in mind that the legal issues may differ from country to country. Cheers Steph -- Espace Coworking Lausanne: http://eclau.ch | Genève: http://la-muse.ch Spécialiste en management de communautés & médias sociaux: http://www.sawi.com/fr/Nos_formations/SMCM web: http://stephanie-booth.com | blog: http://climbtothestars.org skype: steph-booth | cell: +41 78 625 44 74 | twitter: stephtara | AIM: Gummywabbit geotag: Lausanne, CH (GMT+1) | For the rest... Google me! -- 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.
