Hey Jack, Thanks for your detailed response, I really appreciate it.
Right now I am looking to write something which is more of a helpful article, rather than anything too scholarly. I understand that when it comes to opening up a coworking space many factors (location;time;size of community etc.) will effect how much it is going to cost to set up. I would like to give the would-be coworking space founder a simple idea of what kind of costs are expected when opening up a coworking space. It is always great to have some examples from people who have experience doing it and I thank you, Alex and Blair for giving them. I did not initially consider ongoing costs for marketing and sales related activities, but I guess for coworking spaces which are not founded on an already established community they must be pretty important too. Did you have a community ready when you started or did you have to build it? On Jan 31, 11:29 pm, Jack Speranza <[email protected]> wrote: > Hi Michael -- > > I suspect the responses you're going to get on this will be wide > ranging -- and they should be, as start-up costs will very much be a > function of the location, size and objectives of each space. Also, > you're going to need to translate the info you get into "apples to > apples" comparisons for the data to be valid... for example, many > folks who don't come at this from a business / accounting background > will attribute both capital and operating expenses to "costs." > > In terms of my own space, I have chosen to bootstrap my endeavor. > Consequently, my initial capital investment was limited, and I am > using operational revenues to pay for additional capital needs as the > community grows. I did not have to undertake any leasehold > improvements in my space. A portion of my furnishings and equipment > were cannibalized from another business, and IKEA is my friend for > what I have opted to purchase. My total investment for capital items > thus far is under $1,750 for a 1,000 square foot suburban space > outside of Boston that maxes out at 10 concurrent users. > > Do you consider ongoing "costs" for marketing and sales-related > activities part of the information you're looking to collect? If so, > then how would you like to measure these (annualized gross costs or in > some other fashion)? My pre-opening marketing expenses were very > limited -- about $250 for some flyers, brochures and digital ads. > > As of the end of January, my space will have been operating for 4 > months. In terms of operational performance, we're almost at break- > even (and even that's a bit misleading, as I haven't really been > marketing aggressively). > > Hope this is helpful. > > Jack > ---------------------------------------------- > Jack Speranza > Principal, Main Street Ventures > 15 Main Street, 2nd Floor > Hopkinton, MA 01748 > T: 508.858.5440 x101 > F: 508.858.5441 > Toll Free: 866.472.1035http://mainstreetventures.comhttp://zenbungalow.com > ---------------------------------------------- > > On Jan 30, 11:33 pm, Michael <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > > > > > > I was thinking about writing a blog article about the costs of > > starting a coworking space on my website and I thought what the hell? > > Why not just start a thread here and get actual feedback from people > > who have been through all this before. This way i can get some great > > material for a killer blog post and this can also be an informative > > thread for people who are thinking about opening their own coworking > > space. > > > So here are my questions for anyone who has started a coworking > > space : > > > 1)How much did it cost you to start your community coworking space? > > > 2)What was the cost breakdown? > > > 3)Were there any surprise costs which you never considered? > > > 4)If you has to do it again how would you spend differently? > > > 5)What were your smartest cost saving measures? > > > 6)What is your biggest on-going cost? > > > Please add any more questions you can think of! > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > > Advertise your coworking spaces for FREEhttp://www.myecodesk.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.
