What I would say is this is an evolving model that has many variations and I would contend that no one person has the magic formula. This evolution will head in multiple directions, as is already apparent. That to me means there is room for multiple approaches to supporting freelancers, entrepreneurs and start-ups. Our city lacks an effective EDO (public or private), so that creates an opportunity for someone else to step-in (or step up). I spent thirty years in middle management in corporate America with all its office politics. One of the things I really appreciate about the coworking community is the ability to share, discuss, debate...
On Mar 4, 10:26 am, Derek Neighbors <[email protected]> wrote: > Jack, > > It's disingenuous to say we were "fortunate to get a nice grant from his > municipality". Partially, because it is not a grant and secondly because > there was no "luck or fortune" involved. There were years of hard work > positioning the idea and putting the right formula and concept together. > Significant capital and time was invested on our side to put things into > place. My point, is that not all ED are lame, most of them are at least > willing to listen. If you understand the market, resources and how to > position correctly it goes a long way. > > We are currently working with cities around the world to use the model and > concepts we have built. I suspect that we will get "fortunate" again > several times this year. > > -- > Derek Neighbors > Gangplank > > > > On Fri, Mar 4, 2011 at 7:37 AM, Jack <[email protected]> wrote: > > Jonathan, > > I understand where you are coming from and I concur. Not every > > municipality "gets it." Derek was fortunate to get a nice grant from > > his municipality, but many cities and towns do not have a clue about > > the economic benefits of coworking, both from a direct and indirect > > (impact on commercial real estate) basis. I also agree that EDCs are > > used to seeing business plans and talking about business incubators, > > so when they are exposed to something they are not familiar with, you > > get resistance. > > > I would be interested in getting a copy of your presentation. We are > > opening a coworking facility in Prescott Arizona starting with a soft > > opening tour on March 24. I used to be the mayor here and at some > > point I intend to update the current city council on what we are > > doing. See our blog athttp://launchpadprescott.wordpress.com/for > > information on what we are up to. > > > On Mar 3, 1:07 pm, Jonathan Yankovich <[email protected]> > > wrote: > > > We recently had an opportunity to present to the Wisconsin State > > > Economic Development and Housing Authority which is a pretty big group > > > of people focused on economic development across the state of > > > Wisconsin. One of the slides contained the following, reposted here > > > for the benefit of others: > > > > *Why invest in Coworking?* > > > > Coworking benefits its members... > > > > - Zero-risk space to work independently, start real businesses > > > - Instant collaboration between entrepreneurs, creative class, > > > academics > > > - Accelerated business and professional development > > > - Network (local linked in, supply chain, industry sector, bus. > > > Development) > > > > Coworking benefits Commercial Real Estate... > > > > - Professional membership increases nearby office & retail value > > > - Groups form increasing demand for dedicated office spaces (reduce > > > vacancy and incubate/generate future tenants) > > > - Low impact on parking, CAM, and low need for improvements > > > > Coworking benefits the Broader Economy... > > > > - Increases the creation of establishments via reduced risk & capitol > > > - Develops workforce via lower barrier to professional engagement > > > - Grassroots product development accelerates technology transfer > > > - Attracts and retains graduates & creative class professionals > > > - Connects Private Sector with Academia, ED Resources > > > > Link to presentation: > >https://docs.google.com/present/edit?id=0AQEwrcOYnrMAZGN4ajlmbXBfMTUw... > > > Anyone interested in using the material from this presentation is > > > welcome to. Attribution would be nice but isn't required - and I'd be > > > interested in hearing about your efforts. My email is > > > [email protected] .) > > > -- > > 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.- Hide quoted text - > > - Show quoted text - -- 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.
