Hey Kelly, one thing to think about - and others can chime in here - is that if you expect to break even or turn a profit, then you're taking on a new full time job. Embrace the business side (and the community building side, and the marketing side, and hospitality side, and every other side!). It's basically a startup that you're putting everything into. I hear a lot of people talk about wanting to start a coworking space because *they* want to work there, but the reality is you're splitting your time between two full time jobs if you do that. There are some things that might help offset this and other's can throw out some input there.
So ask yourself this: is building a coworking space really what you need? If your design business is the primary focus, can you reduce cost/risk by sharing/renting space from an existing company or firm that has a cool culture and an open desk? There have been several people in the south bay talking about coworking in the past, so I'm sure there's at least some community desire there. On Aug 15, 12:28 pm, Kelly Sims <[email protected]> wrote: > Hi Everyone, > > Long time lurker here. :) > > I have decided to try opening a coworking space in the South Bay area of Los > Angeles. I want to create a space that welcomes people in, inspires them to > create, and helps them flourish in their chosen profession. > > A little about me: I am a freelance web and graphic designer. I’ve been a > solo shop for 8 years now, and following the coworking scene for about 3 > years. I have been thinking about starting this thing for a few years now, > but fear always kept me from doing it. I recently decided that is idiotic, > and so I’m going to take a stab at this. If it fails, I’ll know I tried. If > I don’t try, I’ve failed. > > To do this, I’m going to need a great deal of help. I’m not a businessman, > nor do I want to be. I will need help in planning and running the space. I’m > creating the space because I want to work there myself, surrounded by my > local community members. > > I have been poring over the Google Coworking Group the past few weeks, as > well as researching spaces around the world. I have started talking to a few > smart people that have offered to help me in their own unique ways. But I > could use a few tips from the community as well. > > I would like to start reaching out to locals and begin discussing this. I > want the space to be built on community, so I feel it’s important to start > there. Any other suggestions would be so wonderful! > > Kelly -- 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.
