Chris made a really good point here, but I can tell you from my experience that you can create and build design a healthy coworking community space that doesn't require ALL of your time, or all of your time FOREVER.
It's a lot of work. It's a lot of hustle. But if you're the only one doing the work/hustle, you're probably missing out on the biggest advantages of coworking in the first place. Indy Hall was very much for myself initially. It quickly became a bigger mission, and a bigger project, as you suggested - but I never stopped working on client work. Around 2 year mark, I'd learned so much from starting Indy Hall that I realized that I could work on a whole new line of business from Indy Hall - as a member of Indy Hall and not just a co-founder - if I worked to give away operational responsibilities. A mix of dedicated members, and a single part time staff member, has had Indy Hall running and growing smoothly without being dependent on me for about 2 years now. I get to focus on the parts of Indy Hall that are interesting to me, and that I want to work on. That keeps me motivated, and leaves room for others to chip in, too. Now, I get to come to Indy Hall as a member, and don't worry when I'm not there for any reason. So yes - treat this like the business that it will very likely need to be in order to sustain. But know that it's not a life sentence, either :) -Alex /ah indyhall.org coworking in philadelphia On Wed, Aug 17, 2011 at 12:21 PM, Chris <[email protected]> wrote: > 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. > > -- 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.
