We're excited as well. But, we still know we need to be careful. We have almost 500 new agents just in a 10 mile radius that we are targeting. I can see how it can quickly become a "real estate" community. However, in using your approach, Alex, we can promote the true essence of coworking and draw in other professions and skill sets. Hopefully, with the agents being "new" their professional circles still include people "less like them" who will also find coworking an exciting concept.
We are planning to start our "Work Date" tour in a couple of weeks. We'll meet up once a week in a different spot probably for a 6 to 8 week rotation. Each of the three locations is in a different direction from the space but close enough for those who grasp the vision to "follow" us. I want to focus on developing the coworking group while at the same time giving them taste of true collaboration. I'm still working on that part, but it should be fine once we get in the flow of things. :-) Toni On Mar 18, 6:25 pm, Alex Hillman <[email protected]> wrote: > After this response, I temper my previous answer of "we learn more from > people less like us" to include the caveat "but everybody can benefit from > coworking principals when applied with thought and intent". > > You said so much in this reply that shows the thoughtfulness and intent > behind your approach. I'm truly loving what you've described. > > Excited to see this unfold, keep the posts like this flowing! > > -Alex > > /ah > indyhall.org > coworking in philadelphia > > On Sun, Mar 18, 2012 at 7:03 PM, OC Houston > <[email protected]>wrote: > > > > > > > > > Jerome, KW is a "traditional" brokerage and they do provide desk space > > for agents. With the growing popularity of 100% firms many new agents > > think they can keep all of their commissions. They soon find out that > > 100% of zero is a really less than zero when you figure in the out-of- > > pocket marketing, "start-up", and vehicle expenses. Most 100% firms > > don't offer the training a new agent needs and most brokers won't say > > that because they make their money by stacking licenses. If a broker > > has 1500 agents paying $175 a year or 800 agents paying $175 PLUS $95 > > a month with no expectation of any real value then why do anything > > more than hang licenses and collect fees? It's sad and it's hurting > > our industry. I'm belong to a social networking group of agents and > > some of the questions posted by even "experienced" agents should have > > been answered by the agent's broker...in some cases years ago. > > > The way I envision the coworking community, a new agent can have a > > membership AND receive group coaching for the same price as being a > > regular coworking member. They don't have to change brokerages. When > > they complete the program they will be in better position to have 100% > > of something to keep. > > > Beyond this, as the community begins to grow the agents can > > collaborate with other business minded people and use ideas from other > > industries to build their own business models. The market is saturated > > with cookie cutter agents. I've always had more success with out-of- > > the-box business models than with chasing buyers and sellers. I > > accredit this to my diverse background in various industries and my > > husband's "third eye" as a graphics and marketing guru. > > > So, while the Keller Williams and Re/MAX firms exist there is a great > > need for what I envision. Although most 100% firms provide conference > > rooms and workstations there's no sense of community and the spirit of > > competition is often thick. Very few agents utilize the space because > > there's no other benefit to being there. > > > Toni > > > On Mar 18, 3:49 pm, Jerome Chang <[email protected]> wrote: > > > Don't some of these brokers' offices already share offices in a > > sub-tenant kind of way? I designed a Keller Williams' office that > > consisted of micro-micro offices for agents who rent from the lead broker. > > > > Jerome > > > ______________ > > > BLANKSPACES > > > "work FOR yourself, not BY yourself" > > > >www.blankspaces.com > > > ph: 323.330.9505 | 5405 Wilshire Blvd (2 blocks west of La Brea) Los > > Angeles, CA 90036 > > > > On Mar 18, 2012, at 1:37 PM, OC Houston wrote: > > > > > Great insight! I am a licensed real estate agent and had planned to > > > > start my own firm targeting new agents specifically because training > > > > is lacking in that area. Then, I realized that while I want to focus > > > > on training and mentoring I don't necessarily need a brokerage for > > > > that, and having one would actually limit my reach to only MY agents. > > > > > We've taken Alex's advice regarding building a community before > > > > "cutting the ribbon" so we're starting with what we know. I know there > > > > is a need for training for new real estate agents. But, that training > > > > must include basic business principles which is common to most start- > > > > ups, entrepreneurs and small business owners. I figure if we start > > > > were we are we can grow from there. I just don't want to get "stuck" > > > > in a place that will inhibit innovation and creativity. > > > > > So, we may be able to start by targeting real estate agents and/or > > > > graphic artists (my husband's field) as long as we continue to focus > > > > on diversifying the community. > > > > > Toni > > > > > On Mar 18, 2:13 pm, "[email protected]" > > > > <[email protected]> wrote: > > > >> While it depends on your definition of industry, based on our > > > >> definition there are a lot of industry specific coworking facilities. > > > >> In SF area alone examples include The Hub (social entrepreneurs), > > > >> Writers Grotto (writers and media), Mission*Social (social > > > >> entrepreneurs), Biocurious (biosciences) and many others. > > > > >> Also, many of the coworking spaces in the SF area are effectively tech > > > >> industry spaces. It's just the nature of the bay area. And > > > >> obviously, there are many vertical spaces elsewhere in the US and > > > >> world. The rapid growth of collaborative kitchens across the US is > > > >> another example. > > > > >> We see these spaces as industry mini-clusters. Industrial clusters > > > >> are groups of similar or related firms in a defined geographic area > > > >> that share common markets, technologies and worker skill needs, and > > > >> which are often linked by buyer-seller relationships. Firms and > > > >> workers in industry clusters benefit from the advantages that a shared > > > >> base of sophisticated, industry specific knowledge brings. > > > > >> Silicon Valley in technology, New York in financial services and > > > >> Detroit in automobiles are famous examples of large clusters. But > > > >> small industrial clusters are also common. We think many of the > > > >> vertically oriented coworking spaces exhibit many of the same benefits > > > >> as industrial clusters. > > > > >> We've done a lot of work looking at coworking spaces that serve social > > > >> entrepreneurs (we're hoping to get a paper out on this soon). We've > > > >> found that social entrepreneurs in spaces catering to social firms > > > >> collaborate more and report higher levels of business networking than > > > >> social entrepreneurs that are members of other types of coworking > > > >> spaces. We think this is due to the cluster effect. > > > >> Having said that, we agree with Alex that diversity of skills, > > > >> backgrounds, views and opinions are important. Clusters achieve this > > > >> by having a mix of participants from across the industry supply and > > > >> demand chains. Large clusters also benefit from the diverse nature of > > > >> most broad industries. > > > > >> Coworking facilities achieve this by having people from different > > > >> professions (designers, programmers, lawyers, etc.) and different > > > >> skill sets. This brings strong weak tie benefits (yet another paper > > > >> we're trying to finish). > > > > >> But we also think vertical coworking spaces could, at least in some > > > >> cases, add additional value by bringing together people that are > > > >> diverse by profession/skill set, but serve the same broad industry. > > > > >> Obviously, little work has been done on this topic. A lot more needs > > > >> to be done before drawing strong conclusions. > > > > >> Steve > > > > >> On Mar 16, 1:11 pm, OC Houston <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > >>> Does anyone have an industry specific coworking space? Or, does that > > > >>> defeat the purpose of the concept? > > > > >>> Toni > > > > > -- > > > > 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 athttp:// > > 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. -- 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]. 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