We are an example of an organization that started with a rental model and then "graduated" to an ownership model. We rent 24,000 sq ft and own 36,000 sq ft (remember, our model is a bit different than a traditional coworking space - we include private offices). Interestingly enough, our third space will be another rental - 10,000 sq ft. I love renting - lots of freedom. But, we felt vulnerable (what if our great landlord sold the building?) and the issue of equity was a concern ($500k per yer to rent?).
To raise funds, we issued a "Community Bond" - we took investments from people and organizations willing to support our work - and they will be paid back with interest. The story of our Community Bond can be found here: http://socialinnovation.ca/communitybonds. BUT - this model is specific both to our nonprofit classification and our jurisdiction (Ontario, Canada). Still, there may be some interesting bits here. It's hard to make a hard and fast rule given the dynamism of this field and the variety of spaces, but I'm certainly happy we started with a rental space. It gave us a change to build our brand, hone our systems and discover what we wanted to be, before assuming ownership. Also - it's worth adding we would have never gotten the mortgage rate - or investment dollars - if we couldn;t prove a sound business model. Eli Malinsky Centre for Social Innovation Toronto, Canada -- 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.
