Congrats on the successes so far! > 1. losing some of the integrity/coherence of the physical space that > come from one person's vision for how it should look and feel > >
There's a difference between making it a free-for-all and encouraging people to contribute. There's also a continuum of contributions - from people making suggestions to people simply "doing things" and everything in between. No matter what, though, it requires leadership. This is different from saying "yes do that" and "no, don't do that" but instead, the ability to help people understand why or why not so that they may start making those decisions on their own with some alignment to your intentions. Most people will want to do things for themselves. Your job is to remind them that the things they want to do need to benefit everyone. That takes some time to sink in, but pays off big time. The hard part, of course, is communicating your intentions. For yourself, try going through an exercise like this: http://dangerouslyawesome.com/2012/04/the-virtues-of-indy-hall/ Share the results of that exercise with your members so they can get to understand, too. Have them contribute their own ideas as well, it'll help you trust their intentions and give you comfort in giving them some more freedom to create in the space. Finally, when you do have to say no (which will happen), try to make it a "no" that could become a "yes" if they aligned their efforts better with your values and virtues. Often times, when I tell someone why their idea wouldn't be good for Indy Hall, they can alter it in a way that it can be good for Indy Hall. > 2. finances... is there a fair way for me to be compensated, at least > in part, for some of the time I put into setting the space up and > getting it going - I took this on as a very bare-bones project with > just the basics, but still it has been a huge time investment finding > the right location, choosing a space with the right feeling, procuring > desks, table, chairs, wi-fi, printer, scanner, water, fridge, > microwave, doing some light carpentry, painting, and doing a lot of > negotiating on the rent, outreach, answering questions, etc.). > > There's nothing wrong with making money from your coworking space. Your members most likely don't expect you do be doing charity work for them. If you have to start making compromises to the community in order for you to draw money, though, you might end up with a murkier situation. It's still early, so it sounds like you've got a chance to get this figured out. Don't wait. If you want to make money for your time, build it in to your model - don't expect it to magically happen on its own. > 3. making sure that people can join the space without a requirement > that they take on coworking as another time-consuming project (people > for whom coworking is first and foremost a reliable work space, away > from other demands) > > It's always about choice. If you're setting up your space in a way that expects community members to contribute, make that clear up front and let people choose it for themselves - don't spring it on them later. If you make contributions part of the culture, rather than a requirement to join, you'll likely end up with stronger, longer-lasting contributions. At the end of the day, you can still call the shots while giving people the opportunity to contribute to the direction you're taking things. Don't dilute your own vision, share it with them and invite them in. For more ideas on how that works, check out this model: http://dangerouslyawesome.com/2008/12/a-roadmap-for-community-organization-and-mobilization-harvey-milk/ Good luck!! -Alex > > Thanks! > Vinci Daro > daviscoworking.blogspot.com (http://daviscoworking.blogspot.com) > > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "Coworking" group. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected] > (mailto:[email protected]). > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > [email protected] > (mailto:[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.
