Nope that's perfect, thanks Will! On Wednesday, December 5, 2012, Will Bennis, Locus Workspace wrote:
> Hi Alex, > > That 70/31 number was referring to total member capacity (~ 70 members) > and total desks (~31). Those numbers are based on the space being pretty > close to maximum threshold already (every desk being used) with a little > over 60 members. Actually, the day I wrote that post was the busiest day > we've had, with every desk being used, and we only have 61 members, so I > have to adjust the ratio down a little bit. The 31 desks refers to the > number of comfortable sitting spaces we have, not including the couches, > the kitchen, or the meeting room. We *could* have a few more desks, but it > feels pretty packed with 31 people working here at one time. > > Let me know if there was something more you were trying to get at! > > Best, > Will > > On Tuesday, December 4, 2012 2:34:15 PM UTC+1, Alex Hillman wrote: >> >> Beautiful summary Will, and I can confirm that I've seen these patterns >> play out dozens of times, including a visitor making unsolicited >> recommendations about changing your business model ;) >> >> I don't *think* I missed it, but do you have a feel for how much of your >> total capacity you're using with 70 members and 31 desks? Could you add >> more desks, more people, or both? What is your threshold based on? >> >> -Alex >> >> -- >> /ah >> indyhall.org >> coworking in philadelphia >> pre-order my new eBook, " <http://book.businessofcommunity.com/?email>the >> business of community <http://book.businessofcommunity.com/?ref=email>" >> >> On Dec 4, 2012, at 5:32 AM, "Will Bennis, Locus Workspace" < >> [email protected]> wrote: >> >> Hi Matthew, >> >> 2012 numbers at the end. >> >> I realize your question is about membership types and how they break >> down, but much of what's below will refer to member:desk ratios, since I >> suspect that's a big part of what you're trying to figure out. >> >> Just to echo what Alex and Tom wrote, but in a slightly different way: It >> depends on your members (Alex) and on your space (Tom). "Your space" >> doesn't just mean the type of desks you offer (hot desks only or anchor >> desks only), but also on how it's conceived and marketed and every choice >> you make (desk sizes, membership-type pricing incentives, access hours, >> gender ratios, types of events, quality and variety of meeting room space, >> whether monitors are available or can be left in the space, what type of >> work the founding members do, neighborhood, etc.). It also depends on what >> country you're in and the cultural norms/expectations in that country. >> >> These effects don't just amount to rounding error. I read an article >> about a successful writer's space in New York (maybe Paragraph, but I don't >> remember; it was a long time ago) and it said they had 30 desks and 300 >> members, where all members could use the space to write during opening >> hours. I was a member of a different writer's space that was open to >> freelancers and had maybe 15 desks, and it was usually empty or with just >> one or two members in a beautiful space in a great Chicago neighborhood for >> just $90/month with 24/7 access: I'd guess they were getting better than a >> 10:1 ratio, though I don't know how many members they had. Though from the >> perspective of a coworking space for freelancers, other than the lack of >> regular members to give me a sense of community, it was as nice a place to >> sit and work as most coworking spaces I've been in. A 10:1 member:desk >> ratio! I've never heard of a coworking space oriented toward freelancers >> having anything in that ballpark. Presumably writers joined these space >> largely for features other than a great space to sit and write. Even though >> at least the latter space was welcoming to non-writers. >> >> Our space has all hot desks, and originally we only offered full-time >> membership at a very low cost (1500 Kc, about $75 / month). I thought >> there'd be a lot of people joining who just needed the space occasionally >> and who wanted to be part of the community, and I was hoping I'd get a 4:1 >> member desk ratio, in the spirit of that writer's space, but recognizing my >> members would mostly be freelancers working more hours in the space. As it >> turned out, potential and actual members mostly pegged the value of >> full-time use at the price I was asking ($75) and wanted less expensive >> memberships if they were only going to use it part time. People who needed >> the space full-time were joining, and other people weren't, and I was not >> getting maybe a 1.5:1 member:desk ratio. I doubled the prices for full time >> membership and introduced part-time memberships at slightly lower costs >> (still more than the 1500 Kc). It worked great. People who didn't need >> full-time often still signed up for it because they could see the extra >> value in it relative to the part-time memberships, so I ended up getting a >> better member/desk ratio even for just the full-time members than I >> originally had been! >> >> Recently a visitor to my space recommended that I radically change my >> business model. He described essentially exactly what I had originally >> tried (and that hadn't worked for me), and then proceeded to tell me about >> a thriving Amsterdam space that offered only full-time memberships at about >> $90/month that more than a hundred members even though it only had about 20 >> places to sit (these are ballpark numbers, I don't remember what he >> specifically said). Go figure (no a members-only hash bar was not part of >> the design :). >> >> So here are the numbers for Locus Workspace in the Czech Republic right >> now, keeping in mind there's a large effect of historical options (a big >> portion of my members joined when Full Time membership was the only option) >> and my pricing structure rewards full-time membership: >> >> *Anchor* (Full-Time access with your own desk: CZK 6000 = ~ $300): 0 >> members >> [But I don't include the price on the website, just the option, and I >> generally sell the virtues of not getting it to people interested:] >> >> *Full-Time* (24/7 access, no permanent desk: CZK 3600 = ~$180): 34 >> members (55.7%) >> >> *10-Day / month *(same as Full-Time, but only 10 days use of the space >> per month: CZK 2400 = ~$120): 16 members (26.2%) >> >> *Evenings & Weekends *(from 6pm to 9am, plus all day during the >> weekends: CZK 1800 = ~$90): 1 member (1.6%)< >> >> -- > Visit this forum on the web at http://discuss.coworking.com > --- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "Coworking" group. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out. > > > -- /ah indyhall.org coworking in philadelphia -- Visit this forum on the web at http://discuss.coworking.com --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Coworking" group. 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