our space in pittsburgh breaks down like this: 1025 rent 150 electric 150 coffee (we get really nice coffee) 100 cleaning 40 gas 120 internet 40 water delivery
we usually have between 10 and 15 members paying 150 a month, and a few people paying less. This is our first year being open and I paid back my initial 3000 dollar investment on starting the space up. I've also had enough money to get a new refrigerator, a projector, and a few other nice to have things. On Thu, Dec 13, 2012 at 3:58 PM, Alex Hillman <[email protected]> wrote: > The real answer to your question is in knowing your market, not know what > works for us. The reason we've made it work is because we took the time to > build our community, who they were and what they wanted, and they > effectively answered all of the questions that you have and more. > > I agree with Jerome that there isn't a perfect ratio, and what you offer > leading to success will depend on your community and the demand. We have > zero private offices and are profitable. > > The "secret sauce" to coworking business models is to strike the appropriate > balance between offering flexibility without creating high-turnover > memberships. Month-to-month memberships are very attractive to coworking > prospects compared to office rentals, but if people come in simply to rent > cheap workspace month-to-month, you're going to end up losing a ton of money > to turnover. > > Every community has a different blend of full time, flex, offices, events, > and other income streams. The difference isn't the business plan, it's the > community. Build that first, and the business plan will be informed by the > people. > > I have a ton of recommended reading that I've collected, including business > & marketing stuff, over here: > http://masterclass.indyhall.org/recommended-reading.html > > > -Alex > > -- > /ah > indyhall.org > coworking in philadelphia > pre-order my new eBook, "the business of community" > > On Dec 13, 2012, at 3:49 PM, Jerome Chang <[email protected]> wrote: > > Sorry, that kind of business plan totally varies for everyone. I believe > Alex knows more about a few popular templates that have been discussed in > these group threads. However, note that what you're asking for is to some > for-profit ventures, their "secret sauce." In general, simply managing a > facility is just totally different than whatever your previous business > might have been. > > As an architect and space operator, I can say that I don't have a formula > for office:desk ratio. I will say that I like having a lot of offices > because they are quite popular, but by no means do offices ever outnumber > desks or other open workspaces. I will also say that offices are NOT the > largest revenue driver for me, if you use a $/sf metric. They can initially > seem to be as an aggregate $ amount but not $/sf. Alex will probably agree > with me as his desk-only model proves that case. > > Alex - chime in please. > > > Jerome > ______________ > BLANKSPACES > "work FOR yourself, not BY yourself" > > www.blankspaces.com > 5405 Wilshire Blvd (2 blocks west of La Brea) Los Angeles, CA 90036 > 323.330.9505 (office) > > On Dec 13, 2012, at 10:38 AM, Alison Baker <[email protected]> wrote: > > Alex and Jerome, thanks for your responses. 30% of rent (which includes > parking, cleaning services and utilities) to gross revenue is what we're > projecting so it's good to get confirmation on that. Would either of you > also be able to point me to a business plan for opening a new co-working > space? It would be very helpful to understand all the other various > operating costs we should plan for. > > Also, and I know this depends on a lot of variables (e.g., membership terms, > available square footage, population of market area, etc), but in your > experience, is there a percentage of reserved private offices vs communal > desk space that seems to be a profitable formula? We don't want to lean too > heavily on private offices at the expense of communal tables and therefore > defeat a primary draw/essence of a co-working space, but reserved private > offices do appear to be the largest revenue driver (at least on paper) for a > profitable co-working space. Any insight would be appreciated! Thanks > again. > > > > On Wednesday, December 12, 2012 4:22:14 PM UTC-5, Alison Baker wrote: >> >> We're in the planning stages for the opening of a co-share space. I was >> wondering what percentage of projected gross revenue should be devoted to >> rent. A "traditional" or "standard" percentage for commercial leases is 10% >> of projected gross revenue, but I think that's really low for a co-share >> business which isn't overhead intensive like a retailer or service provider, >> e.g., software developer. I'm looking at leasing 3,000 square feet, which in >> my target area runs around $20/square foot. This translates to about $5,000 >> in monthly rent. Using the "traditional" figure of 10% of gross revenues be >> devoted to rent, I'd have to generate $50,000/month in revenue, an >> unrealistic figure. We want this venture to be a profitable enterprise so >> that I could make a living running the space at some point. So keeping this >> in mind, I would greatly appreciate it if someone could please provide a >> realistic percentage of rent to projected gross revenue that I should use in >> drawing up my business plan. And by they way, I'd love to see any a >> sample/template business plans you recommend or would care to forward of >> your own (redacting any confidential information of course). Thanks! > > > -- > 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. > > > > > > -- > 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. > > > > > -- > 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. > > -- 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.
