That totally makes sense. FWIW, there's an argument that could be made that coworking helps its members grow their businesses and that when those businesses grow they're likely to hire. If you're describing your business as a desk rental/subscription rental model, it makes sense from Jerome's description that you should get turned down. But if you describe how your business model can be a catalyst for economic development (we talked about this in last friday's Office Hours, video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=roBKm87wc6U), you may have a stronger case.
At any rate, rather than speculate, I would reach out to Mike Maher from Benjamin's Desk and ask about his SBA application and see how he pitched it. He's a super nice guy and I'm happy to have him as a neighbor here in Philly :) -Alex -- /ah indyhall.org coworking in philadelphia On Thu, Apr 25, 2013 at 5:26 PM, Jerome Chang <jer...@blankspaces.com>wrote: > Alex, my understanding is that the govt is backing these bank loans. So > the govt would want businesses to hire people to run the operations, not a > kick-back-and-collect-revenue biz model. > > Yes you could sell magazines and stuff, but that would have to amount to a > lot of revenue...at least equal to the coworking memberships. 1 desk = > $500, vs 100 magazines @ $5 each. Multiply by at least 20 desks. Print > magazines are dying so... > > Rena, it's possible to convince some loan officer to convince the loan > committee and therefore the SBA approval process, but it'd be an exception > than the rule. > > Jerome > www.BLANKSPACES.com > > On Apr 25, 2013, at 2:15 PM, "Randall G. Arnold" < > randall.arn...@texrat.net> wrote: > > Which would support the idea of hosting a deli and/or magazine and other > related sales activities onsite. Is training considered passive? After > hours rentals? > > Randy > > > On April 25, 2013 at 4:05 PM Jerome Chang <jer...@blankspaces.com> wrote: > > An inside source once told me that the SBA doesn't finance operations > based on passive income. Gyms with passive membership fees get away with it > because they have a lot of trainers, retail sales, etc. > > So unless you can prove that more than 50% of your business is not > passive, you're out of luck. > > Jerome > www.BLANKSPACES.com > > On Apr 25, 2013, at 1:58 PM, Rena Tom < bob...@gmail.com> wrote: > > Help me out, all. I just had a conversation with the NYBDC (New York > Business Development Corporation) which works with the SBA on lending. They > said the SBA won't fund coworking spaces because it's too much like a > landlord/subtenant situation which is not in their charter. > > Have any of you taken a SBA loan for your space? This just sounds wonky > to me. > > Rena > > > -- > 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. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. > 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. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out. > > > > > > Randall (Randy) Arnold > Developer and Enthusiast Advocate > http://texrat.net > +18177396806 > > -- > 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. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. > 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. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
