There's a pathway for SBA loans for coworking ventures....an SBA rep presented on my panel at GCUC in Austin in March. I think the issue for coworking financing is the collateral...and the liklihood that personal guaranties would be required.
On Thu, Apr 25, 2013 at 6:58 PM, Randall G. Arnold < randall.arn...@texrat.net> wrote: > ** > My point was that some have made mixed use work, so it's one of many > possibilities. Certainly not for everyone, but worth mentioning IMO. > > Randy > > > On April 25, 2013 at 5:42 PM Jerome Chang <jer...@blankspaces.com> wrote: > > Oh, I of course totally agree we aren't just a subleasing businesses but > banks and govt policies do not understand us. And we all know to convince > those two institutions to update their policies will take forever. > > If one were to rewrite their pitch so that membership fees pay for > mentorship, then that might fly with the SBA better. But then you need to > show expenses to pay for said mentors... > > Retail. Again, unless you're selling high dollar products like jewelry or > even tech stuff, retail would unlikely generate more revenue than > memberships. And please please everyone, do not get into the food service > business unless you really know that business. Just getting proper permits > for restaurants, etc is hella hard, let alone the typically low margin > business model. Yes yes, drinks are higher margin, but then please get an > experienced architect to permit your two businesses (food, coworking). > Mixed use businesses complicate your process with the govt agencies. I say > this because a lot of my architecture practice is designing restaurants. > > > Jerome > www.BLANKSPACES.com > > On Apr 25, 2013, at 2:48 PM, Alex Hillman < dangerouslyawes...@gmail.com> > wrote: > > I'm just upset that the person i talked to shut me down before i even > explained fully what we intend to do. > > > Welcome to the world of entrepreneurship. If you're not getting shut down > once in a while, you're probably not trying hard enough ;) > > -Alex > > > > -- > > /ah > indyhall.org > coworking in philadelphia > > > On Thu, Apr 25, 2013 at 5:42 PM, Rena Tom <bob...@gmail.com> wrote: > > good idea, will talk to Mike. > > I'm just upset that the person i talked to shut me down before i even > explained fully what we intend to do. > > > On Thu, Apr 25, 2013 at 2:38 PM, Alex Hillman < > dangerouslyawes...@gmail.com> wrote: > > 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. > > > > > -- > 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. > > > > > > > > -- > 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. > > > -- David A. Singer (914) 980-7301 - Cell -- 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.
