Wow..this is REALLY old..however, I am starting this search as well. Please let me know if you are still here and interested in getting this going.
On Saturday, October 13, 2007 11:45:21 PM UTC-4, xray wrote: > > My name's Mike, and I am thinking about starting a space in Bel Air, > MD - which is about 25 miles from the hipper parts of Baltimore where > you'd expect our first local coworking facility to emerge. > > I need to disclose right up front that my idea is a hybrid of > coworking and a more commercial space. I have a space in mind, 3700+ > square feet, close to coffee shops, restaurants, and many local and > county government offices. I also intend that if this happens, I will > purchase the property outright and create the working environment to > be a very serious shared business space. > > I also intend to move my own home office into the space and to enjoy > the benefits of coworking myself. I'm a totally solo independent > contractor, no secretary, just me and my computer in the basement, > working from home and traveling all over the country several times per > week to do field work and on-site consulting. > > I'd like to create a space for people like myself who would enjoy > getting out of the house, segregating work from home life, being close > to restaurants, having a good meeting space, etc. I'd also like to > make a profit since I'd be investing a significant amount of my own > cash that could otherwise be put into something else that would easily > pay for the modest office space I need. > > I imagine a place where a few anchor coworkers could have private > offices and signage out front, and where we could accommodate all > kinds of people from coffee shop nomads looking for a table and a wifi > hot spot, to sales people working with local government procurement, > to out-of-town attorneys here for business that requires a dignified > space in which to park their briefcases for a few hours. > > Maybe I'm talking about buying more space than I need, and looking for > people to lease what I don't need, or about going into a new business > as a commercial space landlord - but I do feel that this can be a > space for creative networking, relief from the isolation of being a > solo act, and a possible community business cafe atmosphere. > > The thing that really puzzles me in all of the really hip looking > coworking projects I'm reading about is that they look a bit anarchic, > and there is no discussion at all of who is paying for the real estate > or how. Is some trustafarian rich kid setting these things up on > daddy's money for their friends to play in, or what? Are there some > kind of liberally endowed grants involved? > > So much of it looks like care free kids set free to play at working > while someone else pays the bills. It seems to be all about freedom > and good times, and there's all this talk about "openness," but > nobody's talking "openly" that much about how these get funded. Some > discussions even seem to question whether it is legitimate for someone > to make money on it. > > My objectives would be to create a both a profitable office sharing > enterprise, and to create a space that would benefit the "non- > community" of solo home workers in my area by creating a community for > them. I also see it as giving something to the local community by > providing an environment that may encourage and support others who > need such a place to work. > > If I'm barking up the wrong tree here at the coworking group, somebody > just tell me. Maybe I'm just too old and out of touch to understand > the lingo that's being slung around, but I think that when it comes to > the real estate and utility bills for fixed location coworking, > "sustainable" probably also means "solvent." Unless there's a rich > daddy who isn't watching the checkbook, there's got to be somebody who > is expecting more money to come in than goes out, and that it pays > better than a savings account in the long run. Or, maybe there's > somebody who has an unmarketable space who is donating it to a non- > profit for a better write off? > > Let's have some of that openness and transparency that I keep hearing > about on the subject of how coworking facilities are being funded. > > If somebody isn't at breaking even or making a few bucks, it isn't > about hugging friends and saving the whales while drinking coffee, > it's about what can a "coworker" get for free from someone else. That > used to be called free-loading. (Don't I sound like Mr. Lebowski? > "Are you employed, sir!?") > > So, forgive me if I came into the discussion a little too bluntly. > I'm, thinking about investing in an idea that I think is really great, > that could benefit a lot of people who really need work space, a > social life, and opportunities that they don't have by working in > their basement or spare bedroom. I'd like it to also benefit the > community at large by encouraging creative, enterprising people to do > productive things. Would I be asking too much to have it pay me for > the time I put into it, and to pay me a 6% annual return on my cash > investment? Even if it didn't come for a year or two down the road, > that would be fine. > > If you're in the area, and if you haven't already written me off as > totally uncool, drop me a line or two back if you're interested. > > -- 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 [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
