Sorry for being late in this conversation. I just wanted to add a few types/subtypes: 2.1 unsustainable but with unlimited funds (usually connected with some sort of govt initiative). 5 - coworking spaces as feeders for real estate. These are spaces that will never be sustainable, but the owner of the building doesn't care because the owner is just trying to get these companies to grow to get an "actual" office.
On Sun, Jan 4, 2015 at 3:42 PM, Alex Hillman <[email protected]> wrote: > Turns out that surveys are terrible for collecting this kind of > information :) I’ve had to do a lot of more hands on work to find real, > valuable information. > > I’ve used some of my findings to help fuel other articles, like this one > in the Philadelphia Biz Journal (I pubilished the full interview to > suppliment the piece): > *http://dangerouslyawesome.com/2014/07/behind-the-scenes-of-a-front-page-interview-coworking-any-old-space-wont-do/ > <http://dangerouslyawesome.com/2014/07/behind-the-scenes-of-a-front-page-interview-coworking-any-old-space-wont-do/>* > > The issue is that *demand for space* is a red herring for success in > coworking, and worse, it’s a magnet for opportunism. > > Take a look at every corner of the “sharing economy”…and you’ll find the > same thing. Utopian sharing quickly devolves into mass exodus. There’s a > bigger problem in doing the research, though…and that’s collecting > information from founders/leaders. > > Founders and leaders of failed spaces (generally) won’t talk, and when > they do, it’s platitudes or outright lies. Because let’s be honest, nobody > likes facing their failures. There are, of course, a couple of exceptions > and they’ve written about their experiences here on the Google Group. > > The *best* sources of insight have been former members and former staff. > The problem is that THEY generally don’t respond well to being approached > out of the blue (I’ve learned first hand). > > We see that coworking spaces are opening at accelerating rates, but > what’s not as obvious is that the vast majority of them are dealing with > high turnover and/or burn rates that make their business model completely > unsustainable. Because of the nature of these businesses, it’s very hard to > see the effects of these problems until “reality” sets in about 2 years > after the start. > > There’s clues before then (a mix of highly visible ones, and others that > are much more subtle), but any coworking space younger than 2 years old > really should be focusing on getting GREAT at one thing: knowing their > members. > > We’re going to see a lot more closings in the near future. I’d say that > most coworking spaces open today fall into one of four categories: > > 1- they’re generally unsustainable, and will die within 2 years. > 2 - they’re generally unsustainable, but somebody is pumping cash into > them to extend the 2 year life expectancy. Some will right the ship, but > many will not before the cash dries up. > 3 - they’re growing sustainably > 4 - they’re growing unsustainably > > I’d say that 80%+ of coworking spaces I encounter fall into unsustainable > categories 1 and 2. ~18% (maybe a bit less) are safely in category 3, and > less than 2% in category 4. > > -Alex > > ------------------ > *The #1 mistake in community building is doing it by yourself.* > Join the list: http://coworkingweekly.com > Listen to the podcast: http://listen.coworkingweekly.com > > > > On Sat, Jan 3, 2015 at 3:32 AM, Farhan Abbasi <[email protected]> > wrote: > >> Hi Alex, >> >> Glad you did this survey in 2012. Any chance you still have the results? >> Farhan >> On Wednesday, 19 September 2012 09:19:57 UTC-4, Alex Hillman wrote: >>> >>> Excellent suggestion on location data, and the little formatting fix. >>> On their way. >>> >>> I've got a dozen or so submissions overnight. Keep 'em coming people. >>> >>> -- >>> /ah >>> indyhall.org >>> coworking in philadelphia >>> >>> On Wednesday, September 19, 2012 at 8:45 AM, rachel young wrote: >>> >>> >>> Hi, >>> >>> Thanks for starting this, Alex. I'm curious about the results too. >>> >>> I suggest adding mandatory fields for City, Province/State, and Country >>> so that you can easily search and sort by region. The two entries I just >>> sent were from Toronto, ON Canada. >>> >>> Also you copied the notes ("It doesn't have to be a eulogy...") from the >>> second last question to the last question. Just a formatting thing. >>> r. >>> >>> >>> >>> *____________________ rachel young*[email protected] >>> >>> *Find us in person:* >>> Camaraderie >>> 102 Adelaide St E 2nd Floor >>> Toronto, ON M5C 1K9 >>> (647) 861-4350 >>> >>> *Find us online:* >>> Website/blog <http://camaraderie.ca> and Newsletter >>> <http://bit.ly/camaraderienewsletter> >>> Google+ <http://bit.ly/CamaraderiePlus>, Twitter >>> <http://twitter.com/camaraderie>, Facebook <http://bit.ly/9zv3Fx>, and >>> LinkedIn <http://bit.ly/CamaraderieGroup> >>> >>> *Be in business for yourself, not by yourself! * >>> *Continue the conversations you started on May 27* >>> *at FLCTO2 by joining the LinkedIn group <http://linkd.in/FLCTO>.* >>> >>> *Are you a coworking commitmentphobe? * >>> *Try the Coworking Toronto Passport Program >>> <http://bit.ly/CTOPassport2012>* >>> *for a day pass to seven spaces for one price.* >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> On 18 September 2012 22:46, Alex Hillman <[email protected]> wrote: >>> >>> Thanks Chris. Great idea on opening up the closure dates to the future. >>> I don't expect to close the form so we can continue to collect data over >>> time. >>> >>> I've removed the "required" part of the date fields to allow for more >>> flexible entry and updated the intro. >>> >>> More suggestions and sharing welcome :) >>> >>> -Alex >>> >>> >>> -- >>> /ah >>> indyhall.org >>> coworking in philadelphia >>> build amazing communities: masterclass.indyhall.org >>> >>> On Tuesday, September 18, 2012 at 10:40 PM, Chris DiFonzo wrote: >>> >>> Alex - >>> >>> Props for starting this thread. I think the information will be valuable >>> and hopefully help some current owner/operators succeed in spite of >>> adversity. >>> >>> I think you will get more responses, and perhaps salvage more existing >>> cases, if you include owners/spaces that fear or outright anticipate >>> failure in the next 12 months. >>> >>> Btw, If you like we will tweet survey tomorrow. >>> >>> Best, >>> Chris >>> >>> On Sep 18, 2012, at 10:14 PM, Alex Hillman <[email protected]> >>> wrote: >>> >>> I'm sure I'm not the only person on this group who has google alerts >>> set up for the words "coworking" and, sigh, "co-working". >>> >>> Between the number of new space announcements that show up in those >>> alerts, Deskmag's reporting on coworking growth trends, and many amazing >>> success stories that we've all been privy to seeing unfold, there's no >>> doubt in any of our minds that coworking isn't disappearing any time soon. >>> >>> But speckled in the success stories are sadder ones. Coworking spaces >>> who struggled and failed. >>> >>> Another one hit my Google Reader tonight, in St Louis. Hence this email >>> and this project being spurred right now. >>> >>> On one hand, the *business of coworking *is susceptible to all of the >>> rules of starting a new business - there's going to be a failure rate. Not >>> every business is meant to be. The rate at which I hear about closings is >>> increasing, but it's hard to tell if it's growing in or out of proportion >>> of openings. >>> >>> Between coworking spaces that struggle to keep the lights on and >>> coworking spaces that have closed (for good or bad reasons), there's >>> patterns in closures that I personally find very interesting, far more >>> interesting in "new hotness variations" on the coworking models. >>> >>> The pattern-watcher that I am, I see *some *things, but I need more >>> information to start building a hypothesis that can be proven or disproven. >>> >>> I can't do this alone. If you've started and closed a coworking space, >>> been a member of a coworking space that struggled and failed, or are simply >>> a passionate observer who saw an unfortunate closing, please take a few >>> minutes to help fill out this survey: >>> >>> https://indyhall.wufoo.com/forms/coworking-space-closings/ >>> >>> This information is personal and potentially sensitive. I don't expect >>> all of the replies to include names or all of the details. Many people on >>> this list have shared their personal stories before, and we should all be >>> thankful for that. >>> >>> The best solution I could come up with is to choose how anonymous you >>> would like to be. >>> >>> *1) The name and email address fields are optional and will ONLY be used >>> to reconnect with the submitter for more information.* >>> *2) The final required question asks for your consent to share the data >>> you enter, beside the optional name/email fields which are anonymous by >>> default. In case you have an alternate preference, you can specify it in >>> "other".* >>> >>> There's researchers on the list, so if there's other fields that you >>> think I should include (or better ways to collect the same data), I'm all >>> ears. >>> >>> *Even if you're not aware of closings you can share about, I need help >>> getting the word out about this project. *I'm hoping for some >>> assistance from Steve King & Team Deskmag since I know this stuff is >>> already on their radar. If there's anyone else already studying this (all >>> of the quiet grad students on this list, I'm looking at you), I'd love to >>> share work reciprocally. >>> >>> My goal is to organize this information and share some hypothesis that >>> we all study together and share back again, overall helping the ecosystem >>> not just learn from successes but also avoid repeating historic failure >>> patterns. >>> >>> My hope is to be buried under a mountain of responses and have to >>> recruit some of you to help me dig myself out :) >>> >>> Thanks y'all. >>> >>> -Alex >>> >>> >>> -- >>> /ah >>> indyhall.org >>> coworking in philadelphia >>> build amazing communities: masterclass.indyhall.org >>> >>> -- >>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google >>> Groups "Coworking" group. >>> To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. >>> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to >>> [email protected]. >>> For more options, visit this group at >>> http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en. >>> >>> -- >>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google >>> Groups "Coworking" group. >>> To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. >>> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to >>> [email protected]. >>> For more options, visit this group at >>> http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en. >>> >>> >>> -- >>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google >>> Groups "Coworking" group. >>> To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. >>> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to >>> [email protected]. >>> For more options, visit this group at >>> http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en. >>> >>> >>> -- >>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google >>> Groups "Coworking" group. >>> To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. >>> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to >>> [email protected]. >>> For more options, visit this group at >>> http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en. >>> >>> >>> -- >> 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/d/optout. >> > > -- > 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/d/optout. > -- 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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