Our membership breakdown is pretty symmetrical: Full Time: 30% 3 day/week: 20% 1 day/week: 20% 1 day/month: 30%
The skew comes in when you look at cancellations. Of our history of cancellations, they’ve come from: Full Time: 15% 3 day/week: 5% 1 day/week: 40% 1 day/month: 40% It’s worth noting that our overall churn rate is actually decent: 5% month-over-month average last year. But the pattern is still there: Weekly members stop coming around and either a) cancel or b) downgrade to monthly memberships, stick around for a while, then cancel. I’m curious if anybody else has seen this and what they’ve done to curtail it. -----Original Message----- From: Glen Ferguson <g...@coworkfrederick.com> Reply: coworking@googlegroups.com <coworking@googlegroups.com>> Date: February 6, 2015 at 6:23:09 PM To: coworking@googlegroups.com <coworking@googlegroups.com>> Subject: Re: [Coworking] My morbid curiosity with Coworking Space Closings > > > > *> Looking at our own membership levels (we have full time, 3 days/week, 1 > > day/week, 1 day/month), far and away the highest churn rates are in that 1 > > day/week level. 40% of all cancelations we’ve had are from that level. * > > 1 day a week churns *more* than 1 day a month. That’s a pretty HUGE clue > > about what the problem is. > > > I'm curious what percentage of your membership is on that 1 day/week plan. > When we opened, we didn't have that level, but people wanted to join at > that level, so we created it. We've consistently had between 40-50% of > members on our 5 days/month level (it's easier to bill as days per month, > and more flexible for the member). I'd expect the percentage of churn to > reflect the percentage of membership, but now you're giving me homework to > do this weekend and further break down my churn stats by membership tier to > see if that holds true. > > --- > Glen Ferguson > Cowork Frederick > 122 E Patrick St > Frederick, MD 21701-5630 > +1 (301) 732-5165 > www.coworkfrederick.com > @CoworkFrederick > > On Fri, Feb 6, 2015 at 4:58 PM, Alex Hillman > wrote: > > > *> Looking at our own membership levels (we have full time, 3 days/week, 1 > > day/week, 1 day/month), far and away the highest churn rates are in that 1 > > day/week level. 40% of all cancelations we’ve had are from that level. * > > > > 1 day a week churns *more* than 1 day a month. That’s a pretty HUGE clue > > about what the problem is. > > > > -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 Fri, Feb 6, 2015 at 4:29 PM, Andy Soell wrote: > > > >> I think there's a great deal of truth here, and I'm really curious about > >> other space's approaches to different membership levels (we're getting way > >> off topic here, but whatever). I think Jerome is absolutely right that it's > >> much harder to keep a part timer on board, probably due to their lack of > >> commitment and the fact that they just by nature of their membership aren't > >> around very much. At the same time, I also completely believe that a good > >> community is a diverse community, and that includes an even distribution of > >> people across different membership levels. > >> > >> Looking at our own membership levels (we have full time, 3 days/week, 1 > >> day/week, 1 day/month), far and away the highest churn rates are in that 1 > >> day/week level. 40% of all cancelations we've had are from that level. I'm > >> not sure what—if anything—is to be done about it, but I'm curious what > >> people have found useful in keeping people coming back who aren't coming > >> every day. I like offering once-a-week memberships, because I really think > >> everyone needs to get out of the house at least once a week, but it seems > >> like that's the level at which people eventually forget about the coworking > >> space and just drop off the face of the earth. > >> > >> On Friday, January 30, 2015 at 11:18:22 AM UTC-5, Jerome wrote: > >>> > >>> I think the below typically applies to smaller coworking spaces. > >>> Well, let me rephrase: > >>> the below is required for smaller spaces > >>> larger spaces does not need to follow the below rule; BUT, should > >>> they, yes, I agree that the below would be ideal. > >>> > >>> That said, from my experience of being in the trenches for now, 7 years, > >>> I can comfortably say that recruiting full-timers is MUCH easier than > >>> part-timers. > >>> Part-timers have to me, seem only part-ly motivated to join, whether due > >>> to > >>> (1) they don’t want to spend $; > >>> (2) they’re so attached with their status quo of their home office; > >>> (3) their interest is so 50/50 fickle, any little thing can wane their > >>> interest. > >>> Also, if you were to spend, say, 1 hour per new part-timer member, > >>> between the tour, follow-up(s), onboarding…to yield $100, and your goal is > >>> 10 members, then you’ll spend 10 hours for those “sales”. > >>> If you were to spend, say, the same 1 hour per new full-timer to yield > >>> $300, then you’d only need to spend a little over 3 hours for those > >>> “sales”. > >>> The spread worsens if you seek $10k, or $20k. The very same many > >>> DIY/automated billing and other admin procedures you’ve focused to > >>> minimize, is being offset by exponentially more labor time to sell, or > >>> “cost of sales”. > >>> > >>> Is that the reason why exec suites probably only ‘rent’ full-time office > >>> spaces? Yes. Same efforts that yield way more $ revenue. > >>> Is there a better mix between the below strategy and exec suites? Yes. > >>> And that will depend upon how you operate, your demographics, your size > >>> space, etc. > >>> > >>> > >>> *JEROME CHANG* > >>> > >>> *WEST: Santa Monica* > >>> 1450 2nd Street (@Broadway) | Santa Monica CA 90401 > >>> ph: (310) 526-2255 > >>> > >>> *CENTRAL: Mid-Wilshire* > >>> 5405 Wilshire Blvd (2 blocks west of La Brea) | Los Angeles CA 90036 > >>> ph: (323) 330-9505 > >>> > >>> *EAST: Downtown* > >>> 529 S. Broadway, Suite 4000 (@Pershing Square) | Los Angeles CA 90013 > >>> ph: (213) 550-2235 > >>> > >>> > >>> > >>> > >>> > >>> > >>> > >>> > >>> > >>> On Jan 30, 2015, at 6:11 AM, rachel young wrote: > >>> > >>> I'll add another item to Jonathan\s list: > >>> > >>> 4 - Less diversity. 100 members with a flex or part time membership is > >>> 3x as many different occupations, passions, life experiences, and hobbies > >>> than 35 members with a full time membership, so the mix of people that > >>> members interact with will be much less with full time people packed in, > >>> but you can cap the number of full time members and ensure there are more > >>> part time or flex to make that diversity even more apparent and effective. > >>> > >>> We have three membership levels: lite, part time, and full time. I > >>> always aim for a mix of approximately 30%, 50%, 20%, respectively, with no > >>> cap on daypass users or non-space usage memberships (virtual/non-space > >>> usage network membership only). > >>> r. > >>> > >>> > >>> > >>> > >>> *____________________rachel young*rac...@camaraderie.ca > >>> > >>> *We're located at 2241 Dundas St W, 3rd floor* > >>> *(between Bloor and Roncesvalles)* > >>> > >>> *Chat with me *via 10KCoffees > >>> > >>> > >>> *Find us online:* > >>> Website/blog > >>> > >>> and Newsletter > >>> > >>> , Twitter > >>> > >>> , > >>> Facebook > >>> > >>> , Google+ > >>> > >>> , Yelp > >>> , > >>> and LinkedIn > >>> > >>> > >>> We're a proud member of CoworkingToronto > >>> > >>> , > >>> CoworkingOntario > >>> , > >>> and CoworkingCanada > >>> > >>> ! > >>> > >>> > >>> On 30 January 2015 at 05:42, wrote: > >>> > >>>> Many full-time members with permanent desks is absolutely a problem. > >>>> > >>>> We limit to a maximum of 40% of desks for full-timers. If you go too > >>>> far above that there are at least three common problems: > >>>> 1) Part-time / flexible members don't feel like they have a significant > >>>> sense of ownership of the space. They are more inclined to feel like > >>>> second > >>>> class citizens using spare desks. They then don't participate in the > >>>> community as much and that magnifies all sorts of other problems. > >>>> 2) Revenue becomes less predictable. I'd rather have 100 people paying > >>>> $100 per month than 35 people paying $300. > >>>> 3) The space becomes less flexible. It's much more difficult moving a > >>>> permanent member's desk for a weekend or evening community activity. > >>>> > >>>> Hope that helps, > >>>> > >>>> Jon > >>>> > >>>> — > >>>> Jonathan Markwell > >>>> > >>>> Follow my adventures in space, time and code: > >>>> http://jot.is/sustainablyindy > >>>> > >>>> The Skiff: Brighton Coworking Community http://jot.is/sharing-space > >>>> Coder Founders: Digital Product Consultancy > >>>> http://jot.is/investing-time > >>>> CoGrid: Meeting Room Booking Software http://jot.is/writing-code > >>>> > >>>> +44 (0)7766 021 485 > >>>> skype: jlmarkwell | twitter: http://twitter.com/jot > >>>> > >>>> > >>>> On Fri, Jan 30, 2015 at 10:05 AM, Marius Amado-Alves < > >>>> amado...@gmail.com> wrote: > >>>> > >>>>> "Too many full time members, not enough flex (or some variation on > >>>>> flex)." > >>>>> > >>>>> Er... many fulltimers is a *problem*?!?!? > >>>>> > >>>>> > >>>>> -- > >>>>> 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+...@googlegroups.com. > >>>>> 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 coworking+...@googlegroups.com. > >>>> 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 coworking+...@googlegroups.com. > >>> 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 coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. > >> 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 coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. > > 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 a topic in the Google > Groups "Coworking" > group. > To unsubscribe from this topic, visit > https://groups.google.com/d/topic/coworking/0DllB_CWXyw/unsubscribe. > To unsubscribe from this group and all its topics, send an email to > coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. > 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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