Alex, Thanks for all this. I've definitely already thought through many of the points you bring up and I think that I instinctively know that keeping the idea front and center is the right move.
.g On Tuesday, October 13, 2015 at 10:48:15 AM UTC-4, Alex Hillman wrote: > > Option #2 "feels" better to me because that was my original idea. > > > That was my hunch :) > > Two warnings: > > 1 - Coworking as a way to subsidize the cost of a space you'd like to have > but can't afford, more often than not, ends up with you taking on even MORE > space than you need and then being financially responsible for it. > Worse...this ends up not being treated like a business because it's not > your primary business. > > You don't have to make a coworking space your ONLY business if you don't > want to, but I'd caution you from thinking that you can just pop up a space > and run it on the side *indefinitely*. > > 2 - Be careful of letting yourself become a slave to an "idea" instead of > focusing on how to best serve a community. There are two paths, only one > leads to success in business: > > 1) serve an idea > 2) serve a customer > > *Hint: your "idea" will keep asking to borrow money. ;)* > > Your "idea" is going to change and morph over time no matter what you do, > so locking into a specific idea now is setting yourself up for quite a bit > of headache and heartache down the road. > > This also comes down to what your goals are beyond how you divvy up space. > Studio rental tends to become a fairly thankless and transactional business > by comparison to a community space, UNLESS you have a plan for putting work > to the community building work into things, like Angel has done with Cohere > Bandwidth <http://coherebandwidth.com> by embedding it into a bigger > local community of arts and creativity. Making a studio a part of a bigger > creative ecosystem, either locally or online, can help you create a MUCH > more resilient model. > > It also puts you in a position to know who the community that uses it is, > and thus having a much better sense of how to structure your memberships > <http://dangerouslyawesome.com/2015/10/the-ultimate-guide-to-structuring-your-coworking-space-memberships/> > > to cover costs and even fund the opening > <http://dangerouslyawesome.com/2011/09/how-to-fund-your-coworking-space/> in > the first place. > > Do you want to be in the business of renting space? Or do you want to be > surrounded by creative people? They're not exactly mutually exclusive, but > the direction your personal priorities lean should color this decision. > > -Alex > > > ------------------ > *The #1 mistake in community building is doing it by yourself.* > Join the list: http://coworkingweekly.com > Listen to the podcast: http://dangerouslyawesome.com/podcast > > On Tue, Oct 13, 2015 at 10:15 AM, Geoffrey Badner <[email protected] > <javascript:>> wrote: > >> Alex & Katherine, >> Thanks for your replies. >> >> Option #2 "feels" better to me because that was my original idea. After >> looking for ways to fund the space (at NYC rents) the coworking space came >> into the picture. I've worked in several coworking spaces in NYC and always >> felt they were lacking in ways that I could improve on. >> >> That issue aside, your comments echo those of others who have seen the >> space I'm considering. They seem to feel that, even with having the two >> spaces well separated and insulated for sound, having people shooting in >> the studio will disrupt the coworking space. Also, having people in the >> studio worry about annoying the people in the office areas would bring an >> an unappealing worry to the creative space. >> >> I think I'll probably end up with something similar to these >> membership-based shoot studios: >> http://westststudios.com >> http://studioslic.com (I'm currently a member here) >> >> Just not confident I can afford to do this in the space I want. >> >> Thanks! >> ~ Geoffrey >> >> >> On Monday, October 12, 2015 at 12:58:03 PM UTC-4, Geoffrey Badner wrote: >>> >>> Hello. First post here :) >>> >>> I'm a photographer from Brooklyn, NY and I'm interested in opening a >>> shared creative space for others in the photo business – photographers, >>> hair/makeup, stylists, etc. I've located an excellent 7,000 sq. ft space >>> and have done a couple of layout plans that map back to two different >>> business models. >>> >>> *1: Shared Desks + Studio* >>> This idea cuts the space into 2/3rds hot desks, permanent desks and a >>> couple of offices with 1/3 remaining for a single large studio space. This >>> allows for daily drop ins, month to month desk and a couple closed office >>> rentals and is designed to provide a steadier cash flow for the space while >>> also providing a very nice shoot space. >>> >>> *2: Three Studios* >>> This idea removes all of the desks and offices and uses almost the >>> entire floor for three studio spaces (plus a nice common area with couches >>> and a conference room). This is more what I feel like I want to do, but it >>> relies completely on community members booking the studios regularly to >>> support the community. To do this, I have to charge a higher monthly price >>> point for even the lowest tier. >>> >>> I'm wondering... is option 2 just too much of a niche? Option 1 seems >>> like the smarter business decision, but I really like the concept of 2. >>> >>> Thanks for your thoughts! >>> >> -- >> 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] <javascript:>. >> 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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