Following up on this thread from last month - I got Trevor in for an episode of the Coworking Weekly Show to dig deeper into this decision to start Cowork Niagra as a co-op.
But we also got into a pretty epic conversation about the economic development impact of coworking - he's doing a better job than we are of tracking that impact than we are, and that put some things into perspective. *If you're new to the show and haven't subscribed yet, give it a listen here:* http://dangerouslyawesome.com/2016/03/we-almost-sold-out-on-our-principles-before-we-even-started/ or on iTunes (coworkingweekly.com/show). And big thanks to Trevor for bringing serious knowledge bombs to this episode to go another level deeper on these topics - we're already talking about the next time he's going to join me on the show :) -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 *Where will you be on April 21st <http://peopleatworksummit.com>?* On Thu, Feb 18, 2016 at 3:36 PM, Trevor Twining <[email protected]> wrote: > Alex, I think I’ve mentioned before how much IndyHall has influenced the > creation of our space. Without you sharing what y'all put together there > I’d probably still be waiting for someone else to have built a space. You > should come hang out for a bit with Jay Tennier and me and I’ll show you > around :D. You’re a good bit younger than I am, but I consider you a mentor > when it comes to what we’re collectively building. :D > > We are classified as a member or service co-op; our members have organized > this business for the purpose of providing a specific range of services to > its membership. We have a couple more co-ops in the works, and some of > those are worker co-ops, some of them are marketing co-ops, and one of them > is potentially a credit union). > > When we get to profitability (we’re six months now at break-even, and > slowly growing), we will decide as a group how to use the money: to reduce > monthly subscriptions, invest in new gear, stockpile it to purchase our own > property, or give a rebate at the end of the year. Whatever we do, it’s > democratic: every member has one vote, no matter how much they invest or > how much business they do with us. So in that sense, every member is > already a partner. > > We’re planning to open more spaces throughout the region: when we get > there, we might offer member shares to raise the capital. These would be > preferred shares, and so dividends would be paid out on those before the > regular member shares. But they’d be non-voting. > > Keep the questions coming! They’re useful for the next post :D > > -------------------------------------------- > Trevor Twining > Cowork Niagara > http://coworkniagara.com > Home of Niagara’s independent workforce > twitter: @coworkniagara, @trevortwining > > > > > On Feb 18, 2016, at 3:15 PM, Alex Hillman <[email protected]> > wrote: > > Man, I love seeing the Indy Hall playbook in action like this <3 <3 > > Echoing lots of what's been said here - I look forward to a more detailed > follow up post :) > > We have a few members that are VERY active in the co-op world and we often > get together to talk about how much co-op DNA Indy Hall has. > > I've also learned a lot about the different *kinds* of co-ops, including > member co-ops, employee co-ops, etc. Is there a specific kind of co-op you > chose? Are there any financial benefits to a member-owner, like dividends > or discounts? Are new members given opportunities to become member-partners > now that you're up and running? > > -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 Thu, Feb 18, 2016 at 1:55 PM, Trevor Twining <[email protected]> > wrote: > >> Here’s a link to the Ontario Co-operative Association, whose resources >> and advice were particularly valuable when we set up. If you’re in Ontario, >> they’re more than happy to offer some initial assistance. If you’re >> outside, they’re happy to refer you to the group in your area who can help. >> We’ve become quite involved in the Niagara Regional Co-op Network which is >> closely connected with On Co-Op. >> >> http://www.ontario.coop/programs_services/coop_development/starting_a_coop >> >> It’s a rich resource, but there’s still a lot of jargon. I’ll try to >> break our experience down in plain language. >> >> 1. We were already meeting as a jelly group for 18 months before we >> started with our space, so we had a core community from which to build. >> 2. As we were talking about the mutually-invested community we wanted to >> build, someone who was already working on a food co-op in our city asked if >> we had considered the model. >> 3. We looked at the resources at the link above and enough connected that >> we decided this was the model for us. >> 4. We filled out the incorporation forms ourselves. It took a couple of >> hours. (I can walk you through if you get to this stage) >> 5. The membership fees from the founding members gave us the capital we >> needed to create the corporation and get the initial paperwork filed. >> 6. Members pre-paid first, last and as many months as they could up-front >> so that we could build a nest egg. Some members provided member loans. >> 7. Our membership model also encourages participation that doesn’t >> directly involve the space, so we have a larger group of members than space >> users. (our current membership is 70, but less than 30 use the space >> 1d/week or more) >> 8. With that money in the bank, we were able to sign our lease, get our >> utilities set up, and hang our sign on the door. >> 9. We have a board of 8 directors, and they help guide the long term >> direction of the group. I’m still chief resident volunteer >> cat-herder/tummler, and we’re working on expanding our service offering so >> we can pay someone to be in this role. >> 10. Annually we have a meeting to review finances, vote on key changes in >> direction, and when we get to the point where we’re managing a surplus, the >> group will decide how that’s allocated. >> >> Next coworking meetup-type thing we do, I’d be happy to present this as a >> talk in more detail. >> >> -------------------------------------------- >> Trevor Twining >> Cowork Niagara >> http://coworkniagara.com >> Home of Niagara’s independent workforce >> twitter: @coworkniagara, @trevortwining >> >> >> >> >> On Feb 18, 2016, at 12:00 PM, Trevor Twining <[email protected]> >> wrote: >> >> Thanks all, for your feedback so far. >> >> Sounds like I need a (few?) follow up post(s). I’ll also post some links >> shortly to resources we used. In Canada, most co-ops are provincially >> incorporated, so I assume that in the US each state will have its own co-op >> legislation. >> >> I’ll share what we did here in Ontario, and you should be able to figure >> out how that works in your province/state. >> >> I’m not sure how this works in other countries, but the co-op movement in >> Europe generally is huge, so there should be some good resources on that >> side of the Atlantic. >> >> -------------------------------------------- >> Trevor Twining >> Cowork Niagara >> http://coworkniagara.com >> Home of Niagara’s independent workforce >> twitter: @coworkniagara, @trevortwining >> >> >> >> >> On Feb 18, 2016, at 11:28 AM, Tony Bacigalupo <[email protected]> >> wrote: >> >> Trevor, I think a lot of us are excited to learn more about how you >> pulled this off! >> >> I encountered early thoughts on this topic as well, but found it >> difficult to get a clear sense of how to go about in a way that would be >> viable. I think any more details you can provide on that would be helpful >> to others considering similar structures. >> >> Thanks! >> Tony >> *---* >> *Projects: New Work Cities <http://nwc.co/consulting> • Open Coworking >> <http://opencoworking.org/> • Cotivation <http://cotivation.co/>* >> *eBook: No More Sink Full of Mugs <http://nwc.co/mugs>* >> *Connect: Personal site <http://tonybacigalupo.com/> • Twitter >> <http://twitter.com/tonybgoode> • Facebook >> <http://facebook.com/tonybacigalupo>* >> *New: Preorder the Ultimate Coworking Toolkit >> <http://nwc.co/consulting/toolkit>* >> >> >> On Thu, Feb 18, 2016 at 8:53 AM, Jenifer Ross <[email protected] >> > wrote: >> >>> Ditto. Can you provide more details on the financial structure? >>> >>> Sent from my iPhone >>> >>> On Feb 18, 2016, at 10:40 AM, Jacob Sayles <[email protected]> >>> wrote: >>> >>> I'd love to know more about this. I'm certainly sold on the value >>> alignment but I don't have a sense for how it works. >>> >>> On Thursday, February 18, 2016, Trevor Twining <[email protected]> >>> wrote: >>> >>>> Apologies. I used an internal link. </embarrassed> >>>> >>>> Here’s the real link >>>> >>>> >>>> http://coworkniagara.com/blog/2016/02/10/why-co-operatives-and-coworking-go-hand-in-hand/ >>>> >>>> Trevor Twining >>>> [email protected] >>>> 416-201-2254 >>>> twitter/skype/linkedin: trevortwining >>>> >>>> On Feb 18, 2016, at 9:40 AM, Trevor Twining <[email protected]> >>>> wrote: >>>> >>>> Hey everyone, >>>> >>>> When we were developing the business plan for our space two years ago, >>>> a prospective member asked us if we had considered setting Cowork Niagara >>>> up as a co-operative. We didn’t know what that was, so we checked it out. >>>> >>>> It was the best thing that we could have done. We’re the only >>>> co-operative coworking space in english-speaking Canada (there’s one other >>>> in Quebec). I’m now convinced that if more spaces use this model it will >>>> help create stronger, more resilient coworking communities. I’m sharing >>>> this in the hopes that it piques your collective curiosity. >>>> >>>> I wrote a post about it on our newly-launched blog. If any of you have >>>> any questions about this, feel free to ask. >>>> >>>> >>>> http://cowork/blog/2016/02/10/why-co-operatives-and-coworking-go-hand-in-hand/ >>>> >>>> -------------------------------------------- >>>> Trevor Twining >>>> Cowork Niagara >>>> http://coworkniagara.com >>>> Home of Niagara’s independent workforce >>>> twitter: @coworkniagara, @trevortwining >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> -- >>>> 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. >>> 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. >> 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. > 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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