Gosh, I (and I bet many of us with similar smaller spaces) can relate so much to what you are going through. I feel your pain - you're not alone in all of these issues.
I don't have any magic bullets, but I did want to share my number one realization about myself and our space over the last year. When something is 100% your own and you touch every aspect of the space and business, it's easy to take these issues personally, but you have to try not to. It's business. I've gone through this and all around this, and have had sleepless nights wondering why people can be the way they are, but to them it's a business arrangement and they "won't get what they don't ask for." They WILL keep asking and taking as long as they are there. They feel that they have to, or they wouldn't be doing the best for their own businesses. I think the more quickly you can separate your personal feelings from this, the better owner/operator you will be. Getting upset and feeling (justifiably) taken advantage of has never been productive for me; when I changed my way of thinking and started to make decisions about our business based upon what it really is - a service - we began doing whatever we could to make people happy - AND immediately cutting ties with the people who never would be happy and were poisoning our environment. Because it's just business, and that goes both ways. Regardless of how they've treated you, this is a business decision - are they right for your space? Do they contribute to the environment you are trying to build? That said, I don't see how our space would ever function without providing a certain level of service. Our members don't expect to clean up after themselves; that's what they are paying us for. A cleaning person was my first 'hire', and we pick up after our members, wash their dishes during the day, restock the bathrooms and paper towels, etc. (We go way beyond that, but that's our brand.) I can't even comprehend asking them to take out their own trash! I know all spaces are different, but our focus on service is what I think differentiates us and will keep us viable as competition increases in our area. What you're expecting of them feels, to me, more of a co-op situation - maybe that's an avenue for you to look into? I think there was a thread here in this group on just that topic, and I know it was discussed at GCUC. Either way, I'd use a lot of caution in pushing your rules/T&C's to the forefront of your conversation and thereby putting walls up in front of your prospective members. Coworking spaces are supposed to be all about inclusiveness and good vibes. It's up to you to decide how much service that entails, but if you could fill your space and pay the bills by just taking out the garbage and cleaning up a few messes, wouldn't you be happy to do that? On Thursday, May 26, 2016 at 11:12:07 PM UTC-4, Anakowi Paul wrote: > > Hi Jessica, > > I have "experience" having done exactly that but I'm not sure I can give > you ANY good advice. I've really hit the wall this week and questioning my > level of naivety in this venture. > > I apologise if this post comes across as a whinge but I'm struggling to > understand where I've gone wrong. > > My space is comfortable in a roomy and well appointed sense but TINY when > it comes to catering for a viable revolving door community of workers. We > have a max. 8 fixed desks plus we can accommodate another 8 in the > group-table, coffee-table lounge areas. Town population probably 3-4k > people, high unemployment but a lot of early-adopters of innovation. It is > not your typical office space being an old renovated hall. The space > includes a residential apartment... so the lounge area has a large > home-office ambience – an atmosphere that will suit some but not others. > > We've been operating for a little over six months now... and haven't grown > much. I've needed to adapt my ideas and tighten up the rules a bit (not > easy with those who've joined early) – but so necessary. Maybe this is the > hardest part when you don't have a stream of people lining up for a desk... > because it's the people who set and shape the culture of the community. > > Regional populations in Australia are very small - so marketing is not > easy. However I saw a need (not necessarily a demand) for affordable and > social working options. While I've been prepared to operate at a loss for > 12 months, with the idea of pricing products very competitively and > attractively, I hadn't factored in the heavy lifting involved in site > maintenance. Rules around "cleaning up after yourself" don't relieve me of > the janitor role. > > Pricing correctly (and sticking to it) is proving to be an issue. In > particular because I have a group of people from a single organisation who > are dominating – in the sense of "owning" the space, and over time becoming > less mindful of others (solo workers). They have asked for and I have given > the group concessions on their argument that they deserve discount for > volume. That was the beginning of more demands and I'm beginning to feel > quite manipulated. They now want 24/7 access without an increased rate > adding that they would probably look for their own office space. I > responded simply with the obvious – it's a coworking space, there is no > "lease", people come and go as needed. > > Two days later I was greeted with a bunch of flowers! and an offer to take > over the whole space. I said I would think it over. > > The feeling of manipulation is clouding my ability to think strategically. > Yes, I am taking it personally. It confronts my original vision. I'm > leaning towards a decision to increase my monthly rate (to better cover > maintenance) and to revoke the "discount" with the suggestion they find > their own office. I will take the punt that other coworkers will > materialise. Do I stick to my vision or do I acquiesce? > > I realise that part of my problem stems from starting out "soft". I didn't > develop and deliver the Terms and Conditions from the outset. Don't make > that mistake. And I wasn't clear in myself about the nature of offering a > coworking facility. Do customers have a right to expect coworking to be a > fully serviced option where they don't have to worry about taking out the > garbage? > > I would really appreciate a no-punches-pulled reality check from more > experienced coworking vendors. > -- 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.
