That's awesome, Nicholas! I'm glad this perspective aligns well with you. I'm putting together a special group of organizers who are looking to do similar things; I'll follow up with you off-list about it.
Tony *---* *New Work Cities <http://nwc.co/consulting> - Helping people build better coworking cultures.* *Open Coworking <http://opencoworking.org/> - Championing the global coworking movement.* *Latest projects: Impact Coworking Program <http://nwc.co/3/impact-coworking-program> and the Ultimate Coworking Toolkit <http://nwc.co/toolkit>* *New: Support the free resources of coworking.org <http://coworking.org> for only $9/mo. Learn more! <http://opencoworking.org/news/support-open-coworking/>* [image: Inline image 8] <http://tonybacigalupo.com/>[image: http://twitter.com/tonybgoode] <http://twitter.com/tonybgoode>[image: http://facebook.com/tonybacigalupo] <http://facebook.com/tonybacigalupo>[image: http://linkedin.com/in/tonybacigalupo] <http://linkedin.com/in/tonybacigalupo> On Tue, May 31, 2016 at 1:43 PM, Nicholas Vincent < [email protected]> wrote: > Thanks Tony, I think you're definitely on the right track. > > When I look critically at where we are I can see we have one foot on each > side of the fence you describe... Looking at previous conversations and > agreements with various organizations (Small Business BC, Futurprenuer, the > City of Penticton etc) I can definitely see a common theme of "get past > talking about coworking and tell me what the real value is". And when we do > that, when we talk about the support of the new workforce (although in > different words) success happens. > > This is a very timely kick in the right direction, thank you. > > And it's wonderfully typical of this community too that you should be the > one who chimes in with good advice at this stage in our growth, since it > was you that Jen and I visited three years ago, green as could be shortly > after we opened. You had great advice then too I'm sure :) > > Cheers, > Nicholas > > > On Monday, 30 May 2016 20:14:12 UTC-7, Tony Bacigalupo wrote: >> >> I think the trick is to shift from thinking of yourself as a coworking >> space and towards thinking of yourself as an organization that supports >> members of the new workforce in a variety of ways. >> >> A lot of otherwise terrific and passionate organizers are being held back >> by the illusion that they're in the business of managing space. It's >> something I'm working to shift with my clients and friends. >> >> Look at the difference between mentalities: >> >> *Coworking space* >> >> - *Success metric:* Get enough members to cover costs and turn a >> profit. Then maintain status quo. Then fall into a rut. Then struggle. >> (Can >> you tell I'm not a fan?) >> - *Alignment with government and any other entities:* Minimal >> >> *Organization to support the new workforce* >> >> - *Success metric:* Number of people thriving working for themselves >> and building businesses >> - *Alignment with government and other entities:* Total! >> >> If you think of the coworking space as the home base of an operation that >> has a mission that transcends the facility, you're on a track that I expect >> would be easier to garner more substantial collaboration from government >> and various other organizations. >> >> People can be members of that without needing to rent space. Your >> community can live in places, online and offline, other than the facilities >> you manage. >> >> You're diversified, less exposed to landlords, and always focused on the >> mission. >> >> And you can avoid the coworking rut :-) >> >> Am I on the right track? >> >> Tony >> *---* >> *New Work Cities <http://nwc.co/consulting> - Helping people build better >> coworking cultures.* >> *Open Coworking <http://opencoworking.org/> - Championing the global >> coworking movement.* >> *Latest projects: Impact Coworking Program >> <http://nwc.co/3/impact-coworking-program> and the Ultimate Coworking >> Toolkit <http://nwc.co/toolkit>* >> *New: Support the free resources of coworking.org <http://coworking.org> >> for only $9/mo. Learn more! >> <http://opencoworking.org/news/support-open-coworking/>* >> >> [image: Inline image 8] <http://tonybacigalupo.com/>[image: >> http://twitter.com/tonybgoode] <http://twitter.com/tonybgoode>[image: >> http://facebook.com/tonybacigalupo] >> <http://facebook.com/tonybacigalupo>[image: >> http://linkedin.com/in/tonybacigalupo] >> <http://linkedin.com/in/tonybacigalupo> >> >> >> >> >> On Mon, May 30, 2016 at 4:19 PM, Nicholas Vincent < >> [email protected]> wrote: >> >>> Hi All, >>> >>> I run Cowork Penticton in BC, Canada and have a very solid relationship >>> with our community and our municipal government. I'm looking at >>> strengthening our ties with our Economic Development Office (EDO) and would >>> like to know if anyone else has worked through a similar challenge as below: >>> >>> - Our coworking facility is seen as a valuable community resource >>> and amongst other things, we feature in the City's marketing and new >>> business attraction material. It's a great relationship this way, however >>> due to restrictions on municipal spending that is seen to benefit a for >>> profit business that is really where the relationship ends. There are >>> many >>> acknowledged opportunities for working together, however I'm struggling >>> to >>> find a models that fits the red tape. >>> >>> Am I potentially looking at this from the wrong angle? >>> >>> Reading a post >>> <https://groups.google.com/d/msg/coworking/jzfFfLDIKg8/D6VJet0CsS8J> >>> from Derek Neighbors back in 2011 on how a traditional coworking space may >>> be viewed certainly rings true and I'd love to hear more viewpoints on >>> structuring a sustainable working relationship with an EDO at a >>> Municipal Government. >>> >>> To be clear, I am *not* talking about asking for funding from our local >>> government. I am looking to find a way to position coworking such that >>> partnering with an EDO is financially beneficial and enhances their >>> information and development value to the City, given the unique environment >>> that coworking generates. >>> >>> Cheers, >>> Nicholas >>> Co-Founder - Cowork Penticton >>> [email protected] >>> >>> -- >>> 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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