Hi Kevin, This is very exciting! I have a variety of free coworking resources available for download on my site at http://coherecommunity.com/the-goods Community Building: First Steps -Free DIY Coworking Decor - Free Why I use Cobot - Free Example Coworking Orientation Packet - Free First Two Community Meetings Prep - 1.99 Building Community as a space catalyst- 5.99 How Freelancers Escape the Coffee Shop Office - 1.99 1 year cash flow spreadsheet with membership projections and costs for all expenditures for spaces between 800-3,500 ft2. On sale until 4/9 for $199.99. This one also includes Cohere's actual cash flow for year 1 when our space was 1,000 ft2 at $12/ft2 rent price.
Beyond what you can learn by reading, I would do the hunt for physical space collaboratively--tour the choices as a group, bring along someone who has a knack for making interiors lovely to point out how different spaces might work with a little TLC. Then I would ask those 6 people to put some skin in the game. Contribute $200/person will cover most of a lease deposit etc and then they get to be "Founding Members" forever and ever. Angel On Monday, March 27, 2017 at 8:11:32 AM UTC-6, Kevin Haggerty wrote: > > Hey group! > > My name is Kevin Haggerty. I'm 37 years old and live in Gloucester, > Virginia. Our city has approximately 30k people in it, and it is located > between Williamsburg and Virginia Beach. > > A month ago, after five years in the ministry, and for a variety of > reasons I won't go into here, I stepped down as Executive Pastor of a > church. > > My background actually isn't in ministry, rather, it is in web and graphic > design. > > So, after stepping down, I went back to what I know, which is designing > websites. > > I started off working from home, but I have two toddlers and a newborn at > home, so, yeah, no go. > > I tried the library, Starbucks, etc, etc, and you all have obviously been > down that road which is what led you here. > > A month ago, I'd never even heard of coworking. Now, in fairly obsessed > with the idea of it. > > My community doesn't have a coworking space. The closest one is 45 minutes > away. I think it'd be great for our community, but I just am not totally > sure how to go about it. > > I've ravenously digested Alex's blog posts and videos. I've watched every > video on the CoHo YouTube channel. I've watched and listened to hours of > Jerome talking about coworking space and arrangement. I've read just about > every post on this group forum (which is amazing, btw). I've amassed at > least 100 hours of research, just in the last month. > > I started a Facebook page (www.Facebook.com/coworkGloucesterVA) to > generate interest. So far, I have six people who have said they'd be > serious about joining, and I've added them to an email list. I'm working on > planning a meetup soon where we can all get to know each other and talk > possibilities. > > Additionally, I've begun scouting locations. Here is the rundown: > > - There is an old historic house on our Main Street that was recently > purchased by some friends of mine. It's two stories, and they are > interested in renting out the top story for dedicated office space and > letting me operate a coworking space on the first floor. The first floor > has a small kitchen, a bathroom, a small office, a room that could be a > conference room, a 10x30 room that would be good for open coworking, then a > smaller 10x20 room that could work for more partitioned and quieter space. > There's also decent parking out back, and the building is in the thick of > downtown, so lots to do nearby. The owners are interested in essentially > charging me a percentage based on how many I have in the building, and not > a set rent rate. They'd also help with the build-out costs, if not incur > them entirely. It's less risky, but it means I still essentially work for > syndrome and don't really have ownership, and there also isn't much room to > grow. > > - There is a 3600 sqft unit in a nearby shopping center. It is pretty much > a blank slate, and I could do a lot with it. The shopping center it resides > in is growing and would be a good place to be. The lease is $2100/month, > which is cheap considering the space, but I don't have any capital, and I > haven't had time to do any fundraising yet. > > - There are a couple other spaces simular to the one mentioned above. > > - I've also spoken to a man with the local economic development > foundation, and he's told me about an old historic, 4500 sqft building on > Main Street that used to be a law office. He was unclear as to really why > he brought it up and if he thinks we'd be able to use it. What he was clear > on was that he needs to see a financial plan from me. I have a business > plan, but a financial plan on a coworking space seems difficult to me. All > I can think to do is give him my pricing model and some different scenarios > based on how full the building is and what types of memberships could > theoretically be purchased. > > I've led organizations before and am comfortable leading. I think this > idea is a good one and something our community needs. > > I just don't know what to do next, and I could really use some direction. > > I'm sorry for the novel. > > I appreciate the feedback in advance. > > Thanks! > > -Kevin -- 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.
