[Coworking] Coworking advantages mega list
Thank you Jacob. I've taken the liberty of adding your reply to the post :) http://coworkinghandbook.com/advantages-benefits-coworking-list/#comment-119 Here's the disadvantages of coworking list: http://coworkinghandbook.com/downsides-of-coworking-and-how-to-reply-mega-list/ -- 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 coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
Re: [Coworking] Coffee Shop/Coworking Combination Business Model
NextDoor Chicago does this pretty well (but it's more of an event/community space than coworking space, per se). https://www.nextdoorchi.com And thank you for the article! I also read this article the other day about giving coffee shops back to the community, which I thought made awesome, similar points: http://www.boston.com/business/innovation/blogs/inside-the-hive/2013/10/07/coworker-not-coffeeshopper/C2adUKikZKLsLO9vTk7gVO/blog.html On Sunday, October 13, 2013 7:47:53 PM UTC-5, LA Tripp wrote: This is really helpful, thank you! I was wondering about the noise and interruptions. I can see that a very separate space would be necessary, and then what's the point of having an attached coffee shop at all? Jerome mentioned spaces that combine coworking and food service: Betahaus in Berlin, Hudson Business Lounge in Milwaukee and The Desk in Denver. They look like the cafe is quite separate, though its hard to tell from the pictures. The Desk seems to have the Cafe as their central business, with the coworking on an hourly basis. I looked at CentralWorking's site and can't get a clear idea of their floor plan to see how it works for them, though it's a beautiful place. I did notice that some of the cafe/coworking places still offer free drip coffee to coworkers. The cafe owner I talked to actually first offered to supply my space with coffee service- this may be the most practical way to go after all. I'll have a kitchen no matter what. I know we can have food and alcohol at events with a permit- that may be better than complicating matters with a restaurant. Tom, if I do partner with a cafe, I'll keep your observations in the front of my mind when it comes to designing the space. This has been very valuable! Thank you! ~Loren On Sunday, October 13, 2013 8:13:12 AM UTC-7, Tom Brandt - Workantile wrote: Workantile had a coffee shop in the front of our space for a while when we first opened, but it did not work. Even though the coffee shop was separated from the coworking area by a couple of walls, noise from the bean grinders, espresso machine, and chatter from the coffee shop customers spilled over into the coworking area. There was a constant stream of coffee shop customers traipsing through the coworking area to use the bathrooms. It was all incredibly distracting. Pretty much everything people hated about working in coffee shops was there in the coworking area. The shop eventually moved out into a larger space, and we claimed their former space for our own. This worked out for everyone - the shop got more space, we got more space, and the distractions that the coffee shop imposed on us were gone. We now provide Zingerman's coffee in our kitchen for members. There are several coffee shops within a couple blocks of Workantile that members use as well. It sounds like a good idea, but unless you carefully work out noise isolation, bathroom access, foot traffic flow, and so forth, there will be problems. On Sun, Oct 13, 2013 at 2:41 AM, Fay Easton in...@shrewsburyenterprise.co.uk wrote: Hi - always felt this might work but not yet tried it at our hubs - seems to have taken off brilliantly here: www.centralworking.com at the BLOOMSBURY unit. Footfall is mega in that area so am sure that contributes to the success and the ‘front seating’ at stools/bars is not designed for laptop width! Member area / fab co working space that you can see on the pics on the site is accessed through turnstile Interesting article comments on the Coffee Shop Squatters thanks for sharing that - agree with consensus that one hour code would protect the business owners’ investment onward trade. New style’ units may well spring up based on market demand - Working Cafes where the coffee may be dearer but the service is costed in. Best, Fay ** ** ** ** *From:* cowo...@googlegroups.com [mailto:cowo...@googlegroups.com] *On Behalf Of *LA Tripp *Sent:* 13 October 2013 07:25 *To:* cowo...@googlegroups.com *Subject:* [Coworking] Coffee Shop/Coworking Combination Business Model* *** ** ** Hi All! I have been searching for this in the past threads but haven't found this exactly. I was wondering if anyone has a Coworking space and coffee shop combination, where the coffee shop is an actual cafe run by a separate entity? The cafe would be in the front showroom area of the old auto dealership building I have in mind, with coworking in the warehouse/office part in the back; there would be some separation of the spaces, but I'd like to at least have a clear view into some the coworking space from the cafe. I have someone who might be interested, and it would certainly pull in potential coworkers. With the exception of Starbucks, most cafes in Pasadena are discontinuing their wifi, so I don't think anyone would be especially outraged if that wasn't offered
Re: [Coworking] Re: Hi and smartphone operated lock system?
I've done a lot of research on this topic as I've developed Nadine and have come to the same basic conclusions as Adrian. We use ISONAS card keys and I looked into integrating it, but it's always been more complicated then it's worth. I even got ISONAS to release all their back-end technical documents but didn't go very far down that road. I've talked about this quite a bit with Alex from Cobot and I know he was looking into it. I also know that WUN is now doing ISONAS support so maybe it will become a better product. So far I'm not very impressed and at $1000/door it's not exactly cheap. That said, it's all installed and paid for here at Office Nomads so I'm not about to make changes. We also do some wifi accounting but don't do any billing off of it. It's too problematic to put any weight on. If someone stops by for an event their phone will jump on the wifi and show them as here when they are not in fact working for the day. I show up in the logs when I'm just walking by the office. So instead we rely on an iPad at the front desk to check people in and our system is simplified to not require checking out. Since Nadine does know who is on the network it can highlight if someone is here but hasn't signed in. We can then talk with them to remind them and it works out pretty well. No matter how smart the technology, humans are always required at some point of the process. That's the beauty of running a coworking space though. We have lots of humans and that's the secret sauce that keeps our members coming back for more. People that run business centers must have to work so hard. Jacob --- Office Nomads - Individuality without Isolation http://www.officenomads.com - (206) 323-6500 On Sat, Oct 12, 2013 at 5:15 AM, Adrian Palacios adr...@nexudus.com wrote: Hi Jay, It is a common need indeed, but a difficult one to crack, particularly if you want your access control infrastructure to communicate with the software helping run the space (Cobot, Nexudus Spaces or any other) so, when a member tries to access the space or a room, that software has a way of opening or not the lock, rather than always relaying on the access control software to make that call on its own. In most spaces we know, the software controlling the access control part runs independently from the software running price plans, bookings, etc… and you have to reconcile the access cards registration with what the space software tells you. The reason behind this, we think, is that the companies providing access control software are quite concerned about opening up their systems to third parties, as this may reveal problems or ways to hijack their systems. In short, integrating with access control providers hasn't been easy – so far. When talking about this with some spaces, we came to realize that, even if we managed to integrate with an access control manufacturer in a way that we (as the software helping you run the space) can control the locks, then there is an additional challenge, which is how to make sure that members are not bypassing that controlled door, say for example by two members going in using one card… it very quickly becomes an airport security model, which is not what most spaces want. So, after all this, these are the options we can offer. · RFID Reader. If you have, or planning to have, an access control system based on access cards, then you can register the member card number in your Spaces account, connect a USB RFID Reader and check members in and out of the space by touching the card on the reader, this will not only check if the member can access the space at that time but also give you real-time occupancy reports. In most cases, this will need a person on the front desk to make sure members check in and out. More info here: http://help.spaces.nexudus.com/en/managers/rfid-checkin-how-it-works.html* *** · The good old WiFi checking. This just controls access to your internet connection, but it uses that data to know who is in the space at all times and how long they have been there for. You can use this time towards time plan allowances. More info here: http://help.spaces.nexudus.com/en/managers/wifi-getting-started.html Every time we talk about this subject we always seek for help, comments and ideas from you guys running a space. We are always willing to offer our technical expertise and resources to try new ideas that will help everyone in this situation and also make Nexudus Spaces better and more useful to the community. …. and that all I have to say about that :) On Wednesday, October 9, 2013 5:05:44 PM UTC+1, Jay Chubb wrote: Hi all... Massive thankyou to everyone for all the posts, such a rich resource (I've been lurking for ages!). I'm opening Nest Coworking in Melbourne, Australia, in 3 weeks. I'll introduce myself and Nest more fully another time (like when I'm not half-insane
[Coworking] Use Agreements with Established Offices
Hey everyone, Question real quick, which may have already been asked, but I must confess, today is crazy and I don't have time to search to whole group. Our team was connected with a local business who has extra space in their facility that they are not using. They have expressed an interest that something be done with it and the idea of coworking was presented to them and they were referred to us. Basically, no one at the current company has the time or the interest in developing a coworking space within their building internally, but are open to having someone else come in and do it. Has anyone had any experience with how usage agreements on set ups like this are handled. I am leaning towards looking at it as a sublease situation where our operation is using x amount of the space for the coworking facility and set it up that way. We have met with them twice and have a third meeting this evening for potential members. Have one meetup group that may be interested, as well as a few individuals and one company of 3-4 people who have reached out expressing an interest as well. So that is why I'm looking into the options for usage agreements with the current space owners so we are ready to launch when we hit our tipping point for membership. Any feedback would be great. Thanks all. Rob C. -- 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 coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
[Coworking] Re: Hand Coworking to the members
We too have kicked around that idea. We determined it could have value, but have not yet worked out how that model would look either. I'd be interested in any thoughts an ideas on the topic as well. Thanks Rob C. On Sunday, October 13, 2013 2:16:29 PM UTC-6, Brydon Gilliss wrote: I started a coworking space ThreeFortyNine http://threefortynine.com. Lately I've been contemplating how we could engage our members at a deeper level. I'm curious to explore models of shared ownership, co-op etc that engage the membership base. Any links, examples etc, please pass along. I'm less interested in the not-for-profit model but I'm open to it... thanks, brydon -- 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 coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
Re: [Coworking] Hand Coworking to the members
I really like this question, it's one that crosses my mind from time to time. Earlier this year, I had a very powerful conversation with one of our members who is the president and a co-founder of his local food co-op. He and I hashed out a lot about the strengths and weaknesses of the various models, and gave me a lot to think about. When I do think about different approaches to shared ownership, I tend to start with these questions: - What exactly would they *own*? - What is the *benefit* of being an owner vs. non-owner? - How does someone becoming an owner *change their participation* as a member? - How does someone who is *NOT an owner interact differently* than an owner? - *Who* can become an owner, and who can't? - Will ownerships *create entitlements*, and how will this affect the community? And a few other questions that aren't coming to mind right now. At the end of each of these thought experiments, I come to the conclusion that legal ownership actually *isn't* a deeper level of engagement...and definitely not by default. One of our core constraintshttp://www.indyhall.org/purpose is to *never prioritize transactions ahead of a relationships*. Transactional engagement isn't inherently bad, but they do chip away at a community when transactions and relationships aren't in balance. *Important note: *Like any organization, the model (co-op, non-profit, for profit, etc) isn't as important as how it's lead and what intentionality drives the model. So we go back to focusing on helping create experiences that people can have ownership of, and share (this includes but isn't limited to specific events, areas of interest/discipline, etc). *The primary value created by coworking is relationships.* Which nobody, including (and especially) the lease holders or the managers, have *ownership *over. *There's a but...* I've found one exception, and it's something that would've never made sense in our first 5 years of operation and doesn't makes sense for most coworking businesses: what happens when you transition from leasing space to owning the space? To be clear, I wouldn't have bought space at any point in our 6+ year history. And we still might not. There are some clear benefits at this stage of maturity, but there are some significant disadvantages as well. *If* we were to purchase the building we're located in, one consideration is to make the building ownership something that members can participate in. We've borrowed money from members during each of our expansions, but it was working capital, which doesn't translate well to equity in the case of communities. *You can't buy participation.* Community and social capital are not fungible in the way that money is. But, when there is an actual, tangible asset (property, for example), you have a fungible resource. Sharing those with your community members can make sense, so long as you're thoughtful and intentional with the process. -Alex -- /ah indyhall.org coworking in philadelphia On Sun, Oct 13, 2013 at 4:16 PM, Brydon Gilliss brydongill...@gmail.comwrote: I started a coworking space ThreeFortyNine http://threefortynine.com. Lately I've been contemplating how we could engage our members at a deeper level. I'm curious to explore models of shared ownership, co-op etc that engage the membership base. Any links, examples etc, please pass along. I'm less interested in the not-for-profit model but I'm open to it... thanks, brydon -- 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 coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out. -- 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 coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
Re: [Coworking] Coffee Shop/Coworking Combination Business Model
I actually visited Hudson in Milwaukee this morning. It's in an excellent location and it's beautiful. Right in Milwaukee's 3rd ward which has seen a major renaissance in the last 5 years. They actually call their coworking space a business lounge and I'd say it has more of a formal feeling than many coworking spaces but it is very attractive, modern, comfortable, friendly. Not business center-y at all. You walk in to a shared entrance for the cafe/bar and the coworking space but you immediately select one or the other. The coworking space opens up with a long table of benched seating and I didn't notice any coffee shop sounds at all. They share a wall but the entrances are essentially separate. The HVAC fan was on (gorgeous exposed duct work) so it was great white noise which might have drowned out some of the coffee shop sounds if there were any. The coffee shop itself is really comfortable with high end lounge chairs. There were people working in the cafe and a large group having a meeting in a large lounge space. I have no idea how their bar does at night but I think they have a well-executed design for running three businesses under one roof. They do not supply free coffee to the coworking members but they get 10% off of their purchases in the cafe. If you own the building, this type of model might make good sense. Trying to operate them both in the same space without real separation, per the posts below, sounds like a suboptimal approach. On Monday, October 14, 2013 11:51:53 AM UTC-5, Matthew Straub wrote: NextDoor Chicago does this pretty well (but it's more of an event/community space than coworking space, per se). https://www.nextdoorchi.com And thank you for the article! I also read this article the other day about giving coffee shops back to the community, which I thought made awesome, similar points: http://www.boston.com/business/innovation/blogs/inside-the-hive/2013/10/07/coworker-not-coffeeshopper/C2adUKikZKLsLO9vTk7gVO/blog.html On Sunday, October 13, 2013 7:47:53 PM UTC-5, LA Tripp wrote: This is really helpful, thank you! I was wondering about the noise and interruptions. I can see that a very separate space would be necessary, and then what's the point of having an attached coffee shop at all? Jerome mentioned spaces that combine coworking and food service: Betahaus in Berlin, Hudson Business Lounge in Milwaukee and The Desk in Denver. They look like the cafe is quite separate, though its hard to tell from the pictures. The Desk seems to have the Cafe as their central business, with the coworking on an hourly basis. I looked at CentralWorking's site and can't get a clear idea of their floor plan to see how it works for them, though it's a beautiful place. I did notice that some of the cafe/coworking places still offer free drip coffee to coworkers. The cafe owner I talked to actually first offered to supply my space with coffee service- this may be the most practical way to go after all. I'll have a kitchen no matter what. I know we can have food and alcohol at events with a permit- that may be better than complicating matters with a restaurant. Tom, if I do partner with a cafe, I'll keep your observations in the front of my mind when it comes to designing the space. This has been very valuable! Thank you! ~Loren On Sunday, October 13, 2013 8:13:12 AM UTC-7, Tom Brandt - Workantile wrote: Workantile had a coffee shop in the front of our space for a while when we first opened, but it did not work. Even though the coffee shop was separated from the coworking area by a couple of walls, noise from the bean grinders, espresso machine, and chatter from the coffee shop customers spilled over into the coworking area. There was a constant stream of coffee shop customers traipsing through the coworking area to use the bathrooms. It was all incredibly distracting. Pretty much everything people hated about working in coffee shops was there in the coworking area. The shop eventually moved out into a larger space, and we claimed their former space for our own. This worked out for everyone - the shop got more space, we got more space, and the distractions that the coffee shop imposed on us were gone. We now provide Zingerman's coffee in our kitchen for members. There are several coffee shops within a couple blocks of Workantile that members use as well. It sounds like a good idea, but unless you carefully work out noise isolation, bathroom access, foot traffic flow, and so forth, there will be problems. On Sun, Oct 13, 2013 at 2:41 AM, Fay Easton in...@shrewsburyenterprise.co.uk wrote: Hi - always felt this might work but not yet tried it at our hubs - seems to have taken off brilliantly here: www.centralworking.com at the BLOOMSBURY unit. Footfall is mega in that area so am sure that contributes to the success and the ‘front seating’ at stools/bars is not
