[Coworking] Family Friendly Coworking Space in Michigan
Hi everyone, I'm so excited about opening a coworking space with an onsite daycare in Michigan. Today, I start the marketing of my fundraiser and I wanted to ask the coworking community, if you would support us by sharing the link http://familycoworking.com / #familycoworking on your social networks (Facebook and Twitter). Thank you so much Angela Samuels VisionaryMeetings.com -- 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] Dealing with Banks for funding coworking space
Hi again, I have a appointment with a banker on Monday to discuss a small bank loan for my future coworking space. Has anyone got a bank loan for a coworking space? If so, How did you present it? Any suggestions would be appreciated about the process. Sincerely, Angela Samuels VisionaryMeetings.com -- 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] Starting a coworking business
Hi Group, I found you on the wiki. I'm doing my best to read everything I can get my hands on. I was wondering if you would share your knowledge about choosing a location for a coworking facility. Where is the best place to open one of these up? Is there some kind of demographic I should research to find the perfect space? Thank you. -- 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: Open Source Business Plan for Coworking Space
Hi everyone, great initiative! I'm starting approaching to a coworking business planning activity, i would be glad to collaborate! And I'm also joining ouiShare community in Italy, have a nice day Luca Il giorno lunedì 25 novembre 2013 23:50:10 UTC+1, Kevin Ilardi ha scritto: Dear all, I am trying to understand and to study the Business Model of Coworking Space within a collaborative thesis. I am reading some books, but I'd like your opinion, because you are directly confronted to a Business Model. Do you use a proper Business Model? If you want to share it with me, I will put my thesis online soon and we can build together a base for a Coworking Space's BM. Best, Kevin Ilardi **about me: My name is Kevin Ilardi, international student actually at Saxion University, Enschede, The Netherlands. I am based in Grenoble for 4 years ago now, and I am involved in the collaborative economy thanks to OuiShare community. I am writting my thesis about Business Model of Coworking Space (and FabLab) within a collaborative document because I am aware that I don't have all the knowledge, so share with you is more interesting. Thank you -- 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] Growing our coworking space
Morning Guys, Thanks for the feedback. I totally understand there's no magic bullet except hard work. We've done some events potlucks every few months, Lunch 'n' Thinc's-once a month-(where a speaker comes in a talks for a bit, lunch is catered and people mingle/network etc). Also, we started a quarterly event series for 2014, Year of the Local, each event builds on each other with a different theme. Jan.10, the first event went well. We had our members and their friends along with a lot of outside community because of the large press spread we picked up. Next one is April.10. * Can you describe this core membership more? Who are they, what makes them a strong core in your eyes?* Our core membership is mainly comprised of those in our private offices, thincstations, and some consistent Thinc 40/80/unlimited floaters. They are entrepreneurs, creative professionals if I had to succinctly describe them. Great, positive energy with some strong 'stay' power. These members are passionate about what they do and also about others success in their fields. They were all strangers in the beginning, and quite a few have formed some solid friendships outside of the office. Though some tend to keep a little more to themselves. Basically, Savannah is a small town. Everyone in our space is somehow intertwined through business or mutual friends. Sorry if that was super long-winded! Appreciate the quick response! Thanks, -Elise On Wed, Feb 19, 2014 at 4:01 PM, Alex Hillman dangerouslyawes...@gmail.comwrote: I've been following this group thread and see that everyone is totally immersed in the coworking world and running successful, member-filled spaces. I wish this were true across the board. I work with spaces around the world every week that continue to struggle. One of the weaknesses of this community is that it IS so pro-coworking, and not much data is available about the real challenges and failures. Coaxing out real stories of failure is really hard, and often only happens behind closed doors. I work for ThincSavannah, Savannah's first coworking space, and we have a strong core of members, about 50-60, but are having a challenging time growing beyond that. Can you describe this core membership more? Who are they, what makes them a strong core in your eyes? -Alex -- /ah indyhall.org coworking in philadelphia On Wed, Feb 19, 2014 at 2:06 PM, Ramon Suarez ra...@betacowork.comwrote: Easy! Working our asses off... There is no magic bullet. You have to organize events for kind of clients you want and get the word out through social media, contacts, etc. At the begining it is fundamental to have people in the space every day, so invite some friends over and get to work. Good luck! -- 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. -- Elise Colcord 678-467-9328 LooseLeafDiarieshttp://elisecolcord.wordpress.com/category/a-day-in-the-life/ RunningHealth http://twitter.com/#!/ecolcord LinkedIn http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=69001866trk=tab_pro -- 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] Starting a coworking business
Welcome Tom! The best thing to do is ask your members. If you don't have members yet, then slow down on the search for a physical space and focus on growing your membership first. Many of us often recommend taking several months to develop a community that is interested in coworking and having at least 10ppl dedicated to the idea with cheques in hand that they can't wait to give to you before you get a space. Then ask your members. :-) And involve them in every step of the way. People tend to support what they help to create. r. *rachel young*rac...@camaraderie.ca *We're located at 2241 Dundas St W, 3rd floor* *(between Bloor and Roncesvalles)* Gift cards now available http://bit.ly/GiftCardsviaSMAKK via SMAKK! *Find us online:* Website/blog http://camaraderie.ca and Newsletterhttp://bit.ly/camaraderienewsletter , Twitter http://twitter.com/camaraderie, Facebook http://bit.ly/9zv3Fx, Google+ http://bit.ly/CamaraderiePlus, Yelp http://bit.ly/CamaraderieYelp, and LinkedInhttp://bit.ly/CamaraderieGroup We're a proud member of CoworkingToronto http://www.coworkingtoronto.ca/, CoworkingOntario http://coworkingontario.ca/, and CoworkingCanadahttp://www.coworkingcanada.ca/ ! On 19 February 2014 22:08, Tom Beiser tkbei...@gmail.com wrote: Hi Group, I found you on the wiki. I'm doing my best to read everything I can get my hands on. I was wondering if you would share your knowledge about choosing a location for a coworking facility. Where is the best place to open one of these up? Is there some kind of demographic I should research to find the perfect space? Thank you. -- 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] Starting a coworking business
More on what Rachel said here: http://dangerouslyawesome.com/2011/09/how-to-fund-your-coworking-space/ It looks like it's about funding (and in a way, it is) but it's really about focusing on this early community with buy in. Pay special attention to the two options for the steps you could take. :) One other thing: even when you DO have members, there is no such thing as a perfect space. It'll always be too far or too inconvenient for somebody. I recommend getting that idea out of your head. If you're gonna be on the lookout for anything AFTER you have members, make it a great landlord who understands the community. You can do a lot more with a less than perfect space and a great landlord than you can with a perfect space and a terrible landlord. -Alex -- /ah indyhall.org betterwork.co On Thu, Feb 20, 2014 at 9:56 AM, rachel young rac...@camaraderie.ca wrote: Welcome Tom! The best thing to do is ask your members. If you don't have members yet, then slow down on the search for a physical space and focus on growing your membership first. Many of us often recommend taking several months to develop a community that is interested in coworking and having at least 10ppl dedicated to the idea with cheques in hand that they can't wait to give to you before you get a space. Then ask your members. :-) And involve them in every step of the way. People tend to support what they help to create. r. *rachel young*rac...@camaraderie.ca *We're located at 2241 Dundas St W, 3rd floor* *(between Bloor and Roncesvalles)* Gift cards now available http://bit.ly/GiftCardsviaSMAKK via SMAKK! *Find us online:* Website/blog http://camaraderie.ca and Newsletterhttp://bit.ly/camaraderienewsletter , Twitter http://twitter.com/camaraderie, Facebook http://bit.ly/9zv3Fx, Google+ http://bit.ly/CamaraderiePlus, Yelp http://bit.ly/CamaraderieYelp, and LinkedInhttp://bit.ly/CamaraderieGroup We're a proud member of CoworkingToronto http://www.coworkingtoronto.ca/, CoworkingOntario http://coworkingontario.ca/, and CoworkingCanadahttp://www.coworkingcanada.ca/ ! On 19 February 2014 22:08, Tom Beiser tkbei...@gmail.com wrote: Hi Group, I found you on the wiki. I'm doing my best to read everything I can get my hands on. I was wondering if you would share your knowledge about choosing a location for a coworking facility. Where is the best place to open one of these up? Is there some kind of demographic I should research to find the perfect space? Thank you. -- 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. -- 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: Growing our coworking space
Elise, because we were in smaller areas, we needed to provide a broad range of space, time, services to appeal to a broader range of people. This may not be what you want to do, though. The unifying thread for us has been community: the town people have chosen to live in or identify with. That said, use Craigslist! We post 2 - 3 times/day. We've tried everything, and it certainly works best. (Oh, and have a good call to action on your interesting website.) On Wednesday, February 19, 2014 9:26:08 AM UTC-8, Elise Colcord wrote: Hey All, I've been following this group thread and see that everyone is totally immersed in the coworking world and running successful, member-filled spaces. As I've checked most of your sites, I'm wondering how you gained so many members in the short, yet successful time your space has been around? I work for ThincSavannah, Savannah's first coworking space, and we have a strong core of members, about 50-60, but are having a challenging time growing beyond that. Any advice and insight is appreciated! www.thincsavannah.com http://thincsavannah.com (still working on updating the member page with some of our newest additions). Thanks a bunch! -- Elise Colcord 678-467-9328 LooseLeafDiarieshttp://elisecolcord.wordpress.com/category/a-day-in-the-life/ RunningHealth http://twitter.com/#!/ecolcord LinkedIn http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=69001866trk=tab_pro -- 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] Re: Growing our coworking space
Barbara, That's a great suggestion for the Craigslist. I hope it would attract mostly the, what we would call, 'creatively normal' haha But now that Thinc is more established I think we can post a more accurate ad. Also, another good point with the call to action on our site. I will look into that as well! Thanks for the suggestions! On Thu, Feb 20, 2014 at 11:48 AM, Barbara Sprenger bspren...@thesatelliteinc.com wrote: Elise, because we were in smaller areas, we needed to provide a broad range of space, time, services to appeal to a broader range of people. This may not be what you want to do, though. The unifying thread for us has been community: the town people have chosen to live in or identify with. That said, use Craigslist! We post 2 - 3 times/day. We've tried everything, and it certainly works best. (Oh, and have a good call to action on your interesting website.) On Wednesday, February 19, 2014 9:26:08 AM UTC-8, Elise Colcord wrote: Hey All, I've been following this group thread and see that everyone is totally immersed in the coworking world and running successful, member-filled spaces. As I've checked most of your sites, I'm wondering how you gained so many members in the short, yet successful time your space has been around? I work for ThincSavannah, Savannah's first coworking space, and we have a strong core of members, about 50-60, but are having a challenging time growing beyond that. Any advice and insight is appreciated! www.thincsavannah.com http://thincsavannah.com (still working on updating the member page with some of our newest additions). Thanks a bunch! -- Elise Colcord 678-467-9328 LooseLeafDiarieshttp://elisecolcord.wordpress.com/category/a-day-in-the-life/ RunningHealth http://twitter.com/#!/ecolcord LinkedIn http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=69001866trk=tab_pro -- 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. -- Elise Colcord 678-467-9328 LooseLeafDiarieshttp://elisecolcord.wordpress.com/category/a-day-in-the-life/ RunningHealth http://twitter.com/#!/ecolcord LinkedIn http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=69001866trk=tab_pro -- 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] It's all in a name. Or is it?
Glad to hear that, Randy. My hope, other than to get help, was to highlight an issue others might have or are having to face. Congrats on your growing community by the way! What was the effect when you changed your organizations name? Both within the group and outside? It sounds like you already had a decent following at the time you made that decision. One of the things I also realized in creating the name on my own, is that I had potentially missed out on a great opportunity for community involvement. Had I waited, the community could have helped come up with the name and as a result felt a stronger connection with it. My only issue with this is how do I go about that now that I have a name, and one that I feel is not suitable to continue with? The only viable solution I can think of for a scenario where the community-to-be helps pick is one where I keep the current name and wait until said community grows before we change it. I just don't want to rename it now, on my own, only to be in this same situation another 9 months from now. I could do something generic for the time being - E.g. Alaska Jelly Group - and wait for the community. Though I feel changing it (generic name) and then changing it again (community derived name) will have negative side effects. There is also the distinct possibility I am overthinking this. But I feel like it's an issue worth talking about. On Wednesday, February 19, 2014 10:19:34 PM UTC-9, Texrat wrote: It's an interesting topic to me, Job, especially since it hits home. Over a year ago I started to pull together a local maker community in my area. After many coffee shop meetups, several people settled into a collection of leaders. At initial meetings that subject of identity came up, and I had thoughts similar to yours: I felt we needed to build community first, then start a physical makerspace once we had an organization established. I also believed our org name should identify the community first, space(s) second. I was outvoted at first and we came to be Fort Worth Makerspace. Over time, as our purpose evolved more to favor community education powered by partnerships, everyone realized we wouldn't be just one physical space ultimately but many. In fact we are working on two now, partnering with a library and university respectively. And so everyone else changed their mind to abstract the organization from physical spaces-- our organization became Tarrant Makers, named after our county to identify our physical reach. So I can understand your dilemma. Your name, brand, identity-- whatever you call it, it creates an image in the minds of your community, customers, partners and sponsors. You have to think deep about who and what you are, what needs you intend to fill going forward, how you wish to be perceived. It sounds like you already have a good idea which way you're going to go. Hope my rambling helped. Randy Tarrant Makers On February 20, 2014 at 12:06 AM Job Sonnentag j...@alaskazone.comjavascript: wrote: About a year ago I decided to start a coworking space here in Alaska. I figured it needed a name, so that it could grow and be referenced. That name is CrankSpace. As luck would have it, one of the first things I realized, was that I actually didn't want to start a space, I wanted to build a community. And eventually, when our community needed it, we would find a location to house it. So a year has gone by and we have a name which presumes we have the one thing we actually don't - space - and, I feel, vocalizes a value I don't see in that one thing. At least not direct value. My question is this: Does it matter? I would love for it to be a community decision, but despite being at it for almost a year, we don't have much of an active one yet. I feel I'm losing connection with the name because it promotes values I don't believe in and fear it having a negative impact. My fear in changing it is loss in recognition, perceived flakiness or lack of viability. Not sure what to do with this one. *TL:DR* - I feel our name doesn't fit our goals anymore. Does it matter? Job -- 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+...@googlegroups.com javascript:. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out. Randall (Randy) Arnold Developer and Enthusiast Advocate http://texrat.net +18177396806 -- 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
Re: [Coworking] It's all in a name. Or is it?
There is also the distinct possibility I am overthinking this. This. :) If you had hundreds of people who knew about what you were doing and you suddenly changed the name, this *might* be a bigger deal. But as you've said, you don't, so I think you're putting the cart before the horse, big time. Involving the community in the naming is great, though I wouldn't let it hold you back. More general advice around naming: it sounds like you're trying to name the thing you're doing. Coworking, cranking, jelly-ing, etc. To riff on Randall's post, which I think is a GREAT illustration, notice that their new name doesn't describe what they do but *who they are*. It tells you something about the people and what they care about, rather than naming a specific effort. That's what makes a good name: when it describes *who* you'll find there. Those people may do a variety of things, from coworking to teaching to socializing to who the hell knows but the things they have in common won't change dramatically. So: 1) Stop worrying about a name change. I assure you that more people won't notice than will. People are just as concerned about in their lives as you are about your name...and you can be 100% sure that they care more about their problems than yours. ;) 2) If you're gonna rename, work towards a name that describes the people instead of what they do. -Alex -- /ah indyhall.org coworking in philadelphia On Thu, Feb 20, 2014 at 1:49 PM, Job Sonnentag j...@alaskazone.com wrote: Glad to hear that, Randy. My hope, other than to get help, was to highlight an issue others might have or are having to face. Congrats on your growing community by the way! What was the effect when you changed your organizations name? Both within the group and outside? It sounds like you already had a decent following at the time you made that decision. One of the things I also realized in creating the name on my own, is that I had potentially missed out on a great opportunity for community involvement. Had I waited, the community could have helped come up with the name and as a result felt a stronger connection with it. My only issue with this is how do I go about that now that I have a name, and one that I feel is not suitable to continue with? The only viable solution I can think of for a scenario where the community-to-be helps pick is one where I keep the current name and wait until said community grows before we change it. I just don't want to rename it now, on my own, only to be in this same situation another 9 months from now. I could do something generic for the time being - E.g. Alaska Jelly Group - and wait for the community. Though I feel changing it (generic name) and then changing it again (community derived name) will have negative side effects. There is also the distinct possibility I am overthinking this. But I feel like it's an issue worth talking about. On Wednesday, February 19, 2014 10:19:34 PM UTC-9, Texrat wrote: It's an interesting topic to me, Job, especially since it hits home. Over a year ago I started to pull together a local maker community in my area. After many coffee shop meetups, several people settled into a collection of leaders. At initial meetings that subject of identity came up, and I had thoughts similar to yours: I felt we needed to build community first, then start a physical makerspace once we had an organization established. I also believed our org name should identify the community first, space(s) second. I was outvoted at first and we came to be Fort Worth Makerspace. Over time, as our purpose evolved more to favor community education powered by partnerships, everyone realized we wouldn't be just one physical space ultimately but many. In fact we are working on two now, partnering with a library and university respectively. And so everyone else changed their mind to abstract the organization from physical spaces-- our organization became Tarrant Makers, named after our county to identify our physical reach. So I can understand your dilemma. Your name, brand, identity-- whatever you call it, it creates an image in the minds of your community, customers, partners and sponsors. You have to think deep about who and what you are, what needs you intend to fill going forward, how you wish to be perceived. It sounds like you already have a good idea which way you're going to go. Hope my rambling helped. Randy Tarrant Makers On February 20, 2014 at 12:06 AM Job Sonnentag j...@alaskazone.com wrote: About a year ago I decided to start a coworking space here in Alaska. I figured it needed a name, so that it could grow and be referenced. That name is CrankSpace. As luck would have it, one of the first things I realized, was that I actually didn't want to start a space, I wanted to build a community. And eventually, when our community needed it, we would find a location to house it. So a year has gone by and we
Re: [Coworking] It's all in a name. Or is it?
Thanks Alex, and I agree: I dont think Job has much to sweat. To answer one of your questions Job: as I noted, many disagreed with me at first regarding naming, mission, etc. And when it finally dawned on our evolving Board of Directors that we did need to redefine ourselves as Alex describes, there were a few who were disgruntled at the development and we lost some board members. So I misspoke when I said everyone realized the need. But heres the thing: dont worry about naysayers, or people who cant get on board with your vision. Theyre always going to exist. You have to lead something youre passionate about, and that passion is infectious. As long as youre able to clearly sum up WHAT your vision is and WHY it developed into what it is and WHOM you are seeking to serve, people will break your doors down to get involved. Thats what were seeing. It also helps to have interesting projects or goals; people will cheerfully volunteer their time if youve identified what THEY are passionate about, and those things fit into your mission. Focus on the community members who are drawn to your vision (or at least want to understand). As for those who dont understand or complain, a little listening will help you determine who WANTS to understand vs the usual concern trolls. ;) Randy Tarrant Makers On February 20, 2014 at 1:10 PM Alex Hillman dangerouslyawes...@gmail.com wrote: There is also the distinct possibility I am overthinking this. This. :) If you had hundreds of people who knew about what you were doing and you suddenly changed the name, this mightbe a bigger deal. But as youve said, you dont, so I think youre putting the cart before the horse, big time. Involving the community in the naming is great, though I wouldnt let it hold you back. More general advice around naming: it sounds like youre trying to name the thing youre doing. Coworking, cranking, jelly-ing, etc. To riff on Randalls post, which I think is a GREAT illustration, notice that their new name doesnt describe what they do but who they are. It tells you something about the people and what they care about, rather than naming a specific effort. Thats what makes a good name: when it describes who youll find there. Those people may do a variety of things, from coworking to teaching to socializing to who the hell knows but the things they have in common wont change dramatically. So: 1) Stop worrying about a name change. I assure you that more people wont notice than will. People are just as concerned about in their lives as you are about your name...and you can be 100% sure that they care more about their problems than yours. ;) 2) If youre gonna rename, work towards a name that describes the people instead of what they do. -Alex -- /ah indyhall.org coworking in philadelphia On Thu, Feb 20, 2014 at 1:49 PM, Job Sonnentag j...@alaskazone.com wrote: Glad to hear that, Randy. My hope, other than to get help, was to highlight an issue others might have or are having to face. Congrats on your growing community by the way! What was the effect when you changed your organizations name? Both within the group and outside? It sounds like you already had a decent following at the time you made that decision. One of the things I also realized in creating the name on my own, is that I had potentially missed out on a great opportunity for community involvement. Had I waited, the community could have helped come up with the name and as a result felt a stronger connection with it. My only issue with this is how do I go about that now that I have a name, and one that I feel is not suitable to continue with? The only viable solution I can think of for a scenario where the community-to-be helps pick is one where I keep the current name and wait until said community grows before we change it. I just dont want to rename it now, on my own, only to be in this same situation another 9 months from now. I could do something generic for the time being - E.g. Alaska Jelly Group - and wait for the community. Though I feel changing it (generic name) and then changing it again (community derived name) will have negative side effects.
Re: [Coworking] Re: Open Source Business Plan for Coworking Space
Luca, There hasn't been much movement on the open source coworking business plan but it's an idea I'd love to see get some traction! I'm happy to talk with you more about it and what it is you are looking to build. Jacob --- Office Nomads - Individuality without Isolation http://www.officenomads.com - (206) 323-6500 On Thu, Feb 20, 2014 at 3:23 AM, Luca Ruggeri luca.rugg...@gmail.comwrote: Hi everyone, great initiative! I'm starting approaching to a coworking business planning activity, i would be glad to collaborate! And I'm also joining ouiShare community in Italy, have a nice day Luca Il giorno lunedì 25 novembre 2013 23:50:10 UTC+1, Kevin Ilardi ha scritto: Dear all, I am trying to understand and to study the Business Model of Coworking Space within a collaborative thesis. I am reading some books, but I'd like your opinion, because you are directly confronted to a Business Model. Do you use a proper Business Model? If you want to share it with me, I will put my thesis online soon and we can build together a base for a Coworking Space's BM. Best, Kevin Ilardi **about me: My name is Kevin Ilardi, international student actually at Saxion University, Enschede, The Netherlands. I am based in Grenoble for 4 years ago now, and I am involved in the collaborative economy thanks to OuiShare community. I am writting my thesis about Business Model of Coworking Space (and FabLab) within a collaborative document because I am aware that I don't have all the knowledge, so share with you is more interesting. Thank you -- 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.
[Coworking] Re: Vermont Request - State Incentives
I'm starting a coworking space in Kenosha, Wisconsin that's basically a government funded / non-profit model. To answer your question, Lars, here are some of the government programs that have helped us get traction on the project (not open yet, but moving along): - *Grants* - the Wisconsin Economic Development Coalition (WEDC) has a state-funded program that will pay 25% of the expenses for any incubator / coworking / growth accelerator program, up to $250,000 (a.k.a. $1 million project). What's really cool is that it includes in-kind donations, so like marketing from local colleges and such can contribute to the reimbursement check. This is obviously one of our big funding sources. - *Economic Development Organization* - I'm working with Kenosha Area Business Alliance (KABA), a well-run organization with a LOT of top-level connections. They also have a mandate to open an incubator / coworking space and have provided a huge amount of support in helping get it set-up. - *Private - Public Partnerships* - We're setting the organization up as a non-profit, so that we can accept donations from large organizations and they can write that off. The most substantial is for our space. We're planning on opening in an 7,500 sf unused space in the Kenosha News, since they got rid of their printing presses a few years ago. They're donating the space (at least for the first few years), so that they can have access to the synergy of a media coworking space in their offices, but let others have the responsibilities of running it. Plus, they haven't been able to use or lease it, so the tax write-off generates more income than it has for years. This connection was setup via KABA. - *Internship programs* - several of the local colleges have expressed interest in having interns working out of the space, which gives their students a ton of advantages. Also, the government is pretty much for starting up. After that, it will be sustained on market-rate membership rates, like privately-held coworking spaces. So it's not just the government writing you checks (although SUPER helpful), but also providing you connections to other organizations and resources, both private and things they already do. Also, I think others have written up wishlists of legislation that would help coworking (mostly on the federal level): - recognition that coworking is NOT passive-income and thus eligible for SBA loan funding - a dedicated NAICS code would simplify things - more dedicated funding - actually, Brad Schneider just introduced legislation for thishttp://schneider.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/rep-schneider-introduces-legislation-to-support-startup-businesses . I think I saw some threads on here about people gripping about particular issues they've had with local government. Might be worth searching for and/or googling around the web for. Once we're up and running, I'm looking forward to sharing more of what works (and what doesn't) about working with the government and a non-profit board of directors. But until then, I hope this helps. - Brendan -- 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] It's all in a name. Or is it?
Thanks for the reality check, Guys! Alex, the naming advice is MUCH appreciated! Randy, you are totally right; thanks for the reminder! I think properly expressing the what, why and whom is something I need to work on. On Thursday, February 20, 2014 11:00:06 AM UTC-9, Texrat wrote: Thanks Alex, and I agree: I don't think Job has much to sweat. To answer one of your questions Job: as I noted, many disagreed with me at first regarding naming, mission, etc. And when it finally dawned on our evolving Board of Directors that we did need to redefine ourselves as Alex describes, there were a few who were disgruntled at the development and we lost some board members. So I misspoke when I said everyone realized the need. But here's the thing: don't worry about naysayers, or people who can't get on board with your vision. They're always going to exist. You have to lead something you're passionate about, and that passion is infectious. As long as you're able to clearly sum up WHAT your vision is and WHY it developed into what it is and WHOM you are seeking to serve, people will break your doors down to get involved. That's what we're seeing. It also helps to have interesting projects or goals; people will cheerfully volunteer their time if you've identified what THEY are passionate about, and those things fit into your mission. Focus on the community members who are drawn to your vision (or at least want to understand). As for those who don't understand or complain, a little listening will help you determine who WANTS to understand vs the usual concern trolls. ;) Randy Tarrant Makers On February 20, 2014 at 1:10 PM Alex Hillman dangerous...@gmail.comjavascript: wrote: There is also the distinct possibility I am overthinking this. This. :) If you had hundreds of people who knew about what you were doing and you suddenly changed the name, this *might* be a bigger deal. But as you've said, you don't, so I think you're putting the cart before the horse, big time. Involving the community in the naming is great, though I wouldn't let it hold you back. More general advice around naming: it sounds like you're trying to name the thing you're doing. Coworking, cranking, jelly-ing, etc. To riff on Randall's post, which I think is a GREAT illustration, notice that their new name doesn't describe what they do but *who they are*. It tells you something about the people and what they care about, rather than naming a specific effort. That's what makes a good name: when it describes *who* you'll find there. Those people may do a variety of things, from coworking to teaching to socializing to who the hell knows but the things they have in common won't change dramatically. So: 1) Stop worrying about a name change. I assure you that more people won't notice than will. People are just as concerned about in their lives as you are about your name...and you can be 100% sure that they care more about their problems than yours. ;) 2) If you're gonna rename, work towards a name that describes the people instead of what they do. -Alex -- /ah indyhall.org coworking in philadelphia On Thu, Feb 20, 2014 at 1:49 PM, Job Sonnentag j...@alaskazone.comjavascript: wrote: Glad to hear that, Randy. My hope, other than to get help, was to highlight an issue others might have or are having to face. Congrats on your growing community by the way! What was the effect when you changed your organizations name? Both within the group and outside? It sounds like you already had a decent following at the time you made that decision. One of the things I also realized in creating the name on my own, is that I had potentially missed out on a great opportunity for community involvement. Had I waited, the community could have helped come up with the name and as a result felt a stronger connection with it. My only issue with this is how do I go about that now that I have a name, and one that I feel is not suitable to continue with? The only viable solution I can think of for a scenario where the community-to-be helps pick is one where I keep the current name and wait until said community grows before we change it. I just don't want to rename it now, on my own, only to be in this same situation another 9 months from now. I could do something generic for the time being - E.g. Alaska Jelly Group - and wait for the community. Though I feel changing it (generic name) and then changing it again (community derived name) will have negative side effects. There is also the distinct possibility I am overthinking this. But I feel like it's an issue worth talking about. On Wednesday, February 19, 2014 10:19:34 PM UTC-9, Texrat wrote: It's an interesting topic
Re: [Coworking] It's all in a name. Or is it?
Job, if it helps, heres what we have so farfor our organization after some brainstorming workshops: Overall About Us: http://www.tarrantmakers.org/about-us/ Promotions Committee: http://www.tarrantmakers.org/about-us/leadership/committees/promotion/ Education Committee: http://www.tarrantmakers.org/about-us/leadership/committees/education/ (committees need to plug into and support the organization goals) Now if I can just get the other committees to define themselves... Randy Tarrant Makers On February 20, 2014 at 6:36 PM Job Sonnentag j...@alaskazone.com wrote: Thanks for the reality check, Guys! Alex, the naming advice is MUCH appreciated! Randy, you are totally right; thanks for the reminder! I think properly expressing the what, why and whom is something I need to work on. On Thursday, February 20, 2014 11:00:06 AM UTC-9, Texrat wrote: Thanks Alex, and I agree: I dont think Job has much to sweat. To answer one of your questions Job: as I noted, many disagreed with me at first regarding naming, mission, etc. And when it finally dawned on our evolving Board of Directors that we did need to redefine ourselves as Alex describes, there were a few who were disgruntled at the development and we lost some board members. So I misspoke when I said everyone realized the need. But heres the thing: dont worry about naysayers, or people who cant get on board with your vision. Theyre always going to exist. You have to lead something youre passionate about, and that passion is infectious. As long as youre able to clearly sum up WHAT your vision is and WHY it developed into what it is and WHOM you are seeking to serve, people will break your doors down to get involved. Thats what were seeing. It also helps to have interesting projects or goals; people will cheerfully volunteer their time if youve identified what THEY are passionate about, and those things fit into your mission. Focus on the community members who are drawn to your vision (or at least want to understand). As for those who dont understand or complain, a little listening will help you determine who WANTS to understand vs the usual concern trolls. ;) Randy Tarrant Makers On February 20, 2014 at 1:10 PM Alex Hillman dangerous...@gmail.com wrote: There is also the distinct possibility I am overthinking this. This. :) If you had hundreds of people who knew about what you were doing and you suddenly changed the name, this mightbe a bigger deal. But as youve said, you dont, so I think youre putting the cart before the horse, big time. Involving the community in the naming is great, though I wouldnt let it hold you back. More general advice around naming: it sounds like youre trying to name the thing youre doing. Coworking, cranking, jelly-ing, etc. To riff on Randalls post, which I think is a GREAT illustration, notice that their new name doesnt describe what they do but who they are. It tells you something about the people and what they care about, rather than naming a specific effort. Thats what makes a good name: when it describes who youll find there. Those people may do a variety of things, from coworking to teaching to socializing to who the hell knows but the things they have in common wont change dramatically. So: 1) Stop worrying about a name change. I assure you that more people wont notice than will. People are just as concerned about in their lives as you are about your name...and you can be 100% sure that they care more about their problems than yours. ;) 2) If youre gonna rename, work towards a name that describes the people instead of what they do. -Alex --
