Re: [Coworking] Printing - Cloud Solution?
Hi Jerome, Thanks for the response - that's surprising and certainly helpful to hear! I'll double check that they support macs as that is really key for us! Guess everyone has battles with certain printers/drivers and operating systems :( Tatjana On Tuesday, January 12, 2016 at 1:45:29 PM UTC, Jerome wrote: > > I’m surprised they’re still up and running. > The last I heard (last February) they were shutting down. > At minimum, they dropped support for macs. > > We manually install drivers. :-( Macs are relatively easy. Windows, > especially in their many variations of operating systems, nearly kill us. > > > *JEROME CHANG* > > *CENTRAL: Mid-Wilshire* > 5405 Wilshire Blvd (2 blocks west of La Brea) | ph: (323) 330-9505 > > *EAST: Downtown* > 529 S. Broadway, Suite 4000 (@Pershing Square) | ph: (213) 550-2235 > > > *NORTH: Pasadena (Opening 2016 Q2!)600 E. Colorado Blvd. (@Los Robles)* > > > On Jan 12, 2016, at 5:23 AM, TatjanaRose <tat...@coworkingbath.co.uk > > wrote: > > Hello, I manage The Guild in Bath, which has been running for over 2yrs > now. The space is working really well, with us now operating a waiting list > for membership, however, one aspect we have always struggled with is > printing. When we opened we started leasing a printer from a local company, > but we soon discovered that our members who used Mac (majority) were > experiencing real difficulties with finding and downloading the drivers. > This meant our Front of House was having to spend a significant amount of > their time either trying to set the printer up for the members, or printing > for them. > > We recently came across ezeep <https://www.ezeep.com/> and we think this > could be a great solution for us. > > Have any of you used this service or something similar? if so how did you > find the set-up and the day to day management? > > Any advice would be greatly appreciated, as we really want to get this > right! > > -- > 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 . > 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 coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
[Coworking] Standing Desks
Hello, I manage The Guild based in Bath in the UK. I've recently been redeveloping one of our event rooms back into desk space, and I managed to pick up two really good quality second hand standing desks. Since we opened in 2013 one of the top requests from members has been for standing desks, so I'm really pleased we've been able to deliver! We only have two available for coworking and I'm trying to work out how best to manage them - one option is to write some instructions...how to raise them up/down and mention that they aren't designed for sitting (no chairs will be provided). I was just wondering if anyone else in the group had standing desks and how they best managed them to make sure that everyone got to use them. Thanks, Tatjana -- 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/d/optout.
Re: [Coworking] Who has agreements w/ outside groups?
Hi Glen, Just to jump in here, when we first opened we had a number of large established meetups contact us about using the space for free - we heard the same phrase over and over again about how we would gain exposure etc. however, we quickly worked out that this simply wasn't true and I later discovered that some of these same networks had paid venues in the past and also had venue sponsorship coming through. After that we decided no free event space - our members receive up to 50% room hire discount and we quickly found that there were groups and individuals who are happy to pay, and who value your space. That been said about six months ago we decided to take another look at this approach, our front room area was being used more and more as a meeting space by our members and we also had some established not for profits booking space with us. As a CiC we decided to create a 'Friends of the Guild' membership where we invited 20 not for profits to become members, we didn't charge and they got access to our front space where they could meet a guest for free and 50% room hire discount. Of the 20 invited about half took up the offer and we now see many of them using the front space, which helps create a buzz in there, we also noticed more importantly that they were booking our charged rooms more and more as they felt encouraged, supported and a certain amount of loyalty in doing so. We did check and this is something that our members supported, in fact they recently suggested widening the offer to students. In regards to meetups and networks we have a policy where if they are ran by one of our members then they can use the front space for free - no staffing is provided and a member needs to be on site at anyone time. Again as a result we have noticed an increase in bookings from those attending. Hope that helps. Tatjana On Thursday, July 30, 2015 at 8:43:13 PM UTC+1, Glen Ferguson wrote: Thanks Tony Alex, and thanks for some new ideas I can offer. I'll see how they go over. *Glen Ferguson* Phone: 301-732-5165 Email: gl...@coworkfrederick.com javascript: Website: http://coworkfrederick.com Address: 122 E Patrick St, Frederick, MD 21701 On Sat, Jul 25, 2015 at 7:38 PM, Alex Linsker alexl...@gmail.com javascript: wrote: Hi Glen, I can totally relate to what Tony wrote about costs and valuing a place. At Collective Agency, we started out with a no charge option, and that worked great until many unintented consequences happened. I'm very happy to rent out conference rooms for meetups and user groups. Members get 3 hours per day in conference rooms. Non-members pay. Event space rental is always paid, for up to 45 or up to 125 people, and only after hours. I do not think groups or boards or companies can be responsible for an event. I think individuals can be responsible. If one person isn't responsible for something, no one is responsible, is a belief I have. But individuals can work together, and responsible decisive responsive leaders, and setting assertive limits, and systems and processes, is the best. Alex Linsker, Collective Agency, Portland Oregon -- 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/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 coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
[Coworking] Re: Member board/photos
We have a members board just off reception which has polaroid photos of all our members + alumni, we actually have one of our old team members come in and take the photos and then get them printed up to look like polaroids as the cost of a camera and film outweighed the local printers. The members board works in a few ways - it helps members feel like part of the community instantly as they see themselves up on the wall with everyone else, other members can have a look to make sure they remember people's names and its also great for potential members/investors to see the growing community visually. We have over 150 members and yet if you come in for the day on average you'll see around 30-40 so the board really helps prove the concept. As Alex said we don't rely on the board, the photos just state the names of members. We also have a thriving online intranet which is where a lot of the community chat and share ideas. As I said on a typical day we can have 40 members in and some members we won't see for months, however they don't feel like they aren't part of the community as they engage with everyone here. I guess what I'm trying to say is that Members Boards are great for non-members to see, but intranets are amazing for members and the community and they're the real members board On Tuesday, January 13, 2015 at 3:53:37 PM UTC, Gretchen Bilbro wrote: Hi all, What have you used to create your member boards? I have a giant old metal sign that I want to use for the board itself and place photos with brief write ups on with magnets for our member board. For those that have done something similar did you print photos on your printer or buy an instant camera for this purpose? I seem to recall hearing at GCUC last year that the instant camera idea was not the best option but can't remember why or who said that. Any suggestions? Thanks! Gretchen -- 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/d/optout.
[Coworking] Re: How to save a once-successful coworking space if it loses the community that helped make it successful?
I can't tell you all how timely this thread is for me! I currently manage a coworking space in Bath and we have recently noticed an increased engagement from our members which is great however, this has also highlighted one of key issues - lack of team space for growing companies. We thought we had this problem last year when members complained about lack of space, this turned out to be more of a perception issue and was quickly fixed by rearranging the main coworking room and introducing additional desks. However, the problem has arisen again, and we are now having to turn away teams of 3+ as we don't have the space at our current premises. My colleague and I are now looking at opening a second space, one of my concerns has been though would it make more sense to relocate the entire existing community if possible rather than opening and managing two spaces in the same city? One of the reasons I think it may not be an issue is that the new space would have its own identity and offering, I imagine that it would offer a higher percentage of team and fixed desk space, with those users encouraged to use the meeting rooms at the original hub, helping to link the two communities together. With the city we occupy being so small I can't see members moving to the new space due to location either, but I can see that several members would move BUT better to keep them in our community in a new space rather than lose them to a competitor. I'm just keen to understand if a separate identity/offering is enough to make sure that both spaces can maintain growth? Thanks On Wednesday, June 10, 2015 at 5:24:10 PM UTC+1, Will Bennis, Locus Workspace wrote: Dear All, *The challenge: *I need help figuring out how (or whether) to save a coworking space that lost it's key ingredient for success (it's community). I hope/think it provides a nice example of a more recent kind of problem that existing coworking spaces will be facing as this kind of business matures. I also think it provides a good lesson about potential dangers of expanding even when your first location is a success. *Here's the story:* About two and a half years ago my (small) coworking space was full and I had to decide whether to expand or to just stop accepting new members. Long story short, I decided to expand. I thought about how many members I'd need at the new space and how many would move from the old space and it seemed to me like both spaces would be sustainable soon after opening the new space as long as growth continued as it had been for the short term. I expected growth to be a little faster with the added value of an extra location in a great new neighborhood, so I thought I was being safe(ish). A couple months after making that choice the original space went from being full to being less than half full. It no longer had the sense of community/buzz that made it an attractive coworking space in the first place. *Back to the challenge: *is there anything I can do now to restore the missing key element of community once the community is lost other than to close the one space and focus my attention on making the second space the best coworking space I can make it? *Some important factors in thinking about the problem:* - *Please accept the premise *that this threshold community size really is the key difference in whether this space is attractive to new members (even though it's definitely a simplification). - *Couldn't I just repeat the formula that made it a successful coworking space in the first place? *When I first opened, I already believed a largely-empty coworking space had only a fraction of the value of a full coworking space, and so I set my prices, very explicitly, at half the price I expected to charge when the space became more lively. This worked well. People knew I would increase the prices and they knew they were getting a great deal to be an early supporter, and I got a lot of early activity for that reason. When I doubled the prices, there were no big hiccups. But I cannot reverse that now for a few reasons. Most importantly, I have another coworking space that is doing well at the prices I currently charge (and I am not over-charging), as well as many members who work from the non-sustainable space who paid full price. There's no simple way I can see to dramatically lower the prices at one location to get it back to the threshold community size without either alienating a lot of existing members or giving them back a lot of their already-paid membership dues which would be a big financial burden (at least over the short term). Plus it would creat a strange double-pricing structure for two spaces that otherwise are part of the same community. - *Why don't I ask my members for a solution? *I have, but so far no one has had a good solution other
[Coworking] Re: Coworking Day
Last year we opened our doors for free and also gave all our members a free day pass too. With this year falling on a Sunday it might be nice as you said to spread it our over the following week...maybe do lunch one day (either you guys provide or get everyone to bring a dish in), a free day or two etc. If you can link up with the other coworking spaces it might be nice for you to open your doors to their members and vice versa! Good luck with the planning! On Monday, June 1, 2015 at 10:36:18 PM UTC+1, Gretchen Bilbro wrote: Hi everyone, I am trying to get a head start on planning for International Coworking Day. Since it falls on a Sunday this year (and we are closed that day) I was thinking of having events every day for the week following Aug 9. What are some great event ideas that have worked for spaces in the past and what if anything are you all planning for this year? Also we have a couple of new coworking spaces in my town now and i am wondering what we can all do together to spread the word about coworking in our town. Thanks! Gretchen Bilbro Cultivate Coworking -- 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/d/optout.
[Coworking] Suspended ceilings
One of the spaces my company is looking to redevelop has suspended ceilings, we have been advised by the Landlord that these can't be removed due to damage and exposed cables, air con etc. They plan on installing new white tiles, however I'm curious if anyone here has come across any alternatives to the standard tile - colour, material etc. -- 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/d/optout.
