Community size vs facility capacity

[John @ Plugged Inn]

First of all, thank you coworking google group, for your informative conversations and the positive tone of your conversations.  Once I convert this project from paper to reality, I hope to mirror the generosity displayed in this group.

Community size vs facility capacity is not the most compelling issue in this industry, but it is currently preventing a space to be opened in my community.

Big Problem.  My current obstacle is finding a space to open a facility.  I have a great town with eager participants, but a difficult commercial landscape, despite significant vacancies.  I'm currently looking into a 3000 SF space on the second floor, above a bank.  Due to the layout of the space, the fire code only permits a maximum occupancy of 50.  The way I see it, I need to set aside 2 spots for staff, 4 spots for potential use of meeting room, 12 spots for potential use of classroom, leaving 32 (maximum) spots for coworkers.  Assuming 50% set aside for All Inn-ers,  - Plugged Inn's full timers - that leaves 16 spots for Pop Inn-ers (anytimers).  For the space to be sustainable, break even, I need those 16 Pop Inn spots to be used extremely efficiently.   

Bigger problem.  I feel the capacity/sustainability issue in this space puts a damper on the community.  I anticipate several uncommunity-like situations:  asking classroom attendees to file out because another group is scheduled to come in,  asking a group to wait outside until the classroom is cleared out, limited growth in size and diversity of community, underbooking - less interesting people, overbooking - greedy operator, etc. 

Biggest problem.  I've scoured this town for a space for this facility.  Zoning, fire codes and parking have proved to be stingy impediments.  This might be one of the last opportunities to offer this community the limitless potential of a vibrant coworking community.  I can't let that happen.

I feel like I should just open up shop and rely on the creativity of the moment.  That's a bit financially irresponsible, but allows this community to get started.

Has anyone addressed these issues with a measure of success?  Are there generally accepted practices between space capacity and community size?  I'm tempted to make everything first come/first serve, but that seems too unreliable and too Darwinistic.

Thanks,

John @ Plugged Inn 

[Alex Hillman]

"This might be one of the last opportunities..."

Get that idea out of your head. There is *always* going to be another opportunity, another space. 

I know it doesn't feel that way now, but from what it sounds like you're likely to kill or cripple yourself by opening a space that you know isn't going to be sustainable because you feel that this is your "last chance". 

Take a big step back, and turn to your community for ideas instead of waiting for creativity to magically solve this problem. One thing that strikes me is that your full time usage of 50% might need to change (decrease) to allow for more flex desks, or your model may need to be adjusted to make sure that flex revenue can be your financial anchor. It's counterintuitive in a way, but remember that a full time member is usually safer but less revenue-per-period when your shrink the period down to a day. 

Also, don't forget to think beyond desks. A significant portion of our revenue comes from our basic membership which is a "community membership" that has a drop-in day per month and additional days are a-la carte. Many of those members never or rarely use the desks, but it's known revenue either way. Do what you can to think about ways to decouple revenue from sq feet. It will help your community efforts as well as lift some strain off your business. The key, of course, is to develop this model based on YOUR community and how it interacts, not how ours works, I just wanted to remind you of some key elements that've helped us grow beyond our initial first space that was smaller than the one your were considering. 

Summary: remove the pressure of "this is my last chance" and look closely at how your community actually interacts for ideas on how you can *optimize for something other than sq feet*. 

-Alex

/ah

indyhall.org

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[John @ Plugged Inn]

Thanks for talking me down, Alex.  " Get that idea out of your head. There is *always* going to be another opportunity, another space".  That advice is sound and true.  In the beginning of this process, I thought how, in addition to offering a necessary community and infrastructure to independent professionals, coworking is a great response to commercial vacancies;  a great community emerges, space is used more efficiently, etc.  With that in mind, I expected there to be more attractive options to create the space.  I guess that process took away some of the focus.

Your point about decoupling revenue from sf is also helpful.  The capacity issue had me overly concerned with service and thus less focused on community. 

Thanks for your thoughtful response. 

[Alex Hillman]

:)

Glad you're feeling back on track.

-Alex

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/ah

indyhall.org

coworking in philadelphia

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[John @ Plugged Inn]

Jasper,

  Thanks for the thorough breakdown.  I agree with your assessment of the importance of flexibility.  I have read some posts from space operators that suggest they would like to encourage more community interaction.  There are many ways to accomplish that, but design and flexibility are known to play a role.  Great listen on NPR,  http://www.npr.org/2012/06/28/155924240/concrete-steps-for-creating-a-happier-office.  The trap becomes when, as you stated in 5), it is easy to fall in love with the space and lose focus on the community.  I want this space to encourage efficiency, flexibility and choice.  This capacity issue was steering me away from those ideals.

Great metrics too.  Should come in handy. but as Alex was suggesting, each community has it's own tendencies.  Good luck in Colorado!

On Monday, July 2, 2012 11:34:01 AM UTC-4, John @ Plugged Inn wrote:

[Alex Hillman]

Awesome NPR link, John. Thanks!

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/ah

indyhall.org

coworking in philadelphia

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