Bootstrapping a Co-working Space (from home). Tips please!
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chrisjacob
Oct 30, 2011, 2:58:06 AM10/30/11
to Ruby or Rails Oceania
Thinking about running a co-working office space from a home I'm
looking to purchase (in Coffs Harbour).
If you've:
setup an office,
worked in a co-working space,
or rented out some space in your house....I would love to hear about
it!
Tips / experiences / successes / failures...
Also, question:
What makes a good / bad co-working space?
... P.S Oh, and if you know anything about tax or legal liabilities I
might hit setting this up in a residential area I'm try to investigate
that now...fun ^_^
Thanks.
looking to purchase (in Coffs Harbour).
If you've:
setup an office,
worked in a co-working space,
or rented out some space in your house....I would love to hear about
it!
Tips / experiences / successes / failures...
Also, question:
What makes a good / bad co-working space?
... P.S Oh, and if you know anything about tax or legal liabilities I
might hit setting this up in a residential area I'm try to investigate
that now...fun ^_^
Thanks.
Nathan S
Oct 30, 2011, 5:43:15 AM10/30/11
to Ruby or Rails Oceania
Hey Chris.
I've done all those things. Ask me anything. :)
Cheers.
chrisjacob
Oct 30, 2011, 9:43:37 AM10/30/11
to Ruby or Rails Oceania
Hi Nathan,
Thank you for the reply and the invitation to "pick your brain" (gotta
love the RoRo community - so helpful!).
Basically any words of wisdom from your experiences... any got-cha's,
and even common sense things - like, "buy quality Coffee - keeps the
dev's coming back for moooooore", or "plan to buy a large conference
table - not only does it give clients the impression of grandeur, but
with a tiny net attached it converts into a kick ass table tennis
table for lunch time" ^_^
I'll give you a bit more info about the space / vision and see what
you think...
Firstly, it's located in Coffs Harbour, NSW (actually, Boambee East, a
suburb 10 minutes south of the city center).
The property (potentially my new home if we purchase)...
Realestate.com:
http://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-nsw-boambee+east-107222171
Google Maps:
http://maps.google.com.au/maps?q=115+Linden+Avenue,+Boambee+East,+New+South+Wales&hl=en&ll=-30.3535,153.070182&spn=0.006323,0.009602&sll=-30.352940,153.069541&layer=c&cbp=13,79.77,,0,2.34&cbll=-30.352919,153.069235&hnear=115+Linden+Ave,+Boambee+East+New+South+Wales+2452&t=h&z=17&vpsrc=0&panoid=52UUscNkPDq2lFAcwY7GtA
The "office space" is on the ground floor. It has:
Independent entry
http://images3.au.reastatic.net/800x600/props/107222171/ImageF/20110302171140.jpg
Smallish Lounge / Kitchen (sink, bench, cabinets)
http://images2.au.reastatic.net/800x600/props/107222171/ImageI/20110302171140.jpg
1 good sized bed room - with window view out to open "empty land" and
pool
http://images2.au.reastatic.net/800x600/props/107222171/ImageJ/20110302171140.jpg
Shower & Toilet
Aircon and Ceiling fan's
Pool and Outside deck
http://images1.au.reastatic.net/800x600/props/107222171/Main@20Feature/20110302171134.jpg
http://images1.au.reastatic.net/800x600/props/107222171/ImageQ/20110302171140.jpg
There is also a "games room" - a converted double garage with polished
cement flooring... but thinking of turning that into a "Yoga Studio
space" - my wife's pet project if we buy the place ;-) ... will also
have some gym equipment in there, which could be appealing to co-
workers.
http://images4.au.reastatic.net/800x600/props/107222171/ImageC/20110527111359.jpg
Plenty of street parking. Also it's a busy/popular suburban street -
so plenty of "free advertising" if I were to put up signage out the
front.
... there are 2 other "home business" within 5 houses either side
(hair salon + hair and day spa).
IGA supermarket + bakery + chemist + news-agency + bottleshop within
walking / bike ride distance.
Thing's I think people might like:
- Deep desks
- Spare monitor to plug into
- ADSL2+ (fastest I can get)
- Discounted bulk "Day pass" system - like http://www.co-worka.com.au/desk-hire.html
- Optional early / late access
- PC, Mac, iPhone & iPad - for device / browser testing
- Shared book library
- Sandwich-press, kettle, biscuits & bar fridge
- Deck with comfy lounging chairs
- BBQ Fridays!
- ... I may need to "invest" in a Wii & small wall mounted tv for the
"boardroom" (aka the "I'm f-ing bored room" ;-))
- Whiteboard
- Gym / laundry / shower
- Off street bike rack
The biggest perk tho - as corny as this sounds - is getting to work
around other people... Coffs Harbour has a very segregated tech &
design community ... which is my biggest challenge to setting this up.
Thinking about "testing the waters" with a local classifieds ad; and
count how many bites I get... I could also target the local
University.
At the end of the day I already work from home... so worse case
senario is I end up with bunch of excess desk space... and a Nintendo
Wii :-P
Concerns:
- Tax (could be really good and/or bad benefits here - really I just
need to a tax agent to talk to)
- Neighbours not liking extra cars parked on street (although there is
empty land next to the house - so if cars park there then I don't see
why people would care).
- Whether I need council approval in some way - not sure if co-working
& "hired desks" is a looppole in the residential / commercial laws...
it' certainly not your normal "office space rental" setup.
- Security & insurance - I don't really want anyone leaving expensive
stuff on site, and me being liable for it.
- Demand - "build it and they will come" is probably a bad approach -
I should really research and network more before converting the space.
There are a few people I know I can already talk to already. Also
street signage, letterbox drops, and networking with local business &
uni should be a good/cheap start - small community, so hopefully word
of mouth will kick in. I could also look to host tech meet-up's &
drinks - great ice breaker.
- Pricing - finding the sweet-spot... affordability I think is a big
factor in a regional area - particularly for people already setup in a
home office paying no extra business rent.
- Contracts - I want to keep things simple. Certainly no lockin's...
but also want my arse covered.
If you read even half of that then - THANK YOU -
I'm quite passionate about the idea; and making a fun place to go to
work every day.
- Chris
Thank you for the reply and the invitation to "pick your brain" (gotta
love the RoRo community - so helpful!).
Basically any words of wisdom from your experiences... any got-cha's,
and even common sense things - like, "buy quality Coffee - keeps the
dev's coming back for moooooore", or "plan to buy a large conference
table - not only does it give clients the impression of grandeur, but
with a tiny net attached it converts into a kick ass table tennis
table for lunch time" ^_^
I'll give you a bit more info about the space / vision and see what
you think...
Firstly, it's located in Coffs Harbour, NSW (actually, Boambee East, a
suburb 10 minutes south of the city center).
The property (potentially my new home if we purchase)...
Realestate.com:
http://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-nsw-boambee+east-107222171
Google Maps:
http://maps.google.com.au/maps?q=115+Linden+Avenue,+Boambee+East,+New+South+Wales&hl=en&ll=-30.3535,153.070182&spn=0.006323,0.009602&sll=-30.352940,153.069541&layer=c&cbp=13,79.77,,0,2.34&cbll=-30.352919,153.069235&hnear=115+Linden+Ave,+Boambee+East+New+South+Wales+2452&t=h&z=17&vpsrc=0&panoid=52UUscNkPDq2lFAcwY7GtA
The "office space" is on the ground floor. It has:
Independent entry
http://images3.au.reastatic.net/800x600/props/107222171/ImageF/20110302171140.jpg
Smallish Lounge / Kitchen (sink, bench, cabinets)
http://images2.au.reastatic.net/800x600/props/107222171/ImageI/20110302171140.jpg
1 good sized bed room - with window view out to open "empty land" and
pool
http://images2.au.reastatic.net/800x600/props/107222171/ImageJ/20110302171140.jpg
Shower & Toilet
Aircon and Ceiling fan's
Pool and Outside deck
http://images1.au.reastatic.net/800x600/props/107222171/Main@20Feature/20110302171134.jpg
http://images1.au.reastatic.net/800x600/props/107222171/ImageQ/20110302171140.jpg
There is also a "games room" - a converted double garage with polished
cement flooring... but thinking of turning that into a "Yoga Studio
space" - my wife's pet project if we buy the place ;-) ... will also
have some gym equipment in there, which could be appealing to co-
workers.
http://images4.au.reastatic.net/800x600/props/107222171/ImageC/20110527111359.jpg
Plenty of street parking. Also it's a busy/popular suburban street -
so plenty of "free advertising" if I were to put up signage out the
front.
... there are 2 other "home business" within 5 houses either side
(hair salon + hair and day spa).
IGA supermarket + bakery + chemist + news-agency + bottleshop within
walking / bike ride distance.
Thing's I think people might like:
- Deep desks
- Spare monitor to plug into
- ADSL2+ (fastest I can get)
- Discounted bulk "Day pass" system - like http://www.co-worka.com.au/desk-hire.html
- Optional early / late access
- PC, Mac, iPhone & iPad - for device / browser testing
- Shared book library
- Sandwich-press, kettle, biscuits & bar fridge
- Deck with comfy lounging chairs
- BBQ Fridays!
- ... I may need to "invest" in a Wii & small wall mounted tv for the
"boardroom" (aka the "I'm f-ing bored room" ;-))
- Whiteboard
- Gym / laundry / shower
- Off street bike rack
The biggest perk tho - as corny as this sounds - is getting to work
around other people... Coffs Harbour has a very segregated tech &
design community ... which is my biggest challenge to setting this up.
Thinking about "testing the waters" with a local classifieds ad; and
count how many bites I get... I could also target the local
University.
At the end of the day I already work from home... so worse case
senario is I end up with bunch of excess desk space... and a Nintendo
Wii :-P
Concerns:
- Tax (could be really good and/or bad benefits here - really I just
need to a tax agent to talk to)
- Neighbours not liking extra cars parked on street (although there is
empty land next to the house - so if cars park there then I don't see
why people would care).
- Whether I need council approval in some way - not sure if co-working
& "hired desks" is a looppole in the residential / commercial laws...
it' certainly not your normal "office space rental" setup.
- Security & insurance - I don't really want anyone leaving expensive
stuff on site, and me being liable for it.
- Demand - "build it and they will come" is probably a bad approach -
I should really research and network more before converting the space.
There are a few people I know I can already talk to already. Also
street signage, letterbox drops, and networking with local business &
uni should be a good/cheap start - small community, so hopefully word
of mouth will kick in. I could also look to host tech meet-up's &
drinks - great ice breaker.
- Pricing - finding the sweet-spot... affordability I think is a big
factor in a regional area - particularly for people already setup in a
home office paying no extra business rent.
- Contracts - I want to keep things simple. Certainly no lockin's...
but also want my arse covered.
If you read even half of that then - THANK YOU -
I'm quite passionate about the idea; and making a fun place to go to
work every day.
- Chris
Nicholas Faiz
Oct 30, 2011, 8:51:09 PM10/30/11
to rails-...@googlegroups.com
Chris,
I believe there's a tax law that means if you lease out your personal property to a business then any profit resulting from its later sale is taxed at a higher rate. Might be worth checking out ASAP.
Cheers,
Nicholas
SengMing Tan
Oct 30, 2011, 8:41:28 PM10/30/11
to Ruby or Rails Oceania
Hi Chris,
Feel free to look up @kamal on twitter. He's a really nice guy and
runs the co working space I'm working at in Malaysia called Fluent
Space.
https://fluentspace.my
- SengMing Tan, @sengming
On Oct 30, 9:43 pm, chrisjacob <i.chris.ja...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Hi Nathan,
>
> Thank you for the reply and the invitation to "pick your brain" (gotta
> love the RoRo community - so helpful!).
>
> Basically any words of wisdom from your experiences... any got-cha's,
> and even common sense things - like, "buy quality Coffee - keeps the
> dev's coming back for moooooore", or "plan to buy a large conference
> table - not only does it give clients the impression of grandeur, but
> with a tiny net attached it converts into a kick ass table tennis
> table for lunch time" ^_^
>
> I'll give you a bit more info about the space / vision and see what
> you think...
>
> Firstly, it's located in Coffs Harbour, NSW (actually, Boambee East, a
> suburb 10 minutes south of the city center).
>
> The property (potentially my new home if we purchase)...
> Realestate.com:http://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-nsw-boambee+east-107222171
> Google Maps:http://maps.google.com.au/maps?q=115+Linden+Avenue,+Boambee+East,+New...
>
> Smallish Lounge / Kitchen (sink, bench, cabinets)http://images2.au.reastatic.net/800x600/props/107222171/ImageI/201103...
Feel free to look up @kamal on twitter. He's a really nice guy and
runs the co working space I'm working at in Malaysia called Fluent
Space.
https://fluentspace.my
- SengMing Tan, @sengming
On Oct 30, 9:43 pm, chrisjacob <i.chris.ja...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Hi Nathan,
>
> Thank you for the reply and the invitation to "pick your brain" (gotta
> love the RoRo community - so helpful!).
>
> Basically any words of wisdom from your experiences... any got-cha's,
> and even common sense things - like, "buy quality Coffee - keeps the
> dev's coming back for moooooore", or "plan to buy a large conference
> table - not only does it give clients the impression of grandeur, but
> with a tiny net attached it converts into a kick ass table tennis
> table for lunch time" ^_^
>
> I'll give you a bit more info about the space / vision and see what
> you think...
>
> Firstly, it's located in Coffs Harbour, NSW (actually, Boambee East, a
> suburb 10 minutes south of the city center).
>
> The property (potentially my new home if we purchase)...
> Realestate.com:http://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-nsw-boambee+east-107222171
>
> The "office space" is on the ground floor. It has:
>
> Independent entryhttp://images3.au.reastatic.net/800x600/props/107222171/ImageF/201103...
> The "office space" is on the ground floor. It has:
>
>
> Smallish Lounge / Kitchen (sink, bench, cabinets)http://images2.au.reastatic.net/800x600/props/107222171/ImageI/201103...
>
> 1 good sized bed room - with window view out to open "empty land" and
> poolhttp://images2.au.reastatic.net/800x600/props/107222171/ImageJ/201103...
> 1 good sized bed room - with window view out to open "empty land" and
>
> Shower & Toilet
> Aircon and Ceiling fan's
>
> Pool and Outside deckhttp://images1.au.reastatic.net/800x600/props/107222171/Main@20Featur...http://images1.au.reastatic.net/800x600/props/107222171/ImageQ/201103...
> Shower & Toilet
> Aircon and Ceiling fan's
>
>
> There is also a "games room" - a converted double garage with polished
> cement flooring... but thinking of turning that into a "Yoga Studio
> space" - my wife's pet project if we buy the place ;-) ... will also
> have some gym equipment in there, which could be appealing to co-
> workers.http://images4.au.reastatic.net/800x600/props/107222171/ImageC/201105...
> There is also a "games room" - a converted double garage with polished
> cement flooring... but thinking of turning that into a "Yoga Studio
> space" - my wife's pet project if we buy the place ;-) ... will also
> have some gym equipment in there, which could be appealing to co-
>
> Plenty of street parking. Also it's a busy/popular suburban street -
> so plenty of "free advertising" if I were to put up signage out the
> front.
>
> ... there are 2 other "home business" within 5 houses either side
> (hair salon + hair and day spa).
>
> IGA supermarket + bakery + chemist + news-agency + bottleshop within
> walking / bike ride distance.
>
> Thing's I think people might like:
> - Deep desks
> - Spare monitor to plug into
> - ADSL2+ (fastest I can get)
> - Discounted bulk "Day pass" system - likehttp://www.co-worka.com.au/desk-hire.html
> Plenty of street parking. Also it's a busy/popular suburban street -
> so plenty of "free advertising" if I were to put up signage out the
> front.
>
> ... there are 2 other "home business" within 5 houses either side
> (hair salon + hair and day spa).
>
> IGA supermarket + bakery + chemist + news-agency + bottleshop within
> walking / bike ride distance.
>
> Thing's I think people might like:
> - Deep desks
> - Spare monitor to plug into
> - ADSL2+ (fastest I can get)
chrisjacob
Oct 31, 2011, 7:21:21 AM10/31/11
to Ruby or Rails Oceania
Thank you SengMing - I've had a read over the FluentSpace Facebook
page - lots of great little insights e.g. people seem to be interested
in having a "Business Address" setup.
Thank you Nicholas, I'll definitely take a look into this asap. Tax
stuff is often so difficult to research - damn government sites. I'll
chat to a professional if I need to.
> > Pool and Outside deckhttp://images1.au.reastatic.net/800x600/props/107222171/Main@20Featur......
page - lots of great little insights e.g. people seem to be interested
in having a "Business Address" setup.
Thank you Nicholas, I'll definitely take a look into this asap. Tax
stuff is often so difficult to research - damn government sites. I'll
chat to a professional if I need to.
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