Another coworking space with childcare - Italy

[Aliza (CoworkingForParents.com)]

Hey everyone,

Just wanted to introduce you all to Riccarda, who is opening a coworking space with childcare in Italy called "Plan C".

 "Plan C" because Plan A is work (or the traditional way), plan B is family (or the alternative) and Plan C is the only one which can generate real innovation.

Welcome to the Coworking and Childcare Google group, Riccarda!  :-)

How's everyone else doing with your plans? My first space fell through :-( - fit-out costs came back at $200,000!!!!!  That was a shocker to say the least.  On the plus side, I'm very close to getting a lease on a different space that is less expensive and needs a lot less work. *crossing my fingers*

Aliza Schlabach
Founder, Coworking for Parents

www.CoworkingForParents.com

215.858.4658

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[Nicole Russel]

That's a great name and concept for it Riccarda!  Very cool and congratulations.

I'm so sorry to hear that the space fell through, Aliza.  It sounds like the first site I fell in love with and had to walk away from.  Our business is certainly an expensive one to get off the ground.

I am nearly finished my business plan but am so frustrated trying to get momentum in a member community.  I have scheduled 3 meetups so far and only 1 or 2 people show up each time.  I need to figure out how to get the interest elevated.  Do you guys have any advice?

Thanks in advance,
Nicole

[Aliza Torok Schlabach]

Thanks Nicole.  I've had the same trouble generating momentum at meetups... I also usually only get 1 or 2 people to show up, and the most I ever had was 5. I've had a lot of interest through email, my newsletter, etc... so hopefully that will translate to members once we have an actual space and real child care.  It is indeed a risk, but one I believe in. Hopefully it will all work out!

Aliza Schlabach
Founder, Coworking for Parents

www.CoworkingForParents.com

215.858.4658

Sign up for our email newsletter | Join our Meetup group | Like us on Facebook

[Nicole Russel]

Do you have a minimum number of members you want commitment from before you open up? I keep hearing that 10 is the magic number and my own calculations suggest that I need 11 in order to be cash positive (mix of full and part time). I'm putting this down as a dependency in my business plan.

n

[Marnee Chua]

Thanks for sharing about the new space, it's a great name and meets the concept well. 

I'm also sorry to hear about your first space, $200,000 is a lot too much! 

I'm interested in how everyone is doing generating business early. It seems like a good idea, I haven't really started, I set up a meetup group, but have not been able to set any initial meeting times or generate any memberships through that. I wonder if that is the best way though? I like the newsletter and email outreach because it focuses on what you want to do. At a meet-up, we can only see so much success because it doesn't provide all those things that we are looking for in the coworking/flexible childcare options...we have a couple of coffee houses in my area that have children's play spaces so that their parents can talk and watch them play, I wonder if that's a good place to start, but then, you're still not going to get a lot of work done! 

[Aliza Torok Schlabach]

10 is the magic number according to Alex Hillman, and it sounds good in theory. But it gets so much more complicated with the childcare side. I'm just trying to gather as much interest as possible... I need a lot more than 10 members for the space I'm trying to open, but I don't plan on getting cash positive until around 10-14 months in.

Aliza