great discussion on coworking google group

[Jessie Rymph]

I'm forwarding this along from cowo...@googlegroups.com. This thorough posts are in response to my post in request of support for my space, which asked if coworking and childcare was a viable business model.
 

First post:
I'm one of two business in the Surrey, uk area that have trialed childcare services along side coworking and the bottom line is while it is desirable as a concept, there is not a sustainable marketplace and it had other implications that weaken a pure coworking experience.

We identified 3 core aspects.

1) the labour cost of the childcarers and lack of available people. (in the UK there are very specific regulations) Even with exceptions to the core obligations, we found ourselves spending so much of our time on the childcare ... we were becoming a nursery with places for people to work!

2) Population dynamics:   Typical price is £35 per 4 hr session vs ( min 2 carers with insurances and expenses £20/hr each , cost of equipment and room hire (pro/rata 4hrs ) £50, other misc costs less than £50. )

Means there needs to the +6 but not more than 12 children to break even.

However.
Site 1 achieved 4 children after marketing and running for 3 weeks, then didn't increase.
Site 2 achieved 3 different people over 2 months
.... then term time kicked in and no one came at all!

in reflection, 1)Families are either too poor and need a different solution, 2) too rich and have a nanny/other full time carer, or 3) There is family/friend relationship  so why pay for it!.... leaving only a handful of the possible people who would find it useful and they don't get enough value to make it a sustainable solution. ...Note the people who did use it thought it to be an excellent service, so we ruled out quality as a cause of failure.

3) At site 2: We experienced coworkers leaving/not joining because it detracted from the experience... noise, extra rules, extra security. etc (most coworkers were ok with it but non were .. hey what a great idea!.. most dealt with it as novel because it was a trial!.
 

In conclusion.... if you have a vision for a nursery with a usp of a place to work ... it might work. If coworking is the vision ... keep it pure.

best of luck if you disagree... and let me know how you solved the problem without two buildings, two companies and two groups of staff.

J @Reigatehub.  

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Jeannine

Post reply 6:50 AM (4 hours ago)

For what it is worth, it looks to me as though the model that does work, is exactly "coworking with childcare" turned on its head:  that is, a place for kids which also has places for their parents to work.

I know of two such businesses in Georgia, both of which center around being what my kids call "the jumpy place" -- they have inflatable indoor playgrounds and are located in warehouses.  One of them focuses on occasional use -- parties, rainy days, that kind of thing -- and the other focuses on long term use.  The latter has a whole program which runs about the length of a school year and seems to be based on learning social skills through play.     

They focus on school aged kids, though they have a special play area for the under-5s.  

And they have a work area nearby with desks and wifi and a printer and so forth. 

What they are not trying to do is to encourage a community amoung the parents bringing their kids, which is I think the piece that could make it unique.

If you are focusing on the broad middle -- folks who haven't got a nanny/au pair but enough money to pay for a long term membership -- I think you will have to look at a kids first approach, because thet's what agrees with their values. 

Frederick Kautz

Post reply 9:50 AM (1 hour ago)

Re: [Coworking] Re: is coworking & childcare a viable business model?

What region do you live in? this model might work in areas like silicon valley where people often migrate to with no family nearby and the cost of child care can be very high.

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Alex Hillman

Post reply 10:57 AM (26 minutes ago)

Re: [Coworking] Re: is coworking & childcare a viable business model?

I'll toss out another couple of points/ideas/questions based on what I've learned from discussions with people who are really into this variation of coworking. 

Important caveat: I'm speaking WAY out of turn because I don't have kids. :)

Also, I admittedly haven't really spent ANY time in the coworking & childcare google group, so apologies in advance if I'm duplicating anything that's said over there. Respect.

To start, you can't answer a business viability question without asking: who is the ideal customer (a.k.a. member), and why?

Here are a few ways to slice it for illustration, hardly an exhaustive list:

• Parent who wants childcare and a place to work is a bonus
• Parent who wants a place to work and childcare is a bonus
• Parent who wants a community of other parents as coworkers, and the workplace & childcare are the bonus

Childcare and coworking both fall into what I'd consider a "pseudo-luxury" category, in the fact that they provide an adjustment to quality-of-life, from "good" to "great", for those who can afford it. There are always free/commodity alternatives: working from home/cafes, leaving kids with friends/family, but those options come with known downsides as well. Another problem with the first two options is that when the need for childcare or coworking goes away, so does the customer. 

Option 3, the community-centric version, leaves the door open for a more sustainable model. 

More specifically, I'm increasingly convinced by a few people who push forward on coworking + childcare with the idea that the idea that the real unmet need is working professional parents being lonely, not the pain of raising kids while working for yourself or from home. 

I can only speak as an observer, but I have seen a good number of friends who have their first kid suddenly feel like they were on the outside of a circle of friends because they went from being the "working pro" to the "working pro who has kids", and then struggle to find others who share that identity. Their kid-less coworkers don't want to talk about kid stuff. Meanwhile, parents have LOTS to share with each other when the main thing they have in common is the fact that they have kids. I get the feeling that this is a common story that's not being told outside of a few circles. 

As more people enter the independent workforce, but don't really slow down on starting/growing their families, I can see an increasing opportunity for this "sub community" to be given a special kind of club and clubhouse, either on its own or as a part of an existing coworking operation. 

Growing that kind of community will take some work, and the related offerings aren't completely clear to me (mostly, again, because I'm not the customer). But I'm VERY interested in finding successful examples, so if you have them please share!

-Alex

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Ellie's Coworking & Childcare
ElliesCoworking.com

[Elizabeth Officreche]

Great stuff Jessie - well done for collating all of this.

I agree with much of what is said here - in particular that my experience is that families want is great childcare with a place to work nearby. It makes sense in terms of the business model as well, since providing quality childcare is what takes the greatest overhead - in particular the wages of staff who are able to provide outstanding flexible childcare that is flexible.

It is this flexibility and quality of childcare that freelance/shift-working and entrepreneurial parents are willing to pay for - you cannot piece together quality childcare that links into the EYFS (a UK framework for the Early Years) from friends and family. In my experience, it is this that keeps people at Officreche when the novelty of co-working, isolation of going back to work as a new parent fades.

I'd never heard of the Reigatehub - will get in touch with them and have a chat (when I have time?!) - they are catering for 3+ children. That is better in terms of childcare ratios - but in terms of a niche market, we've found that our baby room here at Officreche is particularly popular - for breastfeeding mothers, those who want to be close to their children but have to get stuff done when they are very little.

Right - much more to say but a huge to do list beckoning - however, I justed wanted to acknowledge your research Jessie - and thank you for sharing it.

Liz