Seeking advice: Transitioning space from individually to collectively run

[davis work shop]

Hi,

This is an open request for stories, advice, warnings, inspirations,
etc. on transitioning an individually-owned/managed coworking space to
a collectively-owned and managed space.

I opened The Work Shop, a modest (in size and complexity) coworking
space in downtown Davis, CA exactly 5 weeks ago, and it has been a
huge success.... on a tiny scale: 7 fantastic people plus drop-ins,
breaking even on monthly costs, lots of community interest/curiosity,
we're a stop on the downtown art tour, and lots of future project
ideas from the group.

Part of the success is that what I hoped for has happened: People who
have joined the project are excited about shaping its future, and are
willing to share in the risks and responsibilities of owning and
managing the space. Anyone have experience with exactly this process,
or something like it, and have some wisdom to share?

My concerns include:

1. losing some of the integrity/coherence of the physical space that
come from one person's vision for how it should look and feel

2. finances... is there a fair way for me to be compensated, at least
in part, for some of the time I put into setting the space up and
getting it going - I took this on as a very bare-bones project with
just the basics, but still it has been a huge time investment finding
the right location, choosing a space with the right feeling, procuring
desks, table, chairs, wi-fi, printer, scanner, water, fridge,
microwave, doing some light carpentry, painting, and doing a lot of
negotiating on the rent, outreach, answering questions, etc.).

3. making sure that people can join the space without a requirement
that they take on coworking as another time-consuming project (people
for whom coworking is first and foremost a reliable work space, away
from other demands)

Thanks!
Vinci Daro
daviscoworking.blogspot.com

[Alex Hillman]

Congrats on the successes so far!

1. losing some of the integrity/coherence of the physical space that

come from one person's vision for how it should look and feel

There's a difference between making it a free-for-all and encouraging people to contribute. There's also a continuum of contributions - from people making suggestions to people simply "doing things" and everything in between.

No matter what, though, it requires leadership. This is different from saying "yes do that" and "no, don't do that" but instead, the ability to help people understand why or why not so that they may start making those decisions on their own with some alignment to your intentions. 

Most people will want to do things for themselves. Your job is to remind them that the things they want to do need to benefit everyone. That takes some time to sink in, but pays off big time. 

The hard part, of course, is communicating your intentions. For yourself, try going through an exercise like this: http://dangerouslyawesome.com/2012/04/the-virtues-of-indy-hall/

Share the results of that exercise with your members so they can get to understand, too. Have them contribute their own ideas as well, it'll help you trust their intentions and give you comfort in giving them some more freedom to create in the space. 

Finally, when you do have to say no (which will happen), try to make it a "no" that could become a "yes" if they aligned their efforts better with your values and virtues. Often times, when I tell someone why their idea wouldn't be good for Indy Hall, they can alter it in a way that it can be good for Indy Hall.

2. finances... is there a fair way for me to be compensated, at least

in part, for some of the time I put into setting the space up and

getting it going - I took this on as a very bare-bones project with

just the basics, but still it has been a huge time investment finding

the right location, choosing a space with the right feeling, procuring

desks, table, chairs, wi-fi, printer, scanner, water, fridge,

microwave, doing some light carpentry, painting, and doing a lot of

negotiating on the rent, outreach, answering questions, etc.).

There's nothing wrong with making money from your coworking space. Your members most likely don't expect you do be doing charity work for them. If you have to start making compromises to the community in order for you to draw money, though, you might end up with a murkier situation.

It's still early, so it sounds like you've got a chance to get this figured out. Don't wait. If you want to make money for your time, build it in to your model - don't expect it to magically happen on its own.

3. making sure that people can join the space without a requirement

that they take on coworking as another time-consuming project (people

for whom coworking is first and foremost a reliable work space, away

from other demands)

It's always about choice. If you're setting up your space in a way that expects community members to contribute, make that clear up front and let people choose it for themselves - don't spring it on them later. 

If you make contributions part of the culture, rather than a requirement to join, you'll likely end up with stronger, longer-lasting contributions.

At the end of the day, you can still call the shots while giving people the opportunity to contribute to the direction you're taking things. Don't dilute your own vision, share it with them and invite them in. For more ideas on how that works, check out this model: http://dangerouslyawesome.com/2008/12/a-roadmap-for-community-organization-and-mobilization-harvey-milk/

Good luck!!

-Alex

Thanks!

Vinci Daro

daviscoworking.blogspot.com

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[Tom Brandt]

These are some of the issues we faced when we (myself and two others) bought Workantile. Our situation is little different - there are only three co-owners while it sounds like you going for more of a co-op model.

We found that having the several of us, with input from community members, helped with the look and feel of our space. Talking through the aesthetics with others helped improve the way Workantile looks.

The compensation for prior work is a tough issue to work out. The way we approached it was to have the previous owner come up with a number for the amount of money he put into the space. This number was backed up by receipts and other documentation. Other people had put time and effort into it as well. We also asked those people for a number backed by documentation. Once we had those numbers, we executed an excess revenue sharing agreement, whereby once cash reserves reached the point where we could cover three month's of expenses, the revenue over operating costs would be split among the previous owner and the others. This guaranteed that the business would not be starved of income by the demands of the previous owner, but the previous owner would be compensated for the time he put assuming the business is successful.

Sharing the workload is another tough issue. The approach we are taking is to figure those tasks that need to be done, ask for volunteers to handle them, and recruit if necessary. We are very careful to not overload people.

I hope all this helps.

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@twbrandt

[davis work shop]

Thanks Tom and Alex,

This helps a lot! I may follow up with more questions as we move forward in these directions...

Vinci

On Friday, April 20, 2012 10:40:34 AM UTC-7, Tom Brandt - Workantile wrote:

These are some of the issues we faced when we (myself and two others) bought Workantile. Our situation is little different - there are only three co-owners while it sounds like you going for more of a co-op model.

We found that having the several of us, with input from community members, helped with the look and feel of our space. Talking through the aesthetics with others helped improve the way Workantile looks.

The compensation for prior work is a tough issue to work out. The way we approached it was to have the previous owner come up with a number for the amount of money he put into the space. This number was backed up by receipts and other documentation. Other people had put time and effort into it as well. We also asked those people for a number backed by documentation. Once we had those numbers, we executed an excess revenue sharing agreement, whereby once cash reserves reached the point where we could cover three month's of expenses, the revenue over operating costs would be split among the previous owner and the others. This guaranteed that the business would not be starved of income by the demands of the previous owner, but the previous owner would be compensated for the time he put assuming the business is successful.

Sharing the workload is another tough issue. The approach we are taking is to figure those tasks that need to be done, ask for volunteers to handle them, and recruit if necessary. We are very careful to not overload people.

I hope all this helps.

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