Starting a career in coworking and ideas on how to create a profitable coworking space.
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Craig Baute
Jul 21, 2010, 3:16:18 PM7/21/10
to Coworking
This groups has been a great group to follow. I'm from Grand Rapids,
MI where two coworking spaces have opened up in the last year. I
recently graduated with my MBA and have been a marketing consultant
for the last three years and would like to start a new career. I would
like to spend a year or two as an office manager or marketing member
for an existing space and learn about the business and the exact needs
of the community. I am open to moving to any location for this
experience. Please let me know if you know of any opportunities.
I'm excited about the concept and would like to start a new facility
with the intent of managing it and expanding. The goal here is to
provide an open creative space, but also generate a profit with a
possibility of multipul locations. It seems most coworking spaces are
opened by a small team of people that operate the facility and
performing consulting work on the side with a goal of breaking-even or
generating a small profit, but not substantial sum.
I believe, if coworking is going to change the way people work on a
mass scale then it needs to be a profitable venture for people. It
seems Citizen Space and Sandbox in San Francisco are successful
ventures and are hiring staff or opening second locations. Does anyone
know of any other coworking spaces that have matched their success?
Here are my take-a-ways to being a profitable coworking space (with a
brainstorm of ideas on way to improve coworking following):
Space to fit 30 to 40 people (starting around 2500 - 3000 sf, please
let me know if these numbers seem wrong)
Conference rooms (1 or 2) that fit 6 to 12 people
T1 internet access with wireless, of course
Coffee and snacks, partnerships with a local cafe seems popular.
Community effieciency kitchen
High quality printer
Common area with a comfortable sofa and chairs in the greeting area
Magazine and newspaper selections - Wired, NYT, Fast Company, Business
Week, etc.
A diverse set of members ranging from graphic designers, interior
designers, consultants, online marketing, etc.
Community events once or twice a week based on business education/
networking/art/business launch events
Flexible rates with an introduction rate at $250 and going up to $450/
month. Small team package available.
LOTS of flexible space furniture and whiteboards
Downtown location with a bit of personality
24/7 card access
Lockers or someway for people to store items
Brainstorming ways to improve coworking:
Some of these ideas I've taking from visiting a local FedEx Office
(Kinkos) location
1-2 Public heavy duty desktop computer for tasking visual editing work
with Adobe CS available for everyone
2-3 Public large monitors for laptops to hook up to for comfort and
other editing purposes
Teleconferencing rooms designed for soundproof phone or video
conversations (this is present at a Grand Rapids location)
Membership discounts on cell plans or local restaurants
Bike and scooter storage
If you opened a coworking space:
What are the starting cost for opening up a coworking space in your
area? Where are you located? How many members do you currently have or
average?
If you participate in coworking:
Please let me know what you have noticed to be consistant among
successful coworking spaces? What are features that people don't seem
to care for? How did you discover coworking?
I'm very interested in coworking and would like to start a career in
it. Any information would be helpful and greatly appreciated.
If you would like to contact me personally please feel free to contact
me at BauteCM [at] Gmail.com. I look forward to hearing from everyone
and I apologize about the long starting post.
MI where two coworking spaces have opened up in the last year. I
recently graduated with my MBA and have been a marketing consultant
for the last three years and would like to start a new career. I would
like to spend a year or two as an office manager or marketing member
for an existing space and learn about the business and the exact needs
of the community. I am open to moving to any location for this
experience. Please let me know if you know of any opportunities.
I'm excited about the concept and would like to start a new facility
with the intent of managing it and expanding. The goal here is to
provide an open creative space, but also generate a profit with a
possibility of multipul locations. It seems most coworking spaces are
opened by a small team of people that operate the facility and
performing consulting work on the side with a goal of breaking-even or
generating a small profit, but not substantial sum.
I believe, if coworking is going to change the way people work on a
mass scale then it needs to be a profitable venture for people. It
seems Citizen Space and Sandbox in San Francisco are successful
ventures and are hiring staff or opening second locations. Does anyone
know of any other coworking spaces that have matched their success?
Here are my take-a-ways to being a profitable coworking space (with a
brainstorm of ideas on way to improve coworking following):
Space to fit 30 to 40 people (starting around 2500 - 3000 sf, please
let me know if these numbers seem wrong)
Conference rooms (1 or 2) that fit 6 to 12 people
T1 internet access with wireless, of course
Coffee and snacks, partnerships with a local cafe seems popular.
Community effieciency kitchen
High quality printer
Common area with a comfortable sofa and chairs in the greeting area
Magazine and newspaper selections - Wired, NYT, Fast Company, Business
Week, etc.
A diverse set of members ranging from graphic designers, interior
designers, consultants, online marketing, etc.
Community events once or twice a week based on business education/
networking/art/business launch events
Flexible rates with an introduction rate at $250 and going up to $450/
month. Small team package available.
LOTS of flexible space furniture and whiteboards
Downtown location with a bit of personality
24/7 card access
Lockers or someway for people to store items
Brainstorming ways to improve coworking:
Some of these ideas I've taking from visiting a local FedEx Office
(Kinkos) location
1-2 Public heavy duty desktop computer for tasking visual editing work
with Adobe CS available for everyone
2-3 Public large monitors for laptops to hook up to for comfort and
other editing purposes
Teleconferencing rooms designed for soundproof phone or video
conversations (this is present at a Grand Rapids location)
Membership discounts on cell plans or local restaurants
Bike and scooter storage
If you opened a coworking space:
What are the starting cost for opening up a coworking space in your
area? Where are you located? How many members do you currently have or
average?
If you participate in coworking:
Please let me know what you have noticed to be consistant among
successful coworking spaces? What are features that people don't seem
to care for? How did you discover coworking?
I'm very interested in coworking and would like to start a career in
it. Any information would be helpful and greatly appreciated.
If you would like to contact me personally please feel free to contact
me at BauteCM [at] Gmail.com. I look forward to hearing from everyone
and I apologize about the long starting post.
Tara Hunt
Jul 21, 2010, 3:41:51 PM7/21/10
to cowo...@googlegroups.com
Just an FYI...Citizen Space is not a profit-making space. We have a part-time general manager (Hi April!), but only put enough money in the bank for a rainy day...of which we've had a few. I actually have about $25-30k sunk into the space I doubt I'll ever see back. I consider it an investment in the community and the world as a better place.
--
tara 'missrogue' hunt
Company: Shwowp (http://www.shwowp.com)
Book: The Whuffie Factor (http://www.thewhuffiefactor.com)
Blog: HorsePigCow: Marketing Uncommon (http://horsepigcow.com)
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/missrogue
phone: 514-679-2951
Why the altruism? Well, I used to do it to get me laid (kidding! it never helped with that...), but now I realize that my investment there makes it possible for me to move forward quicker with my other business pursuits. I meet great people because of it, I have built trust in a wider community and the businesses helped by Citizen Space have supported me along the way. It's a contribution to a great ecosystem and cost me WAY less than a radio ad or a fancy SEO person.
T
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--
tara 'missrogue' hunt
Company: Shwowp (http://www.shwowp.com)
Book: The Whuffie Factor (http://www.thewhuffiefactor.com)
Blog: HorsePigCow: Marketing Uncommon (http://horsepigcow.com)
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/missrogue
phone: 514-679-2951
Alex Hillman
Jul 21, 2010, 4:11:37 PM7/21/10
to cowo...@googlegroups.com
Same with Indy Hall. The doors that have been opened by operating a low margin "not-just-for-profit" business have led to much farther reaching success...and not just for me individually but for many of our community members as well.
We've made the money invested into Indy Hall back, unlike Citizen Space, and continue to invest our profit into growth.
But looking at your estimations for operating a "profitable for profit" space is probably off.
For some perspective, when we operated an 1800 square foot location we packed in ~22 desks (which was cramped) and even when we were at capacity AND had a waiting list, we were netting just a few thousand dollars a month.
Nowadays we operate a 4500 square foot location with ~50 desks (and room to grow). In under 6 months we were able to recover from our increase in overhead to operational breakeven, and are month-to-month cashflow positive, but even with our growth projections leading up to this space being at capacity, we're still only netting a few thousand dollars a month.
There's an article coming out within the week where we "bare all" regarding our numbers, I'll be posting it here if Imran doesn't beat me to it, and then sharing the raw numbers with some of my own context here as well.
Apart from "dialing the numbers" on the business side of a coworking space, the other thing you really need to consider is the sociological implications of running a coworking space as your business. By default, you need your members more than they need you. Until they need you more than you need them. In both cases, you're likely to fail.
Instead, a symbiotic and mutually beneficial relationship is what's really needed between the founder/owner/operators...and that takes a lot more work than the setting up and operating of a space does.
Before you jump in headfirst into the dollars and cents of a coworking space, I strongly urge you to consider your goals here and focus on the core value of "community" and what it means to you...and see if that resonates with others.
If it does...you might be on to something.
-Alex
Craig Baute
Jul 21, 2010, 6:08:59 PM7/21/10
to Coworking
Tara: I apologize for incorrectly stating that Citizen Space is a for
profit venture. Congratulations with the success of Citizen Space. I
love following Citizen's progress.
Alex: Thanks for the input and the numbers. I look forward to
following the numbers and wish you the best of luck.
I absolutely agree that a coworking space is about the ecosystem and
the ability to collaborate, bounce ideas off of individuals, and
finding creative solutions through chit chatting with a neighbor. I
worked in coffee shops for two years before discovering the concept of
coworking and it immediately resonated with me. The value is in the
people and the space. Thanks for reminder Alex.
I'm a 'space guy.' I went to college near Herman Miller, SteelCase,
and Haworth furniture and have read their reports and studied their
furniture. I'm intrigued on how coworking space is using the flexible
furniture of having tables on wheels, moving bulletin boards,
incorporating the benefits of technology into physical space like
walls that work well with displaying projected images, etc. I enjoy
studying how people move and use their space as they work and
collaborate. Since coworking is a different beast than a traditional
office setting is their anything type of furniture or set that is
invaluable to your space?
> >> coworking+...@googlegroups.com<coworking%2Bunsubscribe@googlegroups .com>
> >> .
> > .
profit venture. Congratulations with the success of Citizen Space. I
love following Citizen's progress.
Alex: Thanks for the input and the numbers. I look forward to
following the numbers and wish you the best of luck.
I absolutely agree that a coworking space is about the ecosystem and
the ability to collaborate, bounce ideas off of individuals, and
finding creative solutions through chit chatting with a neighbor. I
worked in coffee shops for two years before discovering the concept of
coworking and it immediately resonated with me. The value is in the
people and the space. Thanks for reminder Alex.
I'm a 'space guy.' I went to college near Herman Miller, SteelCase,
and Haworth furniture and have read their reports and studied their
furniture. I'm intrigued on how coworking space is using the flexible
furniture of having tables on wheels, moving bulletin boards,
incorporating the benefits of technology into physical space like
walls that work well with displaying projected images, etc. I enjoy
studying how people move and use their space as they work and
collaborate. Since coworking is a different beast than a traditional
office setting is their anything type of furniture or set that is
invaluable to your space?
> >> .
> >> For more options, visit this group at
> >>http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en.
>
> > --
> > tara 'missrogue' hunt
>
> > Company: Shwowp (http://www.shwowp.com)
> > Book: The Whuffie Factor (http://www.thewhuffiefactor.com)
> > Blog: HorsePigCow: Marketing Uncommon (http://horsepigcow.com)
> > Twitter:http://www.twitter.com/missrogue
> > phone: 514-679-2951
>
> > --
> > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups
> > "Coworking" group.
> > To post to this group, send email to cowo...@googlegroups.com.
> > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to
> > coworking+...@googlegroups.com<coworking%2Bunsubscribe@googlegroups .com>
> >>http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en.
>
> > --
> > tara 'missrogue' hunt
>
> > Company: Shwowp (http://www.shwowp.com)
> > Book: The Whuffie Factor (http://www.thewhuffiefactor.com)
> > Blog: HorsePigCow: Marketing Uncommon (http://horsepigcow.com)
> > Twitter:http://www.twitter.com/missrogue
> > phone: 514-679-2951
>
> > --
> > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups
> > "Coworking" group.
> > To post to this group, send email to cowo...@googlegroups.com.
> > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to
> > .
Tara Hunt
Jul 21, 2010, 11:13:43 PM7/21/10
to cowo...@googlegroups.com
We use a LOT of Ikea tables...cheap, light and moveable! Also whiteboards.
T
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Aaron Schaap
Jul 22, 2010, 9:03:32 AM7/22/10
to Coworking
Hey Craig,
Feel free to stop by the Factory here in Grand Rapids, MI
(workthefactory.com) or at the Garage in Zeeland. We can probably give
you some of our experience to some of your questions. Overall, (as
said before), it's less about the space and more about family. Of
course good space with nice furniture isn't a bad thing, especially
for us as we're in furniture alley with Steelcase, Herman Miller,
Haworth, Izzy, etc...) - it just isn't what changes people's behavior
and start using your space.
We've had some successes and a lot of failures. We're coming close to
our first year end and we'll definitely be in the red. Part of this is
due to how busy we've been at our day jobs (www.elevatorup.com) and
others have been in things we've learned.
654 Croswell is a great space as well. They have more members than we
do right now as well. They aren't covering all their costs yet either
though.
There's also a lot of different reasons people startup coworking
spaces - each person/group has different ideas of success so be
careful to mimic one clubhouse as it may not align with your same
definition of success.
------------------------------
Aaron Schaap
The Factory
web: www.workthefactory.com
tweet: @schaapy
Feel free to stop by the Factory here in Grand Rapids, MI
(workthefactory.com) or at the Garage in Zeeland. We can probably give
you some of our experience to some of your questions. Overall, (as
said before), it's less about the space and more about family. Of
course good space with nice furniture isn't a bad thing, especially
for us as we're in furniture alley with Steelcase, Herman Miller,
Haworth, Izzy, etc...) - it just isn't what changes people's behavior
and start using your space.
We've had some successes and a lot of failures. We're coming close to
our first year end and we'll definitely be in the red. Part of this is
due to how busy we've been at our day jobs (www.elevatorup.com) and
others have been in things we've learned.
654 Croswell is a great space as well. They have more members than we
do right now as well. They aren't covering all their costs yet either
though.
There's also a lot of different reasons people startup coworking
spaces - each person/group has different ideas of success so be
careful to mimic one clubhouse as it may not align with your same
definition of success.
------------------------------
Aaron Schaap
The Factory
web: www.workthefactory.com
tweet: @schaapy
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