Hello,
I’m working on a business plan in order to open a coworking space. Do you have any tips & tricks for me?
It would help me if you have a model business plan.
Thank you!
Hey Cristina,
Welcome to the group!
I have a free starter kit that includes a basic business model template here:
There’s also a more robust premium package here:
http://nwc.co/3/coworking-business-model-template/
Coworking has become incredibly diverse, so there are different ways of approaching the model based on the needs in your region and your own personal disposition. This can include:
- Just a casual club
- Coworking in under-utilized space (restaurants, cafes, etc)
- Coworking only
- Coworking + cafe
- Coworking + consultancy
- Coworking + private offices
- Coworking + events & educational programming
- Coworking at scale
And many more.
When I work with a new client to help them with their planning, one of the first things I’ll do is get a sense of which of the above models might be the best fit for their interests.
Often they already have an idea in mind, though it’s still good to go through the process of examining all of the possibilities—I frequently help people temper their expectations by recommending starting with something smaller, to help pave the way for a more ambitious undertaking.
Once you have a rough idea of the high-level approach you want to pursue, then you can start looking at numbers to get an idea of how a model might work.
What you may find, however, is that unless you happen to already have an existing community or related network and a space lined up, it may be a while before you can get too specific—building interest in the project and rallying stakeholders around the general idea will likely be necessary before you can plug in real-life numbers with a real-life space.
Once you have a particular space in your sights, you can plug in the actual square footage and cost per square foot (at least that’s how we do it with my templates) to get accurate projections and an estimate of what you’d have to charge to make it profitable.
I hope that helps!
Would you like to tell us a little more about your project?
Cheers,
Tony Bacigalupo
···
On Mon, Oct 15, 2018 at 5:25 AM, Gadei Cristina [email protected] wrote:
Hello,
I’m working on a business plan in order to open a coworking space. Do you have any tips & tricks for me?
It would help me if you have a model business plan.
Thank you!
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Hi Cristina,
I’ve compiled a list of useful financial resources for coworking spaces. You can dowload a spreadsheet with an example of a coworking business plan here. There’s also this file that can be helpful.
My best tip is to keep it simple and don’t add too many lines for every single thing. Try to bundle those that are related together. You can do a simple back of the envelope calculation to figure out if the space can be profitable or not and how many members you need to have to be profitable (I explained this in GCUC workshops and also in the finance chapter of The Coworking Handbook).
If you are working on something that you want to present to banks, get a template file from your accountant and fill it up.
Don’t get carried away with spreadsheets: membership is easy to grow on paper, but you have to do something that seems plausible for you to do in real life.
I hope this helps you short things out.
Cheers,
Ramon
···
On Tuesday, October 16, 2018 at 5:09:15 PM UTC+2, Gadei Cristina wrote:
Hello,
I’m working on a business plan in order to open a coworking space. Do you have any tips & tricks for me?
It would help me if you have a model business plan.
Thank you!
This discussion is very important to me. We own our space (2 story office building–2800 sq ft, plus functional basement) – two tenants including us intend to keep some of the space. My concern is the viability of the location, need, and interest in doing a co-op space in our neighborhood.
How does someone actually do the research?
Al
···
On Tuesday, October 16, 2018 at 10:09:15 AM UTC-5, Gadei Cristina wrote:
Hello,
I’m working on a business plan in order to open a coworking space. Do you have any tips & tricks for me?
It would help me if you have a model business plan.
Thank you!
I worked with the Small Business Development Center at my Community College. They were a great resource for me.
- We looked at office space for rent in a 20-30 mile radius, what was included in the rent, what the office and surrounding neighborhood looked like.
- I also did research online for what other coworking spaces offered.
- I talked with people I knew who were remote workers or had started a company on their own to find out what they would look for in a coworking space.
- I visited local coffee shops/restaurants to see if there were a large number of people taking up tables with laptops.
Our building is in the middle of Main Street in a revitalizing downtown area. City Hall just relocated across the street and the Chamber of Commerce and the city Development Alliance is out my back door. Location matters. Getting to know local business people who are involved in the community matters. Getting involved in the community where you plan to open your space matters. My space can be used for special events as well. Before I had any coworking members I had hosted a few events in the space. It was good exposure.
My biggest challenge has been education. Letting people know that I was here wasn’t enough. They didn’t know what coworking was! I had to come up with a quick answer to “What is it you do here?” & “What is coworking?”. If they were really interested then I could explain further.
Best of Luck
Wendy
···
Sent from Mail for Windows 10
From: AK
Sent: Friday, October 26, 2018 10:40 AM
To: Coworking
Subject: [Coworking] Re: Coworking Business Plan
This discussion is very important to me. We own our space (2 story office building–2800 sq ft, plus functional basement) – two tenants including us intend to keep some of the space. My concern is the viability of the location, need, and interest in doing a co-op space in our neighborhood.
How does someone actually do the research?
Al
On Tuesday, October 16, 2018 at 10:09:15 AM UTC-5, Gadei Cristina wrote:
Hello,
I’m working on a business plan in order to open a coworking space. Do you have any tips & tricks for me?
It would help me if you have a model business plan.
Thank you!
–
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups “Coworking” group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected].
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
I’ve been following this thread and have to say, you guys are awesome! Love this community.
Felisha Hatcher-Taylor
Executive Director, Co.ology
586.842.2244 | [email protected]
[Co.ology : Work + Creative Space](http://Co.ology : Work + Creative Space)
18940 E. 9 Mile , Eastpointe, MI 48021
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···
On Fri, Oct 26, 2018 at 12:30 PM Wendy [email protected] wrote:
I worked with the Small Business Development Center at my Community College. They were a great resource for me.
- We looked at office space for rent in a 20-30 mile radius, what was included in the rent, what the office and surrounding neighborhood looked like.
- I also did research online for what other coworking spaces offered.
- I talked with people I knew who were remote workers or had started a company on their own to find out what they would look for in a coworking space.
- I visited local coffee shops/restaurants to see if there were a large number of people taking up tables with laptops.
Our building is in the middle of Main Street in a revitalizing downtown area. City Hall just relocated across the street and the Chamber of Commerce and the city Development Alliance is out my back door. Location matters. Getting to know local business people who are involved in the community matters. Getting involved in the community where you plan to open your space matters. My space can be used for special events as well. Before I had any coworking members I had hosted a few events in the space. It was good exposure.
My biggest challenge has been education. Letting people know that I was here wasn’t enough. They didn’t know what coworking was! I had to come up with a quick answer to “What is it you do here?” & “What is coworking?”. If they were really interested then I could explain further.
Best of Luck
Wendy
Sent from Mail for Windows 10
From: AK
Sent: Friday, October 26, 2018 10:40 AM
To: Coworking
Subject: [Coworking] Re: Coworking Business Plan
This discussion is very important to me. We own our space (2 story office building–2800 sq ft, plus functional basement) – two tenants including us intend to keep some of the space. My concern is the viability of the location, need, and interest in doing a co-op space in our neighborhood.
How does someone actually do the research?
Al
On Tuesday, October 16, 2018 at 10:09:15 AM UTC-5, Gadei Cristina wrote:
Hello,
I’m working on a business plan in order to open a coworking space. Do you have any tips & tricks for me?
It would help me if you have a model business plan.
Thank you!
–
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups “Coworking” group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected].
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
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I had to participate in two coworking projects. One of them is still working and continues to be a cosy place for freelancers. The most challenging thing to create was to make a budget plan. In other words, allocate funds for all creation and further maintenance expenses.