Hi all,
Alongside meeting people and making contacts within my local community I’m putting together the outline of a business plan - more for my own information than anything else.
As part of that process I’m compiling a list of (very) loose monthly outgoings and I was wondering if anyone might share theirs - not figures, just items.
There are going to be all the obvious ones - rent, internet’s, rates, coffee (!) etc. - but it’s the less obvious ones I’m hoping to discover - the slightly left field stuff that nobody thinks about until after they’ve launched!
Thanks in advance, all feedback is gratefully received by this enthusiastic wannabe!
Two big ones not on your list are both human service costs:
staff (unless you want to be chained to a desk, you’re gonna want someone at least part time to help steer the ship on a daily basis)
cleaning service (I’m a big advocate of setting an expectation that members help take care of the space, but at the very least bathrooms need generally need professional care and normal foot traffic means floors will need to be cleaned at least weekly if not more often.
Another big one that people often forget but adds up quickly is business software. That’s your website, billing/management software (including payment processing fees), communication and support tools, etc. There’s quite a bit of decent free stuff out there, but biz software does start to add up fast!
Alongside meeting people and making contacts within my local community I’m putting together the outline of a business plan - more for my own information than anything else.
As part of that process I’m compiling a list of (very) loose monthly outgoings and I was wondering if anyone might share theirs - not figures, just items.
There are going to be all the obvious ones - rent, internet’s, rates, coffee (!) etc. - but it’s the less obvious ones I’m hoping to discover - the slightly left field stuff that nobody thinks about until after they’ve launched!
Thanks in advance, all feedback is gratefully received by this enthusiastic wannabe!
Mark
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Thanks Alex - I had some accounting software in my head, but certainly communication tools had escaped my thoughts!
Instead of imposing specific software on future members, my plan had been to speak to them and try and tailor the software to their needs/requirements/wants - my thinking is that some people will prefer email, other’s facebook, twitter, slack etc. but I’m going to go out on a limb and suppose there’s not going to be a one-size-fits-all that everyone is happy to use!
···
On Monday, 9 October 2017 14:58:38 UTC+1, Alex Hillman wrote:
Two big ones not on your list are both human service costs:
staff (unless you want to be chained to a desk, you’re gonna want someone at least part time to help steer the ship on a daily basis)
cleaning service (I’m a big advocate of setting an expectation that members help take care of the space, but at the very least bathrooms need generally need professional care and normal foot traffic means floors will need to be cleaned at least weekly if not more often.
Another big one that people often forget but adds up quickly is business software. That’s your website, billing/management software (including payment processing fees), communication and support tools, etc. There’s quite a bit of decent free stuff out there, but biz software does start to add up fast!
-alex
The #1 mistake in community building is doing it by yourself.
Alongside meeting people and making contacts within my local community I’m putting together the outline of a business plan - more for my own information than anything else.
As part of that process I’m compiling a list of (very) loose monthly outgoings and I was wondering if anyone might share theirs - not figures, just items.
There are going to be all the obvious ones - rent, internet’s, rates, coffee (!) etc. - but it’s the less obvious ones I’m hoping to discover - the slightly left field stuff that nobody thinks about until after they’ve launched!
Thanks in advance, all feedback is gratefully received by this enthusiastic wannabe!
Mark
–
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We use the free edition of Slack and the paid version of GroupBuzz for email discussion (we are our own first customer) since it lets people get messages where they already are: their inbox.
Other software you might find useful/valuable enough to pay for:
- zapier.com for linking different systems together. We use this for SO MUCH. https://dangerouslyawesome.com/2015/01/6-automated-workflows-that-make-our-coworking-space-better-every-day/
- typeform.com for creating signup forms and surveys
- meetup.com I have a lot of mixed feelings about meetup, but if you’re gonna use it to organize members it does cost ~$150/year
- frontapp.com or something like it for keeping your public facing inbox organized (something that handles emails as cases rather than threads is super helpful for keeping everything organized)
There’s other stuff we pay for that you might already have/use, like Dropbox and subscriptions to Adobe products for doing graphics work for promos and other design related needs.
One last one might seem obvious but I often see people forget is credit card processing. It’s so much better to be able to automatically debit memberships vs sending invoices and waiting on receivables (we started and ran this way for a LONG time before stuff like Stripe became available). But remember to factor in the 2.9%+$0.30 processing fees. They add up!
Thanks Alex - I had some accounting software in my head, but certainly communication tools had escaped my thoughts!
Instead of imposing specific software on future members, my plan had been to speak to them and try and tailor the software to their needs/requirements/wants - my thinking is that some people will prefer email, other's facebook, twitter, slack etc. but I'm going to go out on a limb and suppose there's not going to be a one-size-fits-all that everyone is happy to use!
On Monday, 9 October 2017 14:58:38 UTC+1, Alex Hillman wrote:
> Two big ones not on your list are both human service costs:
>
> - staff (unless you want to be chained to a desk, you're gonna want someone at least part time to help steer the ship on a daily basis)
> - cleaning service (I'm a big advocate of setting an expectation that members help take care of the space, but at the very least bathrooms need generally need professional care and normal foot traffic means floors will need to be cleaned at least weekly if not more often.
>
> Another big one that people often forget but adds up quickly is business software. That's your website, billing/management software (including payment processing fees), communication and support tools, etc. There's quite a bit of decent free stuff out there, but biz software does start to add up fast!
>
> -alex
>
>
>
>
> ------------------
> The #1 mistake in community building is doing it by yourself.
> Better Coworkers: http://indyhall.org
> Weekly Coworking Tips: http://coworkingweekly.com
> My Audiobook: The First 10 Members, the Indy Hall Way – The story of how we started a coworking community that has changed lives and improved our city.
>
> > On Mon, Oct 9, 2017 at 9:45 AM, Mark <[email protected]> wrote:
> > > Hi all,
> > > Alongside meeting people and making contacts within my local community I’m putting together the outline of a business plan - more for my own information than anything else.
> > >
> > > As part of that process I’m compiling a list of (very) loose monthly outgoings and I was wondering if anyone might share theirs - not figures, just items.
> > >
> > > There are going to be all the obvious ones - rent, internet’s, rates, coffee (!) etc. - but it’s the less obvious ones I’m hoping to discover - the slightly left field stuff that nobody thinks about until after they’ve launched!
> > >
> > > Thanks in advance, all feedback is gratefully received by this enthusiastic wannabe!
> > >
> > > Mark
> > >
> > > --
> > > 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 cowork...@googlegroups.com.
> > > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout\.
>
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The two core problems I have noticed in coworking spaces generally are 1) nobody answers the phone or returns calls; and 2) they are not all that clean.
Nothing says “settling for less” like a dusty space.
And get an answering service or forward your calls. And return them. The way to return calls is to have specific times that you return calls that are not urgent, adn communicate this. My rule is, I answer not urgent calls at 10 and at 2. If I didn;t call you at 10, I will call you at 2.
And I have an answering service (it’s one of my coworkers actually) and I tell them exactly where I am if I am not available; I have been known to have them tell people that I am off the grid for a day and will call back tomorrow. Whatever, people understand anythign except uncertainty. The answering seervice I use will also call people back if the answer is simple, I just send the answering service an email. Like this" yes, you are confirmed for a tour next Tuesday at 10; yes we can/no we can;t reschedule for thursday, tell that jerk the next available booking is after Christmas. Christmas 2025.
Okay, not that last. That was a joke.
That’s it. It cuts down on anxiety considerably and really makes people happy.
And hire your coworkers if you can, as soon as you can. You are the only landlord in the world who makes more money in th eexact degree that your coworkers are doing well.
Best,
Jeannine
···
On Monday, October 9, 2017 at 3:58:38 PM UTC+2, Alex Hillman wrote:
Two big ones not on your list are both human service costs:
staff (unless you want to be chained to a desk, you’re gonna want someone at least part time to help steer the ship on a daily basis)
cleaning service (I’m a big advocate of setting an expectation that members help take care of the space, but at the very least bathrooms need generally need professional care and normal foot traffic means floors will need to be cleaned at least weekly if not more often.
Another big one that people often forget but adds up quickly is business software. That’s your website, billing/management software (including payment processing fees), communication and support tools, etc. There’s quite a bit of decent free stuff out there, but biz software does start to add up fast!
-alex
The #1 mistake in community building is doing it by yourself.
Alongside meeting people and making contacts within my local community I’m putting together the outline of a business plan - more for my own information than anything else.
As part of that process I’m compiling a list of (very) loose monthly outgoings and I was wondering if anyone might share theirs - not figures, just items.
There are going to be all the obvious ones - rent, internet’s, rates, coffee (!) etc. - but it’s the less obvious ones I’m hoping to discover - the slightly left field stuff that nobody thinks about until after they’ve launched!
Thanks in advance, all feedback is gratefully received by this enthusiastic wannabe!
Mark
–
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].
Funnily enough my wife used to run a great little deli and asked if I would consider taking card payments - I had just been looking at Stripe and a couple of others.
I actually already use the Adobe Creative Cloud but funnily enough hadn’t considered that I might keep it in my new Coworking life - now that you mention it, it’s really useful!
Are you going to coworking Europe by chance - if you find yourself over there, I’ll be the REALLY tall bearded one!
We use the free edition of Slack and the paid version of GroupBuzz for email discussion (we are our own first customer) since it lets people get messages where they already are: their inbox.
Other software you might find useful/valuable enough to pay for:
typeform.com for creating signup forms and surveys
meetup.com I have a lot of mixed feelings about meetup, but if you’re gonna use it to organize members it does cost ~$150/year
frontapp.com or something like it for keeping your public facing inbox organized (something that handles emails as cases rather than threads is super helpful for keeping everything organized)
There’s other stuff we pay for that you might already have/use, like Dropbox and subscriptions to Adobe products for doing graphics work for promos and other design related needs.
One last one might seem obvious but I often see people forget is credit card processing. It’s so much better to be able to automatically debit memberships vs sending invoices and waiting on receivables (we started and ran this way for a LONG time before stuff like Stripe became available). But remember to factor in the 2.9%+$0.30 processing fees. They add up!
Thanks Alex - I had some accounting software in my head, but certainly communication tools had escaped my thoughts!
Instead of imposing specific software on future members, my plan had been to speak to them and try and tailor the software to their needs/requirements/wants - my thinking is that some people will prefer email, other’s facebook, twitter, slack etc. but I’m going to go out on a limb and suppose there’s not going to be a one-size-fits-all that everyone is happy to use!
On Monday, 9 October 2017 14:58:38 UTC+1, Alex Hillman wrote:
Two big ones not on your list are both human service costs:
staff (unless you want to be chained to a desk, you’re gonna want someone at least part time to help steer the ship on a daily basis)
cleaning service (I’m a big advocate of setting an expectation that members help take care of the space, but at the very least bathrooms need generally need professional care and normal foot traffic means floors will need to be cleaned at least weekly if not more often.
Another big one that people often forget but adds up quickly is business software. That’s your website, billing/management software (including payment processing fees), communication and support tools, etc. There’s quite a bit of decent free stuff out there, but biz software does start to add up fast!
-alex
The #1 mistake in community building is doing it by yourself.
Alongside meeting people and making contacts within my local community I’m putting together the outline of a business plan - more for my own information than anything else.
As part of that process I’m compiling a list of (very) loose monthly outgoings and I was wondering if anyone might share theirs - not figures, just items.
There are going to be all the obvious ones - rent, internet’s, rates, coffee (!) etc. - but it’s the less obvious ones I’m hoping to discover - the slightly left field stuff that nobody thinks about until after they’ve launched!
Thanks in advance, all feedback is gratefully received by this enthusiastic wannabe!
Mark
–
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I wish I had planned a budget to attend one GCUC conference each year. It comes in around $1,000/year after airfare, lodging and meals but it’s always worth it.
Angel
···
On Monday, October 9, 2017 at 7:47:42 AM UTC-6, Mark wrote:
Hi all,
Alongside meeting people and making contacts within my local community I’m putting together the outline of a business plan - more for my own information than anything else.
As part of that process I’m compiling a list of (very) loose monthly outgoings and I was wondering if anyone might share theirs - not figures, just items.
There are going to be all the obvious ones - rent, internet’s, rates, coffee (!) etc. - but it’s the less obvious ones I’m hoping to discover - the slightly left field stuff that nobody thinks about until after they’ve launched!
Thanks in advance, all feedback is gratefully received by this enthusiastic wannabe!
Wow - do you know what Angel, I’m just about to attend my first CWE conference and it genuinely didn’t occur to me that I should budget for this as an annual cost.
Thank you so much for the suggestion!
···
On Monday, 16 October 2017 18:34:15 UTC+1, Angel Kwiatkowski wrote:
I wish I had planned a budget to attend one GCUC conference each year. It comes in around $1,000/year after airfare, lodging and meals but it’s always worth it.
Angel
On Monday, October 9, 2017 at 7:47:42 AM UTC-6, Mark wrote:
Hi all,
Alongside meeting people and making contacts within my local community I’m putting together the outline of a business plan - more for my own information than anything else.
As part of that process I’m compiling a list of (very) loose monthly outgoings and I was wondering if anyone might share theirs - not figures, just items.
There are going to be all the obvious ones - rent, internet’s, rates, coffee (!) etc. - but it’s the less obvious ones I’m hoping to discover - the slightly left field stuff that nobody thinks about until after they’ve launched!
Thanks in advance, all feedback is gratefully received by this enthusiastic wannabe!
