Urban Workspaces: Recent Posts

Urban Workspaces: Recent Posts http://www.urbanworkspaces.com/forum/ Urban Workspaces: Recent Posts en Fri, 30 Jul 2010 05:46:38 +0000 NC on "Space per person" http://www.urbanworkspaces.com/forum/topic.php?id=13#post-30 Mon, 23 Mar 2009 13:26:48 +0000 NC 30@http://www.urbanworkspaces.com/forum/ It is good to see that the already robust model that you've developed will have even greater flexibility based on a floor space of 400sqm. Having the flexibility for options a) or b) will certainly provide investors with increased confidence. Nick. NC on "Flexibility in membership pricing" http://www.urbanworkspaces.com/forum/topic.php?id=12#post-29 Mon, 23 Mar 2009 13:17:58 +0000 NC 29@http://www.urbanworkspaces.com/forum/ Marc, I think you've summed up the membership pricing issue very well. Keeping the pricing regime flexible but still transparent and fair can be a tricky balance but the suggestions you've made are absolutely spot on in my view. The ability of current members to benefit if rates need to be reduced shows respect and fairness towards current members. Nick. Marc on "Space per person" http://www.urbanworkspaces.com/forum/topic.php?id=13#post-28 Fri, 06 Mar 2009 21:45:42 +0000 Marc 28@http://www.urbanworkspaces.com/forum/ One of the important variables in the financial model is how many people we plan on putting in the space. Too many people, and its uncomfortable and members won't feel their getting value for money. Too few and the place feels empty and we need to charge too much to make the model work. There are several discussions on just this topic in the coworking google group. With so many new coworking spaces on the drawing board (almost all in the US) this is something many people need to know. Here is a <a href="http://groups.google.com/group/coworking/search?hl=en&group=coworking&q=square+feet+people&qt_g=Search+this+group">search of threads in the group.</a> You'll see that 100 square feet (9.3 square metres for the all of us in the rest of the world) is what many have found works. At least one is as high as 160 square feet per person, but planning to lower that to 130. Based on the space I am looking at, which is a rather large 400 quare metres, that implies about 25 to 40 people (at 160 down to 100 square feet each). My model, at the time of this post, is allowing for about 24 people in the office on a normal day (12 permanents at their desks and 12 casuals at shared tables). This means either (a) the space will be very luxurious, justifying a decent price per person; or (b) we can put more people in. So another piece falls into place... I'd hate to have found out that we could only fit 20 people in and needed 30 to make it work! Marc on "Flexibility in membership pricing" http://www.urbanworkspaces.com/forum/topic.php?id=12#post-27 Mon, 23 Feb 2009 12:08:23 +0000 Marc 27@http://www.urbanworkspaces.com/forum/ I've been thinking about how to set membership pricing so that there interests of all stakeholders are met: <ul> <li>it should be cheap enough that members regard it as a bargain and new members don't see pricing as a major obstacle; </li> <li>it shouldn't be so cheap that we have a two year wait list to get in; </li> <li>investors need to be compensated for the risk they are taking, so there needs to an economic return for them; </li> <li>etc. </li> </ul> I've been thinking that, at least for the first year, we will have to have some level of flexibility... but we cannot do that in a way that frustrates members. Here is my current thinking: <ul> <li>Rates are ininitally set below where we think they ultimately should be in order to get people in as quickly as possible, and also to thank them for joining early and compensating them for any teething problems we have during the early days (although hopefully that'san overly conservative reason for wanting to give them a good deal!); </li> <li>We could tell everyone what our plans are for rates so they know what increases are likely and therefore plan for that, or we could put a cap on them... eg. "full time desk will not cost more than $X per month during the next 12 months", meaning no one goes to the effort of moving their business into the space without some certainty on the maximum cost. </li> <li>I think all members should pay the same as others on the same level - ie. if we're having trouble filling the place, we don't offer special deals to new members that existing members don't have access to... you should never treat new clients better than existing clients, even though many businesses do! </li> <li>That means, if we decide to reduce the rates then all members get the new reduced rate </li> <li>Any member that wants to pay in advance for more than one month can lock in their rate for a period of time. So if someone pays in advance for a full year, any increases do not get passed on to them until they are next due to pay. However, any decreases ARE passed on via a refund... again, you can't penalise people for doing something that is beneficial to you such as paying in advance for more time. </li> </ul> I think this suits both sides - the members are treated fairly, know the maximum they may have to pay and have the ability to lock in a rate by paying in advance for more time. The owners get the flexibility to change rates within the limits they set without being accused of chaning the rules on anyone or treating new clients better than existing/loyal clients. Any thoughts or ideas to add? Marc on "Provision of services" http://www.urbanworkspaces.com/forum/topic.php?id=11#post-26 Tue, 17 Feb 2009 18:05:54 +0000 Marc 26@http://www.urbanworkspaces.com/forum/ One of the largest costs involved in running the workspace is likely to be paying for services to keep the place operating. Relying on one or two people to volunteer substantial time to get the place going may work for a while, but that is not a sustainable business model and could see the place face problems if those people cannot continue. My thought is that we should offer the ability to provide as many services as possible to members. For example, keeping the internet connection running and making sure members can log-in will be an important task. Hopefully we will have an IT expert amongst the membership who can do that for us in exchange for a greatly reduced monthly fee, if not a free desk. I have added a section to the business model to take this into account. It allows us to estimate the hours involved with each service and apply an hourly rate, and then see how this affects the bottom line. My assumption is that the rate that will apply to internal service providers will be lower than market, but more than just a nominal amount... meaning there will be an element of giving involved by those who take on these roles... but that's what coworking is about, isn't it? Marc on "An idea about marketing" http://www.urbanworkspaces.com/forum/topic.php?id=10#post-25 Tue, 17 Feb 2009 16:43:50 +0000 Marc 25@http://www.urbanworkspaces.com/forum/ Obviously one of the keys will be getting people (the right people) into the space in a relatively short period so that costs are being covered sooner rather than later. My thought has always been that the best form of marketing will be members telling others about how great an experience they are having. Referral marketing is far stronger than any other form of marketing because it is "real" for lack of a better word. So rather than spending money on promotions and advertising, my thought was to allocate a marketing budget but pay it to existing members who find new members. Here's a summary of my idea: - All new members, upon joining, must nominate an existing member that brought them to the space. If they responded to some form of ad (say, a mention in an online forum) then whoever was responsible for that post will be nominated person; - For as long as the referring member (or investor) and the new member both remain associated with the group then some amount (say 5% to 10%?) of the new members fees will go to the referring member via a reduction in their own fees... or if the referring member is an investor but not a tenant then as a cash payment on top of their regular dividend. One obvious question is do we need to do this? Wouldn't happy members tell other people about the place even without getting paid? Of course they would, but that doesn't mean they don't deserve some form of reward anyway... just because it's the right thing to do! (Just because there is lots of work I enjoy so much I would do it for free, doesn't mean I don't want to get paid for it if I'm adding value for someone else!). Given investors benefit from having members actively looking for new members and helping keep the space near capacity, those referring members deserve some real thanks via a tangible share of the benefit (ie. profit) being derived by the investors. Another benefit is that it gives members a chance to do something to reduce their membership fees. If a member is really keen on staying but finds cash is tight, they can allocate some time to finding new members (provide we aren't full!), and if they can find a few they could substantially reduce their monthly fee. There are lots of small details to work out, such as what happens if a new member names two members as the reason they found the place? (My initial thought is to just ask them to name one and then let them sort it out between themselves as to whether they want to share some of the reward via a payment between themselves.) We'd also have to make sure members aren't looking for just anyone to join... maybe we do this by only commencing these payments after the new member has lasted 2 or 3 months without leaving or being asked to leave? Those sort of details can be worked out later once we have a few founding members and/or investors confirmed and who will obviously have input into these decisions. In the meantime, what do you think of the general idea of allocating 5% or 10% of revenue to payments to existing members who find new members for the space? Remember... I'm sure we don't NEED to do that, but that doesn't mean it's not the right thing to do! Marc on "profit vs. non-profit" http://www.urbanworkspaces.com/forum/topic.php?id=9#post-24 Tue, 27 Jan 2009 17:42:03 +0000 Marc 24@http://www.urbanworkspaces.com/forum/ I've been scanning the Coworking Google Group and found an interesting thread about running coworking spaces as profit making businesses relative to non-profit enterprises. Given the idea behind coworking is very much about collaboration some people assume that a non-profit or cooperative structure might be preferred (and I started that way, too). However, there are many locations set up for profit, and many comments in this thread give reasons why it can make more sense to run the workspaces as a profit making business. Here is a link to the article: <a href="http://groups.google.com/group/coworking/browse_thread/thread/ca5130731536e3a2">Coworking as a business vs non-profit</a> Feel free to add your own thoughts here. Marc. Marc on "Policies vs. Trust" http://www.urbanworkspaces.com/forum/topic.php?id=8#post-23 Tue, 27 Jan 2009 16:30:40 +0000 Marc 23@http://www.urbanworkspaces.com/forum/ When I talk to people about my plans for a coworking space I often get questions such as "will you charge to use the photocopier?" or "how will you allocate bandwidth?". My answer has always been along the lines of "the community will decide what works best and those who don't fit in will be encouraged to change their habits". (Those who know more about the coworking movement will know this is how things tend to work, but it is a concept that is a bit foreign to people working in large corporates... a reason many of us left corporates, but that's a whole other topic!). My view is that most people can, and like to, be trusted. In the book I'm currently reading, The Speed of Trust by Stephen M. R. Covey, there is a quote from Gordon Forward, former President and CEO of Chaparral Steel: "We don't have policies. What we started with essentially were some very basic ideas. First, we decided that such things as trust and honesty were going to play a big role in what we were doing. We felt that a lot of the procedures in many organizations were designed to catch the 3 percent who were trying to cheat in one way or another. We decideed to design our rules for the 97 percent we can trust. The others would stand out like sore thumbs, we figured, and they'd eventually leave. That's exactly what happened." My thoughts are pretty much that... run the place for those we can trust, do our best to fill the place with those people, and the very occasional person that doesn't fit in will hopefully change their habits or leave. (But if they don't we'll have a last resort option such as a committee to review such issues - but hopefully that's never required). More recently I've modified this idea, and instead of just letting people do what they want (which might make those who need to make occasional heavy use of services like the printer feel guilty) is to create some facility whereby members can pay for usage they consider more than "average". For example, a simple box next to the printer/photocopier (together with information on the cost of such items) would allow them to drop a few dollars in the box when they feel they should. My guess is that more often than not we'll get too much money paid by members rather than not enough, and we can use that money to subsidise food and drink for our events, or buy fruit for the workspace. Marc on "Networking" http://www.urbanworkspaces.com/forum/topic.php?id=6#post-22 Thu, 22 Jan 2009 01:42:37 +0000 Marc 22@http://www.urbanworkspaces.com/forum/ Hmm, interesting. I'm not sure why it comes off as being for a male audience, as that's absolutely NOT the intention. "Sports/AV"?... you mean the pool table and the TV? I don't think they are targeted to males... I find females enjoy a game of pool as much as males, and as for TV...? (I might have mentioned the possibility of a fussball table which may be of more interest to guys, but I much prefer the pool table as you can talk about work while you play. I might take fussball off the idea list, although at this stage we're still just brainstorming). Anyway, the idea is to create interesting break out areas for people to talk away from their desk, or entertain a guest... and to create different options so that people have choices because everyone is different. In addition to the room with the pool table, and the area with couches and TV, there could also be a quiet corner with bean bags for reading (maybe a no phone or even no talking area?) and a second area with couches but no TV. The kitchen area could also have a bench with a few stools for chatting. Its nothing to do with male/female, just what can we do this is fun and creative but still makes sense in an environment designed first and foremost as a workspace. Anyway, these are all just starting ideas. I'm sure more will come up during discussions. Have you got any ideas that you feel would be less targeted to males? On the target market, I covered that in an answer to one of your other posts <a href="http://www.urbanworkspaces.com/forum/topic.php?id=7">here</a>. Marc on "Members "charter"" http://www.urbanworkspaces.com/forum/topic.php?id=7#post-21 Thu, 22 Jan 2009 01:21:33 +0000 Marc 21@http://www.urbanworkspaces.com/forum/ Hey there Terry, Have a read of some of the posts on the coworking google group, or from some of the other sites around the world. The whole mentality of coworking seems to end up attracting those that are able to contribute to such a community and doesn't suit others, and a lot of that stuff ends up self regulating better than you might think... particularly if your experiences are mainly with traditional corporate offices (like mine are... unfortunately). On things like noise control, the group will find its own level, and it won't be the quietest office. Those wanting a place to write a novel probably won't enjoy it. Sure, we'll have some sort of committee that can review complaints, but I think its more likely that the group will find its own appropriate behaviours and those who don't fit in will notice that and it will be self policed to a significant extent. On the issue of the selective approach, I think again it will be largely self selecting. But I definitely want to fill the space with people who "get it", and who want to contribute to the success of the group... which is why one of the ideas I have is that new members need to write a paragraph or two on what they believe they can contribute to the workspace. Anyone who says "nothing, I just want a cheap desk" most likely won't fit in. On the size of the target market, have a read of anything by Seth Godin (and many other marketing gurus) and he'll tell you that to succeed you need to be the best at what you do, and its better to shrink your target market down to the size where you can be the best option for those people as opposed to targeting everyone but being the best option for no one. This is very true here... offer the perfect solution for a small percentage of small businesses, and we'll have no trouble finding the 30 to 40 people to make this a huge success. But if we try and make the space suitable for everyone, we'll be the perfect solution for no one and end up as just another office space competing for tenants in the middle of a recession. Here is a <a href="http://www.ducttapemarketing.com/blog/2009/01/14/seth-godin-thinks-youre-boring/">link to a great interview with Seth Godin</a> from John Jantsch at Duct Tape Marketing. Have a listen and then tell me whether you still think keeping the target market as broad as possible is the best approach. (And if listening to the whole podcast is too much for you, just listen to the bit starting at the 13 minute market). Edit: And given this discussion is in the "members charter" thread... do I want to exclude people that don't want to sign something saying they will act with honesty and integrity? You bet I do!!! Marc on "Introduce yourself" http://www.urbanworkspaces.com/forum/topic.php?id=2#post-20 Thu, 22 Jan 2009 00:55:48 +0000 Marc 20@http://www.urbanworkspaces.com/forum/ Hi Terry, "I'm not a fan of wasted travel time" Agreed, which is why this place will be no more than 15 mins drive from my home and I would only expect members to also be within a similar distance. Longer term my hope is that there is a network of workspaces in a ring around the CBD, with a couple of spaces in the CBD. That way those who like the idea of coworking are hopefully not much more than a 15 min drive from home and the decision as to whether to go into the office or stay at home for the day is not affected by the travel issue. "could work well once critical mass is achieved ... that's the hard part." Agreed, and the more people I talk to the more I think this could fill up quicker than I previously thought. I think there are thousands of potential clients and we only need 20 or 30, with a mix or permanents and casuals, to make this work. I have a few ideas on how to get word out, then the quality of the "product" will almost sell itself. I'll share more of those ideas soon. TB on "Introduce yourself" http://www.urbanworkspaces.com/forum/topic.php?id=2#post-19 Wed, 21 Jan 2009 23:30:14 +0000 TB 19@http://www.urbanworkspaces.com/forum/ Hi there, Terry here. I've known Harro for many years. I contract and work predominantly from home but also from client premises. It does get lonely and unproductive from home sometimes but I'm not a fan of wasted travel time. I'd be a casual user if any. I think this could work well once critical mass is achieved ... that's the hard part. TB TB on "Members "charter"" http://www.urbanworkspaces.com/forum/topic.php?id=7#post-18 Wed, 21 Jan 2009 23:18:02 +0000 TB 18@http://www.urbanworkspaces.com/forum/ Agree with the charter idea. What happens when issues come up? Someone would have to act as CEO/Nanny to deal with big issues and little ones (like too much noise?) Tricky thing is this selective approach means lower utilisation. Do you take anyone you can to get it off the ground and cover costs (and then get selective) or remain choosy but low on numbers??? TB on "Networking" http://www.urbanworkspaces.com/forum/topic.php?id=6#post-17 Wed, 21 Jan 2009 22:57:19 +0000 TB 17@http://www.urbanworkspaces.com/forum/ Spoke to Ashli about this for a woman's perspective. The environment you've described is probably more apt for a male audience. Is that the intention? Do you think women would want or value the sports/AV goodies? As for the networking/collaboration, I'd want to feel like I had some chemistry with the existing group. That's obviously tough without anyone in place so the "founding fathers" need to all be of similar mindset. Do you think this reduces the target market much? As for target market, perhaps you can start a thread for market research?? ie. how far would you travel for this facility? how many day a week would you use it? how many people would you want in the office? Marc on "Financial model" http://www.urbanworkspaces.com/forum/topic.php?id=4#post-15 Mon, 19 Jan 2009 12:31:49 +0000 Marc 15@http://www.urbanworkspaces.com/forum/ Hey Nick, I agree. An idea I have been playing with is looking for members that might want to run their business from this space part time, and in exchange for a free desk spend a couple of hours each day looking after that sort of administrative stuff for us. Another similar issue is making sure that the place is open each morning for the casuals and locked at night, and if no permanents are in early that may not happen. I was thinking again that we can find people that would like a free or subsidised desk in exchange for agreeing to be there to open or lock up at a certain time. Sure, this costs us money in terms of lost revenue if we are at full capacity, but it probably makes more sense than paying $50k for someone to do it full time unless I'm drastically underestimating how much time will be needed for stuff like that. I can get in touch with owners of other spaces and see what they've found. Marc. NC on "Members "charter"" http://www.urbanworkspaces.com/forum/topic.php?id=7#post-14 Mon, 19 Jan 2009 12:23:19 +0000 NC 14@http://www.urbanworkspaces.com/forum/ Marc, I think this is a very important part of the whole concept. I agree with your suggestion of a charter - it will remind all joining members of the importance of integrity and the collective expectations of their coworking colleagues. Nick. NC on "Financial model" http://www.urbanworkspaces.com/forum/topic.php?id=4#post-13 Mon, 19 Jan 2009 12:18:49 +0000 NC 13@http://www.urbanworkspaces.com/forum/ Hi Marc, Great work on the initial model. Here are my initial thoughts... - I think ongoing management of the facility will be a significant task and perhaps might require a greater cash expense than has been allowed for. All manner of tasks will require attention (management of bookings, equipment maintenance and repair, management of third parties such as contract cleaners etc etc). Some of these tasks might be able to be distributed across tenants to reduce cost but ultimate responsbility for ensuring that the facility is up to speed each day must rest with someone. - I think the costs for initial assets look accurate. I'll keep perusing the model and provide further feedback as I have it. Nick. NC on "Introduce yourself" http://www.urbanworkspaces.com/forum/topic.php?id=2#post-12 Mon, 19 Jan 2009 11:24:35 +0000 NC 12@http://www.urbanworkspaces.com/forum/ Hi All, I'm Nick and I've also known Marc for many years. I work from a home based office and can see enormous benefits in being able to co-work within a model such as Marc has suggested. I know a number of other home based workers who are looking to re-balance the 'work from home:social interaction' equation and a co-working location would be ideal. Nick. urbanalex on "Introduce yourself" http://www.urbanworkspaces.com/forum/topic.php?id=2#post-11 Sat, 17 Jan 2009 20:22:52 +0000 urbanalex 11@http://www.urbanworkspaces.com/forum/ Hello, Alex here... Etchgroup.com has started and looking for a place in the next 6 months... this place looks tops. Moving house at the moment so a little offline, but keen to talk more. Cheers, Alex bret on "Introduce yourself" http://www.urbanworkspaces.com/forum/topic.php?id=2#post-10 Sat, 17 Jan 2009 10:21:14 +0000 bret 10@http://www.urbanworkspaces.com/forum/ Hi everyone Im Bret and have known Marc for years. Marc, great to see you start the site you have been talking about. Definately interested in becoming an investor. Hope you don't mind me directing some friends to the site at this point in time...I told them about your idea some months back and they were very keen to see it in the start up phase. Cheers Marc on "Members "charter"" http://www.urbanworkspaces.com/forum/topic.php?id=7#post-9 Sat, 17 Jan 2009 00:25:59 +0000 Marc 9@http://www.urbanworkspaces.com/forum/ Most coworking locations are open to almost anyone, providing they pay the fees and behave well. While I like the idea, I can also see benefit in being a little selective, at least in terms of permenent members. I like the idea of having potential members complete an application form which includes having to provide business references (or preferably have a recommendation from an existing member) as well as a couple of paragraphs describing what they can bring to the workspace. If we can fill the space with people that can offer something in terms of ideas, services, etc, that benefit all other members, I believe that we will quickly build a community that has people lining up to be a part of... rather than consistently having to work to keep the space filled. This is not about being exclusive by any means, but just making sure that the group is made up of likeminded people that are all intent on helping each other and the broader community, as well as doing well for themselves. Related to this I would like to see all members sign on to "charter"... similar to a code of conduct, but more about the positives (what we should be doing) rather than the negatives (what we can't do). So, for example, I think we should include things like: <ul> <li>conduct business with a high degree of integrity and business ethics</li> <li>always seek out "win-win" outcomes when dealing with clients and suppliers</li> <li>look for ways to contribute to the broader community</li> <li>etc</li> </ul> <a> </a> I will add to this list over time, but I think that if we can do some of these things then becoming a part of the community will be as big, if not a bigger, reason for people to want to join the workspace as just needing a place to work. What do you think? Marc. Marc on "Networking" http://www.urbanworkspaces.com/forum/topic.php?id=6#post-8 Fri, 16 Jan 2009 22:44:37 +0000 Marc 8@http://www.urbanworkspaces.com/forum/ The idea of providing a workspace for micro-businesses is only the start of the idea. The goal is to make this place a hub (which is why there is more than one coworking location with the word "hub" in their name) for small business people. How can we do this? Here are a few ideas to get started: <ul> <li>Friday afternoon drinks, where all members are encouraged to invite one or two contacts to come and meet other members and expand their networks </li> <li>all members would get a number of guest passes which could be given to friends so they can come and try the place out for size we could run events such as guest speaker nights (eg. speakers on business related topics, or from community organisation, etc)</li> <li> </li> <li>we could host <a href="http://http://jellynyc.pbwiki.com/">Jelly</a> sessions once a month</li> <li>events held in conjunction with other coworking locations around Melbourne</li> </ul> <a></a> ... and I'm sure there are plenty more ideas we could come up with. The goal is to create something that is much more than just four walls and a roof to work under. It should be a community where the value everyone gets out of it (ideas, contacts, clients, etc) far outweighs the cost of being a member. The decision to become a member should be easy, and we should have a wait list of people wanting to join so their businesses can benefit in the same way. If you have any more ideas for how to build the network around this workspace and community, add them here. Marc. Marc on "Coworking in Melbourne" http://www.urbanworkspaces.com/forum/topic.php?id=5#post-7 Fri, 16 Jan 2009 22:31:49 +0000 Marc 7@http://www.urbanworkspaces.com/forum/ I'm not the only one to have this idea in our fine town. Here are links to a couple of other organisations that we would like to work with (as opposed to compete with, as there's plenty of room for all of us!). <a href="http://www.openhub.com.au/welcome">The Open Hub</a> - a coworking space in Queen Street, Melbourne. <a href="https://jellynyc.pbwiki.com/JellyInMelbourne">Jelly, Melbourne</a> - Not a space as such, but a group that gets together every second Friday to cowork. I haven't been to meet them yet, but plan to. <a href="http://www.donkeywheel.org/">Donkey Wheel (site not currently live)</a> - a great organisation that I was recently introduced to. They are a philanthropic organisation that recently bought a huge building in Bourke Street and have lots of interesting ideas for the space, including a coworking area based primarily around non-profit and community organisations. They can be contacted at: [info at donkeywheel dot org] Marc on "Financial model" http://www.urbanworkspaces.com/forum/topic.php?id=4#post-6 Fri, 16 Jan 2009 20:22:25 +0000 Marc 6@http://www.urbanworkspaces.com/forum/ I have embedded a spreadsheet on the "membership & business model" tab which outlines some early thoughts on a financial for the workspace. It needs a lot of work, but the financial model is the core of the business case that we'll need to go ahead with this idea. If you have any thoughts on any point - from the categories of member and rates through to the monthly expenses of running the workspace or the cost of furnishing the place, add your thoughts here. As more input is provided, through this forum and through friends outside of here, I hope to have something that will allow us to start making some decisions about how to proceed with a good understanding of the costs involved and the potential return for investors. Marc. Marc on "Coworking links" http://www.urbanworkspaces.com/forum/topic.php?id=3#post-3 Fri, 16 Jan 2009 14:41:02 +0000 Marc 3@http://www.urbanworkspaces.com/forum/ If you have links to any sites that discuss coworking, post them here. I will update this first post with links as they are added. Marc. The Coworking Movement <a href="http://blog.coworking.info/">Coworking Blog</a> <a href="http://groups.google.com/group/coworking">Coworking Google Group</a> <a href="http://coworking.pbwiki.com/">Coworking Wiki</a> <a href="http://search.twitter.com/search?q=coworking">Search Twitter for "coworking"</a> Coworking In The News <a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/worklife/04/07/coworking/index.html">CNN - Next phase of working from home: leaving home</a> <a href="http://money.cnn.com/2007/12/21/smbusiness/coworking.fsb/">CNN Money - Office nomads unite in 'coworking' spaces</a> <a href="http://www.businessweek.com/smallbiz/content/feb2007/sb20070226_761145.htm">Business Week - Where the Coffee Shop Meets the Cubicle</a> <a href="http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2008/02/19/MN7CV2JFE.DTL">SFGate - Shared work spaces a wave of the future</a> Blog Posts <a href="http://www.businesspundit.com/coworking-vs-the-coffee-shop-who-wins/">Business Pundit - Coworking vs. the Coffee Shop: Who Wins?</a> <a href="http://www.marketingmelodie.com/index.php/2009/01/coworking-your-way-to-success/">Marketing Melodie - Coworking Your Way to Success"</a> <a href="http://http://mediabullseye.com/mb/2009/01/in-a-down-economy-startups-ris.html">Media Bullseye - In A Down Economy, Startups Rise From Coworking</a> Interesting Coworking Locations <a href="http://www.officenomads.com/">Office Nomads</a> <a href="http://citizenspace.us/">Citizen Space</a> <a href="http://the-hub.net/">The Hub</a> <a href="http://www.thenetworkhub.ca/">The Network Hub</a> <a href="http://hatfactory.net/">The Hat Factory</a> Other Stuff <a href="http://www.officedesigngallery.com/">Office Design Gallery</a> Marc on "Introduce yourself" http://www.urbanworkspaces.com/forum/topic.php?id=2#post-2 Fri, 16 Jan 2009 10:43:19 +0000 Marc 2@http://www.urbanworkspaces.com/forum/ I'll start the ball rolling... I'm Marc Harrison, and am the person behind this website. I am a small business adviser and can be found at <a href="http://harrisonbc.com" rel="nofollow">http://harrisonbc.com</a> Let's get this happening! Marc.