I’d like to hear some ideas on what people might want from a coworking space and perhaps think about it in terms of what I’m considering.
I have a 50m2 unit that would comfortably hold 10 people, with room for a meeting table. No shortage of power and broadband. There is a cafe in the building and conference and meeting rooms that can be booked. There is a high-speed printer/copier/scanner available and a video conference system. The centre is open 24 X 7. There are already over 100 people in the building so a ready-made community exists.
Are desk-based phones necessary or would you use your mobile and Skype?
Do you have your own office furniture?
Would you need space for servers?
What are your concerns about security in a shared working space?
How often would you use the space (weekly? monthly? constantly?)
Would you hot-desk or would you want an assigned space?
Any thoughts on what and how you would pay (be sensible)?
What else would it take to make it work?
I can’t do anything about the location in Waterford; the number of air destinations from here is improving; its 1.5 hours by road to Cork; the train services to Dublin are good.
I’d really welcome any thoughts and ideas.
#1 by Jason Roe on April 10, 2007 - 5:16 pm
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I would say that potential cowokers would be fairly mobile and as such would work off mobile phones, VOIP or online clients. A static service such as Blueface would be idea for fixed land lines. They also do virtual fax lines.
Personally, I would not like to supply my own furniture. There would be an added lead time on getting the equipment on-site. Also it would be a nightmare to remove the equipment if leaving the facility. Think of the disruption!
I would not have a requirement for servers. Most servers are hosted offsite in a secure facility. Email and the like could also be hosted offsite.
The fundamental rules apply in relation to security. If its locked to a desk it should stay locked to a desk. I wouldn’t like the idea of swipe cards on every door! I think individuals should take some responsibility for their own equipment. A small amount of individual biz insurance should cover most items.
I think a coworking facility should have a comfortable balance of fixed spaces with a number of weekly and monthly hot desks. This will keep some costs covered while also keeping a fluidic environment. I community space would be nice.
How much you pay should be based on the cost of running. Factor in power insurance and heating. If you are renting the space also factor that into the cost. Then divide by the number of desks. Extra money for weekend and night desks could subsidies the running costs.
#2 by Matt Johnston on April 10, 2007 - 5:58 pm
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I would be using my mobile and Skype/SIPGate pretty exclusively. I have a Skype handset so wireless that isn’t onerous to connect to (ie, avoid Captive Portals) would be great. BTOpenWorld fails miserably here. With regard to phones, seriously consider “mobicles”, cubicles designed for business people to sit in and take private phone calls. Seat, ledge for a laptop and a closed door. Make it glass even better.
Office furniture would, I hope, be supplied. My vision is more of a drop-in centre so seating would be provided.
I wouldn’t suggest again that a co-working space would mean room for servers but this may be a good value-add that a coworking space might suggest to help cover costs/create profit.
Regarding security, it would depend on the facility. To be honest if there was public access then yes. If it’s keycard access and there are video cameras in evidence, then no. I’m more worried about someone lifting my mobile than my computer. I think again a useful value add might be for the co-working space to resell items like laptop security locks and offer a lockup for members.
I’d use the space several times a week if there was one locally.
I don’t mind hot-desking at all but would like the option of storage space with lockers wide enough to accomodate my Crumpler bag for when I want to bugger off down the town for a couple of hours. A general seating area would be nice and the option of more private small offices would be just the ticket.
Payment – tricky indeed. An hourly charge seems sensible but then it depends on the frills.
I think it’s all about the value adds. Make them have value but at the same time avoid nickel and diming your clients.
#3 by James Corbett (EirePreneur) on April 11, 2007 - 12:04 am
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Very little to add to Jason and Matt’s astute observations. Personally all I need is a chair, desk, power, wifi and copious amounts of coffee. Throw in my laptop, mobile phone and headset and that’s my office.
A choice between open plan and more private walled off areas would be good as I could see myself choosing between both according to my work load and tasks. A cosy cafe suitable for networking as, of course that’s a major part of it all.
On the admin side I guess there should be a wiki, shared calendar or even a good old-fashioned physical notice board for announcements to the other people in the building about what coworkers will be visiting so that they can introduce themselves and go for a coffee.
As regards payment an hourly charge would be ideal from my point of view as I’d probably be paying short term visits most of the time. But from the point of view of cowork location twinning and playing host to international coworkers there should also be weekly ‘packages’ available.
#4 by Matt Johnston on April 11, 2007 - 9:32 am
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Regarding Admin/wiki/Notices: I guess a lot of this depends on whether this is a “networked” co-working facility which has other “sister” facilities, even if they’re not the same company. I think that I’d like a membership thing which would provide an analogy to Twitter/Jaiku so that you could scan the local building, track previous colleagues, etc
#5 by Donncha Hughes on April 12, 2007 - 4:03 pm
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I manage the Enterprise Acceleration Centre, Limerick Institute of Technology’s on-campus incubator. I am part of a network with Tom Corcoran, Waterford.
We are interested in providing virtual incubation and hotdesking as sources of revenue but also to assist in the development of a community of entrepreneurs in the locality (Ireland). I would be delighted to do something on coworking as outlined in earlier comments.
I currently have a small room with four desks with broadband access and it is networked MPF that is assigned for hotdesking but not being used. We have a fairly informal system here so feel free to contact me. I haven’t thought about charges but again i don’t have time to bill and track on an hourly basis so some creative thinking required here maybe around membership that can be used in many centres and maybe paid to a host centre.
We also have a small restaurant and a reception area and a boardroom which could host opencoffee meetings after we put in the WiFi network during the summer. I wouldn’t charge for such events.
We have 3 hi-tech clients in our centre and have 11 participants on our LEAP programme and are now starting to think about events etc that would create a community here.
#6 by James Corbett (EirePreneur) on April 13, 2007 - 1:51 pm
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Donncha, thanks great news, thanks. And welcome aboard!
Can we set you up with an account here so you can author new posts?
#7 by Martin Hogan on April 20, 2007 - 5:57 pm
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For those working in the digital media space, we have a couple of hotdesks with broadband access still available in the new Media Cube (www.mediacube.ie) in Dun Laoghaire. I would be happy to talk to companies about renting a desk on an ongoing basis for half-days etc.
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