<div dir="ltr">Well I know very well how thin operating budgets can be, and how we (as orgs) get buffeted around by the winds of large businesses around us which makes it very hard to plan. I wouldn't assume that Bucketworks is doing anything "wrong" because they need a little help. We had rent unexpectedly jacked up on us when medical marijuana laws were passed in CO and all of a sudden our crappy warehouse land became highly desirable for weed growing! Even today about 50% of the the building our unit is in is dedicated to grow houses.<div>
<br></div><div style>That said, our space, the Phoenix Asylum, operates on a model with a fewer number (20 or so) of higher paying members ($200/mo) who get access to common space as well as some of their own floorspace to claim and do with what they will (for people who already own specialized equipment and need a place to operate it). When we started, we really did think of it "like a business", which is not at all a bad thing. We are a Colorado Non-Profit (not currently a Federal non-profit), but I think often people criticize "business thinking" as a way of hiding the fact that they don't have any idea what they are doing - non-profits must think "like a business" even more than normal businesses do, because operating budgets are so tight.</div>
<div style><br></div><div style>We spent a lot of time working up a realistic operating budget, with realistic escalators for rent, utilities and taxes increases over time, determined how much we would have to charge to make it work, and then asked around. We didn't open until we had enough interest + a waiting list. If the plan hadn't penciled out, we wouldn't have opened at all. We took in some seed money and a few early fundraisers to get us off the ground, but have since paid back all "investors" (at 0% interest), and have been in the black for 4.5 years. It isn't a miracle, we certainly aren't profligate, and no one takes any payments or distributions from it (everything is reinvested in the space).</div>
<div style><br></div><div style>For us, the key was that we had a good idea, but that wasn't enough to jump off the pier with - we waited until the financial model was built, the interest developed, and the commitments in place and THEN opened up, meaning we didn't get into the deep early deficit that is so common. Hopefully as these models become better understood, and there are more examples to work from, spaces can start up from a more confident initial position that puts them in the position to hang on long term, including building up a safety net to carry you through the lean times.</div>
<div style><br></div><div style>Best of luck to Bucketworks, it sounds like they've got plans in the makin', and hopefully someday I can come up and check it out. :)</div><div style><br></div><div style>-Sam Ley</div>
</div><div class="gmail_extra"><br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Fri, May 31, 2013 at 9:42 PM, roh <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:hs@hyte.de" target="_blank">hs@hyte.de</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">
Al Billings wrote:<br>
[...]<br>
> ​I'd like to see more discussion of *successful* business models for hackerspaces. Some are clearly able to have them and be successful. What makes them different?<br>
<br>
what makes hackspaces different?<br>
<br>
i think the fundamental question first is:<br>
why do you obviously see such locations/organisations as 'needs to make<br>
a profit' like e.g. a 'business'?<br>
<br>
most locations i know are 'making things possible'-style, pragmatic<br>
designed concepts which result not out of a business model, but out of a<br>
demand for space to be creative in.<br>
and yes, that costs money. thats why one has memberships or some other<br>
way to come up with rent/electricity-money.<br>
<br>
so from my pov the business-model is a result of a more or less specific<br>
demand, not the other way around.<br>
<br>
also things change. members come and go. people move. business happens<br>
or changes. one has to adapt.<br>
welcome to a society of people not hiding behind curtains of 'thats how<br>
we have done it since before my grandpa'-thinking.<br>
<br>
<br>
ps:<br>
congrats to bucketworks for making things work out :)<br>
<br>
kind regards and greetings from berlin, old europe<br>
<br>
--<br>
<br>
roh<br>
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