[hackerspaces] Hackerspace business plan

[Ashley McClelland]

Rather than creating a business plan, you may want to work on strategic
planning, which is universal for both for-profit and non-profit
organizations. Here is a good start for things to evaluate and consider:

http://www.zimmerman-lehman.com/strategic.htm


-Ashley

On Tue, Jun 29, 2010 at 7:15 AM, Serendipity Seraph
<seren.seraph at gmail.com>wrote:

>  Koen Martens wrote:
>
> On Tue, Jun 29, 2010 at 09:08:13AM +0200, Peter Ing wrote:
>
>
>  I am trying to get a Hackerspace going in South Africa. Instead of a
> business plan I drew up a document that explains what a hackerspace is
> and what the intentions and outcomes are.
>
> This document is for potential partners who would be willing to
> provide resources and space for the hackerspace to use.
>
> Here in SA its not feasible to setup a hackerspace like a business and
> I suspect the same may apply in most parts of the world.
>
> Thats just my 2c
>
>
>  I would say that a business is the anti-thesis of a hackerspace. A business
> is profit driven. In any setting where you are profit driven, I personally
> would refuse to volunteer for anything. If I paid for the businesses' services
> I would expect a certain level of services.
>
>
>
> That misses so much.  A business plan is about making sure that any
> organized activity can continue indefinitely on as self-sustaining a basis
> as possible or with adequate outside funding.  It is make sure that the
> organization/business/non-profit can continue to operate.  Responsible
> people must do this if they expect to continue to have whatever the
> organization is about.  It doesn't have anything particular to do with
> profit as it also applies to non-profits.
>
> The community part is very strong in how I see what hackerspaces are, and you
> wipe that out once you go commercial. Sure, you can make a community around
> your product, but that will be a marketing vehicle, and not give you the
> commitment a real community gives.
>
>
>  I think you are confusing a business plan with going commercial.  They are
> not at all the same thing.   I wouldn't count on the continued survival of a
> hacker space or anything else that did not have at least a basic business
> plan as to how they would pay their bills and keep the lights on.
>
>
> - s
>
>
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