[hackerspaces] Hackerspace business plan

[Peter Ing]

I agree fully with that. I think its best to keep a hackerspace non
commercial and then if you want you could always attach some
commercial venture to it for example selling stuff made through the
hackerspace, but that would be for each member to do on his own
possibly with the help and support of the community. Or have a
business run a hackerspace as part of giving back to the community.

The big problem is that a hackerspace will still need some kind of
capital input because of the need for physical space and resources.
Thats the hard part, rent isn't cheap and the community will probably
be changing all the time so you can't rely on membership fees. In fact
membership fees kind of remind me of a commercial interest. So its
challenging finding a model that will allow a hackerspace to be
sustainable.

Perhaps this thread should be called "Hackerspace Sustainbility Plans"
because is that is the kind of planning and that is needed to make a
Hackerspace work as opposed to a business plan. Well thats the way I
see it looking at the concept of a Hackerspace vs a Business.

I wonder if anyone has done any formal work in this regard? What about
getting formal input in the form of a wiki or something where
sustainability models could be explored or something?





On Tue, Jun 29, 2010 at 10:17 AM, Koen Martens <gmc at sonologic.nl> 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.
>
> 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.
>
> Gr,
>
> Koen
>
>>
>> Peter
>>
>> On Mon, Jun 28, 2010 at 7:00 PM, Lokkju Brennr <lokkju at gmail.com> wrote:
>> > As having gone through starting a space almost exactly six months ago,
>> > I'll just throw out there that you should remember that plans change,
>> > and to only count on 50% (or less) of the support promised.  We
>> > initially had a lot of potential members promising support...  of
>> > which less then 50% actually paid membership over those six months -
>> > and it was only $40/month.
>> >
>> > Loki
>> >
>> > On Mon, Jun 28, 2010 at 9:19 AM, Nick Farr (hackerspaces.org)
>> > <nick at hackerspaces.org> wrote:
>> >> On Mon, Jun 28, 2010 at 12:07, Sean Bonner <sean at seanbonner.com> wrote:
>> >>> Don't confuse a budget with a business plan. Budgets are all numbers,
>> >>> business plans need to have things like "competitive analysis" and
>> >>> info about why you are the best people to open this company, and yes,
>> >>> are largely useless.
>> >>
>> >> I generally agree that standard business plans are useless.
>> >>
>> >> However, if the sponsors/members are asking for a "Business Plan", you
>> >> might want to give them a document that is "What a Hackerspace Is" +
>> >> Budget.  As was previously noted, it's good to have a narrative for
>> >> things, especially if you are going to file for 501(c)(x) status.
>> >>
>> >> --
>> >> Nick Farr / http://nickfarr.org / 8B13F204
>> >> Washington, DC, 20013-1208
>> >> P: +1 (707) 676-FARR
>> >> F: +1 (866) 536-2616
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