[hackerspaces] How to create a steady-state makerspace/hackerspace business model

[Edward L Platt]

I think i3 Detroit is an exception, but not in the way you think.  Yes,
expenses are much lower, but so are many members' incomes, and many
regulars aren't even dues-paying members.  i3 is an exception among larger
spaces in that almost all space and equipment is shared among the community
(even privately owned equipment).  It helps keep costs low, but requires
our members to take ownership and additional responsibility.  It also
requires a lot more communication.  These things are a continuing
challenge, but my personal opinion is that the challenge has been worth it
to make i3 something special.

I would love to hear more approaches to tackling the tragedy of the commons
in such spaces.

-Ed


On Tue, Jun 4, 2013 at 1:35 PM, Al Billings <albill at openbuddha.com> wrote:

>  What do you do when your volunteers burn out and the machines are not all
> working right because it is no one's job to maintain them? Wait for new
> members who want to grease and align machines?
>
> --
> Al Billings
> http://www.openbuddha.com
> http://makehacklearn.org
>
> On Tuesday, June 4, 2013 at 10:32 AM, webmind wrote:
>
> Is it really worth it to be 'so big' if it requires paid staff and no
> longer is free-to-access? wouldn't it be better to have multiple smaller
> spaces?
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Discuss mailing list
> Discuss at lists.hackerspaces.org
> http://lists.hackerspaces.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
>
>


-- 
Edward L. Platt
http://elplatt.com
http://civic.mit.edu/users/elplatt
http://i3detroit.com
@EdwardLPlatt <http://twitter.com/EdwardLPlatt>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.hackerspaces.org/pipermail/discuss/attachments/20130604/694c3937/attachment.html>