[hackerspaces] Failing/failed hackerspaces

[Joseph Connolly]

Hi Mark, I'll answer one of those questions -- the common mistake I've
seen people make which resulted in new hackerspaces failing is taking
a "build it and they will come" approach.  When starting up a
makerspace/hackerspace it helps a lot if you do the work ahead of time
of locating, connecting with or building a customer base.  It can take
a long time to educate people about what a hackerspace is and why
they'd want to frequent one.  So doing that work when you've already
opened and you're running a burn rate is a frequent mistake.

On Fri, Apr 4, 2014 at 9:13 AM, Mark Henderson <mhenderson683 at live.com> wrote:
> I have some questions about failed or failing hackerspaces and makerspaces.
>
> 1.  What are some well known failed spaces to the discussion group, and what
> caused them to fail?
>
> 2.  Are there any spaces that are "too big to fail", i.e. too much money is
> invested in the space - so much so that it has become a disservice to the
> community instead of an asset?  What are some of the common mistakes that
> spaces make that keep them from growing or succeeding?
>
> 3.  Has anyone taken failed models and used them as sort of a "this is what
> not to do" list?  Where could I source that info?
>
> 4.  For people new to this industry, what are some of the common newcomer
> mistakes in starting up a makerspace/hackerspace that you would have liked
> to been made aware of so you could have avoided them and saved yourself a
> massive headache?
>
> Thanks!
>
> Mark Henderson
>
>
>
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