[hackerspaces] What should you sell or shouldn't you sell in a hackerspace?

[Florencia Edwards]

this is really great , please keep the answers coming

2014-10-14 19:24 GMT-03:00 Volatile Compound <volatilecompound at gmail.com>:

> In addition to the other comments, consider also other costs that may be
> incurred in the normal running of the space - as an example, it's not
> unreasonable to ask a fee for materials used in a class or project.  If
> someone brings their own, great, but letting folks know in advance that
> there's a fee of $whatever to cover consumables or components can help
> greatly.
>
> - skroo.
>
> On 10/14/14 3:19 PM, Matt Maier wrote:
> > There isn't AN answer, there is only a range of options from which you
> > pick whatever you want based on what's important to you. For example, if
> > you try to make things easy and clear-cut by talking about only
> > registered charities, where what they do is obviously focused on a cause
> > and not on profit, there is still a huge variety of approaches.
> >
> > http://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=content.view&cpid=419
> > "/Savvy donors know that the financial health of a charity is a strong
> > indicator of the charity's programmatic performance. They know that in
> > most cause areas, the most efficient charities spend 75% or more of
> > their budget on their programs and services and less than 25% on
> > fundraising and administrative fees. However, they also understand that
> > mid-to-large sized charities do require a strong infrastructure
> > therefore a claim of zero fundraising and/or administrative fees is
> > unlikely at best. They understand that a charity's ability to sustain
> > its programs over time is just as important as its short-term day-to-day
> > spending practices. Therefore, savvy donors also seek out charities that
> > are able to grow their revenue at least at the rate of inflation, that
> > continue to invest in their programs and that have some money saved for
> > a rainy day/"
> >
> > So, according to an organization devoted to ranking how well charities
> > do their job, the benchmark is <=25% on overhead. So if your hackerspace
> > operated at a proportion like that it should be beyond reproach, since
> > your hackerspace probably isn't an actual charity. That implies a
> > balance between the things you really want to give away, and other
> > things you have to do to fund the things you want to give away. If
> > you're a straight up charity you can start with donations and sell
> > enough to make up any shortfall, and it wouldn't make sense for anyone
> > to object to that. If you're not a charity, you kind of have to reverse
> > those; start with selling things and then ask for donations to make up
> > the shortfall. If you want to be self-sustaining you should probably
> > start the balancing act with the amount of money you can bring in, and
> > then decide how much stuff you can give away based on that. The actual
> > thing you choose to give away or sell probably doesn't matter much. If
> > you decide to sell something that somebody thinks you should give away,
> > they can just go find (or found) a different organization that gives
> > that thing away and sells something different.
> > On Tue, Oct 14, 2014 at 3:01 PM, Florencia Edwards <floev22 at gmail.com
> > <mailto:floev22 at gmail.com>> wrote:
> >
> >     Hello everyone, today we were discussing what you can sell and what
> >     you can't sell in a hackerspace. For example "how to make a
> >     hackerspace", is something i believe everyone should be able to
> >     access, because the design patterns are free and available for
> >     everyone since 2007: we want more hackerspaces around and if the
> >     knowledge was shared with us why not keep sharing it back. So what
> >     caught my attention is this "Makerspace operations bootcamp" to
> >     learn how to make a makerspace,, that artisan's asylum offers. Why
> >     is it so expensive? 2000 dollars for person... Maybe i'm being naive
> >     and it's good, so the makerspace can sustain itself? :
> >     http://maker-works.com/classes/makerspace-operations-bootcamp-2/
> >
> >     Also checking their workshops i believe they are a little expensive,
> >     i always think that  for education. it's better that it has the
> >     lowest cost possible, because education is a right. But  again,
> >     maybe i'm wrong and if you can't charge workshops, how can a
> >     hackerspace sustain itself
> >
> >     My real question is, what is ethical to sell in a hackerspace so it
> >     can sustain itself and what is not,  what should we give to the
> >     community for free because it helps people and it makes a better
> >     world.Also, I know that the fact that things have a cost, or the
> >     fact of winning money is not a bad thing in itself. We need it to
> >     live and paying somone for their job is also helping them.
> >
> >     So where are the limits, how can you know what to sell, at what
> >     price, and what never to sell.
> >
> >     - Florencia
> >
> >
> >
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> >
> >
> >
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