[hackerspaces] Paid Staff

Fri Aug 19 21:43:36 CEST 2016

Silicon Valley's HackerDojo had a paid greater at the place.  Who acted
like a receptionist and gave tours / assisted newcomers.

It was pretty worthwhile for them as they acted like a co-working space
rather than a hackerspace ( at least by that point ).

On Fri, Aug 19, 2016 at 3:29 PM, justin corwin <outlawpoet at gmail.com> wrote:

> At Crashspace we have avoided paid staff except for one time unavoidable
> work (lawyer reviewing non profit paperwork, etc). We have done a very
> successful intern program, where we give a free membership to an
> enthusiastic person in exchange for them pitching in on cleaning,
> administrative tasks. Most interns went on to be very productive normal
> members afterwards. (in fact, thinking of it we should really get our next
> one in).
>
> It helps that we have stayed around 100 members for a while, and most
> people know each other very well. Everyone wants a clean space and things
> to keep moving forward. We have an elected Board that makes most of the
> decisions, and officers empowered to spend a little money and throw stuff
> out as needed.
>
> On Fri, Aug 19, 2016 at 10:23 AM, Chad Elish <chad at hackpittsburgh.org>
> wrote:
>
>> I can’t agree more with getting some type of automation up. It’s a game
>> changer! it’s easy to track 10 - 20 people. But when you get above the 30
>> mark it gets difficult fast!
>>
>> HackPGH is working with Sector67 to implement some of their amazing
>> automation scripts/techniques with our space. In the end, we’ll have Member
>> Management, Door and Tool access control, as well as member managed
>> events/calendar and tool and membership billing. Everything runs off of
>> Wordpress and WooCommerce.
>>
>> There was a great message thread that happened a few months ago that
>> describes all of the different automation tools that different spaces use.
>> It’s a long read but very informative.
>>
>> Cheers!
>> -Chad
>> President | HackPGH
>> Pittsburgh’s First Makerspace
>> *http://www.hackpittsburgh.org <http://www.hackpittsburgh.org>*
>>
>> On Aug 19, 2016, at 12:03 PM, Robert Davidson <
>> robert at dallasmakerspace.org> wrote:
>>
>> Dallas Makerspace has 1,300 members and we have no full time staff and
>> zero employees.
>>
>> We do have a porter that cleans 8 hours a day for 3 days a week. (We
>> found it was cheaper to have someone 8 hours than occasional weekly
>> cleanings) (We pay a company for this service so no contractor/employee
>> status)
>> We are transitioning over to a bookkeeper/accounting firm now to handle
>> documentation for our books.  (Paid Service)
>> We use a company called parks pantry that provide kitchen services (Think
>> gas station food and drinks with a kiosk to pay)
>>
>> One of the reasons I believe we have been able to grow as large as we
>> have without paid support is automation.
>>
>> Automate everything that is possible:
>>
>> Member Management
>> Access Control
>> Calendar
>> Billing
>>
>> On OSHA I have heard it said under 10 employees and depending on your
>> classification there are partial exemptions, I would call the inspector and
>> just ask.
>>
>> Hope that helps.
>>
>> Robert Davidson
>> Dallas Makerspace
>>
>>
>> On Fri, Aug 19, 2016 at 10:31 AM, Chad Elish <chad at hackpittsburgh.org>
>> wrote:
>>
>>> I agree with Pete… As soon as you add Paid Employees, it changes the
>>> business (and culture) significantly.
>>>
>>> HackPGH has a policy that we charge $30/mo and require a minimum 3 hours
>>> of volunteer time per month… Wether that is working on a group shop project
>>> or cleaning the space, our members are required to help out.
>>>
>>> Rather then actively track the time because that would be a logistical
>>> nightmare, we work on the honor system. The first rule of our shop is
>>> ‘Don’t be a Dick’ (Heres a great book
>>> <https://www.amazon.com/How-Not-Be-Dick-Etiquette/dp/1936976021/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1471620300&sr=8-1&keywords=how+not+to+be+a+dick>)
>>> or for the others, ‘Be excellent to each other’. If we see people not
>>> giving back to the community, we call them out. If it continues, we put
>>> them on probation, and in extreme cases ask them to leave.
>>>
>>> Doing it this way, we see a stronger community develop, friendships made
>>> and the shop stays clean.
>>>
>>> Cheers!
>>> -Chad
>>> President | HackPGH
>>> Pittsburgh’s First Makerspace
>>> *http://www.hackpittsburgh.org <http://www.hackpittsburgh.org/>*
>>>
>>> On Aug 19, 2016, at 10:59 AM, webmind <webmind at puscii.nl> wrote:
>>>
>>> On 19/08/16 12:41, Bill Shaw wrote:
>>>
>>> As Tampa Hackerspace approaches 100 members, we're starting to look
>>> forward for the best ways to handle growth and scaling without driving
>>> ourselves crazy. One thing we're considering is whether it makes sense
>>> to have someone on payroll to take care of some basic things.
>>>
>>> For the more established and larger spaces out there, I'm curious how
>>> many members you had when you added your first paid staff. What was your
>>> overall budget at the time? Were they part time or full time? What
>>> responsibilities did they have?
>>>
>>>
>>> Technologia Incognita (one of the hackerspaces in Amsterdam) has about
>>> 100 members, never had paid staff. We have considered paying someone to
>>> clean, but a majority of people was against. I think we have paid
>>> someone once to clean the windows.
>>>
>>> Personally, to me hackerspaces are community projects where you run a
>>> space as a community. Not some rich-kids playground who are afraid of a
>>> bit of dirty work once in a while. That's what I think about when I
>>> think of paid staff.
>>>
>>> w.
>>>
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>>>
>>>
>>>
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>>>
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>
>
> --
> Justin Corwin
> outlawpoet at gmail.com
> http://programmaticconquest.tumblr.com
> http://outlawpoet.tumblr.com
>
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