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CoworkingNewburyport

Page history last edited by Camille Appert 1 year ago

 

***We are currently writing copy to post in public places to gauge interest in a co-working space in Newburyport, MA.***

Co-working background information appears below.

Co-working in Newburyport

A group of local web denizens is trying get an idea of the interest in a co-working space in Newburyport. Are there people who would use a co-working space? Is there a latent need? Are there enough people to keep a space running here in Newburyport? Are there office space owners who would be interested in exploring what co-working might mean?   

Typically, a co-working space is a communal office where people and online resume writers work instead of working from home.  Increasingly it is also a place where people work a few days instead of taking a long commute to work. So, for example, someone who works 5 days in Boston might co-work one or two days a week in order to gain a couple hours or to some more time near home to run errands.

 

Possible Spaces 

  • Share space with an existing company? Negotiate a discount in exchange for PR, web work and/or advertising? We would need to define our needs (5 desks? 10?) prior to approaching other companies.
  • Merrimac Mill (per Julian) (available office space page seems broken)
  • The O'Brien Building on State Street [Lisa: the space currently advertised is too small and too expensive for our needs!]
  • Seacoast Property Advisors manages the O'Brien Building but may have other spaces in the future
  • MINCO Corporation was advertising on States St recently too but it's not on their website now

 

Working with Space Providers

  • Get a month-to-month lease if possible (this would drastically reduce risk) 
  • Get a lease that has some dependencies upon filling the space

 

Folks involved

  • Ari Herzog

  • Tom Summit

  • Lisa Rex

  • Julian Rex

  • Joshua Porter (porter@bokardo.com)

  • John Eckman

  • etc... 

 

Overall Steps

  1. Gauge interest in co-working space in Newburyport

    1. Facebook
    2. Twitter
    3. Local papers

  2. Pursue potential spaces and/or potential space owners

  3. *magic* of someone taking financial responsibility for the space :)

  4. Figure out details of setup (resources needed, setup costs, etc) 

 

Find out more 

To read more about co-working, check out the co-working wiki.  

http://ariwriter.com/2009/04/why-newburyport-needs-a-coworking-location/

http://coworking.pbworks.com/

 

Background Info

Reasons for co-working

  • Work from home but no proper home office
  • Need office space to meet with clients
  • Want to get out into the community and meet people
  • Don't like working alone all the time
  • Looking for business opportunities or efficiencies (lots of people end up working together or hiring each other when one of them has a skill that another doesn't)
  • Want to learn from others in a similar situation
  • Participate in a shared social space
  • Variety

Co-working isn't for people who enjoy always working in complete silence. While there are ways to get that silence, such as reserving a meeting room, most of the time the atmosphere is like a typical energized essay company . People coming in and out,buy thesis folks on the phone, people getting together for lunch, and general hubbub of business.    

Typical co-working amenities

  • A fast internet connection. (Business class Comcast, FIOS, T1? etc)
  • A fax machine for sending & receiving faxes
  • Phone service
  • A mail drop service.
  • Receptionist/secretarial services
  • A desk & approx 100 square feet of space per person
  • No cubicles
  • Meeting space
  • Basic kitchen

Cost of co-working

Typical rates depend on the local business environment, but are often relatively inexpensive compared with regular office space. For example, at the Cambridge co-working space Betahouse the monthly rent for a single space is $350, while in Portsmouth it is $250. (please insert real numbers here - jp)

<<examples of space in other co-working environments>>

Examples of successful co-working spaces

(Is having examples helpful?)

Interview:http://webworkerdaily.com/2009/03/31/eva-schweber-coworking-community-insights/

One of several Bristol, UK studios: http://www.pmstudio.co.uk/about-pervasive-media-studio

 

A nice piece on the goals of a coworking space: 

http://www.urbanworkspaces.com/wp/2009/04/measuring-success/ 

 

Coworking in Boston/Cambridge

Betahouse

Cambridge Coworking

 

PDF version