[Hidden-tech] Have you considered starting a new coworking space?

Ira Bryck ira at fambizpv.com
Thu Oct 24 09:09:29 UTC 2019


I think this could be an opportunity to create a place that’s more beneficial to members than the now conventional structure and function.

What are the strengths and weaknesses of the current template?

For me (please suggest your own)

STRENGTHS
A place that doesn’t distract like working at home
You belong there, not squatting at a coffee shop table that should be turning over more
People are working, not the mixed uses of a coffee shop (socializing, etc)


WEAKNESSES
Monthly subscription costs create pressure to use it more than is useful, or be wasting your money
Loud talkers, lack of privacy, even in glass closet
Need to find a booth, whenever you want to talk on the phone
All the negatives of a cubicle farm, without even those walls


POSSIBLE DESIGN SOLUTIONS
More flexible pricing
Membership that allows for multiple locations (ie: like using multiple planets fitness)
Pay with volunteerism in the host site (ie: if it was connected with a school or hospital)
Cubicle walls are sound absorbing panels, that can easily be rejiggered to create flex spaces



I think I know the location that Val is proposing, and agree this is an excellent location, and could be built to suit – there is now enough known about shared workspaces to design the next generation.


Ira Bryck






From: Hidden-discuss <hidden-discuss-bounces at lists.hidden-tech.net> on behalf of Hidden tech list <hidden-discuss at lists.hidden-tech.net>
Reply-To: Val Nelson <val at valnelson.com>
Date: Wednesday, October 23, 2019 at 5:12 PM
To: Aaron E-J <the at otherrealm.org>
Cc: Hidden tech list <hidden-discuss at lists.hidden-tech.net>
Subject: Re: [Hidden-tech] Have you considered starting a new coworking space?

Love your idea Aaron and your interest in cooperatives and sociocracy.
This space is more office like, not a maker space.

Val

On Wed, Oct 23, 2019 at 11:38 AM Shel Horowitz via Hidden-discuss <hidden-discuss at lists.hidden-tech.net<mailto:hidden-discuss at lists.hidden-tech.net>> wrote:
Co-working spaces in the Valley go back at least to the mid-80s and the Creamery Building on Fearing Street in Amherst. The person I've dealt with at Click is named Mary. I don't now her last name. She's always there for the arts events, anyway. There are also some cool Maker spaces in Holyoke (and I think Easthampton also) in some of the old mills that might be more suitable for fabrication.

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On Tue, Oct 22, 2019 at 9:39 PM Aaron E-J via Hidden-discuss <hidden-discuss at lists.hidden-tech.net<mailto:hidden-discuss at lists.hidden-tech.net>> wrote:
In terms of the the theory side of things (coop structure, sociocracy, ex.) I am all set, it is more just a matter of finding people who are interested in committing a bit of time and resources along with me to get things set up.  That's the first step, after that, then we can begin thinking about money and a location.


Aaron E-J

The Other Realm LLC

http://otherrealm.org

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On 2019-10-22 6:36 PM, Andrew Bellak wrote:

This is an interesting thread.

It make me think of several people and organizations in the Pioneer Valley that I'd like to mention in case you want to connect with them on this idea.

For coops, there's Coop Power, Cooperative Fund of New England and Wellspring Cooperatives.

For holocracy, there's Ingrid Bredenberg although she may have moved out of the area.

If you think sociocracy is related enough, there's http://sociocracyforall.org/about/ and folks based in Amherst.

And I believe Paul Silva ran Click Work Space in Northampton, maybe he started it?

And I know the folks at Amherst Works co-working space.

All that to say that there are good resources in the Valley.

Regards,

Andrew

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On 10/21/2019 8:23 PM, Aaron E-J via Hidden-discuss wrote:
Yes, I am, although I am looking for a space that is conducive to setting up a small shop and electronics fabrication space, maybe eventually a wet lab – would this space be a good fit for this?  Do you have the exact address and know how much the lease is?  Is anyone else interested in such a thing?  A while ago I made some move to get a makerspace set up in the East/Northampton/Holyoke area and I'm interested in seeing if anyone else is still interested again.  As I put forward a week or two ago on this listserv, I am interested in changing the way employment is done, or at least creating another way to go about it (link to the idea, also below: https://otherrealm.org/Economy ).  I would like to get a group of people who are equally disenfranchised with the competitive nature of employment and business dealings and are interested in working together on creating such a worker cooperative model.  Please let me know if you are interested, I will be setting up some meeting events to try to gather support so stay tuned.
Thanks!
________________________________

          A discussion that was going on a local tech entrepreneur listserve about the need to work for less than a fair wage when doing contract work got me thinking of an idea I had a while back.  The idea is a kind of 'jobs fair' that would be open to anyone, and anyone who attended would be either guaranteed a job or funding for a startup.  The amount of time that people spend competing for: first a college degree, then a job, then maybe funding for a business idea, is enormous.  It can often result in needing to compromise your moral principles and spend most of your time doing things in areas you are not passionate about.  Constantly needing to be judged and being told that you are not as good as someone else who got the job you wanted, puts a tremendous toll on your wellbeing and desire to interact with others.  On the other side, someone looking to hire the right person has to spend a considerable amount of time wading through tons of applicants before eventually arriving at someone you actually want to hire.  And if you have an ounce of empathy, constantly needing to turn people down because they are not the right fit feels horrible.

          The way I conceived of the 'job fair' working would be in two stages.

          The first stage would be a sign up and stakeholder gathering phase.  Job seekers would fill out an online form detailing their skills and interests and any ideas for solutions to unsolved problems they had.  Employers (worker coops and businesses that agree to not throw their employees under the proverbial bus if the job does not work out) would sign up and agree to employ people to work with them and not for them.  Business investors and venture capitalists would sign up and work on forming business ideas with people who do not see an existing role with any of the existing business that are hiring.

          Then the second stage would be the actual conference where everyone gets to know each other and job seekers and job fillers seek mutual skills and interests.  The people who do not have career goals and skills in line with those being sought, and those with business ideas they are looking to actualize, would work with the business investors and venture capitalists.  Together, they would form new worker cooperative businesses around the solutions previously identified in the first stage that everyone on the table can get behind.  These cooperatives would act as holons<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holon_(philosophy)>, each independent entities, but with the ability to utilize each other's resources to some extent.  There would also be a buffer fund established that all the cooperatives earning a positive income would contribute to and those needing more income could draw from.  The way the investors would get compensated is that they would be seen as one of the cooperatives.  If the investors want to withdraw some of their investment, their financial balance would be negative and therefore a proportion of the buffer fund will go to them.  This siphoning of money to an investor will only continue until a previously agreed upon return on investment is achieved or the person invests more money back into the system.  Because the contribution will only be a portion of the profit, if some or all cooperatives are not earning a profit, they will not need to contribute to the buffer.  Obviously exact details will need to be worked out when more people get involved, but that is the general way I am envisioning the financing working.  It may also make sense to involve colleges and others in the education sphere.  They could be seen as business investors.  Although they may not be providing financial support, they can still provide significant resources and as a result have a share of the profit.  However, the exact nature of their compensation would need to be figured out because education is rarely easily quantifiable.

          The important point in all this is that people are not competing – there would be the explicit edict that no one is left out and no one is forced to do things they have no desire to do (of course it may be necessary for some people to do undesired tasks, but these tasks should be for the purpose of fulfilling desired goals).

          What do people think of this idea and is anyone interested in working on it with me?  I would not be surprised if we could get some grant funding to get the ball rolling.

________________________________



Aaron E-J

The Other Realm LLC

http://otherrealm.org

http://theotherrealm.org (Blog)
On 2019-10-21 5:13 PM, Val Nelson via Hidden-discuss wrote:
HI HTers,
Have you considered forming a coworking space? I know of an amazing space that just opened up that just looks like it's waiting for a coworking space to step in. It's in Northampton, in a beautiful setting. With off-street parking. Close to town but tucked away.

I'm not looking to do this but it occurs to me that maybe one of you might be.

Let me know if you want more info.

Val

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