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

Kristi Ceccarossi kristi.ceccarossi at commonmediainc.com
Thu Oct 24 12:51:14 UTC 2019


I know Franklin County is a bit far afield for many people on this list,
but I did want to share that Common Media has recently moved to a new
coworking space in downtown Greenfield -- an expansion of the existing
coworking space above Hawks and Reed. (Our office is opposite on Main St,
above the new bakery, Rise Above.) So far we're having a very positive
experience adjusting to a new cooperative model and would invite anyone to
come visit. The space was built out and is managed by Greenspace Cowork (
https://greenspacecowork.com/) -- like Click, they work with a mix of
anchor tenants (like us) and individual members. A few tech companies work
exclusively out of the space.



Kristi Ceccarossi, CEO
*Common Media, Inc. *| 84 Russell St, Hadley MA | cell: 413-210-1803 |
office: 413-259-6977 x107 | commonmedia.com




On Thu, Oct 24, 2019 at 8:16 AM Ira Bryck via Hidden-discuss <
hidden-discuss at lists.hidden-tech.net> wrote:

> 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> 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.
>
>
> Shel Horowitz - "The Transformpreneur"(sm)
>
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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> 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
>
> http://theotherrealm.org (Blog)
>
> 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
>
> --
>
> Andrew Bellak
>
> CEO
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> Registered Investment Advisor
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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
>
>
>
>
> *_____________________________________ Val Nelson*
>
> THE BLACK SWAN COACH
>
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>
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