Tag Archives: Business

Lunchtime Learning: Future of Work

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Tuesday, January 25 – 11:30 am – 1:00 pm

C4 Workspace, 108 King William Street 78204

Lunch included for RSVPs. RSVP Now.

What Will Work Look Like?

How will we be working? Where? What will that space look like? Who will be around us? Will anything be different?

Very likely.

This first C4 Workspace Lunchtime Learning Series session will look at tomorrow’s work styles, tomorrow’s workers and tomorrow’s workplace. Our three speakers will present and discuss the opportunities that the Future of Work will bring.

Clay Spinuzzi, Ph.D.

How Adhocracies Fit into the Future of Work

Clay will explore the world of kinetic organizations, new relationships and organizational forms and the “third place.”

Clay is an associate professor of rhetoric at The University of Texas at Austin.

Gina Schmidt

Harder Working Spaces

Gina will look at the key issues that businesses face today: enabling collaboration and teamwork, attracting and retaining the right talent, using the workplace as tool to build brand and reflect organizational culture.

Gina is a Workspace Consultant with Steelcase and a graduate of UTSA.

Todd O’Neill

It’s a Movement!: Coworking Around the World

Since 2005 coworking has grown from 0 to 600 space worldwide. Todd will look at what it is about this work style that appeals to so many people around the world.

Todd is the catalyst behind C4 Workspace, San Antonio’s first coworking space.


RSVP Now

This event made possible by:

A Coworking Manifesto

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Here’s a page out of the Coworking playbook. Actually it’s the Manifesto page off the Gangplank Coworking website in Chandler, AZ.

It’s a brilliant definition for C4 Workspace or any coworking space. What do you think?

(The bold emphasis is mine.)

We are a group of connected individuals and small businesses creating an economy of innovation and creativity in the Valley. We envision a new economic engine comprised of collaboration and community, in contrast to the silos and secrecy left by the dependence on tourism and land development.

We have the talent. We just need to work together. Different environments need to overlap, to connect and to interact in order to transform our culture. In order to create a sustainable community based on trust, we value:

  • collaboration over competition
  • community over agendas
  • participation over observation
  • doing over saying
  • friendship over formality
  • boldness over assurance
  • learning over expertise
  • people over personalities

This new economy cannot thrive without engaging the larger business, creative, entrepreneurial, governmental, and technical communities together.

We believe that innovation breeds innovation. We will transform the Valley culture into one supportive of the entrepreneurial spirit, of risk taking, of pioneering into the unknown territories as the founders of our municipalities once did. This requires education, entrepreneurship and creative workspaces.

To Profit or Not to Profit

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[This post was started 2 weeks after C4 Workspace opened in June 2009. It was intended to explain how the space worked and how it needed to operate.]

I started coworking because I like working with other people and I have found that I don’t like working alone at home. So, when I heard about the coworking concept I thought “This is for me!” Coworking seemed like just the place I was looking to work in. Not only a workstyle I wanted to adopt but a “place”. A place to work in for a long time.

To stereotype myself I am not a typical coworking space catalyst or owner. After working professionally for 25 years I think of myself at mid career. To stereotype a bit, most coworking space catalysts are older Gen Y. You might say “hipsters.” So, now back to the whole profit thing.

Profit for Purpose

In order to work in a coworking space for a long time it needs to be like a perpetual motion machine. It needs to sustain itself over time through the actions of the community. Coworking spaces are not like any other traditional business investment, at least not the typical “I want my return as soon as possible; did my investment go up in value and/or deliver dividends this quarter, this month, this week, in the last hour.” It is, and can only be, a long term investment in the community.

Not One Business

It is many businesses together. It has much more in common with a co-op or an incubator. The “profit and loss” formula should be nearly break even, with just enough profit to fund larger capital improvements.

Many businesses. Working together. Collaboration is one of the core coworking values.

Coworking spaces that fully embrace the value of community are not owned by anyone. They may be funded by individuals and other sources but they are “owned” by the community.

How C4 Workspace Got/Gets Its Groove On

It was funded by three people: Todd O’Neill, Debbie Curtis and Perla Escobar.

It was created by : Steve Vanderver, Chris McDermott, Regina Villalobos, Dan Hong, Bo Lora, Bob Hotard, Erik Bosse, Patti Porter, the Blevin family, the Price family and many others.

It is hosted day-to-day by Debbie Curtis, and marginally, Todd O’Neill, and all the other people working in the space.

Its is sustained by Resident members Calley Gonzalez, Stacy Pape, Todd O’Neill, the Media Justice League; Coworker members Sofia Parafina, Knowbility, Susana Canseco and Brandon Seale; and regular Daily Desk folks like Patti Porter, Brian Dopp and others.

So you see there are a lot of moving parts.

ROI of C4 Workspace?

Does a return on investment exist for a coworking space? If it is sustainable, yes. Part of the overhead expense goes to repaying the initial capital with an agreed return. So that’s either a loan or an investment, depending how you look at it and how it was structured. The bigger picture here is it a sustainable member of the community?

Can a sustainable coworking space, that embraces the core values of collaboration and community, exist in San Antonio? That story is being told.

It is important for San Antonio that this coworking story has a happy ending. Not just a happy ending for the “Northern Wedge” but for the entire city.

Coworking as Political Platform Plank

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There is a large community of coworking space operators out here and we use the Coworking Google Group to stay in touch. Angel Kwiatkowski, the operator of the CoHere Coworking Community in Fort Collins, posted about this a week ago. Peter Carr, independent candidate for governor of Colorado, has added coworking as a plank in his platform. Cool.

Here’s his proposal about how coworking can stimulate business.

“I propose a merger of private entrepreneurs, coworkers, state business development officials and venture capitalists that will establish and maintain an incubator/coworking center in every county in Colorado. If you currently work in Denver or Boulder, I would encourage you to spend some time at a center, Colorado is a great place to see, and a week’s working vacation wouldn’t hurt. I”m a firm believer in “Pay it Forward”.

The centers would afford existing entrepreneurs currently working at home the ability to meet others, share ideas, and work in a far more conducive atmosphere.”

Pretty forward thinking if you ask me. Or it could be hot air. What do you think? Comment below!

Why Co-Working Makes Sense for Small Businesses

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Oh, this is too easy.

One of our cohorts in NYC Joe Raby from Sunshine Suites takes this on in Mashable. “Why <does> Co-Working Makes Sense for Small Businesses“? Got me stumped. Haven’t heard one good argument yet.

Yet San Antonio clings to the coffee shops. When was the last time your barista solved a technology problem for you? Or shared a referral. I’m just saying.

Give it a read and then consider what coworking could do for you.

Digital Nomad or Limbo Worker?

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There are so many different kinds of workers: cube dwellers, telecommuters, coffee shoppers, work at homes and of course coworking folk.

CNN Living covered this in an article, “Working in ‘Wi-Fi’ limbo“, a few months back and we thought we would dig it up.

Which one are you? Why do you like that over something else?

And does work Purgatory exist?

Discuss.

Work is not a place!

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So, I “worked” SXSWi, putting together a docudemo (that’s my word!) So I didn’t get to do the Panel experience. Some of my best friends are panelists. The panel I was most interested in was the Future of Work panel moderated by Clay Spinuzzi from UT Austin. (Also on the panel was soon-to-be-opened-coworking-space-catalyst Liz Elam from Linked.

I had lunch with Liz after the panel and she kept talking about the guy from oDesk. Here’s a blog post that I think is explains oDesk’s general view toward coworking. I don’t necessarily agree with their basic premise which is ?Work is not a place!?. And therefore you don’t have to be in one place to work. I agree with that. I think their not too subtle subtext is that anyone can work for anyone from anywhere; the ultimate virtual worker. Which just happens to be what oDesk does – find  virtual workers and work for virtual workers.

But when you want to or need to what better place than a coworking space. Like, uh, [unsubtle subtext] C4 Workspace?

What do you think?

Clay Spinuzzi: The Future of Work

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We met Clay Spinuzzi a few months ago at the first meeting of the Texas Coworking Coalition. Clay teaches Rhetoric at UT Austin and hosted a panel at SXSWi called “The Future of Work.”

After his panel, Amanda Congdon from sometimesdaily.com interviewed him about his panel topic and coworking in general. This is probably the best interview I’ve seen about coworking and how it relates to the today’s work world.

We’ll be bringing Clay down for a panel with some of our economic development friends on the future of work in San Antonio.  Stay Tuned!

The Coworking Deduction

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Well, there really is no such thing. But there are deductible expenses related to coworking* that you should consider.

Office

It doesn’t mater if you’re a full time resident or a Daily Desk drop in, every nickel of your coworking expense is deductible. Whether you call it “Rent” or “Office Expense” it can all come off the bottom line. I’ve had a home office for many years. I was often scared to deduct the expense of it because of “audit fear.” And the record-keeping for utilities, mortgage expense, etc. were a hassle. At a coworking space all of that is moot. You deduct one expense and the rest is included. And your clients don’t have to go through the dining room to get to your office. And the dining room doesn’t also double as the “conference room.”

Auto

Unless you’re a full or part time resident at space like C4 Workspace you should be able to deduct all of your driving expense to and from. You can use the mileage method or the all expense method by keeping receipts for everything car related. You never have to worry about “parking” since the parking free at C4 Workspace, either in the parking lot or on the street. The bummer on the mileage expense deduction is that it will go down next year from 55 cents in 2009 to 50 cents in 2010. Seems like an incentive to take public transit or ride a bike. Which are also deductible one way or another.

Meals and Entertainment

We’re luck y at C4 Workspace in that we have lots of great, cheap restaurants nearby (moderate and expensive ones too) to entertain clients or to talk about collaborating on a project. You can deduct 50% of the cost of a meal. (And have you tried the sandwiches next store at The Filling Station? You’ll never have a lunch meeting anywhere ever again!)

Legal and Professional Services

Part of coworking is discovering new resources and partners. If you hire or contract with another professional you meet at C4 Workspace you can deduct that expense.

Insurance

Like every business we have an insurance policy to cover the space or accidents. And that’s deductible. We also encourage anyone who works in the space to have their own insurance on the equipment they bring in. This is especially true for Residents who have a full time desk. They should have something like a renter’s insurance policy for their stuff. And that’s deductible. (And, coincidentally, we have a member, Joe Solis, who is a business insurance specialist. You just never know who you’ll meet when you cowork!)

Start-Up

C4 Workspace is a start-up business and we had lots of expenses to get the place open. Lord knows we’ll be deducting them! But, if you’re starting a business there are certain expenses that you can deduct to get started. They may include some of your operating expenses before you open your doors. But if start up capital is tight it doesn’t matter if you can deduct it or not. Coworking is perfect for a new business that needs a very affordable professional location. You pay rent for your desk and the infrastructure like a conference room, internet, utilities, even a printer, are thrown in. And you get an opportunity to meet contacts and do some targeted marketing for cheap. Such a deal!

* This is the time of year when you can play catch up on some deductible business expenses. In fact you can deduct an expense this year for a service you use in 2010. The basic rule is that you need to spend the money or write the check in 2009. So, if you need a workspace occasionally this would be a good time to pick up a 5 Pack of Daily Desk passes ($90). If you need a workspace on a regular basis then a Coworker Desk Plan ($150/month for unlimited business hours) might the right thing. And if one of your resolutions is to get a professional presence for your business then a Resident Desk Plan ($280/month for 24/7 access) might be the right step. And if you just want to get started coworking then an annual membership at $50 (including 2 Daily Desk passes) would be just the, uh, ticket.

Nothing in this article should be considering accounting advice. In fact, even as a advice you should take it with a grain of salt. You should definitily consult with an accountant or financial adviser whenever you try to negotiate the labyrinth we know as the “U.S. Tax Code.”

C4 Members Got Skilz

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One of the cool things about coworking spaces is the variety of people that are attracted to working with others from different backgrounds. What happens is that you get a mashup of skills, talents and services that generates new ideas and opportunities.

C4 Workspace is just like that. Check out our new Member Skills and Talents page. If you’re looking for someone to help out with a project you’re likely to find them there. And if you find something missing that is a skill you have to offer it might give you some food for thought (“Why don’t I join?”).

So check out the page and then come down and rub elbows with these folks. You never know what will develop.

Members: If you see an error or omission on the list let us know and we’ll update it. If you don’t see yourself listed that means we just don’t know what you do. Tell  us and we’ll add you!