[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.