Questions about locations, finding a community, etc (West Chicago Suburbs)

[Kurt]

Hello!

I am a telecommuter and am somewhat infatuated with this idea of
getting a cowork space going near me (downtown Naperville, for those
who care). I have a few questions for those who've explored doing
something similar, particularly about location and finding interested
collaborators.

First off, what kinds of locations have you found desirable for your
communities? I assume people probably like having restaurants and
other amenities nearby. What other features do people like to see?
Is public transportation something people clamor for in suburban
areas? I'm a big train/bike fiend, but that's relatively unique for
Naperville (compared to, say, downtown Chicago).

Also, where do you generally find the most interested community
members? I visit local user groups pretty frequently, and those seem
like a decent place to find people who might be interested. Are there
other hubs of self employed/telecommuter types that could benefit from
day to day interactions with smart people?

Whatever insights you could give me would be great. If you're located
in this area and like this idea, please let me know as well.

-Kurt

[Wendy S.]

Kurt,
I think downtown Naperville could be a great spot with a couple of
notes that you may want to research prior to starting.

I worked with a group that used to own the shared office at 630
Washington (yes, the old church that has been converted to an office
space). The owner hoped it would be self-sustaining but it does
require on-site leadership and coordination.

Second, the Village Offices in the Promenade were offering desk/office
space to small businesses that were members of the Chamber. This was
a couple of years ago, so I'm unsure that's still the case.

As a matter of reference & complete disclosure, I'm a commercial real
estate broker here in Chicago and have a background in running/
managing business centers. I've been researching coworking as well
and I'm looking to do something in the city. We can certainly chat
off line and I'll freely share as much as I know.

There are some amazing minds in this community and I'm sure you'll get
a great deal of useful insight.

cheers,
Wendy
www.siteresolve.com

Post by Kurt
Hello!
I am a telecommuter and am somewhat infatuated with this idea of
getting a cowork space going near me (downtown Naperville, for those
who care).  I have a few questions for those who've explored doing
something similar, particularly about location and finding interested
collaborators.
First off, what kinds of locations have you found desirable for your
communities?  I assume people probably like having restaurants and
other amenities nearby.  What other features do people like to see?
Is public transportation something people clamor for in suburban
areas?  I'm a big train/bike fiend, but that's relatively unique for
Naperville (compared to, say, downtown Chicago).
Also, where do you generally find the most interested community
members?  I visit local user groups pretty frequently, and those seem
like a decent place to find people who might be interested.  Are there
other hubs of self employed/telecommuter types that could benefit from
day to day interactions with smart people?
Whatever insights you could give me would be great.  If you're located
in this area and like this idea, please let me know as well.
-Kurt

[Eric Marden]

Post by Kurt
What other features do people like to see?

Cool People. Period. The rest is gravy.

Post by Kurt
Also, where do you generally find the most interested community
members?

Pretty much any networking event, coffee house, business summit,
BarCamp, Jelly event, Likemind (http://likemind.us/#chi) or anywhere
lonely entrepreneur/independent/work-at-home types gather. Evangelize
early and often.


- Eric Marden
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
http://ericmarden.com

[Alex Hillman]

Post by Eric Marden

Post by Kurt
What other features do people like to see?

Cool People. Period. The rest is gravy.


Amen and amen.
--
-----
--
-----
Alex Hillman
im always developing something
digital: ***@weknowhtml.com
helpful: www.unstick.me
visual: www.dangerouslyawesome.com
local: www.indyhall.org

Post by Eric Marden

Post by Kurt
What other features do people like to see?

Cool People. Period. The rest is gravy.

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[Kurt Mackey]

What kind of "cool people" group did you guys have before you actually
opened? Were they involved with finding space, etc etc?
How much success do all of you space owners attribute to the community you
had *before* opening?

-Kurt

On Tue, Aug 11, 2009 at 8:42 AM, Alex Hillman

Post by Eric Marden

Post by Kurt
What other features do people like to see?

Cool People. Period. The rest is gravy.
Amen and amen.
--
-----
--
-----
Alex Hillman
im always developing something
helpful: www.unstick.me
visual: www.dangerouslyawesome.com
local: www.indyhall.org

Post by Kurt

Post by Kurt
What other features do people like to see?

Cool People. Period. The rest is gravy.

--~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Coworking" group.
To post to this group, send email to ***@googlegroups.com
To unsubscribe from this group, send email to coworking+***@googlegroups.com
For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en
-~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---

[Eric Marden]

It's different for each space, but here in Orlando we already had a
strong tech/independent community that was evangelizining coworking
inside our BarCamp / BlogOrlando / FloridaCreatives, et al activities
before we had an official space.

In my opinion, communities are discovered not created. It's our job to
be the glue, so that the community is cohesive and can get behind an
idea and create the core values.

After that, with care and feeding, it will start to take on a life of
it's own.


- Eric Marden

Post by Kurt Mackey
What kind of "cool people" group did you guys have before you
actually opened? Were they involved with finding space, etc etc?
How much success do all of you space owners attribute to the
community you had *before* opening?
-Kurt

Post by Kurt
What other features do people like to see?

Cool People. Period. The rest is gravy.
Amen and amen.
--
-----
--
-----
Alex Hillman
im always developing something
helpful: www.unstick.me
visual: www.dangerouslyawesome.com
local: www.indyhall.org

Post by Kurt
What other features do people like to see?

Cool People. Period. The rest is gravy.

--~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Coworking" group.
To post to this group, send email to ***@googlegroups.com
To unsubscribe from this group, send email to coworking+***@googlegroups.com
For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en
-~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---

[Alex Hillman]

we had 9 months of community development under our belts before signing a
lease. almost 12 months from the first time I shared the idea out in the
open to the day we signed a lease.
we attribute nearly ALL of our success to having a community's buy-in before
opening the space. and we succeeded at that twice now.

-Alex
--
-----
--
-----
Alex Hillman
im always developing something
digital: ***@weknowhtml.com
helpful: www.unstick.me
visual: www.dangerouslyawesome.com
local: www.indyhall.org

Post by Kurt Mackey
What kind of "cool people" group did you guys have before you actually
opened? Were they involved with finding space, etc etc?
How much success do all of you space owners attribute to the community you
had *before* opening?
-Kurt
On Tue, Aug 11, 2009 at 8:42 AM, Alex Hillman <

Post by Eric Marden

Post by Kurt
What other features do people like to see?

Cool People. Period. The rest is gravy.
Amen and amen.
--
-----
--
-----
Alex Hillman
im always developing something
helpful: www.unstick.me
visual: www.dangerouslyawesome.com
local: www.indyhall.org

Post by Kurt

Post by Kurt
What other features do people like to see?

Cool People. Period. The rest is gravy.

--~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Coworking" group.
To post to this group, send email to ***@googlegroups.com
To unsubscribe from this group, send email to coworking+***@googlegroups.com
For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en
-~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---

[Alex Hillman]

More on the topic of why we believe coworking spaces need communities first:
http://www.dangerouslyawesome.com/2008/09/02/the-importance-of-a-clubhouse/

http://www.dangerouslyawesome.com/2008/05/16/on-civic-entrepreneurship/

http://www.indyhall.org/blog/2009/06/02/coworking-201-where-are-all-of-the-people/

http://www.indyhall.org/blog/2009/04/18/indyhall-201-communities-of-trust/

http://www.indyhall.org/blog/2009/04/07/indyhall-201-the-iterative-process/

http://www.dangerouslyawesome.com/2009/08/06/its-not-coworking-if-youre-renting-desks/
--
-----
--
-----
Alex Hillman
im always developing something
digital: ***@weknowhtml.com
helpful: www.unstick.me
visual: www.dangerouslyawesome.com
local: www.indyhall.org



On Tue, Aug 11, 2009 at 4:15 PM, Alex Hillman

Post by Alex Hillman
we had 9 months of community development under our belts before signing a
lease. almost 12 months from the first time I shared the idea out in the
open to the day we signed a lease.
we attribute nearly ALL of our success to having a community's buy-in
before opening the space. and we succeeded at that twice now.
-Alex
--
-----
--
-----
Alex Hillman
im always developing something
helpful: www.unstick.me
visual: www.dangerouslyawesome.com
local: www.indyhall.org

Post by Kurt Mackey
What kind of "cool people" group did you guys have before you actually
opened? Were they involved with finding space, etc etc?
How much success do all of you space owners attribute to the community you
had *before* opening?
-Kurt
On Tue, Aug 11, 2009 at 8:42 AM, Alex Hillman <

Post by Eric Marden

Post by Kurt
What other features do people like to see?

Cool People. Period. The rest is gravy.
Amen and amen.
--
-----
--
-----
Alex Hillman
im always developing something
helpful: www.unstick.me
visual: www.dangerouslyawesome.com
local: www.indyhall.org

Post by Kurt

Post by Kurt
What other features do people like to see?

Cool People. Period. The rest is gravy.

--~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Coworking" group.
To post to this group, send email to ***@googlegroups.com
To unsubscribe from this group, send email to coworking+***@googlegroups.com
For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en
-~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---

[Christian]

This information was added to the Coworking Catalyst Guide @ http://bit.ly/Mi3L8
.

More on the topic of why we believe coworking spaces need communities first:http://www.dangerouslyawesome.com/2008/09/02/the-importance-of-a-club...
http://www.dangerouslyawesome.com/2008/05/16/on-civic-entrepreneurship/
http://www.indyhall.org/blog/2009/06/02/coworking-201-where-are-all-o...
http://www.indyhall.org/blog/2009/04/18/indyhall-201-communities-of-t...
http://www.indyhall.org/blog/2009/04/07/indyhall-201-the-iterative-pr...
http://www.dangerouslyawesome.com/2009/08/06/its-not-coworking-if-you...
--
-----
--
-----
Alex Hillman
im always developing something
helpful:www.unstick.me
visual:www.dangerouslyawesome.com
local:www.indyhall.org
On Tue, Aug 11, 2009 at 4:15 PM, Alex Hillman

Post by Alex Hillman
we had 9 months of community development under our belts before signing a
lease. almost 12 months from the first time I shared the idea out in the
open to the day we signed a lease.
we attribute nearly ALL of our success to having a community's buy-in
before opening the space. and we succeeded at that twice now.
-Alex
--
-----
--
-----
Alex Hillman
im always developing something
helpful:www.unstick.me
visual:www.dangerouslyawesome.com
local:www.indyhall.org

Post by Kurt Mackey
What kind of "cool people" group did you guys have before you actually
opened?  Were they involved with finding space, etc etc?
How much success do all of you space owners attribute to the community you
had *before* opening?
-Kurt
On Tue, Aug 11, 2009 at 8:42 AM, Alex Hillman <

 > What other features do people like to see?
Cool People. Period. The rest is gravy.
Amen and amen.
--
-----
--
-----
Alex Hillman
im always developing something
helpful:www.unstick.me
visual:www.dangerouslyawesome.com
local:www.indyhall.org

Post by Eric Marden

Post by Kurt
What other features do people like to see?

Cool People. Period. The rest is gravy.

[Mike Marusin]

Just stumbled upon this discussion two years later as I have been thinking
about the same thing. I think a co-working space in the Naperville area
would be a huge benefit to the community and would love to help with getting
something started. I'm a telecommuter and know many others in the area.
Anyone (still) interested in something like this in the Western Suburbs of
Chicago.

I always thought that something at 5th Ave. Station in Naperville would be
ideal. Right next to public transportation, cool architecture (loft / old
warehouse), etc.

What do you think? Let's try to figure something out! How do we do this! ;)

Thanks,
Mike Marusin

[AK]

Mike--what became of your idea? Still want in? contact me

Post by Mike Marusin
Just stumbled upon this discussion two years later as I have been thinking
about the same thing. I think a co-working space in the Naperville area
would be a huge benefit to the community and would love to help with
getting something started. I'm a telecommuter and know many others in the
area. Anyone (still) interested in something like this in the Western
Suburbs of Chicago.
I always thought that something at 5th Ave. Station in Naperville would be
ideal. Right next to public transportation, cool architecture (loft / old
warehouse), etc.
What do you think? Let's try to figure something out! How do we do this! ;)
Thanks,
Mike Marusin