I've found quite a few good looking sites on MLS listings. One
question is: do we want to lease for ~5-600 per month, or get a small
business loan for like 30k and then have the group "own" the spot?
One question is: do we want to lease for ~5-600 per month, or get a small
business loan for like 30k and then have the group “own” the spot?
i think that we should settle the membership/decision making and legal entity questions first, and answer this question immediately after. once there is a legal entity, we can do things like open a bank account to store funds raised and we will know how much capital we will have to work with and make the determination about how to proceed. the business loan idea is a good one, but so too is the idea of running on money raised by donations, membership dues, and fund raising activities. another option is sponsorship from local businesses, but we don’t want that to be something we have to rely on.
the self funding idea is great for keeping the space independent, but the loan idea is great for raising capital for big projects, like a laser or some other expensive tool that could produce revenue for the space, thereby putting less financial pressure on members. sponsorships are nice supplements, but that grants outside groups influence we may not want.
the downside to the business idea is that it becomes, well, a business and i don’t want another job 
also, loans have to be paid back, on time, so the loan idea can create pressure that some people will disagree with.
the problem with being totally member supported is that you are limited by your membership and their ability to pay dues and donate… so gaining new members and not losing existing ones becomes crucial.
personally, i think there should always be membership dues, since this will weed out the fakes and the wannabes who aren’t serious (in the hacker community these are called scene whores). i think that the fee schedule should also accommodate students, who just won’t have the kind of money that someone with a full time job will have. that said, the more revenue that space can generate for itself, the lower the monthly dues can be over all.
it’s great to come up with ideas in parallel, and once some of this foundational stuff is in place, we should be able to make more progress by having people volunteer for groups dedicated to specific activities.
I agree with chris. There needs to be agreement on organizational structure prior to considering funding options for space. I’m also in agreement that I don’t want a second job either. I don’t think this should be constructed as a business beyond being a nonprofit for tax purposes and liability. As far as the space supporting itself I don’t think it’s a good idea to approach this with the pressure to make money. Again, if I want that kind of pressure I’ll just go get a second job. This is a hobby for me. Granted, it’s a hobby I’d like to sink more time into… If someone comes up with something and want’s to build some prototypes to sell on their own that’s fine. But selling stuff should be the last thing on our minds. I’d much rather do with little to start with and grow sensibly using what we can scrounge or buy on the cheap than take out a loan that comes back to haunt us.
Membership dues are a good way to weed out posers. I’d like to see this as a kind of “engineering club” to use Mr. Bailey’s phrase. We pay dues to support the space. We get as much stuff/tools as cheaply as possible. Then we save money for bigger stuff that the group has agreed on. I don’t think the mission has to be any more complicated than that. Any organization is an organic entity. The rules may change over time to suit the needs of the individuals in the group. Organizations that fail to do so loose membership and thus cease to exist.
Governance might be the tricky part. I’ve seen alot of folks using a consensus model of decision making. While I agree with that in spirit I’m not sure how practical it is. Jason and I had talked about a rotating triumvirate. Three people who for a specified amount of time handle basic organization, deal with organizational level problems and general maintenance. We could then form some work groups to deal with common area problems. Two of the membership requirements would be 1. Everyone has to take a place on the triumvirate at least once. (this prevents armchair quarterbacking). 2. Everyone has to be part of at least one workgroup. These two things in addition to membership dues tend to keep people from doing nothing but criticizing how things are being done simply by placing then in positions to make a difference. That’s my two cents on this. I’m looking forward to the meeting on the 25th.
I’ll be getting to panera a little early to grab as many seats as what I can. Apparently the Panera in clifton lacks a conference room…