Me and my friend have been contemplating building a co-working space together. Has anyone ventured into it and started their own small co-working space? Idea is to have a personal retreat space as well as a self-sustainable model where makers and builders can meet like minded folks and enjoy creativity together. Any thoughts/suggestions? It is still at very early stage. We are casually scouting for location. Preferably in Himachal. Something like https://nomadgao.com/

A friend ran a co-working space near me and I participated quite a lot. He had to shut it down after 2 years. 1. Your rent will make or break you. His was too high to sustain during leaner periods e.g. rains 2. Make sure you have enough local interest from potential paying members 3. Local = Less than 30 minutes drive. In India, very few will drive through traffic to work remotely. 4. Ideal location would be close to IT hubs or some picturesque spot away from the city frequented by people going for hikes, camping, etc. 5. Do you want a co-working space or a makerspace/hackerspace? Be clear about your offering. A co-working space is basically a cheap desk in a shared office. We had a real-estate agent as a co-worker who was on calls all day long trying to sell flats. It got annoying very quickly. 🙂 6. Get the best wired internet you can get and back it up with a 4G router so your connection automatically switches. Nothing kills a co-working space faster than bad/slow internet connections. 7. If you're away from main hubs, consider bringing in fresh food (sandwiches, tiffin lunches, coffee, tea, etc.) every morning so visitors don't need to worry about it. 8. Also consider whether you're catering to the local crowd or nomads coming to your town for a week/month etc. Nomads have different needs since they are away from home (laundry, lodging, sightseeing tours, local guides, package forwarding service, local SIM, etc.)

@square-pizza-70402 is seriously considering starting a co-living space in Dharamshala. He’s right now on a break and might be inactive here. But he should back online in 2 weeks. You should connect. prashant.abhishek7g@gmail.com

why not join @swift-nail-92883 in building more branches of nomadgao? 😛

I have been pitching that idea to @millions-barista-62156 for a few years now 😄

Hahah! @swift-nail-92883 I think we should talk sometime. You have been in the game for long time, and would definitely love to pick your brains. I want to open one in Himachal because of personal connection with the state. Would love to join forces if goals align.

@swift-nail-92883 Or build one and wait for nomadgao to acquire you! ;)

Hahaha.... I prefer collaboration over acquisition 😊