One of he pillars of coworking is Openness. Many space catalysts are often worried about business plans, finances, and expenses, and rightly so. Now, I’m not an accountant, but I can put together a spreadsheet. So in the spirit of openness, behold, I give you the Cincy Coworks P&L, year-to-date. Now, every situation is different, but hopefully this can help someone with their planning.
A little background: we were lucky enough to find a move-in ready retail space and negotiated a reasonable rent. So we had no build-out. Our primary start-up expense was furnishing the space and the kitchen.
In the lower right-hand corner in the green cell, you can see our current bank balance. Clearly, we will not be retiring on Cincy Coworks anytime soon. But the good news is that we opened in the black, and have stayed in the black through 4 months, so we must be doing something right.
Our top expense is of course rent, followed by furniture, internet, and supplies. Important note: supplies on the P&L mostly refer to one-time purchases like the wi-fi router, power strips, and hardware. Consumables like paper towels, trash bags, and keeping the fridge stocked has been a 100% community effort by our members.
Other patterns: our revenue varied widely due to a surprising amount of turnover in the first few months. Our expenses varied because every time a new member joined in the beginning, we bought a desk. Our expenses also varied because, though I am a smart guy, I am not smart enough to figure out when our internet bill is due (thanks for nothing, Cincinnati Bell).
We would like to start a nest egg. If you are in the Cincinnati area, interested in joining?
Gerard-thanks for sharing this. Today was special for me because my bank statement arrived and my space made it’s first significant profit this month (about $800)!