Where Does the Rubber Hit the Road?

I spent yesterday at The Creative Space in Bryan, Texas.  Don’t know much about Bryan, but The Creative Space rocks!

Software development firm Downtwon Cartel was cranking out work for a Houston based client, and design/media oriented Always Creative was jamming to euro-club grooves in the office one over as I talked with Cody Marx Bailey about coworking, entrepreneurship and community.  Our conversations with friends in the independent, entrepreneurial scene always come back to community.  This is so important.

Later in the day, I caught up with Dusty Reagan, founding member of Conjunctured and ringleader of Jelly Austin (where I’m writing next to him today at Cafe Caffeine), and had a coffee and continued our ongoing conversation.

Rubber Hits the Road

A common theme in yesterday’s conversations was the question of where and how the rubber hits the road for independent entrepreneurs.  Seems that we have been rather over-complicating some of these issues here at NotanMBA.  Reflecting on my learning curve of yesterday, what independents in the coworking world really seem to need (and want) is information about:

• How to structure and negotiate a lease for a space with (often difficult) personalities in commercial real estate.  What does a tenant agreement consist of?
• How to structure several independent businesses within a single organization (like Conjunctured), or how else might the businesses be structured?
• How should we structure partnerships between friendly companies in the community?
• How do you maintain consistent transparency and fairness AND make good money at the same time?
• How to deal with issues of funding and outside investment?
• What is the best way to present the independent company scale/projects etc. to bigger companies that will be clients? Briefs, proposals, billing, and stuff like that…

Many of the larger strategic/innovation issues that we raise here are often way too macro to be of use to busy independents finishing projects and negotiating new ones.

We are learning, so bear with us.

The Butcher