[Vanhackspace] VHS - How to kick ass in 2009

[Joe Bowser]

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Hey

Today, David C, Austin and I sat in on the Global Hackerspace
Teleconference, and we were talking about what our goals should be.  So,
right now we've been just meeting at the Hackery and paying for access
to the space.  However, what was apparent at the last meeting, and what
will be (hopefully) glaringly obvious at the next meeting is that we
need more space.

The next step for VHS as a group is to get more space.  However,
currently our cash flow has been slowed to a trickle since we lowered
membership fees.  For us to support a larger space at roughly
$1000/month rent, we would need to be bringing in approximately twice
that in revenue each month somehow.  Currently our only revenue is from
membership fees, which have been lowered in the past month to remove a
financial barrier to entry for many hackers.

Right now, we have roughly 15 members, which means that we should be
bringing in about $37 on average (assuming that 50% keep paying the
earlier fee of $50/month) and should bring in $562 monthly.

If we reach the max capacity of the Public Hackery space, which I would
estimate at 25 people at both tables, then we would be bringing in $925.
 At this level of funding for four months, we would be able to move out
of the Hackery at around April or May of 2009 (2nd Quarter) and into our
own space two months rent in the bank, with the first month of rent paid.

Needless to say, if we want to move to the next level, we're going to
have to diversify our sources of revenue.  (i.e. Fundraise, Sell Club
Mate/Sol Mate out of the fridge, etc)  I would like to make the December
9th meeting a VHS Operations meeting where we go through the Financials
for this quarter so that we can re-evaluate our situation in the next
year.  If we're struggling to keep the lights on, we're not going to be
able to keep being awesome.

Also, to those of you who are on the fence about joining VHS, please let
us know what you would want to see out of a Hackerspace.  We are looking
to get more events happening in the new year on different nights, but
our next project is going to need to be fundraising to move to larger
digs so that we can have the space we need for larger projects.  Your
support now would be greatly appreciated when we are able to move to our
new space.

I apologize for the financial talk, but I think that this is a serious
issue if we want to keep kicking ass at a greater capacity.  Let's try
to keep the party going!

Joe B
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