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Anchorspace: Bar Harbor's First Coworking Space

Bar Harbor businesses and non-profits need space to grow. Bar Harbor visitors need a place to work.

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Anchorspace: Bar Harbor's First Coworking Space

Anchorspace: Bar Harbor's First Coworking Space

Anchorspace: Bar Harbor's First Coworking Space

Anchorspace: Bar Harbor's First Coworking Space

Anchorspace: Bar Harbor's First Coworking Space

Bar Harbor businesses and non-profits need space to grow. Bar Harbor visitors need a place to work.

Bar Harbor businesses and non-profits need space to grow. Bar Harbor visitors need a place to work.

Bar Harbor businesses and non-profits need space to grow. Bar Harbor visitors need a place to work.

Bar Harbor businesses and non-profits need space to grow. Bar Harbor visitors need a place to work.

Nicole Ouellette
Nicole Ouellette
Nicole Ouellette
Nicole Ouellette
2 Campaigns |
Bar Harbor, United States
$1,950 USD 21 backers
7% of $25,000 Flexible Goal Flexible Goal
Highlights
Mountain Filled 2 Projects Mountain Filled 2 Projects

Short Summary

What's a coworking space? It's simple: A group of people get together and share a work space. They enjoy all the basics of a professional office, such as desks, conference rooms, high speed wifi, and areas to hold private phone calls or teleconferencing. In communities large and small, they've become an economical way for micro businesses and start-ups to save money by sharing resources. By their very nature, coworking space allows for organic networking and collaborations for entrepreneurs, freelancers, and remote workers who would otherwise be isolated in the spare room in their home or hitching a ride on public wifi. As a result, the community in which the coworking space resides often sees an increase in economic development opportunities.

Current options for those wanting to work outside their home in Bar Harbor are:

1) private offices (which can be $400 or more once costs like internet connectivity, heat, etc. are factored);

2) cafes (which are not very private, and can be noisy/crowded with a limited connection time to wifi);

3) the library (which is collaborative but not exactly private).

People have been talking about coworking around Bar Harbor for years. The time has come to embrace this idea. This is not just as an alternative to the status quo. It's a way to support a wide spectrum of year-round businesses in Bar Harbor, and to support business people visiting the Mount Desert Island area.

Anchorspace will be a mixed-use space with:

1) monthly renters that are a regular part of the space;

2) day users of the space (available weekdays 9 a.m.-5 p.m.);

3) hourly conference room renters.

Our multi-use space will keep costs lower for users, letting them accomplish more for their business, non-profit, or online presence.

We want Anchorspace to be:

  • Secure: We want to use keypad locks with regularly changing passwords. Cameras and other features so users of the space will feel safe and secure. We also want to make sure we screen monthly renters (those with 24-hour access) and develop rules to keep everyone's well-being in mind.

  • Accessible: Monthly renters will be able to use the space whatever hours they wish, but we plan to have someone on site Monday-Friday 9 a.m.-5 p.m. to welcome and orient day users. We also want to be the kind of place where events can be held: lunch and learns, breakfasts, etc. for small groups who need to connect.

  • Professional: Your client will get a professional impression when you have a meeting at Anchorspace. We want you to offer you a clean, modern environment where you can offer your guest a coffee and welcome them to a well appointed, private room for your meeting. We want people's impressions of the space to be "wow" from the moment they see the website or walk in the door.

  • Technology-focused: We want to offer high speed internet to those using the space. Conference rooms and other amenities can be booked online.

  • Local: We could browse the Ikea catalog for a bunch of cheap furniture, but we'd rather buy as much as we can locally. We also want to use local service providers for everything: Local carpenters to make the rolling walls, local contractors to install up our cameras, etc. We want local art on the walls, and we want to have some kind of local/regular user discount. And yes, we want to be year-round.

What We Need & What You Get

Anchorspace will take on the setup and monthly expenses for the next three years. Additionally, Anchorspace is getting a loan and applying for grants to make sure things keep going year round.

What we need is help outfitting the space. Moving from our home for three years—a 150-square-foot office—to this 1,800 square foot space is quite a jump! We want to do it right and we want to keep things affordable. The money you donate will go towards:

  • StandDesk automatic desks which can convert from sitting to standing desks (varying in height from 28 to 48 inches) at the touch of a button. It is significantly healthier to be able to work at least part of a day standing up and we want to be able to offer this benefit to those using the space. We need to purchase 15 of these desks ($700 each with delivery) but we hope to find five or more others in the community who may also want these desks so we can get a special lower rate on each. Total: $10,500 (See why this is a key choice at www.standdesk.co)

  • Chairs: Though many monthly renters may bring their own office chair/kneeling chair/stability ball from home, we want to make sure we have chairs for those who need them. And we think those chairs should be comfortable. The median price for the chairs we want is $300 (with some being much more than that) but we're hoping group pricing can allow us to get decent chairs at this price point (A version of this we can order locally:http://www.wayfair.com/Modway-Reverb-Premium-Mid-Back-Office-Chair-with-Arms-EEI-1173-L10-K~FOW2021.html?refid=GX50899319100-FOW2021_11326190&device=c&ptid=75690795300&PiID%5B%5D=11326190&gclid=CNbGqKjM1MECFQ0oaQod-YUAtQ) . (10 chairs for space users plus 8 chairs for conference room.) Total: $5,400

  • Rolling walls: Anyone in an open environment understands the need to have some partitions for privacy. We want rolling partial walls to give people this option while allowing the space to be flexible in terms of configuration. Example: http://www.bhg.com/home-improvement/remodeling/budget-remodels/freestanding-divider-wall/?page=2 $150/wall (materials and building costs) x 8 walls/room x 3 rooms. Total: $3,600

  • Conference table: We want a conference table that holds 10 people comfortably, and can squeeze-in up to 15. Depending on prices locally, we may also use our carpenter friends to build a nice table. Total: $1,000-$1,500

  • Signage: We'll need a building sign, some parking signs and other way finding so the space can be visible and easy to find. Total: $25,900-$26,400

You can see the monetary challenges inherent in setting up a professional, diverse coworking space that serves the needs of hundreds of people a year year.

If you add up the perk amounts, you'll see we're trying to raise more than $25,000. This is because we need to pay for payment processing at 4%-9%, depending on if we reach the goal, as well as pay for some of our perks.

We will apply for grant funding (we just got our EIN number two days before setting up this campaign), which we are hoping to get after we set-up. We are happy to pass that money saving on to those in the community who use the space as a way of discounting programming, "startup scholarships," or to lower the initial rent for startups, etc. We are in conversation with other spaces like this around the country and the more funding/support we get, the more we'll be able to do.

The Impact

When I moved my business office out of my house and into a separate space, my business increased 200%. I want to give other people that same boost. Consider the possibilities in Bar Harbor:

  • A local caterer closes the deal on a $50,000 wedding contract in the conference room. A security consultant increases sales from renting a monthly space because his clients take him more seriously. A business woman books a weekly rental on MDI  because she knows she can use Anchorspace to make the 10 a.m. conference call she can't miss while on vacation, and she has a secure wifi connection she can count on. These collective economic wins could easily represent six figures of additional revenue for this community in the first year.

  • Those in the tourism industry (restaurants, hotels, etc.) have a place to send visitors who need a space to get work done.

  • Those doing weekly rentals can offer this option to their business travelers.

  • Local businesses get referrals—think First Express, local coffee shops and lunch spots, business groups, etc.

  • Bringing visitors to the far end of Main Street supports surrounding businesses such as the YMCA, MDI Ice Cream, and more.  

Risks & Challenges

What are we risking? I don't want you to think we are asking for such a large sum without having lots of skin in the game ourselves.

  • Forming an LLC and all the costs/time that come with that (separate taxes, bookkeeping, etc. from our existing business)

  • Space buildout/enhancement costs: security cameras, programmable locks, photo booth soundproofing, energy-sensing thermostats to save on heating costs, etc.

  • Signing a commercial lease renewing yearly for three years

  • Researching and applying for grants

  • Budgeting 40 hours/month to run and maintain the space of our company's time

  • Monthly expenses like insurance, internet, security, heat, and electricity

  • Commitment to having this space be both affordable and open year round

This is not an insignificant amount of time or money being put into Anchorspace by the founder and founding business, hence the commercial loan application. But, your investment here could set the stage to get started with high quality work stations right away, helping to not only attract great space users but also make sure whether someone is 4'11" who likes to work standing or someone is 6'6"who likes to work sitting, they'll be comfortable and productive at Anchorspace.

All we want: a start and some community buy in.  Because while we take this pretty seriously, we also want it to be fun and community enhancing, which it really would be.

Other Ways You Can Help

Some people just can't contribute, but that doesn't mean they can't help:

  • Sign up for our email newsletter on our website: www.anchorspace.com. It's how we'll keep in touch with what is going on at different stages after this campaign concludes. This is the only way we can follow up with people individually and say "thank you!"

  • Share with social media. Maybe you know someone who can use the space, maybe you want to help us spread the word this is happening. Thank you!

  • If you think you want to rent a space (at a monthly fee or a per day fee on a regular basis), please to go www.anchorspace.com and submit a letter of intent through the website. You won't be signing your life away, you're just saying you are willing to use the space should it come into existence. This is part of our commercial loan process and we are aiming for 10 letters of intent total (we have five now). Once the space exists, you can decide to do it or not, but signing a letter of intent will be a huge boost to us.

  • If you have skills to contribute skills-wise, we are happy to have you! Just contact us through the website and let us know what you want to offer (helping initially cleaning the space, painting moving walls, etc.) We'll put you on the list and keep you informed.

I'd rather have 1000 people behind us than $100,000 cash. Honestly, that's worth more in the long run to us.

Thanks for supporting Anchorspace and the commitment to a diverse, year round community in Bar Harbor! With your funding, we can put high quality furniture and enhancements into the space to set a healthy, professional, and accessible tone.

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Choose your Perk

Thank you!

$10 USD
Thanks for being part of Anchorspace! We are firmly of the belief every contribution helps, yours included.
1 out of 500 of claimed

Thank you 2.0

$25 USD
We're going to write you a thank you note. Because who doesn't like a well written (and hand-written) thank you note these days?
2 out of 500 of claimed

Link Bait

$50 USD
We're going to write you a thank you note and link to your website on the contributors page on your website (when you submit this, just tell us the URL you want us to link to)
3 out of 50 of claimed

Taking Action

$75 USD
You'll get a thank you note, a link to your website on AnchorSpace's website and a copy of the 'Action Method' journal (our favorite way to take notes ever—seriously we get complimented on our notebooks in meetings ALL the time.)
2 out of 10 of claimed

Art of Business

$150 USD
You'll get a thank you note, a link from the AnchorSpace website, an action method journal, and a copy of our very cool 'Art of Business' poster (an artistic poster version of Andy Warhol's quote) designed by the 163 Design Company, a Maine based design company: https://www.etsy.com/shop/163designcompany.
0 out of 10 of claimed

Welcome To The Neighborhood

$300 USD
At this level you'll get a thank you note, link on the Anchorspace website, an 'Action Method' journal, an "Art of Business' print, and a $25 gift certificate to MDI Ice Cream.
2 out of 10 of claimed

The Neighborhood Welcome 2.0

$500 USD
At this level you'll get a thank you note, link on the Anchorspace website, an 'Action Method' journal, an "Art of Business' print, and some things to welcome you to our neighborhood: $25 gift certificate to MDI Ice Cream, $25 gift certificate to Havana, and a day pass to the MDIYMCA.
1 out of 10 of claimed

Cowork Champion

$1,000 USD
You'll get a thank you card, link on the Anchorspace website, 'Action Method' journal, 'Art of Business' print, $25 gift certificate to MDI Ice Cream, $50 gift certificate to Havana, 2 day passes to the YMCA, $25 certificate to Mache Bistro, $25 gift certificate to Main Street Grill (M&M pancakes, need we say more?), and 1 annual Acadia National Park pass (Compass Harbor is just up the street!).
0 out of 10 of claimed

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