A Message to Our Members: Update #5 Coronavirus, the SBA and Jimmy Stewart
TPC Members,
It's been a week since our last email and I want to give everyone a candid update of where we are and what to expect over the next month. We appreciate that you continue to stay involved in our community. Thanks for taking the time to read this.
Where are we now?
We've spent the last week developing strategies to get us through this temporary shut down period and on the road to recovery when the time comes. Unfortunately, we are not going to get any rent breaks from our building owners or on contracts with vendors like our ISP. We have not laid off any team members or cut health insurance for employees. Most other monthly expenses have been reduced as much as possible.We are actively pursuing SBA EIDL loans and will likely apply for CARE now that it's signed into law*. If approved, any funds from this are probably months away, so our focus right now is to slow the bleeding and stretch cash through April and May.
What are we doing for members? (next 4 weeks)
Monthly Coworking Members
As April bill dates approach, we've seen a rush of cancellations from our monthly coworking members. We have been expecting that for weeks. People are anxious about their health, financial security, and futures. We also happen to be selling services that we are not legally allowed to provide at the moment, so it's not surprising that we have been a natural place for budget cuts. That being said:
1. There is absolutely no ill will toward anyone that feels the need to cancel or pause a coworking membership at this time. That is part of the agreement that we signed and part of the reason you pay a premium for a month to month contract - it offers flexibility when you need it. Just let us know as soon as you can so we can forecast accurately.
2. We are very aware that anyone who has chosen to stick with us is, for this month at least, doing us a huge favor by subsidizing the community while we scramble to keep the lights on. It has not gone unnoticed and we THANK YOU sincerely for your support. For everyone in this group, the below membership adjustments will still apply.
3. We know there is a third group of people that probably feels bad telling us, but can't pay full rate for a month in which they can't use the space. I had been unsuccessfully trying to come up with a solution for this group until this morning when I decided to copy George Bailey's approach to the run on the Savings & Loan. Let us know what you can pay for April and we'll work to adjust your bill. If restrictions extend to May, we'll do it again. Hopefully, at the end of all this, we have more than $2 and we can stick it to Old Man Potter.
Membership adjustments
We will implement free extensions for Community Unlimited Memberships (e.g. a free month at the end of your term for April, another one for May if it comes to that).We are implementing automatic rollovers for all Community 5 and Community 10 memberships through June 1st.Resident Desk members can pause their membership through their June bill date and pay 30% of their normal dues while keeping their desk and their items in the space.
Office Members
1. If our landlord changes tune and offers rent breaks or deferments, we will pass the same terms on to you.
2. If you have an office term that is coming to an end and you don't think you'll be able to renew (or do want to renew), please let us know as soon as possible.
Thank you for your continued support and hopefully the next time I check in we have some positive news to report!
Have a great weekend,
Chris Hoyt
*I've spent a lot of time researching and speaking to experts regarding the SBA EIDL program and the new CARE provision. If you'd like to chat, please DM me. It can help your business and you don't necessarily need to add debt to take advantage of funding.
