Twin Cities Maker
Business Meeting, 5/27/2009
scribbled by Theo and reassembled in AbiWord 2.6

PRESENT:
Carlin (aluminumfetish)
Dave (idris_arslanian)
Jim (darus67)
Jon (jtbarclay)
Jude (judeling)
Michael (metis) - Dev Coord
Mike (uptownmaker) - Pres
Skyler (pyrodogg)
Steffin (swinkdaddy)
Theo (Theo) - Sec'y
Wayne (wammie) - VP

Absent due to illness: Brandon (orion) - Treasurer

Mike brought his whiteboard and his steel-and-brass "gavel"

Lots of folks seem to like Common Roots' grilled cheese sandwich plate.

Finances

• thanks Dave for starting the idea of pledges
• we need to start collecting fees/dues from members
• This Saturday AM, the Board will open a bank account for Twin Cities Maker at US Bank (Jon asked why US Bank but no objections; Mike and Theo have had long satisfactory experience w/US Bank; Michael likes them better than TCF)

Potential workshop spaces -- by a clear majority show of hands, TC Maker has new momentum behind starting out with a smaller, more affordable temporary space (discussion ongoing throughout meeting)

• simple "Clubhouse" for meetings & classes; no permanent gear
• about 500-600 square feet
• $1000/month (inclusive) or less
• month-to-month lease
• For ease of future expansion, it would be beneficial to locate it in a flexible building complex with many other (larger) space options, and cooperative, willing-to-negotiate management. Examples: Central Business Center/Thorp, 451 Taft (PMI); to a lesser degree, Northrup King, General Mills Research Center

Pull the trigger (sign a lease) once we reach a certain threshold, such as (TENTATIVELY)...

• 50 members
• 3+ months worth of operating costs in the bank

Whiteboard -- how do we get from Point A (Common Roots meeting room) to Point B (well-equipped permanent Maker workshop)?

• Revenue
• • bank account (as above)
• • PayPal account, linked to bank acct
• • option for automatic recurring payments
• Recruitment
• • tell your friends
• • FaceBook networking
• Events
• • possibly similar to Studio Bricolage's "First Thursdays"
• • classes, like Arduino programming
• • Swap Meet, like a Maker flea market
• Group Projects (milk-carton boat race? Trebu-Foshay? ...ideas needed)
• Marketing
• • Find inexpensive (like, free) platforms which still pull the right eyeballs
• • post 8.5x11" flyers (needed!) at hardware stores, coffee shops, food co-ops, etc.
• • Steffin mentioned PR connections which owe him favors; free publicity possible
• • blog posts, worklogs, articles, writeups of events (needed!)
• • Get "partner links" placed on external sites with common interests & goals (Science Museum, Makezine, Chicago Ave Fire Arts, etc.)
• • Bulletin-board signatures (a la Wammie)

Dues & Membership Fees
• $10-$20/month until first threshold reached & Clubhouse started
• half of all initial dues paid by Members goes toward eventual membership discounts (once we have a Clubhouse or Workshop)
• receipts need to be given to Members for money received, plus accounting
• no firm resolution reached regarding dues; no money collected

Very nice write up Mr. Secretary!!

I'm working on an interesting little financial model based on the "clubhouse" then shop; preliminary-> reduced -> full dues discussions at the meeting

Sounds good, I'll be interested to see that (as will others).