Beth Buczynski – The Global Coworking Blog

Five Reasons Lonely Freelancers Should Try Coworking

For every freelancer that sings the praises of coworking, there are five that are wondering whether they should give it a try. Here’s a short list you can use to convince them!

1. Pants are required. We know, we know, the greatest thing about working for yourself is that pants are optional. Your blog post or design project can’t tell whether you’re still wearing pajamas at 2 pm, so why bother? If it’s been a while since you’ve held yourself to a dress code stricter than stretchy pants and your favorite hoodie, you may have forgotten how motivating it can be to don a fresh pair of pants. There’s just something about getting dressed that says, “Ok, I’m ready; bring on the day!” Coworkers know that sometimes, putting on your pants and being in public is the biggest victory of the day. So toss those sweats, zip that fly, and come on down. We’ve got your victory coffee waiting.

2. You’re pretty interesting. There are some things about working from your home office or even the coffee shop that can’t be beat: it’s your home turf, you’re comfortable, and most importantly, it’s fairly free from distraction. Unfortunately, free from distraction often means free from interaction, which can be a slippery slope for freelancers that usually prefer a screen to a face anyway. One of the best parts of the coworking community is cameraderie. We think you’re pretty interesting. We want to know what you’re working on. We’ll talk about coding, or blogging, or marketing all day long. Try us.

3. The coffee is free. And tea. And sometimes snacks. ‘Nuff said?

4. It gives you an excuse to clean your laptop. Take a glance at your keyboard. If you can identify the remnants of more than one meal from the past three days…gross. Bust out your duster, your electronic-safe wipes, or hell, just turn the thing over and shake. You might be surprised at how much easier it is to work when you’re not typing around a crumb buffet.

5. It’s fun! I know, I know…you’re all about the productivity and working in a crowded room of freelancers doesn’t sound like the best way to break through your writer’s block or finally finish that proposal that’s been keeping you up at night. Or, does it? Who knows, maybe that problem that’s been bugging you is something another coworker solved last week. Or maybe there’s another freelancer here who’s got the perfect suggestion for your stalled project? Or, who knows, maybe just getting out of the house, and having a conversation with some like-minded people is just what you needed to breath new life into your career.

It can’t hurt to give it a try, right? If you’re ready search HERE for a space near you.

Image Credit: Flickr – ben sutherland

Reposted from the Cohere Community Blog

Coworking Gifts For Your Smartphone (and You!)

The collective creativeness that is the coworking community has been hard at work creating a few apps that can enrich your experience!

Giant Smart Phone

‘Tis the season to indulge in gadgets, and for those of you that depend on a smartphone to get you through the day, that means treating yourself to an app or two.

How fortunate that the collective creativeness that is the coworking community has already been hard at work creating a few apps that can enrich your experience!

Coworking for iPhone – by @parisoma

Cost: FREE

Want to keep coworking while you’re away from home, but don’t have the time to research available spaces? Now, there’s an app for that.

The “Coworking” app- made for coworkers, by coworkers, in a coworking space- is now available in the iTunes store.

The app is designed to:
1. Be a mobile database of over 400 coworking spaces worldwide
2. Allow people to find coworking spaces in their city or in cities they visit
3. Help coworking spaces find new members

This app was designed by coworkers at pariSoma Innovation Loft in the San Francisco Bay area. If you download this app, the folks at pariSoma would love to hear your feedback! Send suggestions about how to improve the app or ideas about other potentials for it to coworkingapp [at] gmail.com.

Coworking Lite For Android Coworking for Android – by App Hoshies

Cost: $1.95 for full version, Lite version is FREE

“Coworking” is a social location-based app that is all about finding and sharing Coworking locations (download here).

This app is designed to:
1. Create new locations
2. Find other coworkers in your area
3. Follow where others are currently working.

The app comes with hundreds of worldwide locations. The Lite version comes with ads but has no limitations.

And if you really want to turn your smartphone into a powerful coworking machine, check out this long list of mobile apps for entrepreneurs!

Image Credit Top: Flickr – @boetter

Can Coworking Help Build A Healthy Business Ecosystem?

Being different from the common vision of an “office” or a “job” doesn’t mean that coworkers should abandon the 9 – 5ers all together. Sometimes the bridges built between coworking spaces and the larger community are the most important for a healthy business ecosystem, and coworkers should be willing to put the first stepping stones in place.

By Angel Kwiatkowski

coworking builds a healthy business ecosystem

Coworking spaces (and their members) often spend time building connections with other coworking spaces or groups of technically creative people, but it’s important to remember that a coworking facility is still part of the larger, conventional business community (which happens to be struggling right now).

Host Classes/Workshops/Seminars That Are Open To Non-Members

Whether it’s tips from an outside tax expert or a workshop about how to network effectively, chances are that small business owners or even cubicle-dwellers could benefit from the knowledge as well. Opening up some of your functions to outside individuals is also a great way to give people a peek into everything they’re missing, and an easy way to bring in a few extra dollars of revenue.

Support Other Local Businesses

A group of dedicated, well-connected coworkers is a powerful market segment for any new business. Take the time to introduce yourself to the owners and managers of storefronts that you frequent, and be sure to mention that you’re there because you cowork nearby and you like to support local business. Not only will they become aware about a new way of working, it might even spark a discount for coworkers or create an opportunity for collaboration.

Develop A Resource Reputation

A room full of healthy, motivated, independent professionals is a dream come true for a future business owner. Instead of thumbing through a Chamber of Commerce directory or (gasp!) venturing into the wilds of Elance or Freelancer.com, a coworking space provides the business ecosystem with a rich pool of pre-approved talent. All you have to do is find a way to let your community know that this talent exists and is ready to help.

What other ways does your coworking space contribute to the health of the larger business ecosystem?

Image Credit: Flickr – Intersection Consulting

3 Ways To Cultivate A More Vibrant Coworking Community

Just like you can’t just toss a sack of seeds into the dirt and expect to get a garden, you can’t sit in your seat with your headphones on, waiting for the community to nurture you.

By Angel Kwiatkowski

People talk a lot about all the ways that coworking can energize your small business or keep you from looking like a hack. Coworking communities are unique collections of people that can provide just enough sun, rain, and fertilizer for your ideas to grow and bloom.

However, just like you can’t just toss a sack of seeds into the dirt and expect to get a garden, you can’t sit silently in your seat waiting for the community to nurture you.

1. Admit You Need Help

Most coworking communities are collections of pretty talented, organized, and all around amazing people. If you’re new to the group, you might be intimidated by all this excellence, and feel that you have to put on a capable face when inside you’re really losing it. This couldn’t be further from the truth. The wealth of knowledge your community contains is there for you to take advantage of. Be honest about your weaknesses, and make them available when other people are in need.

2. Ask What People Are Working On

When Monday morning dawns, all fresh and full of emails, it can be tempting to get plugged in and working as fast as possible. But there’s nothing nurturing or vibrant about a community where people don’t make eye-contact. Take just a minute or two to say good-morning to the room, ask what your neighbor’s working on, or share the challenges you’re trying to tackle that work week. Not only will this set a positive tone for the rest of your day, you might just uncover a partnership possibility or a new contact that will prove indispensable in the future.

3. Commence Goofing Off

You can’t spell coworking without work, and it’s true, the most important reason that people are attracted to coworking communities is because they can be more productive there. But you don’t always have to be hunched over with your headphones, oblivious to the rest of the room. The next time someone’s piping up about a problem in their business, or a funny YouTube video that’s burning a hole in their inbox, take a second to crack a smile and indulge in some human-to-human conversation. You need a break from that screen anyway 🙂

What are other ways that you can help improve your community and create an environment that encourages success?

Image Credit: Flickr – OakleyOriginals

3 Things Windows 7 Can Teach Us About Coworking

By Angel Kwiatkowski

Microsoft recently released a series of commercials intended to extol the virtues of Windows 7, Windows Live, and “the Cloud.” Although they might not have intended it, I think this commercial includes some interesting commentary on the evolution of work that is rather pertinent to the coworking community. Watch below and I’ll meet you on the flip side.

Ok, it’s decidedly hokey and a wee-bit predictable, but here are three things that this commercial teaches us about today’s workforce, and the utility of coworking.

1. People Have Side Projects

Three of the four characters represented in this commercial are already at work, but you get the feeling that the proposal the investors loved so much has nothing to do with their day jobs. Not all coworkers are freelancers or business owners. Some are just regular people that are passionate about something no one pays them to do. Yet. If you’ve got a real job, but spend time doodling about other things you’d rather be creating or marketing, you might want to indulge in a weekly night (or day) of coworking and see what happens.

2. The New Workforce Is A Mobile Workforce

Did you notice the guy getting assaulted by the inflatable hammer? Yeah, he’s definitely a stay at home Dad working from the kitchen table. In fact, there isn’t even any indication that the four principle members of this “start-up” even live in the same city. But does that stop them from pursuing their dreams? No. The future will not take place in a cubicle, and when it arrives, coworkers will be the most well equipped to handle the motivation and accountability issues of working remotely.

3. Coffee Shops Aren’t Where You Want To Be

Did you see how fast the start-up’s new “CEO” ditched that apron? Coffee shops provided a much needed middle phase for technically-creative types who grew tired of the 9 – 5 way before everyone else. But they’re yesterday’s news. Think about what could have happened if instead of working on his break, this would-be entrepreneur had grown his idea in a nurturing community of other coworkers? My guess is he’d already be on the beach, celebrating his first round of investments.

3 Reasons To Give Thanks For Coworking

As you gather with family, relax, and gorge yourself on delicious food this week, consider some of these blessings, and offer thanks to the community that provides them.

By Angel Kwiatkowski

‘Tis the season to be counting your blessings and appreciating the things in life that really matter. As coworkers (or those that are interested in trying it out) there are a lot of things, big and small, that coworking does to enhance our lives and businesses.

As you gather with family, relax, and gorge yourself on delicious food this week, consider some of these blessings, and offer thanks to the community that provides them.

1. A reason to hang up your suit and tie for good.

Being your own boss means that you make the rules, and coworking is definitely a movement that embraces the casual Friday look every day of the week. If you’ve spent all night working on a project, and skipped the shower- we won’t judge. If you’re having one of those days where pajama pants are the preferred fashion, we’ll still love you in the morning.

2. The ability to control your own destiny.

The economy is bad and people are desperate for jobs, but instead of complaining, coworking communities are getting to work. While the life of an independent professional might not always be glamorous, it takes your reliance off of some company and puts it where it belongs, on you. Tough days come and go, but you’ll never have to fear layoffs again.

3. The gift of free coffee.

Those that have spent time on the coffee shop circuit know the frustration of shelling out three bucks (or more) every time they need a WiFi connection and a clean surface. Finding a coworking community to call your own will not only eliminate the need for this extra expense, it will also remind you how much more productive you are when you don’t have to fight shoppers and soccer moms for your workspace.

Are you appreciative of something else that coworking provides, eliminates or facilitates? Give thanks in a comment!

Image Credit: www.makeandtakes.com

3 Ways Coworking Can Make You A Better Professional

Freelancers are constantly fighting the common misconception that we all live in our pajamas and hate social interaction. So here are 3 important ways that coworking can help you become a better professional and get respect in your industry.

Professional Scarecrow

By Angel Kwiatkowski

What’s the first thing you think of when someone says they want to be “more professional?”

Most envision a freshly-pressed business suit, a noose tie, and maybe an ever-mysterious briefcase.

But these are merely the outer vestments society tells us to associate with a business-person. “Being thought of as a professional is not all suit and tie. It’s not all about qualifications either” (Employee Evolution). It’s about how you present yourself and the environment in which you operate.

As an independent, freelancer, or small business owner, the level of professionalism you bring to the table decides whether your client recommends you to a friend, or asks you back for another project.

Freelancers are constantly fighting the common misconception that we all live in our pajamas and hate social interaction.

So here are 3 important ways that coworking can help you become a better professional and get respect in your industry:

1. An address – Starting a small business often requires you to have a business mailing address, and most people opt for inconvenient (and sometimes expensive) post-office boxes. Many coworking facilities will allow you to receive mail on-location, saving you money, and giving your business a more concrete appearance on paper.

2. A place to meet clients – Ever tried to land a sale on the phone with the kids screaming bloody murder in the background? Or arranged a meeting with an important business partner at a coffee shop only to discover that they were having open-mic night? A perk of many coworking facilities is that they offer clean, quiet conference room space as a benefit of membership.

Note to space owners: if you’re not offering conference space, realize that this could be a deal-breaker for new members. Also, make sure the meeting space you offer is bright, clean, and features tables, chairs, presentation tools, and other things that will make your members proud to bring their clients there. Shoving a table into a dimly lit backroom doesn’t count.

3. Social skills – When you’re holed up in your basement or home office for days at a time, it can be easy to forget that teeth-brushing is a daily necessity, or that you’re not the world’s greatest authority on grammar. Coworking gets you out of the house, encourages showering, and reminds you that you have allies (and sometimes competitors!) in your field. Taking advantage of their collective brain-power can help you make tough decisions and avoid mistakes, but you have to show up first.

Has coworking helped you to be taken more seriously as an independent professional? Share it in a comment!

Image Credit: Flickr – battlecreekcvb

3 Ways Coworking Provides A Rockstar Environment

Whether you’re trying to get a new business off the ground, or wondering how you’re going to survive another day in the cubical jungle, you must never underestimate the power of the environment in which you choose to work.

By Angel Kwiatkowski

“Instead of thinking about how you can land a roomful of rock stars, think about the room instead…The environment has a lot more to do with great work than most people think.“ -Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson in ReWork

Yes, I said choose.

The boys from ReWork go on to say that, “there’s a ton of untapped potential trapped under lame policies, poor direction, and stifling bureaucracies. Cut the crap and you’ll find that people are waiting to do great work. They just need to be given the chance.”

If you’ve been doubting your ability to do great work lately, maybe it’s time to consider a change of scenery.

Here are three ways coworking encourages greatness better than a basement, cubicle, or coffee shop:

Privacy/Exposure: The way to extract great work from yourself isn’t to lock yourself in a home office. It’s also not to abandon your to-do list for internet surfing disguised as “market research.” When you cowork, you have the opportunity to change place, time, and style of your work on a daily basis. Need to get some serious work done? Tell the host that you’re having a “me” day, and retreat to the quietest corner. Need to bitch about a nightmare client and talk about your lack of motivation? Well, that’s ok too.

Autonomy/Responsibility: When you’re working a traditional 9-5, your lack of greatness can be blamed on the boss/computer/lighting/janitor/coffee. When you’re coworking, the responsibility falls on you and you alone. Giving yourself just one night a week to work freely on projects you’re passionate about will jump start your productivity in ways you never imagined.

Praise/Constructive Criticism: We all know what it’s like to be chastised for doing something wrong, but fewer professionals know what it feels like to be praised for doing something great. Coworking provides you with a community that will applaud when you finally locate a pesky coding bug, or throw you a party when you launch a new product. Rest assured, coworkers will also tell you when an idea misses the mark, but it will be because they want you to succeed and be happy, not because they’re worried about the bottom line.

Has your work environment hindered you from doing great work in the past? Share it in a comment!

Top 3 Coworking Resources You’re Not Using

Coworking is a state of mind, a community, and most importantly- a unique global movement. But figuring out how to get the most out of this rapidly expanding, concept of working can be difficult if you don’t know where to look.

By Angel Kwiatkowski

Coworking Google Group

This group acts as a support structure and discussion network amongst people interested in coworking on any level: as a catalyst, as a space owner or as a coworker. You’re welcome to lurk here, and learn silently from the knowledge and questions of others, but it’s even more of a resource if you introduce yourself and participate in the discussion. Learn more…

Coworking Wiki

If you’re looking for a place to cowork while traveling, or are just interested in watching and/or supporting the growth of the movement, this is the resource for you. Successful business models, best practices, and 700+ pages of user generated knowledge can be found on the Wiki, as well as information about the Coworking Visa Program, space directory, and coworking events list.

Global Coworking Blog

Want to share your experience about coworking in a new space? Want to find out what other coworkers are struggling with or challenged by? Got tips that all coworkers should be aware of? Share it on the blog. Press, announcements, and industry research can also be found on the Global Coworking Blog. In true coworking fashion, any and all coworkers are invited to submit posts to this page.

Image Credit: Flickr – usefulguy

New Collaborative Workspace Comes To Phoenix

Union WorkSpace is set up in an open community format, designed to foster creativity, networking, and relationship building. It’s a place to not only get work done, but create lasting relationships and establish strategic business alliances.

Union WorkSpace is a collaborative office concept catering to today’s independent professional. Uniquely situated in one of Phoenix’s most architecturally advanced office buildings, Union offers sophisticated work space to small businesses. Building off of the “coworking” platform more frequently seen across the World, Union WorkSpace is Phoenix’s newest coworking space.

Union WorkSpace members are fully supported with amenity rich services that include custom built desk space, Herman Miller task chairs, Wi-Fi, conference room access, mailing address, print/copy/fax capabilities, amongst other things.

“I wanted to create something that provided the stable platform needed to develop and grow your business and assist in helping you achieve the goals you’ve set forth”, added founder Austin King.

To schedule a visit, please contact Austin King at 602.330.6215 or Austin@UnionWorkSpace.com.

You can also follow Union WorkSpace on Twitter and Facebook!