Tag: Freelancers

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Happy International Coworking Day!

Coworking as a movement, a business solution, and a supportive global community turns 13 years old today!

It was on August 9th, 2005 that Brad Neuberg opened the first collaborative workspace in San Francisco and dubbed it “coworking.”  What started as a tiny community office space in a converted Victorian in San Francisco has grown 
More people currently cowork than there are people living in all of Costa Ricato 1.74 million coworkers in 2017, with an expected 5.1 million members by 2022.  To put that number in perspective, more people currently cowork than there are people living in all of Costa Rica!  That not only means that memberships across the globe are making a statement in and of themselves, but that coworking will most definitely impact the future of work as we know it.

What Brad, a software developer at the time, wanted was “the freedom and independence of working for myself along with the structure and community of working with others.”  Coworking allows members to experience the energy of being surrounded by like-minded individuals from different businesses, industries, and trades which benefits the professional worker in a way that a traditional office simply cannot.

Naturally then, on this day every year, coworkers and coworking spaces across the globe take a moment to celebrate their independence as well as their discovery of all the dreams that can come true when you’ve got a solid community in which to create and collaborate.  Check out some of the Coworking Day events here!

Brad Neuberg, coworking founder
Photo courtesy of coworking.com

Brad created this model by which people from all walks of life could work together.  But this is not a one-size-fits-all model, of course.  Brad invited those who liked the coworking concept to share and remix it, to make it their own.  What differentiates coworking spaces from any other office space is a commitment to the five values of coworking:  Collaboration, Community, Openness, Entrepreneurship, and Sustainability.  With these core principles as a foundation, coworking aims to create a happy, helpful community of workers whose success and knowledge rubs off on those around them.

Happy #InternationalCoworkingDay!!!

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Coworking in the news

Coffee and UNOVA Coworking Website

Last week’s blog post discussed UNOVA’s definition of coworking and why we decided to open a coworking space in the Buffalo Southtowns.  The coworking concept especially appeals to us because it provides independent professionals the flexibility and freedom of a “have it when you want it” workspace, plus a supportive business community, all in a polished work environment.

But don’t just take our word for it – check out any one of these news sources to learn more about coworking and its positive effects on the worker, the company, and the community:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We’d love to hear from you – what’s your favorite part of coworking?

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So what is “coworking” anyway?

Coworking Adjectives Infographic DeskMag

The term, simply put, refers to people working together. Traditionally, a “coworker” would refer to another person who works in the same office in the same profession. But with the changing labor market, more and more individuals find themselves working from home, making a living as self-employed freelancers, or entering the market as an entrepreneur or small business owner.

A coworking space, then, provides a common workspace for all individuals – regardless of their industry, age, and experience – to come together and get their work done. Equipped with all of the necessities of a traditional office (think desks, copy machine, WiFi, coffee…) a coworking space is intended to give you everything you need to have a productive work day, without the distractions of home or a coffee shop, and without cost of renting your own office.

Sound good? I haven’t even gotten to the best part yet!

If you have ever worked from home, the reality often is far less cool than imagined. In my experience, I start by allowing myself to press the snooze a few too many times, cutting into my productivity right off the bat. Then I decide to ‘save the time’ and just stay dressed in my pajamas, subconsciously leaving me unmotivated (not to mention in socially unacceptable attire – I am officially NOT leaving the house!) Last, I continually step away from my real work to, say, wash the dirty dishes I see out of the corner of my eye, or do that load of laundry I’ve been meaning to get to. Not to mention I’ve got up to four cats crawling on my keyboard! At the end of the day – which is way past my usual bedtime and didn’t include a healthy meal – I may have checked off some items on my work to-do list, but I spent the majority of my day bouncing from task to task with little progress to show for it.

In a traditional office environment, sure there are distractions – loud conversations at the water cooler or chess games going on in the breakroom – but those same people have similar deadlines to meet and a boss breathing down their necks to ensure they stay on task. A coworking space provides that much-needed social interaction to keep you productive and stimulated throughout your ‘work day’ (whatever hours you choose), but without the disruptions or diversions of home or a coffeehouse.

So for me, the best part of a coworking space is the social network you can develop. By immersing yourself in a coworking environment, you now have any number of people to ask for advice on your latest assignment or have them proofread a carefully worded email to an important client. You’ll not only have a crowd to celebrate your big wins with over a beer (or wine, or cider, even at 4pm – who’s stopping you?), but you’ll also have a shoulder to cry on if the project you’ve been working on goes belly up. When you rent a desk or an office, you gain self-motivated coworkers who will support you professionally in a way that you simply can’t find when you work from home or in a corporate office.

Coworking is not only sharing equipment, ideas, and knowledge, but about belonging to a community of like-minded professionals who understand that when others succeed, we all succeed.

 

Coworking infographic courtesy of DeskMag.com

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You bought what, where? Why?!

I received a lot of questions back in January 2017 when I decided to take a Outside 29 Mechanic Street, January 2017gamble on the Village of Springville.  My friends and family seemed excited and supportive when I shared the news that I purchased the property at 29 Mechanic Street, even if they had never personally been to Springville.  They would generally congratulate me and ask some form of “what are you going to do with it?”  It’s a logical question, but not one that I had a great answer for at the time, so I had to dance around it until recently.

 

My husband, Joe, and I were  born and raised in and around Springville.  Our lives have briefly taken us away from time to time, but whenever we returned, it just seemed right.  These days my work takes me to downtown Buffalo, while Joe has the privilege of working in Springville every day for the Encorus Group.For years we would park in front of his office building on Mechanic Inside 29 Mechanic Street, January 2017Street and head to whatever restaurant, store, or event that was on our radar at the time. 
 

We would also walk past the building next door at 29 Mechanic Street and wish that someone would just give it a little love.  For those of you from Springville, you may have the same memory — we are often told stories of the building’s history as a car dealership, garage, an office supply store, a gaming arcade for a brief time…  It had a past, but unfortunately it didn’t appear to have much of a future.
 

That’s where our story picks up.  In early 2017 while the snow was piling up, I The View from the Top of 29 Mechanic Street, January 2017closed on the property at 29 Mechanic Street.  The village had just completed its Franklin Street Streetscape Project, and I desperately wanted to transform the building from one with boarded-up windows and an art mural tagged with graffiti into something — anything.  For such a central location (from its roof you can see the post office, the library, the town hall, the police and fire stations, you name it!), this building deserves attention and use.  So I bought it.
 

With only half a floor and not much else, it wasn’t the most inspiring space.  The Main Street Façade Project helped us out a bit with the exterior renovations in 2017.  All we had left to do was make the inside useful again.  When we noticed a trend with a few of our friends feeling the isolation of working from home, we identified a problem… maybe our building could be the solution.  After experiencing a coworking conference in Lancaster, PA, though, we knew we’d found the answer!
 

We believe that building a coworking space is just what the little Village of Springville needs right now — follow us to learn more reasons why!

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