Coworking Reviewed by the Wall Street Journal’s Cranky Consumer
The Wall Street Journal’s ‘Cranky Consumer’ recently gave coworking try sharing their experience in a great article.
As sited in the article there are over 9 million self-employed individuals and 33.7 million telecommuters working in the U.S. today.
As we’ve noted since launching our first Office Space Coworking location in Akron…the dynamics of the independent/ mobile work force are driving more and more freelancers, entrepreneurs, & telecommuters to seek alternatives to working out of their home or out of the coffee shop.
We’re seeing more mentions of coworking in the mainstream media lately….from Entreprenuer Magazine, NPR, & now the Wall Street Journal, it appears we’ve really hit on a growing trend. Hey we even were lucky enough to be interviewed by WKYC.
It’s exciting to see this increased exposure. But let’s not forget New York, Seattle, Chicago, LA aren’t the only areas able to support a thriving coworking community.
Office Space Coworking, Northeast Ohio’s first coworking facility just opened the doors on our 2nd location. Now small business owners, freelancers & telecommuters in Akron and Cuyahoga Falls can tap into all the benefits the coworking community has to offer.
So if you know someone launching their business or someone who’s looking to escape the isolation from working out of their home, please help us spread the word. We’d love to have them join us.
Nice Piece from NPR on Coworking
Congratulations to Tony Bacigalupo & New Work City on their recent interview on NPR.
It’s a great piece highlighting the pros (& cons) of coworking and noting the growth of the movement and the trend of shared office space.
Tony’s quoted:
“I think we’ll be seeing in this century, we’re going to be moving away from the idea of a centralized Monday-to-Friday, 9-to-5 workplace, and we’ll be moving much more in this direction. People will work when they want where they want.”
Some of the pros called out in the piece include:
Pro: Flexible Work Hours
For people who dislike the 9-to-5 shift, coworking facilities offer the benefits of an office without the rigid schedule.
Pro: Collaboration And Networking
One of the cons of working from home is often the solitude. Coworking allows people to share ideas across industries as well as create new contacts.
Pro: Productivity
Coworking curbs more alluring activities like shopping, watching TV and napping, which are tempting when home alone.
To listen to the full interview or to read the article visit NPR Web site – Coworking Offers Community to Solo Workers.
My 14 Favorite Business Books….(and the Launch of Office Space Coworking’s Lending Library)
As we come to the end of the year, it’s a time for reflection.
It’s only natural to start looking ahead. Trying to figure out what we’ll do to make this year better than the last.
What lessons have we learned? What would we change? What will we try to repeat?
This is where I – being a business geek — look to books to educate and inspire me.
I do have a preference. My favorite form of Biz Lit are Business biographies.
I love — love, love, love — a good business biography. There’s nothing like living vicariously through the successes of those who’ve been there / done that.
I gleen bits of wisdom and eek out psuedo-curriculum from these books. At the very least, they provide a frame of reference for what has (and has not) worked for others in the past. They help me when faced with tough decisions and in forming my own philosophies on how I’d like to do business.
In fact, in many of these books my favorite parts are the discussions on their failures.
At the same time, I still crave applied knowledge.
The best, in my opinion….take successful entities (people, companies, organizations) and break down the nuts and bolts of their operations. They draw out the repeatable process & activities that helped bring them a measure of success. While not necessarily saying – ‘Do this and you’ll grow like gang busters’ — because that just ain’t realistic. They do provide a basis for defining the unique formula required for you to succeed in your own right.
At least – that’s how I see it.
These books are few & far between. So when I find a great book, I love to share it.
Below are 14 of my favorite books:
- Getting Things Done (David Allen)
- Bill & Dave: How HP Built The World’s Greatest Company
- Ready, Fire, Aim: Zero to $100 Million in No Time Flat
- Being Direct: Making Advertising Pay (Lester Wunderman)
- High Wire Act: Ted Rogers and the Empire that Debt Built
- When Hollywood Had a King: The Reign of Lew Wasserman, Who Leveraged Talent into Power and Influence
- Titan: The Life of John D. Rockefeller, Sr
- Getting The Right Things Done: A Leaders Guide to Planning & Execution
- The Snowball: Warren Buffett and the Business of Life
- How to Stop Worrying and Start Living
- Andrew Carnegie
- Losing My Virginity: How I’ve Survived, Had Fun And Made A Fortune Doing Business My Way
- The Toyota Way
- In Sam We Trust
What are some of your favorites?
Two cool announcements
I’m happy to announce Office Space Coworking is opening up our very own Lending Library for Business Books. In our Akron & Cuyahoga Falls offices, you’ll find a number of books available for you to reading pleasure. I’ll work to get these cataloged and available for online reservation so you members can just pick them up in their mailbox the next time they come into the office. But no – we won’t have the latest John Grisham, sorry.
It’s not big (yet) — but you’ll find ‘my’ favorites there and we’re taking on donations.
If you’d like to borrow one, just send me a note that you’re ‘checking it out’ — and return it when your done.
AND – a couple of us have been talking and decided to get a Business Book Reading Club going. A couple of us are reading ‘Crush it’ right now and we’re going to start organizing when to meet. I’m thinking this will probably come together after the 1st of the year. We’ll host our meetings at the Akron Office Space Coworking location…probably on a bi-weekly or monthly basis…depending one what works best for the group.
If you’re interested in participating, please let me know!
See? I knew it! Coworking is going mainstream…
Susan Evans, co-founder of Office Nomads in Seattle, was just featured in a nice, splashy piece on the merits of coworking in this month’s Entrepreneur Magazine. The article focuses on coworking’s rapid growth both internationally (and in your backyard).
Susan was actually the first person I ever spoke with about coworking. In fact, I interviewed her a little while ago for another Web site I was running some time ago. The concept and her energy & excitement so inspired me I decided to take a whack at launching a coworking facility right here in Akron, Ohio.
Now we’re working on our second facility – Office Space Coworking: Cuyahoga Falls. And let’s just say the concept not only works well in Seattle, San Francisco and New York — but even in our little neck of the woods.
Tony Bacigalupo, of New Work City got a nice mention but didn’t see any mention of Alex Hillman of IndyHall in Philly. Another national leader in the coworking concept.
Anyway it’s a great article. Espousing the merits of being ‘Solo, But Not Alone’. And I’m always excited to see the coworking movement get some props in the national media.
Special thanks to Blake Urmos for bringing this article to my attention, ’cause I completely missed it.
Coworking is Coming To Cuyahoga Falls
Office Space Coworking is hosting this event to celebrate the opening of our 2nd location in Cuyahoga Falls.
We provide shared office and meeting space for independent workers, telecommuters and solo entrepreneurs.
Office Space Coworking is a refuge from the isolation of working at home and the restriction of working in busy coffee shops. Members get all the tools and community of a modern office without the soul-crushing corporate environment. Meet clients, network with peers,or use it as your satellite office as you’re moving from appointment to appointment.
With the opening of our 2nd location, members of Office Space Coworking will have full access to BOTH the Akron & Cuyahoga Falls facilities.
It’s a great location with free parking, private offices & plenty of space for meetings & presentations. It’s right off the Front Street mall between Portage & Baird street.
Get a sneak peak at the new facilities!
We’ll be hosting a special preview of the facility to get your ideas on the design, look / feel, & amenities before launching the Grand Opening in December.
But – here’s the catch – if you’d like to see coworking come to Cuyahoga Falls, we NEED YOUR HELP!
We need 6 people to sign-on as Charter Members for the Cuyahoga Falls location before we can commit to moving forward.
Charter Members will receive a 20% discount off our published rates for a 3 month commitment to use Cuyahoga Falls as their primary location.
Charter Members will also get first dibs on private, dedicated offices.
If you’d like to learn more, please give us a ring @ 800-644-0683
…Or register for Open House event on Friday, November 13th.
Doors open at 3pm.
Get a sneak peak at the facilities, give your input on design, furniture, decor — and stake your claim on your future office.
Parking: FREE
Wine & Appetizers: FREE
Network with Peers: FREE
Why join us?
- Tour our facilities
- Learn more about coworking
- Meet some of our members from the Akron office and learn why they love coworking
- Learn why people who work in a collaborative environment make more money
- Network with your peers and make a new business contact or two
- Great music, great food, great company AND frosty beverages.
Memo to Office Space Coworking Members!
I’ve tried to touch base with each of our members the last few weeks to let everyone know about our recent move to the 3rd floor of the Selle Bulding. I didn’t get to everyone, so this email is make sure we’re all on the same page.
While any change has its trade offs between the old and the new, we are excited and hope you see the move as a step forward.
As we work the kinks out, I look forward to hearing your feedback and concerns.
We’ll work to address each in turn and do our best to ensure Office Space Coworking continues to meet — and dare I say ‘exceed’ — your expectations.
Please scan the info below to get all the juicy details AND to learn about some special announcements we have coming up in November (including a 2nd location in Cuyahoga Falls)!
If you have any questions or concerns – please don’t hesitate to call: 330-272-0315
-kelly
What you need to know:
Where exactly are we? We’re suite 302 on the 3rd floor.
Has my mailing address changed? No. You can still use Suite 101 on your mailing address. We’ve coordinated with the USPS, UPS, & FedEx and any shipments to Suite 101 will still get to you. Both Suite 101 & 302 will work as a mailing address. You may want to update your business cards / letterhead the next time you order supplies, but it is NOT required.
Where do we park? Couple choices here.
Lower Parking Lot:
You can still park in the lower parking lot and walk up the 2 flights of stairs. I exercise (and I think we can all agree I need it).
Upper Parking Lot:
From 7am-4pm on week days we have 3 spaces open to us on the upper parking lot. Just don’t park in a spot that says ‘reserved’ for Corner Stone or ASW and you’re good.
After 4pm or anytime on the weekends — it’s first come first serve on the upper parking lot.
Under the bridge:
We have 8 parking spots under the bridge. Which is just a short walk to the ramp leading up to our space.
Do I need new keys? Nope! You’re old keys will still work. The exterior doors are keyed the same and on the same timer. The upper doors’ lock is actually the silver lock on the left side of the doors. It’s an electronic lock. You just insert your key, turn it about 1/8 turn to the left and the door will unlock.
Any problems or concerns — please give me a call and we can walk through this together. If there’s any problem with your key, we can just issue you a new one.
How do I reserve a room? One of the improvements, I was mentioning. We have 4 rooms which can be reserved online.
- 2 Conference Rooms (‘A’ & ‘B’) which capacity for 10-20 people each depending on the configuration. Each contains a whiteboard, and LCD monitor for presentations.
- 2 Team Rooms (‘C’ & ‘D’) each with 3-4 work tables and (soon to be installed) whiteboard walls (great for brainstorming). These rooms can be reserved for 1 or more people. We also have a portable projector which can be reserved and brought into these rooms as necessary.
Schedules will be posted for each room both online (http://www.officespacecoworking.com/reservations) and on scheduling boards outside the room for increased visibility.
What’s this about a 2nd Location?
Plans are in the works to open a 2nd location in Cuyahoga Falls.
It’s a great location with free parking, private offices & plenty of space for meetings & presentations. It’s right off the Front Street mall between Portage & Baird street.
Office Space Coworking members will have full access to both facilities.
We’ll be hosting a special preview of the facility to get your ideas on the design, look / feel, & amenities before launching the Grand Opening in December. In other words, you’ll get a look at the space before Heidi gets to do her interior design magic.
If you’d like to see us open a 2nd space in Cuyahoga Falls, please let me know. We need 6 charter members to sign on before we can commit to the new location. Special Discounts & Incentives will be announced shortly for Charter Members
If you’re interested in learning more, please contact Heidi @ 330-272-0315
Thank you for your continued membership & support!
-Kelly Brown
8 Ways To Avoid Resenting Work (While Working At Home)
If you work out of your home, like I do…err did, separating your work life from your life-life can be a problem.
Of course, to be completely self-serving I’d love to have you join Office Space Coworking.
But hey – that good things in time right. Meanwhile – you gotta do what you gotta do.
We find ourselves running to the office to check a few emails or sneak in one little thing right after dinner. We tend to watch TV with a laptop, fussing away on one thing or another….just to knock out a few things here and there.
And that’s the problem – we don’t know where work ends and our life begins.
Now for some, this may not be a concern. It’s only been since industrial age that we started the concept of separating work from play. But then again, we were really just trying to survive at that point. I like to think we’ve evolved since the time of indentured servitude.
Unless you create a wall – I mean like a Chinese Wall — between your WORK and your HOME, you run the risk of creating an environment of depression and resentment…towards your business, towards your home.
Who’d have thought your home could be such a hazardous work environment?
Here’s some tips I use to put hard edges on my work life:
- Have an Office – I’m talking to you — yes you — the guy working in his daughter’s play room while she’s away at school. And you too, Ms. ‘I’ll just spread my work on the kitchen table’. Uhhh-huh — that ain’t gonna cut it. While it might be a struggle, it’s paramount to carve out a space of your own. This is where your work happens AND where you leave it when the day is done.
10 Signs You’re Ready to Leave Your Home Office
Inc. Mag - 10 Signs You're Ready to Leave Home Office
Stumbled upon this from Inc. Magazine.
Great slide show — with ‘point on’ truisms about working from home.
Some of my favorites -
#7 Starbucks is encroaching on my budget.
#5 I could die here and no one would know
#2 I feel like I live at the office — wait I do!
Case in point for Coworking — check out the slide show if you’ve got 2 min.
Co-Working Goes Prime Time
Organized “coworking” — the concept of working solo alongside like-minded independents — has spread to dozens of cities.
-CNN
It was only a matter of time before it’d happen. But co-working is really hitting the mainstream.
I just read a great article on CNN about the growing popularity of co-working all over the country.
This particular article focuses on the growth of co-working in Roswell, GA.
We’re seeing co-working facilities pop up all over the country. It’s inevitable that we’ll get co-working going in Northeast Ohio…whether is in Akron, Canton, Cuyahoga Falls, or Cleveland…Co-Working is coming to Ohio.
Office Space Co-Working is currently scouting locations — so if you’re wanting to get a space close to you and would like to nominate your city, PLEASE let us know!
