One day, I was talking to a very good friend of mine, who was regaling with
me with tales of her struggles to find good work. This friend of mine is
brilliant. She's a fantastic person. And, like so many people, she's being
utterly chewed up by our nation's job crisis and this feeling like she has
no control over her own destiny.
It got me angry. I spend every day working alongside people who are highly
empowered and living life on their terms, and many of them aren't doing
anything so complicated or specialized that my friend or lots of other
people couldn't be doing something similar. Yet, here I was, talking to
this good friend of mine, who wanted me to help her figure out how to get
someone to hire her for a job that she didn't even want.
She's too good for that. So many of us are. This is stupid.
Here's why I'm telling you all about this: In just a few years, our
coworking communities have risen from obscurity to constitute what is today
a global network of local centers where people gather to help each other
work for themselves. We're only just starting to realize the sheer
potential of that.
I believe that we collectively constitute the foundation for the solution
to our planet's economic challenges.
Our spaces can be not just places for people who have already figured out
how to work for themselves, but also crucial entry points for people who
seek to join our ranks. We give them a unique opportunity to be exposed to
a world they might never otherwise have seen, and to find people to help
them figure out how to join our ranks.
We've been supporting the needs of the growing independent workforce
implicitly in everything we do, but I'm curious to see what kind of damage
we could do if we made this an explicit part of our agenda. Not just to do
what we do, but to do what we do with a shared ambition help more people
work for themselves.
I care so much about coworking because it represents our best shot at
fundamentally rethinking and repairing our badly broken relationship with
our work.
Have any of you out there been thinking something similar? I'm serious
about this. I want to talk about real ways we can do things to put a
serious dent in the global job crisis and get a lot of people back to work.
Who's with me?
Cheers,
Tony Bacigalupo
New Work City
PS - I realize the presentation I made is largely US-centric, but the
general trends are largely global. If you've got a perspective to share
from a different socioeconomic situation, I'd love to hear it!
<snip>
> Have any of you out there been thinking something similar? I'm serious > about this. I want to talk about real ways we can do things to put a > serious dent in the global job crisis and get a lot of people back to > work.
Sounds great, but begs a key problem - what we really need is demand.
Between a stalled economy, and increased productivity over the years (including automation and off-shoring), we kind of need to prime the pump somehow.
Which kind of suggests that marketing and sales are a key part of the mix. Just like the "move your money" campaign has been shifting a lot of customers from large banks to credit unions and local banks, how about a "move your business" campaign, to move purchasing from traditional businesses, to our kinds of businesses.
Miles Fidelman
-- In theory, there is no difference between theory and practice.
In practice, there is. .... Yogi Berra
*"I'm curious to see what kind of damage we could do if we made this an explicit part of our agenda. Not just to do what we do, but to do what we do with a shared ambition help more people work for themselves."*
Tony, this is exactly the question I want to ask the coworking community!
I also believe there is a huge role for coworking space to play in what I call the freelancer rights movement. Coworking spaces can be:
- The gathering points for independent people to find a shared identity
- The information distribution points for sending out important messages and starting campaigns
- Nodes in a network of independent communities, bound by mutual economic and social interest
BUT....
Coworking space managers also have a lot of other jobs to do! They have to pay the rent and worry about filling their desks, connecting the wifi and selling coffee. Are they ready and willing to take on an extra job --- a quasi-political role of organizing independent workers to fight for their rights and build new community structures?
I honestly want to know! Are coworking space managers up for this extra job?
By the way, I talk more about how coworking spaces can play a major role in the freelance rights movement in this short video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tAsULd8q8yk
Joel
PS: I've recently helped form the Verband der Gründer und Selbständigen Deutschland, Germany's freelance rights group
I love your presentation and ideas. The reason I have been pursuing starting up a coworking community in my new home in England (I’m from the US) is that there isn’t a coworking community here yet, and like many places in England (OK, the world) the economy has taken its toll, and loads of hugely creative and talented people are underemployed at best. To me, developing a coworking community is exactly the right way to self-help our way back to a healthy, if not vibrant economy. Even better, it is something that I know I can do to help us all move in that direction. Because successful coworking focuses on community, it fosters pride in our unique ‘place’, and ourselves, and that pride inspires confidence. Who doesn’t love to be around other confident people who are excited about their work and community?
So I agree with your idea that we can and should just carry on ourselves, and I agree that coworking is a brilliant vehicle to use to move forward. Miles, I love the ‘move your business idea’. Steve King mentioned in his blog recently how larger businesses are recognizing their future growth may lie in sales to smaller rather than larger businesses (http://www.smallbizlabs.com/2012/09/why-everyone-wants-small-business...). Maybe we can encourage a similar trend in growth that comes from smaller businesses supporting each other, including our micro-businesses, in our own communities.
Sabrina Simpson
Plymouth Cowork
> <snip> > > Have any of you out there been thinking something similar? I'm serious > > about this. I want to talk about real ways we can do things to put a > > serious dent in the global job crisis and get a lot of people back to > > work.
> Sounds great, but begs a key problem - what we really need is demand. > Between a stalled economy, and increased productivity over the years > (including automation and off-shoring), we kind of need to prime the > pump somehow.
> Which kind of suggests that marketing and sales are a key part of the > mix. Just like the "move your money" campaign has been shifting a lot > of customers from large banks to credit unions and local banks, how > about a "move your business" campaign, to move purchasing from > traditional businesses, to our kinds of businesses.
> Miles Fidelman
> -- > In theory, there is no difference between theory and practice. > In practice, there is. .... Yogi Berra
> They have to pay the rent and worry about filling their desks, connecting the wifi and selling coffee.
Delegation, baby. Delegation.
If you're more than a year into running your coworking space and you're still the only person doing these things (I'm not just talking about hired staff), you're right - there's no way you have the bandwidth to take on a role like this.
But I'd argue that if you're more than a year into running your coworking space and you're still the only person doing these things (again, I'm not just talking about hired staff), there's a much deeper problem present.
On Thursday, October 25, 2012 at 4:57 AM, Joel Dullroy wrote:
> "I'm curious to see what kind of damage we could do if we made this an explicit part of our agenda. Not just to do what we do, but to do what we do with a shared ambition help more people work for themselves."
> Tony, this is exactly the question I want to ask the coworking community!
> I also believe there is a huge role for coworking space to play in what I call the freelancer rights movement. Coworking spaces can be:
> - The gathering points for independent people to find a shared identity
> - The information distribution points for sending out important messages and starting campaigns
> - Nodes in a network of independent communities, bound by mutual economic and social interest
> BUT....
> Coworking space managers also have a lot of other jobs to do! They have to pay the rent and worry about filling their desks, connecting the wifi and selling coffee. Are they ready and willing to take on an extra job --- a quasi-political role of organizing independent workers to fight for their rights and build new community structures?
> I honestly want to know! Are coworking space managers up for this extra job?
> By the way, I talk more about how coworking spaces can play a major role in the freelance rights movement in this short video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tAsULd8q8yk
> Joel
> PS: I've recently helped form the Verband der Gründer und Selbständigen Deutschland, Germany's freelance rights group
Miles, fair points-- there are obviously huge forces at work when we talk
about jobs and the global economy. I'm interested in focusing on that which
we can do right now to help move things forward. Perhaps we can't
singlehandedly fix everything, but I'm betting we can put a serious dent in
things.
Joel, awesome. I'd posit that coworking space owners, simply by
internalizing this perspective, can use it to guide the decisions they make
about how they manage their spaces and the programming that takes place in
them. If a space owner happens to also be interested in organizing
something around this topic, great-- but they should also be up for
accommodating others who'd be interested in doing the same.
There are a lot of ways of looking at this-- part of why I'm sharing this
now is to explore all the different ways we might approach the issue.
Sabrina, thanks! Let's keep the conversation rolling :)
On Thu, Oct 25, 2012 at 9:15 AM, Alex Hillman
<dangerouslyawes...@gmail.com>wrote:
> They have to pay the rent and worry about filling their desks, connecting
> the wifi and selling coffee.
> Delegation, baby. *Delegation. *
> If you're more than a year into running your coworking space and you're
> still the *only* person doing these things (I'm not just talking about
> hired staff), you're right - there's no way you have the bandwidth to take
> on a role like this.
> But I'd argue that if you're more than a year into running your coworking
> space and you're still the *only* person doing these things (again, I'm
> not just talking about hired staff), there's a much deeper problem present.
> On Thursday, October 25, 2012 at 4:57 AM, Joel Dullroy wrote:
> *"I'm curious to see what kind of damage we could do if we made this an
> explicit part of our agenda. Not just to do what we do, but to do what we
> do with a shared ambition help more people work for themselves."*
> Tony, this is exactly the question I want to ask the coworking community!
> I also believe there is a huge role for coworking space to play in what I
> call the freelancer rights movement. Coworking spaces can be:
> - The gathering points for independent people to find a shared identity
> - The information distribution points for sending out important messages
> and starting campaigns
> - Nodes in a network of independent communities, bound by mutual economic
> and social interest
> BUT....
> Coworking space managers also have a lot of other jobs to do! They have to
> pay the rent and worry about filling their desks, connecting the wifi and
> selling coffee. Are they ready and willing to take on an extra job --- a
> quasi-political role of organizing independent workers to fight for their
> rights and build new community structures?
> I honestly want to know! Are coworking space managers up for this extra
> job?
> By the way, I talk more about how coworking spaces can play a major role
> in the freelance rights movement in this short video:
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tAsULd8q8yk
> Joel
> PS: I've recently helped form the Verband der Gründer und Selbständigen
> Deutschland, Germany's freelance rights group
Tony, your post yesterday was strangely prescient. Walking home Tuesday
night, I had a conversation with a young homeless woman I chat with most
mornings. I suspected, but didn't know for sure until that night what her
situation was. She had checked out a Cowork Frederick flyer and wanted to
confirm she understood what coworking is. She just found out that with
winter coming, she's not getting a spot in any of the shelters in town.
She's also resigned herself to the situation that no business is willing to
hire her, so she's going to have to find a way to make money on her own,
and could she join us (and pay, btw) so she'd have a real workplace.
Now, I don't know if she's going to follow through with this, or if the
methods she used a few years ago to make money online are still viable
today, but I know if she's going to make an honest effort to be
self-employed, I'm going to share some books, knowledge and encouragement
and we'll see where it goes from there.
Thanks for making me feel like I'm not a lone idealist.
On Thu, Oct 25, 2012 at 10:51 AM, Tony Bacigalupo <t...@nwc.co> wrote:
> Miles, fair points-- there are obviously huge forces at work when we talk
> about jobs and the global economy. I'm interested in focusing on that which
> we can do right now to help move things forward. Perhaps we can't
> singlehandedly fix everything, but I'm betting we can put a serious dent in
> things.
> Joel, awesome. I'd posit that coworking space owners, simply by
> internalizing this perspective, can use it to guide the decisions they make
> about how they manage their spaces and the programming that takes place in
> them. If a space owner happens to also be interested in organizing
> something around this topic, great-- but they should also be up for
> accommodating others who'd be interested in doing the same.
> There are a lot of ways of looking at this-- part of why I'm sharing this
> now is to explore all the different ways we might approach the issue.
> Sabrina, thanks! Let's keep the conversation rolling :)
> On Thu, Oct 25, 2012 at 9:15 AM, Alex Hillman <
> dangerouslyawes...@gmail.com> wrote:
>> They have to pay the rent and worry about filling their desks,
>> connecting the wifi and selling coffee.
>> Delegation, baby. *Delegation. *
>> If you're more than a year into running your coworking space and you're
>> still the *only* person doing these things (I'm not just talking about
>> hired staff), you're right - there's no way you have the bandwidth to take
>> on a role like this.
>> But I'd argue that if you're more than a year into running your coworking
>> space and you're still the *only* person doing these things (again, I'm
>> not just talking about hired staff), there's a much deeper problem present.
>> On Thursday, October 25, 2012 at 4:57 AM, Joel Dullroy wrote:
>> *"I'm curious to see what kind of damage we could do if we made this an
>> explicit part of our agenda. Not just to do what we do, but to do what we
>> do with a shared ambition help more people work for themselves."*
>> Tony, this is exactly the question I want to ask the coworking community!
>> I also believe there is a huge role for coworking space to play in what I
>> call the freelancer rights movement. Coworking spaces can be:
>> - The gathering points for independent people to find a shared identity
>> - The information distribution points for sending out important messages
>> and starting campaigns
>> - Nodes in a network of independent communities, bound by mutual economic
>> and social interest
>> BUT....
>> Coworking space managers also have a lot of other jobs to do! They have
>> to pay the rent and worry about filling their desks, connecting the wifi
>> and selling coffee. Are they ready and willing to take on an extra job ---
>> a quasi-political role of organizing independent workers to fight for their
>> rights and build new community structures?
>> I honestly want to know! Are coworking space managers up for this extra
>> job?
>> By the way, I talk more about how coworking spaces can play a major role
>> in the freelance rights movement in this short video:
>> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tAsULd8q8yk
>> Joel
>> PS: I've recently helped form the Verband der Gründer und Selbständigen
>> Deutschland, Germany's freelance rights group
Glen, that's a fantastic story. Can you please keep me/us in the loop? I'd
love to highlight the stories of people who are working to become
self-sufficient as examples for others.
On Thu, Oct 25, 2012 at 12:03 PM, Glen Ferguson <glenf...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Tony, your post yesterday was strangely prescient. Walking home Tuesday
> night, I had a conversation with a young homeless woman I chat with most
> mornings. I suspected, but didn't know for sure until that night what her
> situation was. She had checked out a Cowork Frederick flyer and wanted to
> confirm she understood what coworking is. She just found out that with
> winter coming, she's not getting a spot in any of the shelters in town.
> She's also resigned herself to the situation that no business is willing to
> hire her, so she's going to have to find a way to make money on her own,
> and could she join us (and pay, btw) so she'd have a real workplace.
> Now, I don't know if she's going to follow through with this, or if the
> methods she used a few years ago to make money online are still viable
> today, but I know if she's going to make an honest effort to be
> self-employed, I'm going to share some books, knowledge and encouragement
> and we'll see where it goes from there.
> Thanks for making me feel like I'm not a lone idealist.
> Glen
> On Thu, Oct 25, 2012 at 10:51 AM, Tony Bacigalupo <t...@nwc.co> wrote:
>> Miles, fair points-- there are obviously huge forces at work when we talk
>> about jobs and the global economy. I'm interested in focusing on that which
>> we can do right now to help move things forward. Perhaps we can't
>> singlehandedly fix everything, but I'm betting we can put a serious dent in
>> things.
>> Joel, awesome. I'd posit that coworking space owners, simply by
>> internalizing this perspective, can use it to guide the decisions they make
>> about how they manage their spaces and the programming that takes place in
>> them. If a space owner happens to also be interested in organizing
>> something around this topic, great-- but they should also be up for
>> accommodating others who'd be interested in doing the same.
>> There are a lot of ways of looking at this-- part of why I'm sharing this
>> now is to explore all the different ways we might approach the issue.
>> Sabrina, thanks! Let's keep the conversation rolling :)
>> On Thu, Oct 25, 2012 at 9:15 AM, Alex Hillman <
>> dangerouslyawes...@gmail.com> wrote:
>>> They have to pay the rent and worry about filling their desks,
>>> connecting the wifi and selling coffee.
>>> Delegation, baby. *Delegation. *
>>> If you're more than a year into running your coworking space and you're
>>> still the *only* person doing these things (I'm not just talking about
>>> hired staff), you're right - there's no way you have the bandwidth to take
>>> on a role like this.
>>> But I'd argue that if you're more than a year into running your
>>> coworking space and you're still the *only* person doing these things
>>> (again, I'm not just talking about hired staff), there's a much deeper
>>> problem present.
>>> On Thursday, October 25, 2012 at 4:57 AM, Joel Dullroy wrote:
>>> *"I'm curious to see what kind of damage we could do if we made this an
>>> explicit part of our agenda. Not just to do what we do, but to do what we
>>> do with a shared ambition help more people work for themselves."*
>>> Tony, this is exactly the question I want to ask the coworking community!
>>> I also believe there is a huge role for coworking space to play in what
>>> I call the freelancer rights movement. Coworking spaces can be:
>>> - The gathering points for independent people to find a shared identity
>>> - The information distribution points for sending out important messages
>>> and starting campaigns
>>> - Nodes in a network of independent communities, bound by mutual
>>> economic and social interest
>>> BUT....
>>> Coworking space managers also have a lot of other jobs to do! They have
>>> to pay the rent and worry about filling their desks, connecting the wifi
>>> and selling coffee. Are they ready and willing to take on an extra job ---
>>> a quasi-political role of organizing independent workers to fight for their
>>> rights and build new community structures?
>>> I honestly want to know! Are coworking space managers up for this extra
>>> job?
>>> By the way, I talk more about how coworking spaces can play a major role
>>> in the freelance rights movement in this short video:
>>> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tAsULd8q8yk
>>> Joel
>>> PS: I've recently helped form the Verband der Gründer und Selbständigen
>>> Deutschland, Germany's freelance rights group
On Thursday, October 25, 2012 at 12:03 PM, Glen Ferguson wrote:
> Tony, your post yesterday was strangely prescient. Walking home Tuesday night, I had a conversation with a young homeless woman I chat with most mornings. I suspected, but didn't know for sure until that night what her situation was. She had checked out a Cowork Frederick flyer and wanted to confirm she understood what coworking is. She just found out that with winter coming, she's not getting a spot in any of the shelters in town. She's also resigned herself to the situation that no business is willing to hire her, so she's going to have to find a way to make money on her own, and could she join us (and pay, btw) so she'd have a real workplace.
> Now, I don't know if she's going to follow through with this, or if the methods she used a few years ago to make money online are still viable today, but I know if she's going to make an honest effort to be self-employed, I'm going to share some books, knowledge and encouragement and we'll see where it goes from there.
> Thanks for making me feel like I'm not a lone idealist.
> Glen
> On Thu, Oct 25, 2012 at 10:51 AM, Tony Bacigalupo <t...@nwc.co (mailto:t...@nwc.co)> wrote:
> > Miles, fair points-- there are obviously huge forces at work when we talk about jobs and the global economy. I'm interested in focusing on that which we can do right now to help move things forward. Perhaps we can't singlehandedly fix everything, but I'm betting we can put a serious dent in things.
> > Joel, awesome. I'd posit that coworking space owners, simply by internalizing this perspective, can use it to guide the decisions they make about how they manage their spaces and the programming that takes place in them. If a space owner happens to also be interested in organizing something around this topic, great-- but they should also be up for accommodating others who'd be interested in doing the same.
> > There are a lot of ways of looking at this-- part of why I'm sharing this now is to explore all the different ways we might approach the issue.
> > Sabrina, thanks! Let's keep the conversation rolling :)
> > On Thu, Oct 25, 2012 at 9:15 AM, Alex Hillman <dangerouslyawes...@gmail.com (mailto:dangerouslyawes...@gmail.com)> wrote:
> > > > They have to pay the rent and worry about filling their desks, connecting the wifi and selling coffee.
> > > Delegation, baby. Delegation.
> > > If you're more than a year into running your coworking space and you're still the only person doing these things (I'm not just talking about hired staff), you're right - there's no way you have the bandwidth to take on a role like this.
> > > But I'd argue that if you're more than a year into running your coworking space and you're still the only person doing these things (again, I'm not just talking about hired staff), there's a much deeper problem present.
> > > On Thursday, October 25, 2012 at 4:57 AM, Joel Dullroy wrote:
> > > > "I'm curious to see what kind of damage we could do if we made this an explicit part of our agenda. Not just to do what we do, but to do what we do with a shared ambition help more people work for themselves."
> > > > Tony, this is exactly the question I want to ask the coworking community!
> > > > I also believe there is a huge role for coworking space to play in what I call the freelancer rights movement. Coworking spaces can be:
> > > > - The gathering points for independent people to find a shared identity
> > > > - The information distribution points for sending out important messages and starting campaigns
> > > > - Nodes in a network of independent communities, bound by mutual economic and social interest
> > > > BUT....
> > > > Coworking space managers also have a lot of other jobs to do! They have to pay the rent and worry about filling their desks, connecting the wifi and selling coffee. Are they ready and willing to take on an extra job --- a quasi-political role of organizing independent workers to fight for their rights and build new community structures?
> > > > I honestly want to know! Are coworking space managers up for this extra job?
> > > > By the way, I talk more about how coworking spaces can play a major role in the freelance rights movement in this short video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tAsULd8q8yk
> > > > Joel
> > > > PS: I've recently helped form the Verband der Gründer und Selbständigen Deutschland, Germany's freelance rights group
Tony, this slideshow is great and illustrates the real evolution in our national economy that coworking is a part of.
To get real innovation we have to rely on smaller and more flexible organizations. Coworking feeds that environment. We need more understanding and participation from our communities (government, Chambers of Commerce, etc) and your slideshow conveys the issue plainly and succinctly. I know I'll be sending it out. Thank you!
--Peggy Dolgenos Cruzioworks Santa Cruz, California
From: coworking@googlegroups.com [mailto:coworking@googlegroups.com] On
Behalf Of Tony Bacigalupo
Sent: Wednesday, October 24, 2012 11:58 AM
To: coworking
Subject: [Coworking] Let's fix the stupid job crisis ourselves
Howdy coworking people!
One day, I was talking to a very good friend of mine, who was regaling with
me with tales of her struggles to find good work. This friend of mine is
brilliant. She's a fantastic person. And, like so many people, she's being
utterly chewed up by our nation's job crisis and this feeling like she has
no control over her own destiny.
It got me angry. I spend every day working alongside people who are highly
empowered and living life on their terms, and many of them aren't doing
anything so complicated or specialized that my friend or lots of other
people couldn't be doing something similar. Yet, here I was, talking to this
good friend of mine, who wanted me to help her figure out how to get someone
to hire her for a job that she didn't even want.
She's too good for that. So many of us are. This is stupid.
Here's why I'm telling you all about this: In just a few years, our
coworking communities have risen from obscurity to constitute what is today
a global network of local centers where people gather to help each other
work for themselves. We're only just starting to realize the sheer potential
of that.
I believe that we collectively constitute the foundation for the solution to
our planet's economic challenges.
Our spaces can be not just places for people who have already figured out
how to work for themselves, but also crucial entry points for people who
seek to join our ranks. We give them a unique opportunity to be exposed to a
world they might never otherwise have seen, and to find people to help them
figure out how to join our ranks.
We've been supporting the needs of the growing independent workforce
implicitly in everything we do, but I'm curious to see what kind of damage
we could do if we made this an explicit part of our agenda. Not just to do
what we do, but to do what we do with a shared ambition help more people
work for themselves.
I care so much about coworking because it represents our best shot at
fundamentally rethinking and repairing our badly broken relationship with
our work.
Have any of you out there been thinking something similar? I'm serious about
this. I want to talk about real ways we can do things to put a serious dent
in the global job crisis and get a lot of people back to work.
Who's with me?
Cheers,
Tony Bacigalupo
New Work City
PS - I realize the presentation I made is largely US-centric, but the
general trends are largely global. If you've got a perspective to share from
a different socioeconomic situation, I'd love to hear it!
We threw this out to our members and we are going to get together on
Thursday (our 5th birthday!) to discuss the topic. I'd love to hear about
how other spaces are getting involved.
> ------------------------------
> *From:* coworking@googlegroups.com [mailto:coworking@googlegroups.com] *On
> Behalf Of *Tony Bacigalupo
> *Sent:* Wednesday, October 24, 2012 11:58 AM
> *To:* coworking
> *Subject:* [Coworking] Let's fix the stupid job crisis ourselves
> Howdy coworking people!
> One day, I was talking to a very good friend of mine, who was regaling
> with me with tales of her struggles to find good work. This friend of mine
> is brilliant. She's a fantastic person. And, like so many people, she's
> being utterly chewed up by our nation's job crisis and this feeling like
> she has no control over her own destiny.
> It got me angry. I spend every day working alongside people who are highly
> empowered and living life on their terms, and many of them aren't doing
> anything so complicated or specialized that my friend or lots of other
> people couldn't be doing something similar. Yet, here I was, talking to
> this good friend of mine, who wanted me to help her figure out how to get
> someone to hire her for a job that she didn't even want.
> She's too good for that. So many of us are. This is stupid.
> Here's why I'm telling you all about this: In just a few years, our
> coworking communities have risen from obscurity to constitute what is today
> a global network of local centers where people gather to help each other
> work for themselves. We're only just starting to realize the sheer
> potential of that.
> I believe that we collectively constitute the foundation for the solution
> to our planet's economic challenges.
> Our spaces can be not just places for people who have already figured out
> how to work for themselves, but also crucial entry points for people who
> seek to join our ranks. We give them a unique opportunity to be exposed to
> a world they might never otherwise have seen, and to find people to help
> them figure out how to join our ranks.
> We've been supporting the needs of the growing independent workforce
> implicitly in everything we do, but I'm curious to see what kind of damage
> we could do if we made this an explicit part of our agenda. Not just to do
> what we do, but to do what we do with a shared ambition help more people
> work for themselves.
> I care so much about coworking because it represents our best shot at
> fundamentally rethinking and repairing our badly broken relationship with
> our work.
> Have any of you out there been thinking something similar? I'm serious
> about this. I want to talk about real ways we can do things to put a
> serious dent in the global job crisis and get a lot of people back to work.
> Who's with me?
> Cheers,
> Tony Bacigalupo
> New Work City
> PS - I realize the presentation I made is largely US-centric, but the
> general trends are largely global. If you've got a perspective to share
> from a different socioeconomic situation, I'd love to hear it!
We should be prepared for the days coworking will be an industry.
Our members and the people we meet everyday in our coworking spaces get the "just (f*****g) do it" mantra. But what about the others. I've met tons of people - and some are good friends - to whom the "just do it" doesn't work though they frequently address me their entrepreneurial projects. They want to create but the spark is missing somehow.
So we have this first.
Then we have what some of us called the "we work in..." spirit which is epitomized by these community guides of people gathering on this sole idea that they are proud to live and work in their city and they care about its economic outcome (we have one in Nice, "inspired by Philly", thank's again Alex). Which means that they could embrace whatever is possible to "fix the stupid job crisis themselves".
Starting with this, and with a growing understanding of our national and local environment, we decided to join forces in the French Riviera. We decided to build an annual program which goal is **Citizen Innovation**. Some have the ideas, brilliant ideas to improve the quality of life in their city. Some have the talent to put these ideas into motion. We just have to allow these two groups to meet and to work together : this is the spark. This program is based on civic actions. It is also based on participatory opportunities : every concerned citizen of Nice will be given the chance to participate to something big, good and useful for the city they love. And everyone is in the thread : local gov., associations, private companies. If it allows some to "just do it", then I'll be glad. We all will be glad, won't we ?
I will talk about this in Paris so let's catch up, Tony, and the others. Coworking, today, is the catalyst.
Cheers
This is awesome. This is right in alignment with a flurry of activity that’s happening here at Convivium: People are coming to join our coworking space because they just quit their “day jobs” and are now pursuing their dream of starting their own solopreneurship. They know that they have to become experts at marketing themselves on the internet, and are struggling to learn how to do that. Our one internet marketing professional member is swamped with work already from her out-of-state clients, and wants to farm out some of the easier/more tedious work to other people who are beginners in the field, and pay them a lower rate in exchange for her teaching/mentoring.
So we’ve started an internship program to fulfill this need, and are quickly finding out that our other members and even people who are totally outside our community are interested in hiring our interns to do some of their internet marketing tasks. Some of them are aware they could hire a virtual assistant online to do this work, but don’t feel comfortable giving the work to a stranger who may be in another country – they’d rather hire somebody local that they can meet and talk to in person.
I’m starting to get the feeling this could be BIG. We could become a connection hub for freelancers/aspiring freelancers and people looking to hire them. We could really help our members who are not experts in internet marketing focus on what they’re really great at and grow their businesses.
And although internet marketing seems to be the biggest demand right now (at least in my community), I can easily see this applying to other needs such as billing/accounting and any other area that many new independents are inexperienced.
I agree that there are all kinds of potential issues from liability to how the coworking space manages/facilitates this and what makes it worth it financially to the coworking space. But I’m certainly willing to test this idea and participate in conversations with other Catalysts who are trying it!
On Wednesday, October 24, 2012 12:58:41 PM UTC-6, Tony Bacigalupo wrote:
> Howdy coworking people!
> One day, I was talking to a very good friend of mine, who was regaling > with me with tales of her struggles to find good work. This friend of mine > is brilliant. She's a fantastic person. And, like so many people, she's > being utterly chewed up by our nation's job crisis and this feeling like > she has no control over her own destiny.
> It got me angry. I spend every day working alongside people who are highly > empowered and living life on their terms, and many of them aren't doing > anything so complicated or specialized that my friend or lots of other > people couldn't be doing something similar. Yet, here I was, talking to > this good friend of mine, who wanted me to help her figure out how to get > someone to hire her for a job that she didn't even want.
> She's too good for that. So many of us are. This is stupid.
> Here's why I'm telling you all about this: In just a few years, our > coworking communities have risen from obscurity to constitute what is today > a global network of local centers where people gather to help each other > work for themselves. We're only just starting to realize the sheer > potential of that.
> I believe that we collectively constitute the foundation for the solution > to our planet's economic challenges.
> Our spaces can be not just places for people who have already figured out > how to work for themselves, but also crucial entry points for people who > seek to join our ranks. We give them a unique opportunity to be exposed to > a world they might never otherwise have seen, and to find people to help > them figure out how to join our ranks.
> We've been supporting the needs of the growing independent workforce > implicitly in everything we do, but I'm curious to see what kind of damage > we could do if we made this an explicit part of our agenda. Not just to do > what we do, but to do what we do with a shared ambition help more people > work for themselves.
> I care so much about coworking because it represents our best shot at > fundamentally rethinking and repairing our badly broken relationship with > our work.
> Have any of you out there been thinking something similar? I'm serious > about this. I want to talk about real ways we can do things to put a > serious dent in the global job crisis and get a lot of people back to work.
> Who's with me?
> Cheers,
> Tony Bacigalupo
> New Work City
> PS - I realize the presentation I made is largely US-centric, but the > general trends are largely global. If you've got a perspective to share > from a different socioeconomic situation, I'd love to hear it!
Deborah, that's fantastic. It's a perfect example of the kind of maturation
that's taking place in coworking spaces right now. We've always been great
places for people to build their businesses, but to date that's largely
been seen as the serendipitous side effect. Now, we're designing for these
sorts of benefits and optimizing for them.
Going solo is a hell of a lot easier if you're a member of a coworking
space. The more we position ourselves not just as great places to work for
those who already work from home, but as great places for people to develop
successful independent careers, the better off everyone will be.
On Fri, Nov 2, 2012 at 1:39 PM, Deborah Reese <debo...@deborahreese.com>wrote:
> This is awesome. This is right in alignment with a flurry of activity
> that’s happening here at Convivium: People are coming to join our coworking
> space because they just quit their “day jobs” and are now pursuing their
> dream of starting their own solopreneurship. They know that they have to
> become experts at marketing themselves on the internet, and are struggling
> to learn how to do that. Our one internet marketing professional member is
> swamped with work already from her out-of-state clients, and wants to farm
> out some of the easier/more tedious work to other people who are beginners
> in the field, and pay them a lower rate in exchange for her
> teaching/mentoring.
> So we’ve started an internship program to fulfill this need, and are
> quickly finding out that our other members and even people who are totally
> outside our community are interested in hiring our interns to do some of
> their internet marketing tasks. Some of them are aware they could hire a
> virtual assistant online to do this work, but don’t feel comfortable giving
> the work to a stranger who may be in another country – they’d rather hire
> somebody local that they can meet and talk to in person.
> I’m starting to get the feeling this could be BIG. We could become a
> connection hub for freelancers/aspiring freelancers and people looking to
> hire them. We could really help our members who are not experts in internet
> marketing focus on what they’re really great at and grow their businesses.
> And although internet marketing seems to be the biggest demand right now
> (at least in my community), I can easily see this applying to other needs
> such as billing/accounting and any other area that many new independents
> are inexperienced.
> I agree that there are all kinds of potential issues from liability to how
> the coworking space manages/facilitates this and what makes it worth it
> financially to the coworking space. But I’m certainly willing to test this
> idea and participate in conversations with other Catalysts who are trying
> it!
> Deborah Reese
> Catalyst, Convivium Coworking
> Albuquerque, NM
> On Wednesday, October 24, 2012 12:58:41 PM UTC-6, Tony Bacigalupo wrote:
>> Howdy coworking people!
>> One day, I was talking to a very good friend of mine, who was regaling
>> with me with tales of her struggles to find good work. This friend of mine
>> is brilliant. She's a fantastic person. And, like so many people, she's
>> being utterly chewed up by our nation's job crisis and this feeling like
>> she has no control over her own destiny.
>> It got me angry. I spend every day working alongside people who are
>> highly empowered and living life on their terms, and many of them aren't
>> doing anything so complicated or specialized that my friend or lots of
>> other people couldn't be doing something similar. Yet, here I was, talking
>> to this good friend of mine, who wanted me to help her figure out how to
>> get someone to hire her for a job that she didn't even want.
>> She's too good for that. So many of us are. This is stupid.
>> Here's why I'm telling you all about this: In just a few years, our
>> coworking communities have risen from obscurity to constitute what is today
>> a global network of local centers where people gather to help each other
>> work for themselves. We're only just starting to realize the sheer
>> potential of that.
>> I believe that we collectively constitute the foundation for the solution
>> to our planet's economic challenges.
>> Our spaces can be not just places for people who have already figured out
>> how to work for themselves, but also crucial entry points for people who
>> seek to join our ranks. We give them a unique opportunity to be exposed to
>> a world they might never otherwise have seen, and to find people to help
>> them figure out how to join our ranks.
>> We've been supporting the needs of the growing independent workforce
>> implicitly in everything we do, but I'm curious to see what kind of damage
>> we could do if we made this an explicit part of our agenda. Not just to do
>> what we do, but to do what we do with a shared ambition help more people
>> work for themselves.
>> I care so much about coworking because it represents our best shot at
>> fundamentally rethinking and repairing our badly broken relationship with
>> our work.
>> Have any of you out there been thinking something similar? I'm serious
>> about this. I want to talk about real ways we can do things to put a
>> serious dent in the global job crisis and get a lot of people back to work.
>> Who's with me?
>> Cheers,
>> Tony Bacigalupo
>> New Work City
>> PS - I realize the presentation I made is largely US-centric, but the
>> general trends are largely global. If you've got a perspective to share
>> from a different socioeconomic situation, I'd love to hear it!
On Wednesday, 24 October 2012 19:58:41 UTC+1, Tony Bacigalupo wrote:
> Howdy coworking people!
> One day, I was talking to a very good friend of mine, who was regaling > with me with tales of her struggles to find good work. This friend of mine > is brilliant. She's a fantastic person. And, like so many people, she's > being utterly chewed up by our nation's job crisis and this feeling like > she has no control over her own destiny.
> It got me angry. I spend every day working alongside people who are highly > empowered and living life on their terms, and many of them aren't doing > anything so complicated or specialized that my friend or lots of other > people couldn't be doing something similar. Yet, here I was, talking to > this good friend of mine, who wanted me to help her figure out how to get > someone to hire her for a job that she didn't even want.
> She's too good for that. So many of us are. This is stupid.
> Here's why I'm telling you all about this: In just a few years, our > coworking communities have risen from obscurity to constitute what is today > a global network of local centers where people gather to help each other > work for themselves. We're only just starting to realize the sheer > potential of that.
> I believe that we collectively constitute the foundation for the solution > to our planet's economic challenges.
> Our spaces can be not just places for people who have already figured out > how to work for themselves, but also crucial entry points for people who > seek to join our ranks. We give them a unique opportunity to be exposed to > a world they might never otherwise have seen, and to find people to help > them figure out how to join our ranks.
> We've been supporting the needs of the growing independent workforce > implicitly in everything we do, but I'm curious to see what kind of damage > we could do if we made this an explicit part of our agenda. Not just to do > what we do, but to do what we do with a shared ambition help more people > work for themselves.
> I care so much about coworking because it represents our best shot at > fundamentally rethinking and repairing our badly broken relationship with > our work.
> Have any of you out there been thinking something similar? I'm serious > about this. I want to talk about real ways we can do things to put a > serious dent in the global job crisis and get a lot of people back to work.
> Who's with me?
> Cheers, > Tony Bacigalupo > New Work City
> PS - I realize the presentation I made is largely US-centric, but the > general trends are largely global. If you've got a perspective to share > from a different socioeconomic situation, I'd love to hear it!
I have been saying this for years. Forget Occupy demanding jobs. Go out and create them. And unions would be far more effective buying controlling shares of the companies on behalf of the workers, so that workers get their share of the profits and can eventually own all the public corporations themselves.
On Wednesday, October 24, 2012 11:58:41 AM UTC-7, Tony Bacigalupo wrote:
> Howdy coworking people!
> One day, I was talking to a very good friend of mine, who was regaling > with me with tales of her struggles to find good work. This friend of mine > is brilliant. She's a fantastic person. And, like so many people, she's > being utterly chewed up by our nation's job crisis and this feeling like > she has no control over her own destiny.
> It got me angry. I spend every day working alongside people who are highly > empowered and living life on their terms, and many of them aren't doing > anything so complicated or specialized that my friend or lots of other > people couldn't be doing something similar. Yet, here I was, talking to > this good friend of mine, who wanted me to help her figure out how to get > someone to hire her for a job that she didn't even want.
> She's too good for that. So many of us are. This is stupid.
> Here's why I'm telling you all about this: In just a few years, our > coworking communities have risen from obscurity to constitute what is today > a global network of local centers where people gather to help each other > work for themselves. We're only just starting to realize the sheer > potential of that.
> I believe that we collectively constitute the foundation for the solution > to our planet's economic challenges.
> Our spaces can be not just places for people who have already figured out > how to work for themselves, but also crucial entry points for people who > seek to join our ranks. We give them a unique opportunity to be exposed to > a world they might never otherwise have seen, and to find people to help > them figure out how to join our ranks.
> We've been supporting the needs of the growing independent workforce > implicitly in everything we do, but I'm curious to see what kind of damage > we could do if we made this an explicit part of our agenda. Not just to do > what we do, but to do what we do with a shared ambition help more people > work for themselves.
> I care so much about coworking because it represents our best shot at > fundamentally rethinking and repairing our badly broken relationship with > our work.
> Have any of you out there been thinking something similar? I'm serious > about this. I want to talk about real ways we can do things to put a > serious dent in the global job crisis and get a lot of people back to work.
> Who's with me?
> Cheers, > Tony Bacigalupo > New Work City
> PS - I realize the presentation I made is largely US-centric, but the > general trends are largely global. If you've got a perspective to share > from a different socioeconomic situation, I'd love to hear it!
On Wednesday, October 24, 2012 8:58:41 PM UTC+2, Tony Bacigalupo wrote:
> Howdy coworking people!
> One day, I was talking to a very good friend of mine, who was regaling > with me with tales of her struggles to find good work. This friend of mine > is brilliant. She's a fantastic person. And, like so many people, she's > being utterly chewed up by our nation's job crisis and this feeling like > she has no control over her own destiny.
> It got me angry. I spend every day working alongside people who are highly > empowered and living life on their terms, and many of them aren't doing > anything so complicated or specialized that my friend or lots of other > people couldn't be doing something similar. Yet, here I was, talking to > this good friend of mine, who wanted me to help her figure out how to get > someone to hire her for a job that she didn't even want.
> She's too good for that. So many of us are. This is stupid.
> Here's why I'm telling you all about this: In just a few years, our > coworking communities have risen from obscurity to constitute what is today > a global network of local centers where people gather to help each other > work for themselves. We're only just starting to realize the sheer > potential of that.
> I believe that we collectively constitute the foundation for the solution > to our planet's economic challenges.
> Our spaces can be not just places for people who have already figured out > how to work for themselves, but also crucial entry points for people who > seek to join our ranks. We give them a unique opportunity to be exposed to > a world they might never otherwise have seen, and to find people to help > them figure out how to join our ranks.
> We've been supporting the needs of the growing independent workforce > implicitly in everything we do, but I'm curious to see what kind of damage > we could do if we made this an explicit part of our agenda. Not just to do > what we do, but to do what we do with a shared ambition help more people > work for themselves.
> I care so much about coworking because it represents our best shot at > fundamentally rethinking and repairing our badly broken relationship with > our work.
> Have any of you out there been thinking something similar? I'm serious > about this. I want to talk about real ways we can do things to put a > serious dent in the global job crisis and get a lot of people back to work.
> Who's with me?
> Cheers, > Tony Bacigalupo > New Work City
> PS - I realize the presentation I made is largely US-centric, but the > general trends are largely global. If you've got a perspective to share > from a different socioeconomic situation, I'd love to hear it!
