Chances are that if you’ve heard anything about coworking you’ve heard something to the effect of “coworking is a place where entrepreneurs and independents can work instead of working from home or a café.” If that’s your impression then you’re just scratching the surface of the true value of coworking. One of our favorite names for a coworking space is “Independents Hall” in, of course, Philadelphia but we’d like to share five ways to gain value from becoming less independent by coworking. Heresy you say? Hear us out…
- You can depend on others. Tired of working for the man? Always wanted to work for yourself? Become more “independent” but you just don’t know where to begin or how to start? Guess where you can find a whole bunch of creative, energetic, self-starters like yourself? You guessed it, at your local coworking space or Jelly meet-up. Yes, we’re suggesting that you begin life as an independent be depending upon the knowledge of those who have gone before you!
- You can depend on learning. Coworking spaces are a relatively new phenomenon which our experience has shown tend to attract professionals who are naturally inquisitive and who not only expect to learn from their peers but who often make unexpected discoveries from professionals in other domains. You’ll always be able to depend on learning something new from fellow members.
- You can depend on opportunity. No one is an island and frequently members require more assistance than a few casual questions can provide. This leads to opportunity as members often turn to those within easy reach, other members. Developers find designers. Photographers find accountants. Entrepreneurs find collaborators. Opportunity leads to success upon which all members depend.
- You can depend on diversity. Corporate environments tend to breed groupthink where ideas are homogenized to the point of irrelevance. The diversity of experiences differs from one member to the next exposing members a wide variety of solutions to choose from or to blend into a novel new solution. You may very well come to depend upon the diversity of ideas to help solve your problems.
- You can depend on community. Communities are formed when diverse members grow, learn and share in an open environment free of corporate constraints. Members can always depend on a rich, diverse community.
OK, so by now our little ruse should be apparent. What you take away from your coworking experience depends on you!
[…] This post was mentioned on Twitter by hellogerard, Gerard Sychay. Gerard Sychay said: 5 Ways To Be “Less” Independent Coworking: Chances are that if you’ve heard anything about coworking you&… http://bit.ly/8UTstO […]
[…] might you sign up? If you are tired of working out of your home and want to collaborate with others, yes. But more importantly, you need to sign up if you believe in our […]