Small business – Philip Dodson

Today is day 25, I’m now well and truly on the home straight.

I’ve started reading this morning a great book on serendipity, which is so relevant to the whole concept of co-working.

So today’s picture is from the hub at 18:30 this evening and there have been many examples today of why the ‘friction’ points that occur in a community environment, are so vital for entrepreneurs, free-lancers, self-employed and for the corporate nomads.

For a large majority of the people I listed above, isolation is an issue, particularly if you are basing yourself at home. Home is great place to work for the odd day or so, or if you work for a corporate, or if your business is reasonably established. However, if you are in a start-up or pre-start-up, then you run the risk of getting demotivated, isolated and losing focus.

At the very time you need to be testing your ideas, gaining new contacts, and getting out there making it happen, you are at home.

The chance meetings that happen at the hub, will increase massively the opportunities for you to grow yourself and your business. The other thing that starts to happen in co-working spaces is the trading of social capital. They start to become pools of talent, that the community members can tap in to.

The reciprocal nature of humans means that if you adopt an attitude of being a giver of your skills, then you find it comes back to.

Therefore, as a start up, you will give yourself a big edge by immersing your new business in the eco-system of serendipity and sharing.

True collaboration really is the only way forward and way of corporate getting access to a freelance talent and for small start-ups getting access to the skills they need to grow.

So I have reached day 20, just another 10 days to go. Although, I am sure that many of the things I have challenged myself to do, have now become habits, that I won’t be giving up in a few days time.

So today’s picture is of the tent cards that we use in the hub, it helps others to know whether you’re free to chat or busy working. Something you won’t find in a coffee shop or at home, as at home the only talking you’ll do is with your pet.

Co-working is not a new thing actually, many businesses, including my other company, have been offering shared space within their surplus office space for years. However, co-working is continuing to evolve to match what the user wants.

Co-working for me is not about providing a desk to work form in a shared workspace. It is about creating a community of like minded people, who share the space because they want more than just a place to work.

The benefits from working with others can not be under-estimated, especially for small/start-up businesses.

I’ve blogged about this before, however, if you work at home all day everyday or in a coffee shop, then your motivation will fall, as the distractions rise. The most important thing is, you will become isolated. Isolation is one of the biggest killers for any business, especially in the 1st year.

Work now is no longer a place, it is an activity that you can do anywhere. However, do it without people and what you miss out on those chance friction points, where you bump into someone, not literally. These friction points are vital to the success of your business, it’s where you get to find ideas, fine tune your own, discover business opportunities and perhaps find people to collaborate with. You will never get these if you stay at home.

As self-employment rockets in the developed world, not all of them will be entrepreneurs, some will be contractors, freelancers etc, the need to work with others will increase more and more.

Just by being in a room where others are all working will help keep you focused and motivated. Also, the community aspect will help in terms of being surrounded by people who can offer help, advice, support and just another soul to speak with.

Running a business is often a lonely place for the business owner, so co-working with others is the perfect antidote.Working for yourself should never be by yourself.