Friday 25 March 2011

Sharing networking tips ... coffee and cakes in the garden!

Colleagues on Tap 'SpoT chat' on networking
Well The Morritt did not disappoint.  Another successful Colleagues on Tap co-working day was had yesterday in sunny Greta Bridge, thanks to the wonderful surroundings, the impeccable service and an interesting (if eclectic!) group of co-workers.
Here's a run-down ...  Joining the SpoT team for the day were:

  • an electrical and energy consultant keen to help businesses to save and make money from energy; 
  • a leadership and behavioural coach who works internationally; 
  • a practitioner who uses the arts to promote health & wellbeing and develop professional skills such as creativity, innovation and enterprise; 
  • an IT Consultant who creates IT strategies for forward thinking companies; an economic development consultant who's currently working on a project for the United Arab Emirates; 
  • a recruitment specialist who works with a global distance learning organisation; 
  • an established consultant who 'researches and realises' a whole range of projects in culture, economic development and higher education across the North East; 
  • an IT solutions provider who specialises in working with small and home based businesses; and 
  • a recruitment consultant who focuses on whatever really matters to her customers across the recruitment process, from support with planning recruitment through to helping people think about how they present themselves through their CVs.

Pop up office in The Morritt's Garden Room
The diversity of the group did nothing but add to the interesting discussions throughout the day.  Although plenty of work was churned out on laptops, the group had plenty of opportunity to share experiences and provide support to each other on topics such as networking and favourite networks around the region, the topic of our SpoT chat, held in The Morritt's beautiful sunny garden.

Tuesday 22 March 2011

Co-working in Teesdale

We're so looking forward to taking in the wonderful surroundings of The Morritt in Greta Bridge at our co-working day planned for this Thursday 24th, and if this great Spring weather keeps up hopefully we'll get to enjoy something of the Teesdale countryside over lunch!

The event's a sell-out, and we now have a waiting list, so we're excited about the prospect of doing more events at the Moritt and other great venues around the area in the future.

Radio Teesdale have also expressed an interest in what we're up to, and will be interviewing Jayne Graham who founded Colleagues on Tap co-working days, together with some of our co-workers on the day, for their
Business Programme being aired on 31st March.  Through the interview we'll hopefully be able to connect with a few more homeworkers across Teesdale, and talk about our next co-working event in the area which will take place at NeST in Barnard Castle on 8th June.

For details of other co-working events across the North East region, including in South Tyneside on 5th April, CLICK HERE 

Saturday 19 March 2011

How many co-working spaces does the world need? (article)

"The traditional model of startups leasing their own office, buying their own copy-machines, hiring receptionists, office managers, cleaning services, etc., may best serve those companies which have validated their business models, closed a large funding round, and are flush with cash. For all others, we can expect the market to meet the demand for this new style of [co-]working, with a variety of options that appeal to all types of entrepreneurs ..."


Short article by Entrepreneur Corner that demonstrates the extent to which co-working has become embedded in the US, and that sets out the various types of co-working spaces that already exist - we've found examples of most in the UK too, although little in the North East it has to be said ... for now ... 


CLICK HERE TO READ THE ARTICLE 

Friday 11 March 2011

"The Promise of the Cloud Workplace", Strategy & Business

At Roam Atlanta: services, support, and social interaction. Photograph courtesy of Roam Atlanta

"Freelancers are turning to “co-working” environments for better workplace interaction. Companies could use them to boost productivity".

Interesting journal post From Strategy & Business (free online registration required)