There's no doubt that homeworking really comes into its own during the Winter months! Like most, the Space on Tap team hasn't ventured out much, preferring to stay cosy in our home offices and taking advantage of technology to keep in touch with each other and our customers and suppliers.
But now the Festive season's just about over and the snow's just about melted we're really looking forward to getting back to 'business as usual'. We're planning new developments for 2011, and are looking forward to bouncing around ideas within the team over the next few weeks.
When you work for yourself, or from home, you can really miss those casual off-the-cuff chats with colleagues that can spark new ideas or help you to think through the way forward. This is exactly why we introduced Colleagues on Tap. In a 'pop-up office' that we create for a day we bring together a bunch of people to co-work for the day. With an option to 'do your own thing' while you benefit from a change of scene, or take advantage of chats with new colleagues in a friendly and informal atmosphere, everyone gains something from Colleagues on Tap.
Why not kick-start 2011 by experiencing co-working at a Colleagues on Tap day? On 12th January we'll be at the wonderful Morritt Hotel just South of Durham (log fires and wonderful food are likely to be on the menu!) and on 19th January you can join us in Newcastle City Centre at the City Library.
CLICK HERE to find out more about Colleagues on Tap or to book your place or email us at enquiries@spaceontap.com for more info.
Happy New Year!
Jayne
Space on Tap connects homeworkers with useful places, people and resources to help them to develop themselves and their businesses whilst working from home. Through this blog you can find out more about co-working and get involved in Space on Tap's unique Colleagues on Tap co-working days. Go to www.spaceontap.com for our Perfect Places Directory and homeworking resources
Showing posts with label homeworker. Show all posts
Showing posts with label homeworker. Show all posts
Friday, 31 December 2010
Thursday, 25 November 2010
Camaraderie, clouds (& yet more cupcakes!)
What a great day we had yesterday at another Colleagues on Tap co-working day.
Most of the 11 co-workers arrived 'at the office' at the Cobalt Business Exchange between 8 and 10.30 am, and with laptops out, heads were soon down and our colleagues set to their tasks for the day. The clatter of keyboards and chat from the occasional phone call combined nicely with office banter across the 'pop-up office' - a welcome change for homeworkers who usually work alone.
The morning raced away, helped along by plenty of coffee, and after a quick photo call with the North Tyneside Guardian we collected in The Cobalt's on-site Cafe Meo for a snack and the opportunity to meet some new faces. What a great group of people, all amazing business people either running their businesses from home or, in one case, a homeworker who works for a global IT solutions company. The mix was eclectic to say the least! For those who like lists, our colleagues for the day included: an accountant, a marketing expert, a wellbeing coach, a business development manager, a web retailer of local experiences, a personal development coach, a management consultant, a virtual PA, an IT adviser ... plus Joanne (Space on Tap ops manager and Colleagues on Tap organiser extraordinaire) and me (space promoter and, in another life, strategic adviser).
Amid the diversity of our companies we had a lot in common. First, and most obviously, we normally work from home, and all welcomed the opportunity to step into an office environment for a change (we don't want to work in an office every day, you understand, but just now and again's great for a change of scene). But it goes beyond that. We all have something to give, in the form of information, knowledge or advice, and everyone involved willingly offered something to their temporary colleagues during the course of the day. Advice on WordPress, Cloud Computing (what is it, and how can we take advantage?), contacts for training grants, suggestions on guest blogging, exchange of website links to improve SEO, suggestions for future Colleagues on Tap co-working days, customer leads, diary dates to meet again, and loads of positive input and encouragement.
The day exuded true camaraderie: giving, without any expectation of something in return.
The SpoT chat 'on the sofas' after lunch (helped along by homemade cupcakes a la Space on Tap) has become a regular feature of our co-working days, and this time provided a great opportunity for an informal exchange of knowledge about how to store and access files, data and software without being tied to your PC or laptop. The conversation started on ways to collaborate online and share files and data through using tools like DropBox and Microsoft Groove, and evolved to a discussion about Cloud Computing which switched on a few lightbulbs and got us all thinking about new opportunities enabled by powerful software that's now available 'in the cloud' for only £5 or £6 a month. The conclusion after an hour was that there was a lot more to learn but the fog had started to lift - and the lists of 'must do' had become that little bit longer!
Co-workers started to drift off to do school-runs and the like from mid-afternoon, and the pop-up office closed just before 5. A great day of camaraderie and clouds, confirmed through great feedback from co-workers via Twitter:
**
@BigLittleFish Would like to say thanks to @SpaceonTap for arranging yesterday and hello to @dawsonVAservs@ExpNorthCountry @VickiStonebiz@wbs_accountants
**
@tmsuddick @SpaceonTap Thank you ladies for such another awesome co-workers day! Lovely to catch-up with colleagues, meet new ones and share ideas :-)
**
@DawsonVAServs @SpaceonTap @ExpNorthCountry@BigLittleFish @VickiStonebiz@tmsuddick @wbs_accountants@mike_bell @dazglanville@AbsolutelyGrn thx 4 fab day
**
@AbsolutelyGrn @wbs_accountants @dazglanville@VickiStonebiz @dawsonVAservs@SpaceonTap lovely to meet you all there - great idea, fab day
**
@VickiStonebiz Newcastle Business Mums @SpaceonTapGood day today @ Cobalt, despite problems with car this morning!
**
@ExpNorthCountry @SpaceOnTap co-workers day going GREAT! Lovely to have lunch with a nice group of fellow biz people & share ideas around cloud computing!
**
@YourITA @SpaceonTap Sorry for missed your co-working day yesterday! Must be another good chance meeting new people and work at the same time! :)
**
@ExpNorthCountry @SpaceonTap thanks again - LOVED it! @dawsonVAservs @BigLittleFish@VickiStonebiz @tmsuddick@wbs_accountants @mike_bell@dazglanville
 |
| Space on Tap's 'Pop up office' in Cobalt BX auditorium |
The morning raced away, helped along by plenty of coffee, and after a quick photo call with the North Tyneside Guardian we collected in The Cobalt's on-site Cafe Meo for a snack and the opportunity to meet some new faces. What a great group of people, all amazing business people either running their businesses from home or, in one case, a homeworker who works for a global IT solutions company. The mix was eclectic to say the least! For those who like lists, our colleagues for the day included: an accountant, a marketing expert, a wellbeing coach, a business development manager, a web retailer of local experiences, a personal development coach, a management consultant, a virtual PA, an IT adviser ... plus Joanne (Space on Tap ops manager and Colleagues on Tap organiser extraordinaire) and me (space promoter and, in another life, strategic adviser).
Amid the diversity of our companies we had a lot in common. First, and most obviously, we normally work from home, and all welcomed the opportunity to step into an office environment for a change (we don't want to work in an office every day, you understand, but just now and again's great for a change of scene). But it goes beyond that. We all have something to give, in the form of information, knowledge or advice, and everyone involved willingly offered something to their temporary colleagues during the course of the day. Advice on WordPress, Cloud Computing (what is it, and how can we take advantage?), contacts for training grants, suggestions on guest blogging, exchange of website links to improve SEO, suggestions for future Colleagues on Tap co-working days, customer leads, diary dates to meet again, and loads of positive input and encouragement.
The day exuded true camaraderie: giving, without any expectation of something in return.
The SpoT chat 'on the sofas' after lunch (helped along by homemade cupcakes a la Space on Tap) has become a regular feature of our co-working days, and this time provided a great opportunity for an informal exchange of knowledge about how to store and access files, data and software without being tied to your PC or laptop. The conversation started on ways to collaborate online and share files and data through using tools like DropBox and Microsoft Groove, and evolved to a discussion about Cloud Computing which switched on a few lightbulbs and got us all thinking about new opportunities enabled by powerful software that's now available 'in the cloud' for only £5 or £6 a month. The conclusion after an hour was that there was a lot more to learn but the fog had started to lift - and the lists of 'must do' had become that little bit longer!
Co-workers started to drift off to do school-runs and the like from mid-afternoon, and the pop-up office closed just before 5. A great day of camaraderie and clouds, confirmed through great feedback from co-workers via Twitter:
**
@BigLittleFish Would like to say thanks to @SpaceonTap for arranging yesterday and hello to @dawsonVAservs@ExpNorthCountry @VickiStonebiz@wbs_accountants
**
@tmsuddick @SpaceonTap Thank you ladies for such another awesome co-workers day! Lovely to catch-up with colleagues, meet new ones and share ideas :-)
**
@DawsonVAServs @SpaceonTap @ExpNorthCountry@BigLittleFish @VickiStonebiz@tmsuddick @wbs_accountants@mike_bell @dazglanville@AbsolutelyGrn thx 4 fab day
**
@AbsolutelyGrn @wbs_accountants @dazglanville@VickiStonebiz @dawsonVAservs@SpaceonTap lovely to meet you all there - great idea, fab day
**
@VickiStonebiz Newcastle Business Mums @SpaceonTapGood day today @ Cobalt, despite problems with car this morning!
**
@ExpNorthCountry @SpaceOnTap co-workers day going GREAT! Lovely to have lunch with a nice group of fellow biz people & share ideas around cloud computing!
**
@YourITA @SpaceonTap Sorry for missed your co-working day yesterday! Must be another good chance meeting new people and work at the same time! :)
**
@ExpNorthCountry @SpaceonTap thanks again - LOVED it! @dawsonVAservs @BigLittleFish@VickiStonebiz @tmsuddick@wbs_accountants @mike_bell@dazglanville
Friday, 29 October 2010
The pop-up office & co-working with Space on Tap
The pop up culture is taking hold. We're transforming all types of spaces for temporary use across the globe, and the North East region is no exception. Art galleries become shops, community centres transform into restaurants and unused buildings become artists' collectives.
Read our article 'Pop-up culture stimulates innovation'
The pop-up office and co-working with Space on Tap
Space on Tap's Colleagues on Tap network is now transforming some of the region's spaces into pop-up offices to provide the perfect place for homeworkers, and people who normally work alone or in small teams, to work together for the day.
Co-working is a new innovation in networking and takes various forms. Co-working hubs have been springing up around the country providing permanent bases for freelancers, particularly in the digital and creative sectors, to work alongside each other, although their businesses operate independently. Useful, value-added collaborations have emerged, as well as the obvious - new contacts and informal business mentors.
Hubs have also taken a more fluid form as occasional workspace, available whenever you need it, sometimes involving a membership programme which provides a minimum number of desk days in a given period. NeST in Barnard Castle is a great example of this in action, where artists and digital creatives across the Teesdale area are starting to congregate in the cafe and workspace areas, resulting in new collaborations within and through NeST.
Then there's Colleagues on Tap, a co-working initiative introduced into the North East by Space on Tap, essentially setting up a pop-up office for the day in a range of spaces, to form a venue for co-working on an occasional basis.
So far we've majored on business centres, including the Keel Suite at the North East Business & Innovation Centre that was transformed from a meeting space to a workspace over night.
CLICK HERE to find out more about Space on Tap's co-working events, or to book your space to join us at work for a day in the future.
Read our article 'Pop-up culture stimulates innovation'
The pop-up office and co-working with Space on Tap
Space on Tap's Colleagues on Tap network is now transforming some of the region's spaces into pop-up offices to provide the perfect place for homeworkers, and people who normally work alone or in small teams, to work together for the day.
Co-working is a new innovation in networking and takes various forms. Co-working hubs have been springing up around the country providing permanent bases for freelancers, particularly in the digital and creative sectors, to work alongside each other, although their businesses operate independently. Useful, value-added collaborations have emerged, as well as the obvious - new contacts and informal business mentors.
Hubs have also taken a more fluid form as occasional workspace, available whenever you need it, sometimes involving a membership programme which provides a minimum number of desk days in a given period. NeST in Barnard Castle is a great example of this in action, where artists and digital creatives across the Teesdale area are starting to congregate in the cafe and workspace areas, resulting in new collaborations within and through NeST.
 |
| Our 'before' space at the North East BIC in Sunderland |
So far we've majored on business centres, including the Keel Suite at the North East Business & Innovation Centre that was transformed from a meeting space to a workspace over night.
 |
| Pop-up office ideal for Colleagues on Tap co-working |
The pop up office is designed to provide a level of privacy for co-workers while they settle into their day, but also to encourage interaction as people find their feet. We make sure there are ample electricity points, refreshments and wifi - all you need to bring is your laptop, if you'll be using one on the day.
A morning working session is usually followed by lunch in an alternative space, stimulating new conversations and connections, and this is built on further through our SpoT chat sessions after lunch, where one of our co-workers in attendance offers to facilitate a discussion on a topic of mutual interest to the group - Twitter, facebook, networking, home working and so on.
Colleagues on Tap is now branching out beyond Business Centres to demonstrate the versatility of some of the region's other great spaces. The next few months will see us set up office at The Morritt, a beautiful 17th Century country house hotel that started its life as a coaching house (full wifi access is also guaranteed!), Newcastle City Library which is a modern space with fabulous views of the city centre from its upper floors, and The Workplace, a vocational learning centre in Newton Aycliffe literally 2 minutes from the A1.
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