A real interest in co-working has started to develop in the North East.
Space on Tap's Colleagues on Tap co-working days have proven to be a popular addition to traditional networking activity, providing the opportunity for people who usually work from home, or in a small team, to work alongside new colleagues for the day in 'pop-up' offices set up in a whole host of locations across the region. It has to be said that the Northern part of the region has seen greater take-up so far, although we have now started to receive some interest from business people in the Tees Valley and Durham areas too, and our Spring 2011 programme spans the region from Ridings Mill in Northumberland to Stokesley in Tees Valley/North Yorks. More details here.
So, let's talk about co-working. If you want to know more about co-working just ask in the comments section below or email us at enquiries@spaceontap.com
We'd also love to gather your COMMENTS / IDEAS / THOUGHTS about co-working. Here are a few questions to start you off:
- What's most important in co-working - the space or the people?
- What are the 3 features a co-working space would need to have to make you want to go there?
- What would you prefer, a 'co-working event' or a 'co-working space'?
- Would you be interested in joining a co-working network?
- What's better for personal and/or business development - co-working or networking?
- Is co-working for people who work alone, or could larger organisations benefit from it too?
Thanks for contributing :)
Jayne
Hello and welcome to SpoT-Lights, the Space on Tap blog. We'll be keeping you up to date with what we're up to at Space on Tap, and telling you about the amazing and versatile space that's available on tap in North East England and beyond.
Friday, 7 January 2011
Wednesday, 5 January 2011
FACT: Co-working is good for business
FACT: Co-working is good for business.
Through Space on Tap's co-working days (Colleagues on Tap) which are held regularly across the North East of England, we help people who work from home, or that usually work alone, to connect with other home-based businesses. Even during the course of one day it's amazing how quickly a mutually supportive co-working community starts to exist.
We've witnessed new associations being formed between quite diverse businesses, business deals being struck and informal mentoring and coaching starting to emerge. Through the exchange of ideas and knowledge and some real camaraderie (and, in our case we also add delicious cupcakes into the mix!) business people develop themselves and their businesses through co-working in a pop-up office for the day.
Working alone is great, most of the time, but we all need people around us sometimes to stimulate fresh thinking and help us to remember how capable we are!
Book your place at a Colleagues on Tap co-working day today. We have events planned in Darlington/South Durham, Newcastle, Stokesley, North Tyneside and Northumberland, so there really is something for everyone!
CLICK HERE for more details, or for the 'insider view' get in touch with Jayne or Joanne at enquiries@spaceontap.com
For more views on how co-working's good for business check out this post from the Global Co-working Blog
Through Space on Tap's co-working days (Colleagues on Tap) which are held regularly across the North East of England, we help people who work from home, or that usually work alone, to connect with other home-based businesses. Even during the course of one day it's amazing how quickly a mutually supportive co-working community starts to exist.
 |
| Co-workers at a Colleagues on Tap coworking day |
Working alone is great, most of the time, but we all need people around us sometimes to stimulate fresh thinking and help us to remember how capable we are!
 |
| Those cupcakes ... |
CLICK HERE for more details, or for the 'insider view' get in touch with Jayne or Joanne at enquiries@spaceontap.com
For more views on how co-working's good for business check out this post from the Global Co-working Blog
Friday, 31 December 2010
Homeworkers can kick-start 2011 with colleagues on tap co-working days
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
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
Thursday, 16 December 2010
Introducing some of our Colleagues on Tap co-workers
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| Space on Tap's Colleagues on Tap Co-workers at Cobalt BX Nov 2010 Source: News Guardian Pictured Left to Right: Jeremy Scally (Little Big Fish) Joanne Turnbull (Space on Tap) Sharon McKee (SEM Communications) Angela Dawson (Dawson VA Services) Mike Bell (Mutual Inspiration) Dona Skaife (WBS Accountants) Jayne Graham (Space on Tap) Vicki Stone (Vicki Stone Marketing) Darren Glanville (Xero) Tracy Suddick (Tracy Suddick Business Consultant). Not pictured: Emma Hardie (Experience North Country) |
Tuesday, 14 December 2010
More perfect places and co-working for homeworkers: December 2010 e-newsletter
Hello from Space on Tap and welcome to our last newsletter of 2010 ... http://bit.ly/SpoTnewsDec10
Wednesday, 1 December 2010
Homeworking survival guide - top tips and how to's
So we thought it would be useful for 'seasoned homeworkers' to pass on some top tips through our Blog to those having their inaugural homeworking experience. So, over to you ... The Homeworking survival guide - please leave your top tips and how to's as a comments below.
:)
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
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