Hindsight is 20/20

I was recently reading Alex Hillman’s post on co-working as an extension of that great online community coworkers have created. I love his “full circle” concept. It really brought the feeling we are trying to create with the people together in my head.

In hindsight, we should have been building this online circle for Cubes&Crayons long before we signed our lease and opened our doors. But we didn’t. We worked hard on building a website and finding furnishings and creating a look and feel. We have it all off line, but opened almost empty. Ooops!But hindsight is a great if at times costly learning experience. After spending all this time reading blogs and being part of numerous online groups, I truly understand it. I feel immersed in it online and love the concept of bringing that online synergy to the real space. It is an incredible adventure. The synergy is the essence of co-working spaces and what makes them truly great. In some strange way, it reminds me of the ancient days. With all of this technology connecting us, we are able to work/live anywhere and need that in person contact even more.

Hindsight is 20/20

I was recently reading Alex Hillman’s post on co-working as an extension of that great online community coworkers have created.  I love his “full circle” concept.  It really brought the feeling we are trying to create with the people together in my head.

In hindsight, we should have been building this online circle for Cubes&Crayons long before we signed our lease and opened our doors.   But we didn’t.  We worked hard on building a website and finding furnishings and creating a look and feel.  We have it all off line, but opened almost empty.  Ooops!

But hindsight is a great if at times costly learning experience.  After spending all this time reading blogs and being part of numerous online groups, I truly understand it.  I feel immersed in it online and love the concept of bringing that online synergy to the real space.  It is an incredible adventure.  The synergy is the essence of co-working spaces and what makes them truly great.  In some strange way, it reminds me of the ancient days.  With all of this technology connecting us, we are able to work/live anywhere and need that in person contact even more.

Co-working Take

Co-working is an amazing opportunity for the isolated to become connected live and in person.  Today, I am part of more yahoo and google groups then I can imagine.  Between entrepreneurship, being a mommy, and co-working there are numerous groups to join.  It is overwhelming at times and inspiring to read it all.

What I love, though, is to see these groups get together in person.  At Cubes&Crayons (www.cubesandcrayons.com) we have co-working but we also provide onsite childcare for those who need it.  So, we have the co-worker who just wants to get something done and meet other people and we have the people trying to manage parenthood and work coming in to work and network with those in a similar position.  It is great to see these people connect in person.

We all talk online to meet like minded all over the globe, but you can’t beet that personal connection.  As they sit with a cup of coffee in the lounge and share business ideas, that sense of community is building.  I love it!  I am there every day doing just that.  And as the owner/founder of Cubes&Crayons, I get the unique satisfaction of being a part of making that growth happen by having a site in which people can connect.  In my opinion, the online world will never quite compare with the face to face interaction.