Coworking spaces are popping up all over the place these days, in rural areas as well as town and city centers. If you're used to working at home alone, like me, you might wonder how on earth you could possibly work surrounded by people you don't know and who have no connection with your business.

Don't let doubts like these put you off, as coworking can both brighten up your usual routine and give you a supportive network - without requiring you to go to any events!

Here are some tips to help you acclimatize to coworking:

Check out the space - If you're lucky enough to have a choice of coworking spaces, check out each one (they often offer a free trial) for factors such as facilities, atmosphere, noise and levels of interaction. Choose the one most suited to your business requirements, personality and whether you simply want another place to work or to become part of a community.

Introduce yourself straightaway - As it can be awkward to do so later when you've been working alongside people for a while. Take in some snacks to hand round if you're a bit shy about doing this and not only will you get to meet everybody but youll be guaranteed instant popularity.

Take headphones - If you prefer working in silence you might be distracted at first by people moving around the space and talking on the phone or face to face. Bring in headphones so you can play your own music or one of the white noise apps; do try not to hum along!

Start with easy tasks - If you're worried about being distracted, at first just take along some routine work that doesn't require massive concentration. It's the ideal time to do that computer housekeeping you've been meaning to get round to, or research to keep up with your industry. You will adapt to being surrounded by activity and gradually be able to introduce jobs needing more application.

Learn the phone policy - Make sure you know the policy on dealing with phone calls and follow it. That may mean leaving the room to take a call or simply keeping your voice down. It shows consideration if you put your phone on the Meeting setting so that your colleagues don't have to listen repeatedly to your ring tone.

Chat a bit - Don't feel guilty about spending time chatting and view it instead as relationship building. You'll be amazed how much information and advice emerges from these casual exchanges and they can give you enough inspiration to last the rest of the week. And you never know who might be a potential partner - one of your coworkers might be actively looking for just your skills.

The great thing about coworking is that you can choose how much or how little you want to participate, and slot it into your routine where it fits best. Good luck in finding your own perfect balance for maximum happiness and efficiency, and I'd love to hear your own tips for acclimatizing.

Photo Credit: khawkins04

Jelly, the casual, free event where home workers, freelancers, small business owners and workshifters of all kinds meet up to work together, has taken off in the UK over the last 18 months. More than 60 groups are meeting regularly across the country.

Jan Minihane, the founder of Jelly in Shropshire (where it has been particularly popular) witnessed the unique help and support that Jelly provides to small businesses and came up with the idea of a national event. She wanted both to encourage more Jelly groups to start, and to give existing Jelly organisers and attendees, who have developed a lively Twitter community, to meet up face to face.

She invited me and Fay Easton, who operates Enterprise HQ, the Ironbridge workhub that hosts some of the Shropshire Jelly events, to co-organise The BIG Jelly, as we named it. Obviously nobody would bother to travel miles to a Jelly event if they could attend one locally, so this had to be a very special day, offering Jelly certainly, but also a lot more.

With no track record for the event, large amounts of sponsorship were hard to find in the current economic climate, but we were amazed and delighted by the generosity of our speakers and all our suppliers and helpers who contributed their expertise to our not-for-profit event. The whole day and subsequent Twitter activity has proved how effective it is when home workers and freelancers help each other out.

We packed the day with three speakers, known for their small business expertise, plus a choice of breakout events run by small business experts - topics included marketing, websites and SEO, working from home, finance, social media and running Jelly events. After lunch there was a small business Q&A, and plenty of space available all day to meet people and start building relationships.

Was it a success? It was a triumph beyond our wildest dreams! The whole day buzzed with excitement, with delegates delighted to be there, meeting new people and taking on board new ideas. They continue to tell us how they are being inspired with new plans for their businesses. We have received many requests to make The BIG Jelly an annual event.

I'd love to hear your own experiences and ideas for the development of Jelly events, both locally and on a national scale. If you haven't attended a Jelly event yet, you should consider attending one!

Working from home is a great way to start a business while keeping costs down or to work for a distant employer. However, the danger of isolation has always been a big problem for workshifters, who can sometimes find themselves lonely and lacking motivation. Some home-based workshifters now have the opportunity to solve that problem by using co-working spaces.

But what if there are no co-working spaces near you and you're longing to get out and meet new people? Here in the UK, Jelly events are filling that gap for home workers, freelancers and small business owners, with more than 60 groups springing up in the last 18 months.

Two IT freelancers in New York dreamed up Jelly when they were complaining one day about the downsides of working from home, particularly the boredom of spending lots of time in the same place and the lack of opportunities to meet people. They decided to invite fellow freelancers to bring laptops and work in their apartment for a day, calling it Jelly because apparently they were eating jelly beans at the time!

Jelly is organized by volunteers sufficiently enthused by the idea to start their own group. There is no organization, structure or rules, just an understanding that the venue provides free Wi-Fi and that people come to work, chat, and share help and advice. Additionally, there is no selling at Jelly, which means people are more relaxed and open, and they build relationships quickly. It has a completely different atmosphere from any other business event I've ever attended.

Interested? Check out the Jelly Wiki for more background information and for the group closest to where you live. If there's nothing happening yet near you, consider starting your own using the comprehensive "How to Start Your Own Jelly" guide on my website. I've also provided information for prospective attendees so they know what to expect and for work hubs that want to start a group in their premises.

I highly recommend you think about Jelly if the home office is becoming claustrophobic - it's fun and straightforward, and it will bring you into contact with new people in a uniquely relaxed way.

P.S. In March I helped organize the first national Jelly event in the UK, The BIG Jelly, a not-for-profit event that was hugely successful and has inspired many of its delegates to update and implement plans for their small businesses. Read about The BIG Jelly 2011 here.

Photo Credit: mokolabs

I've recently been talking to serial entrepreneur James Layfield (whose very first business was an airport lounge concept at JFK Terminal 4) about his latest project. He describes Central as a brand-new kind of workspace, which will include a stationery shop, printing and copying facilities and a cafe, as well as various kinds of seating and deskspace.

James is keen to tailor Central to the needs and preferences of workshifters and so is asking for feedback on every element of the design - furniture, lighting, layout and so on - before opening in central London in April.

My comment, based on my own experience of workhubs and coworking spaces, was that there should be clear signage to direct first-time visitors walking in off the street, who might otherwise turn tail and leave. I'd also like friendly and approachable staff available at all times to welcome new customers, establish their needs, and then start the membership process, take orders for food and drinks, offer advice etc.

My only complaint about coworking is that some people talk very loudly on the phone - often unconsciously but also sometimes definitely to try and impress!  So I'd be interested to know how Central will juggle the phone calls that business people on the move invariably have to make with the peace and quiet that others need for concentration.

I'm not a regular user of workhubs, but as a Jelly organiser I'm always interested to hear people's opinions of working next to strangers.  Yes, it provides great opportunities to make new contacts, but what are the downsides?  Are you able to focus on work or do you use coworking as an enjoyable way of getting a bit of light admin done in a sociable atmosphere?  And if you run a workhub, are there any complaints that regularly crop up, and if so, how do you deal with them?

Photo Credit: Nathanael Boehm

Remember the good ol' days? Sitting in your cubicle, the din of the office in your ears - photocopiers running, footsteps walking the hall, your neighbors chit chatting. You'd meet a group of colleagues in the cafeteria for lunch or coffee, or if you were in high tech like me, a game of foosball. 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, you had near constant contact with other people.

But now, you're a workshifter. Your days consist of a 20 foot commute to your desk, Jay-Z on repeat, and the removal of the occasional cat from your keyboard. Hours go by without seeing or speaking to anyone. You're head down in your work, being super productive....but there's something missing.

As much as the life of a workshifter has its perks - better hours, less distraction, and more job satisfaction - it can be a lonely existence. Some days, hubby will come home from his office job and he's the only person I've actually spoken to all day. You can imagine the earful he gets!

Like anything, fighting the loneliness and isolation the workshifting life can cause is about taking action and finding balance. Here are a few things I've learned.

The Coffee Shop is Your Friend

A change of scenery is a huge motivator, so if you're feeling stuck, get out of the house. If you're a workshifter, you need to have a regular coffee shop - it's just that simple. I actually have a few coffee shops that I frequent. My neighborhood shop, Timothy's is great, because they know me best, and don't mind if I hang out for a few hours (I do my best to keep consuming their beverages for as long as I'm taking up table space). I also have Two Monkeys Coffee, which is a bit more of a trek from my place, but worth it for their yummy soup and quiet environment. Then there's Raw Sugar, my downtown stop. All have free wifi, comfortable seats, and of course, good beverages.

And the best part about the coffee shop? I meet people there all the time. Once you become a regular, you get to know who the other regulars are. Coffee shop lineups are a fantastic way to fit in a bit of networking. So get out of the house once in a while. Get to a place where you feel comfortable and can focus. You'll be amazed at the results.

Be Friends with Other Workshifters

One of the things I did when I first got on Twitter back in 2007 was do a search for people in my city. I was pleasantly surprised to find that, not only is there a very active Twitter community here in Ottawa, but that many of the people I was meeting were also workshifters. I became friends with several of those people online and then moved our friendship to the offline world.

At least once a week I make a point of scheduling to have coffee or lunch with one of my local friends. Often, we will go to a place where we know other friends hang out. I can't tell you how many times a 2-person coffee date has become an informal Tweetup. If you're worried about losing productivity because you're busy meeting for coffee all the time, then don't. Make sure you set a time limit on the meeting (1/2 hour or 45 minutes, tops), and you'll be fine. Everyone is busy, so your fellow workshifters will appreciate the quick meetup as much as you do.

Find folks in your town that workshift, and go for coffee, or lunch and get to know them. I find that sometimes I get pretty cranky if I'm spending too much time alone. Sometimes the simple act of meeting a friend for a coffee is enough to get my mood on the upswing and get me re-motivated.

Share a Workspace

A lot of cities now have co-working spaces like The Code Factory here in Ottawa. You can do everything there from rent office space to just spending a few hours in a communal work environment. I know lots of people who like to work this way, even for just part of their week.

But it doesn't even have to be that formal. Every Friday, my friend Tom holds #FridayOffice, where he goes to a local restaurant around lunch time, and works for the afternoon. Whoever wants to come by and work, chat, have lunch, etc. can do so. Often about 2pm on a Friday you'll walk in and see Tom and 3 or 4 other people sitting around a table, laptops open, working away. Everyone is welcome and it's a real community feeling. There's nothing formal about it - if you want to work, you work. If you want to socialize, you socialize. It's fun and productive and has become an institution for many within our community.

Even as a workshifter, there's no reason to be lonely - just get out and find ways to meet other people once in a while. It's important to have that balance, and you never know what opportunities might come your way!

Photo Credit: Josh Liba

I'm on the road 75% of the year, when looking for a place to work there are a few things that I'm always mindful of: reliable wifi, comfortable seating, access to outlets and minimal noise.

Typically I work out of coffee shops, but recently I have been on a road trip around the country talking to entrepreneurs and small businesses. Several of these people work out of coworking spaces, something I rarely do. However, I am quickly falling in love with the idea of coworking spaces. Here's why...

What are your thoughts on work spaces? What do you look for?

This is a cartoon by self-employed and home working illustrator Ian Dicks, and like all successful humor, it contains an element of truth.  No, you may not need an interview to become self-employed or to start working flexibly, but you'd better quickly get used to looking in the mirror and asking yourself some searching questions!

The freedom of workshifting is something many people dream of, but the reality is that it is much more than a change of location.  Away from the traditional "office" environment there is nobody to tell you what to do, when to do it, how, why and so forth.  You are firmly in charge and the way to succeed is to develop a strong sense of self-awareness.  Fortunately you can easily find some useful clues in the way you work now by asking yourself some pertinent questions, such as:

• Do you work alone or as part of a group?
• How much interaction is there between you and your colleagues?
• Do you organize your own work schedule?
• Set your own deadlines?
• Work in a quiet or noisy office?
• Can you work independently or do you rely on others for support or other skills?
• Do you like to bounce ideas off other people before committing yourself?
• How long does it take you to switch off after work?
• Are you happy with your own company?
• Do your family and friends have opinions on the best way for you to work?

These questions, and others you will no doubt think of relating to your own unique circumstances, will help you identify your strong points and the areas you need to think more carefully about.  The answers will help you decide important things such as where in the house to set up your workspace, how much time you want or need to spend working alone, what kind of support you'll need and so on.

For instance, if you don't think you can always work alone, find out where you can go for coworking locally.  If you need IT support, get recommendations from people you trust and find someone suitable before you start workshifting.  Loathe parts of your essential admin work?  A virtual PA will help to lighten the load.

So holding up a mirror to your personal likes, habits and needs and asking yourself some tough questions will give you the best possible start to workshifting, but at least you won't need to buy a new outfit for the occasion!

Illustration Credit: Ian Dicks

Emergent Research is studying the impact of co-working on Americans, including independent consultants, small business owners, and other workshifters. As part of that research, they've identified over 250 co-working spaces in the United States. The requirements for the spaces included membership options, community space, and catering to those using the facility for work-related purposes.

I'm not surprised by the spike in formal co-working arrangements over the last two years. The best ones seem to be mini idea incubators, places were entrepreneurs can come together, bounce concepts around informally, and feed off the collective energy and passion in the room.

Twitter is my co-working space. Sure, it's not the only one. But it is one place I go when I'm looking for inspiration or someone to talk to. And I like the idea of not having a set office space I have to commute to, which feels too much to me like obligation. The whole concept of workshifting for me is that I have the freedom to work in my office, on my rooftop deck, or at my favorite wifi-enabled café.

But that's just me. What's your take on co-working?

Photo Credit: ashley_drydens

I recently wrote about a friend of mine who hosts a successful, productive workshifting collective from his home office. I'm a veteran workshifter, and to be honest, I really like working all by my lonesome in my office or studio. So I was especially curious to see how and why a group of workshifters had created a cooperative work environment. Here's what I learned during a visit to the team's HQ.

The Team
There are currently five people on the workshifting team -- four are founding members who adhere to regular work schedules and one member is a PhD candidate who occasionally uses the space to work on her dissertation. The regulars work in IT support, software programming and Web communications. Most of the gang boasts a comfortable level of technical proficiency, which is an advantage for troubleshooting glitches as a group and never leaves any one person with the responsibility of being onsite tech support.

The Scene
The group works in the master suite on the second floor of my friend's house. Garfunkel, the housecat, perches in a handmade cat tree steeped in southern exposure. Boxes of tea collect dust atop a side table (this is a group of coffee drinkers, mostly), and a Britta pitcher sits in the center of the large, multi-person worktable. The walls are painted a fresh shade of Mediterranean blue, and a red exercise ball rests in the center of the room.

Origin
With one member of the workshifting collective hailing from the UK, I wanted to know how all these remote paths had crossed. It turns out that the founding members of the group all attended the same church and had been working off and on in pairs at local coffee shops. My friend proposed that they officially set up shop in his house and see how things took from there. They've kept to a regular schedule ever since.

Balance
Opening up your house - and your work rhythm - to other workshifters certainly comes with the risk of personal and professional disruptions. Even the closest of friends may have radically different expectations and behaviors in the workplace. It shouldn't come as any surprise that workshifters absolutely must have compatible working styles to successfully share professional space. And they also need solid, straightforward communication skills to be able to say, "Hey, I'm taking an important call. Can you please turn the music down?"

Food
These folks may work outside of the traditional office, but that doesn't mean that the traditional office food culture doesn't factor in. One regular told me, "This is where I consume the best food of the day." The gang tends to eat en masse -- either cooking in the house kitchen, eating out together or bringing carryout back to the workplace. On the day I visited the group, I arrived during a lunchtime break. Food that day had been delivered courtesy of a workshifter's husband.

Benefits
According to the group, a significant advantage of workshifting as a team is being able to leverage the synergy of working together to increase personal productivity. Another biggie is creating a strong sense of community and supportive social network. For the mother in the group, having a greater work/life balance is key. Across the board, creating a space that has fewer "home" distractions (like responding to a stack of dirty dishes) is a perk of working with other workshifters in an office environment. And being able to leave workspaces intact at the end of the day without packing up every last office artifact (as one must do at a coffee shop, for example) is a huge benefit.

Recommendations
If you're considering hosting or joining a workshifting team, keep in mind the following:

•    Individual job types have a direct impact on the team. For example, if a workshifter's job requires her to spend the majority of the workday on the phone, she may not be a good fit for a group of folks who spend the majority of their time concentrating on writing code or copy.

•    Work styles must mesh well, period. Music in the background could be a delight for some and a distraction for others.

•    Create a designated workspace that doesn't interrupt the flow of the underlying household. The flipside is that a messy house won't negatively impact a designated workspace.

•    Build a workshifting community that feeds your own productivity and reduces any feelings of isolation that you might have.

•    Be wary of (and quick to weed out) candidates who treat the occasional remote workday as a day off. This type of energy can easily erode the productivity of the entire group.

When I asked if the group had a disaster plan - we live in Minnesota, the land of 10,000 types of weather - my question was met with uproarious laughter. OK, no disaster plan. Obviously not a deal breaker. But it's clear that this team of consummate professionals has discovered and implemented a healthy, productive workshifting cooperative. I'll leave you with the wise words of one of the regulars: Workshifting allows you to fit "work into life, not life into work."

What do you think?

We started this blog with the goal of building a community by providing content and resource material that was tailored for workshifters. The community was not built based on promoting products or services, although the occasional promotion is ok (just don't be "that guy"), it's based on fulfilling the need for information and the desire of sharing a common interest.

Over the past year I've watched as solo-preneurs chat with large enterprise companies about a wide range of topics.  It's less about what they are talking about, and more about the fact that they are talking, discovering and to enabling. Many of the questions and conversations are fielded and managed by the community.  One of the biggest lessons learned, is that once the community takes off, the community is in control. However, their desire for a consistent diet of rich and tasty content only grows with the community. So stay on it.

Another lesson learned is that your services are talked about alongside competing services.  Gasp!  I know it's hard to swallow, but your services are not right for everyone.  At my company, we absolutely love our products, but we know one size does not fit all.  We hope we attract customers that are a perfect fit.  Sometimes we don't and we definitely hear about it.  If you're going to build a community you need to be ok with that, because much of the conversation extends beyond the blog and takes place on Twitter, Facebook and other community blogs.  

What's really fun is watching the conversations that have little or nothing to do with technology. Common topics include comfortable office chairs, pets, marriage, diet, travel and about everything in-between. This is a nice lead in to one of, what seems to be, the hardest areas in managing a community and that's being REAL.

You could also replace REAL with HUMAN, HONEST, TRANSPARENT, etc. The point is it must come from the heart. You really and truly need to care. The community has low tolerance for corporate speak and canned responses. If you do more listening than talking, it will start to come naturally.

Online communities are not the exclusive domain of companies. We all belong to communities, online and in the real world. There is your Facebook community which you maintain, monitor and contribute to. In this day and age, it will become most people's first experience with a community. Then you may be belong to a car club, or cooking group and neither of which are online.  

As workshifters we often build a community around our co-working locations. You probably know the person that works the espresso machine, a few of the regulars, etc. This real world community probably extends to the web in the form of check-ins on Foursquare (who doesn't want to by mayor of their joint?), photo uploads to Flickr and messages in Twitter. If you're thinking about starting an online community blog, take that same casual demeanor and move it online. Be consistent, be transparent, be real.

My top 7 lessons:

1.  The community is in control
2.  Be the best electronic version of yourself
3.  Listen more than you talk
4.  Keep it really interesting
5.  Monitor and contribute daily
6.  Don't let questions or comments go unanswered for more than 24 hours
7.  If you don't genuinely care, don't do it

These lessons aren't particularly earth shattering, and you may read similar advice on other blogs. What's important is the application of the lessons. Much like when you read a book on a topic that's important to you. The reading of the book is not the measurement of success.  You are not striving to be an excellent book buyer. What matters is the practical application of the advice.  

That's my opinion, what's yours?


Photo Credit: Niall Kennedy