http://www.suite133.com/ A coworking space in downtown Tacoma en Copyright 2009 2009-04-24T00:51:36-08:00 http://www.suite133.com/news/62/the_dangers_of_working_at_home/ http://www.suite133.com/news/62/the_dangers_of_working_at_home/#When:23:51:36Z This video says it pretty well. It’s a crack-up too. Enjoy. Thanks to Office Nomads for the video. 2009-04-23T23:51:36-08:00 http://www.suite133.com/news/61/pink_slip_special/ http://www.suite133.com/news/61/pink_slip_special/#When:15:00:32Z Times are tough and layoffs seem to keep coming. We know from experience that one of the worst things about being laid off is just hanging out around the house being miserable. But now there’s a solution! For a limited time, first-time visitors to Suite133 who show proof they were laid off can get a free one month of use – a $250 value! Get started on a new business venture, network downtown, or just have a new place to play Facebook games. Interested? Contact us using the form at the bottom of the page or drop by during business hours! Thanks to our coworking friends Office Nomads in Seattle for the great idea. 2009-04-15T15:00:32-08:00 http://www.suite133.com/news/60/weve_got_guests/ http://www.suite133.com/news/60/weve_got_guests/#When:20:31:02Z Tomorrow, tax day, our coworking friends from Seattle, Office Nomads will be making a trek down to Tacoma to work from Suite133 for the day. We’ve been up to see them a few times—some of us were up even last week. I think it’s pretty great that some Seattle-ites are coming here to Tacoma to work for the day. I’ll report on how it goes! 2009-04-14T20:31:02-08:00 http://www.suite133.com/news/59/live_from_sxsw_what_the_heck_is_a_whuffie/ http://www.suite133.com/news/59/live_from_sxsw_what_the_heck_is_a_whuffie/#When:19:24:31Z Suite133 has been well-represented here at SXSW, a national conference on emerging technologies in Austin, TX. Three of us from Suite133 headed down for this cool conference, watching movies and going to panels on design and technology, with glimpses of where all this stuff is going. Coworking has also been featured well here. Yesterday there was conversation about coworking with representation from coworking spaces in Tacoma, Seattle, New York, and Philly. And today, I’m at the “Regional Whuffie Building” panel about attracting innovation to your city with Seamus and Mary. Whuffie, for those who don’t know (like me before this panel), a Whuffie is a measure of social capital, as coined in the book “Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom.” More here on Wikipedia. The topic is making cities more friendly to innovation, and how coworking is a part of that process. Our friend Susan from Office Nomads in Seattle is on the panel, too! Very cool to think about how small, innovative businesses can use coworking to help their community by building social capital and real capital. Interesting stuff! 2009-03-15T19:24:31-08:00 http://www.suite133.com/news/56/do_you_suffer_from_continuous_partial_attention/ http://www.suite133.com/news/56/do_you_suffer_from_continuous_partial_attention/#When:19:12:20Z I like working at Suite133 because it gives me less distractions than I get at home when the TV, housework, and a million other things tempt me away from work. But I still have not totally grappled with one of the biggest distractions: the Internet. In fact, I have found myself struggling with one of the worst aspects of the Information Age: Continuous Partial Attention. It’s a problem whether I’m working at the Suite or working at home. The biggest challenges were inbound emails. Last week, when I started to realize the problem, I tried a novel solution: Gmail’s Email Addict feature. It disables access to e-mail for 15 minutes in order to let you actually get something done. Should help my productivity, right? Ha. Right. At first, it did feel pretty good. But then the Gmail icon in my task bar lit up and the tab changed to Gmail – Inbox (1). Ooh, a message! But I couldn’t get to it! I tried hitting escape. I couldn’t get back into Gmail. I tried hitting escape twice. Then I tried escape and then enter. Then the space bar. Then random panicked clicking. Then I took a deep breath and decided to be Zen. I don’t need to look at it right now anyway, I told myself. About 2 minutes the tab changed to Gmail – Inbox (2). I couldn’t take it. I restarted Gmail entirely. I lasted all of 4 minutes with Email Addict. The two emails that absolutely could not wait were a two-word reply to a meeting request and a coupon to Barnes & Noble … Not exactly worth it. Of course, my attention was getting distracted by a lot more than just e-mail. I felt like I keep getting derailed by Google Reader, pointless refreshes of Facebook, and a constant stream of tweets. Even my Google homepage — with all the customized content I’d put on there — was interrupting me with interesting links. But of course they were interesting links! I’d selected those widgets because I liked the content, and now I couldn’t stop clicking. That’s when it dawned on me that every single interruption I faced was an interruption that I’d actually planned and created. I was my own undoing. I set up my phone to ding when my friends twittered. I set up three different reminders that I had e-mail. I set up reminders all over the place that the blogs, sites, and people I like had new content online. How stupid was I being, I wondered. It’s hard enough staying focused on the web when every headline, every advertisement, and every blue-underlined word is a potential temptation to get distracted. So why had I made my life even more difficult? There was only one solution: purge the reminders. I scrapped the widgets on my Google homepage that had outbound links and left the rest. I disabled the Gmail Notifier on my laptop and made sure that when I was working my Gmail account up in a window separate from the one I was working in—so I can’t see the tab change when e-mail arrives. I turned Twitter updates off so my phone doesn’t buzz anymore. The aim was not to reduce the collection of content. In fact, content collects feels like it faster in my reader and inbox because I check it less frequently now. The key was to reduce all the reminders that it was there. It’s helped keep me more focused. I “flit” between web pages much less often. The two activities that pay the bills—writing and web coding—both go much better when I’m not getting pulled away all the time. My advice to others is simple: you don’t need all those reminders. Let Google Reader gather the links you want and open it only when you want a break. Keep your e-mail in the background. If you can, turn off the feature that displays how many unread messages are waiting for you in the dock (Mac) or menu bar (PC). The web is one of the few places where we can really manage distractions. We are in control of what we see and when we see it. Remember, you can only handle one thing at a time, even on the web. For an interesting read on multi-tasking, I’ll refer you to Walter Kirn’s story in the November 2007 Atlantic. This short bit is key: Through a variety of experiments, many using functional magnetic resonance imaging to measure brain activity, they’ve torn the mask off multitasking and revealed its true face, which is blank and pale and drawn. Multitasking messes with the brain in several ways. At the most basic level, the mental balancing acts that it requires—the constant switching and pivoting—energize regions of the brain that specialize in visual processing and physical coordination and simultaneously appear to shortchange some of the higher areas related to memory and learning. We concentrate on the act of concentration at the expense of whatever it is that we’re supposed to be concentrating on. This post was adapted from a couple posts on my blog last week. 2009-03-03T19:12:20-08:00 http://www.suite133.com/news/51/more_coworking_during_a_recession/ http://www.suite133.com/news/51/more_coworking_during_a_recession/#When:20:02:14Z Last year, I called out some reasons why coworking during a recession has some benefits. Reuters news service has more in an article today about the same topic. Here’s part of the story: But the recession has made the idea of working amongst strangers appealing to a broader range of people, from those that recently lost their jobs to consultants eager to stay in the loop. “I do my best work in a bull pen,” said Dorsett, 56, from Tacoma, Washington, who is actively looking for a new job. “It’s instantaneous accountability. Everyone knows what you’re doing. It’s taken me out of my comfort zone and I’m getting a lot more done than I would at home.” Hey, that’s us! Look at that: we get a new coworker and he immediately gets press nationally. Wow … He works fast. There’s mention of our friends to the north Office Nomads, too. FeedTacoma 2009-02-17T20:02:14-08:00 http://www.suite133.com/news/50/starting_the_new_year/ http://www.suite133.com/news/50/starting_the_new_year/#When:22:36:37Z I’m not saying anything new here, but this recession is hitting people hard. Tens of thousands of jobs were cut this week alone, including a lot at companies close to home. Some, like Russell, are very close to home—like two blocks from Suite133. A lot of those who have lost their jobs are now unsure where to go next. Do they apply for another job? Do they try to start something new on their own? According to one thinker, 7% of those laid off will generally try to start their own business. He writes, “While those who create our next breakaway success story will be but a tiny fraction of this phenomenon, we will see a strong entrepreneurial push and a realignment of the systems supporting entrepreneurs.” (Thanks to our friends at Office Nomads in Seattle for the interesting link!) If you’re one of those 7%, Suite133 may be a great place to work from as you get started. When I tried to get a small theater production company off the ground in 2006, I spent most of my days meeting in coffee shops. How much easier would it have been to have an office with a closed door conference room? How much less caffeine would I have ingested! Plus, we’ve introduced a “punch-card” system at the Suite that might be perfect for new businesses still getting their feet wet. Use our contact form on the main page to learn more about daily options. Good luck to everyone who’s job hunting or trying to find new clients for their business during this difficult time. FeedTacoma 2009-01-29T22:36:37-08:00 http://www.suite133.com/news/49/snow_falling_at_suite133/ http://www.suite133.com/news/49/snow_falling_at_suite133/#When:00:51:41Z The last week has been crazy here in Tacoma. I can’t think of the last time we had snow on the ground for more than a week straight. During the week, a lot of Suite users cut back their work hours at the Suite and just stayed home, possibly working (but more likely playing the snow). And who could blame those of us who did? Any time not on the road was a good thing. Some of us walked to work or made the drive and were treated with friendly faces, hot coffee, and a warm office. It once again highlighted for me the best thing about coworking. Why brave the roads and the snow to get to Suite133 if you weren’t planning on working? We certainly swapped stories about our adventures and stared out the windows, but we also made important phone calls, had clients in for meetings, and even did year-end-budgeting. Despite the snow, I was on deadline this week, and I knew where I had to be: an office where I could just put my head down and work. FeedTacoma 2008-12-22T00:51:41-08:00 http://www.suite133.com/news/46/coworking_during_a_recession/ http://www.suite133.com/news/46/coworking_during_a_recession/#When:04:29:03Z It goes without saying that everyone here at Suite133 is thinking about the economy. With uncertain times, the can be a temptation to pack it in and work out of the basement instead of paying for an office space downtown (even one that is cheaper than almost every other option available!). But there are some real benefits to getting out of the house and sticking with it: The energy of co-working is a big help to getting things done when you really need to. Having people working around you is very encouraging to your own work. Getting out is one of the best ways to get new jobs and clients. It’s surprisingly often that we get our next job from a random connection, a passing on the street, or in line at a coffee shop. There’s a reason businesses are downtown — it’s where a lot of potential clients are. Professionalism — private conference rooms and a cool office can help seal a deal with a client if you need to convince them you’re non a fly-by-night operation. Advice and moral support — we’re going through this, just like you. Share ideas, figure out what works, and we’ll get through the recession together. And let’s not forget that if your company is already downtown, coworking is probably a cheaper option than your current space! 2008-12-12T04:29:03-08:00 http://www.suite133.com/news/47/passport/ http://www.suite133.com/news/47/passport/#When:00:27:53Z One of the great things about coworking is that there are offices around the world. And you — as a coworker at Suite133 — can use them! Many coworking spaces across the country and around the world offer a coworking “visa” for other coworkers. Have a day you need to be in Seattle? Why not work at Office Nomads on Capitol Hill? Going to be in Portland for a conference and need an office space? Check out Souk right by the train station. Business taking you to New Zealand? AltSpace in Wellington will take you. Really. Coworkers going from Suite133 to elsewhere have as many as three days at participating coworking locations. A full list of them is here on the coworking wiki with their particular terms and hours, etc. And it’s always advisable to call or e-mail ahead to make sure that nothing’s changed. Being a coworker at Suite133 means you are open to a much larger network if you ever need to travel on business (or just want a space to get a couple hours of work done during your vacation to Philly). 2008-11-22T00:27:53-08:00 http://www.suite133.com/news/45/suite133_members_talk_books/ http://www.suite133.com/news/45/suite133_members_talk_books/#When:03:05:50Z Sometimes it’s hard to start a business. Actually, scratch that. It’s always hard to start a business. For the self-employed at Suite133, a little encouragement has helped us over the hard spots. Erik Hanberg writes: For me Getting Things Done by David Allen has been revolutionary. I used to struggle with getting basic little things done. Like the less time it was going to take, the less likely I was going to do it. Implementing the ideas in this book has been a great help. I get a lot more done, and I can keep on top of the ‘little stuff.’ Little stuff like, you know … deadlines. For Marguerite Giguere, it’s the book Hard Optimism by Price Pritchett. She writes: Self-Employed business people are more vulnerable than average people to the swings and sways of The Economy. Self-employed business people also have the unique flexibility to deal with changes and move to capitalize on them. The only thing standing in our way is attitude. Hard Optimism is a book that teaches people to resist the urge to complain and criticize and instead to make a shift in perspective. It goes into research that shows how people frame problems influences how effectively people deal with them and also, how long you live! Read this book! And Seamus Holman cited The E-Myth Revisited. Truth be told, both Erik and Marguerite also wanted to mention this book as well. Seamus writes: When business was slow at the beginning, I would drive around and listen to this book on tape. This book helped me get an idea of how to set up my business and where to put my efforts so that I wasn’t wasting my time or spinning wheels. And — since not everyone who works at the Suite is self-employed — we should mention that an inspiring book for non-profit work is Mission Based Management. 2008-09-17T03:05:50-08:00 http://www.suite133.com/news/4/gas_prices_hit_400/ http://www.suite133.com/news/4/gas_prices_hit_400/#When:02:56:00Z Stuck on I-5 North driving to Seattle or Bellevue? Why not work in Tacoma? If you’re making the daily drive from Tacoma to Seattle, consider how much money and time you could save if you could just work in Tacoma. For just $250 a month, Suite133 may be a great option to telecommute to work. You get to stay off I-5 and get those lost hours of your day back. And your employer gets to know that you’re in a productive work environment (rather than in your bathrobe at the kitchen table). Meet Tacoma-based clients in a closed door conference room, network with other users of the space, grab a free Coke from the fridge … and spend your “gas money” at one of the many greats restaurants within a block from the office. Even for just 2 or 3 days a week, Suite133 can keep you out of the traffic. So sleep in a little later, cut your commute by hours, and work at Suite133. All you need is a laptop and a cell phone and you’re ready to go. 2008-05-14T02:56:00-08:00 http://www.suite133.com/news/13/suite133_in_the_news_tribune/ http://www.suite133.com/news/13/suite133_in_the_news_tribune/#When:21:11:04Z Dan Voelpel from the The News Tribune covered Suite133 today in his column today. Voelpel was in the office for a couple hours with us talking to some of the people who were in that day. We think he captures the benefits of the space pretty nicely … He also calls out a few local artists who grace our walls—Chip Van Gilder, R.R. Anderson, and Beautiful Angle posters. Come on down and check us out, Tacoma! 2008-05-07T21:11:04-08:00 http://www.suite133.com/news/12/suite133_in_seattle_business_monthly/ http://www.suite133.com/news/12/suite133_in_seattle_business_monthly/#When:21:08:41Z The cover story of Seattle Business Monthly’s April edition is “Smart Office Ideas – How Local Companies are Redefining The Workspace”. In it, you can read about how companies are providing flexible office environments to meet the needs of companies of various sizes. What’s more exciting to us is the emphasis on coworking. The cover photograph is of Office Nomads’ first customer, Chris Haddad. Office Nomads is our Seattle soulmate in the coworking world. They’ve been to Tacoma on a few occasions to visit us. We’ve been to their space. It’s just like family… The story ends by talking about our office, Suite133, and what we’re doing down here in Tacoma. Woo hoo… it’s not all about Seattle! However, as several of you have pointed out, there weren’t any photos of us. And, to at least a few it would seem, we have one of the coolest looking coworking spaces. It’s one of the smaller ones, but our propensity for wood paneling and the view of the water make it something special. 2008-04-01T21:08:41-08:00 http://www.suite133.com/news/3/suite133_open_house/ http://www.suite133.com/news/3/suite133_open_house/#When:23:53:52Z Don’t forget, tonight Suite133 opens its door for a grand opening celebration. Come check out the space, but bring your friends and share some beer from the Harmon and some hearty appetizers. The party starts at 5:00 pm and runs until 9:00. We hope to see you here! Suite133 Open House 703 Pacific Ave Tacoma, WA 98402 2007-12-14T23:53:52-08:00