Eric has been at Office Nomads since Day 1.  There are about a million stories we could tell about Eric’s time here, but perhaps the most poignant was the day he lost his job.  At about 4:45 on a Friday at the end of a month, he got the dreaded phone call.  His full-time telecommuting job that enabled him to work at Office Nomads was no longer.  No two week notice, no exit plan, just no more job.  Eric looked up from his desk and shared the news with the other Nomads.  Their response?  Drop their work, head out the door with Eric and get some much-needed beers.  Since then, the community has pitched in and provided Eric with enough part-time work to keep him at the office.  This is the power of community.  Eric has now happily stepped up to be the Office Manager at ON, with responsibilities including opening the space, keeping us stocked on supplies, updating member info, and helping us out with critical infrastructure issues.  Not only is Eric reliable, creative, and energetic as a worker, he’s a boatload of fun to be around, which makes him a great fit for the space. WIN!

Alexandra has been a longtime friend of Office Nomads, coming to many open houses and other events in the space.  Alexandra is a community-builder.  She can’t help it.  In her past work, she strengthened key programs at high schools, tutored math, and hosted after-school events to encourage student and parent engagement.  Alexandra took on the challenge of becoming Office Nomads’ first-ever Community Cultivator, with her job’s goal being making member life here at the office even better.  She makes it a point to get to know each member so she can carve out specific events that speak straight to members, or even just foster helpful conversations between members who may not have known one another.  It’s a unique job description, and Alexandra takes to it like a fish to water.  Within her first month here at the office, she’d already worked on building a member wall, hosted a new member lunch, and planned out a fall family night for our members with little-’uns. When she’s not hard at work on member life here at ON, she’s usually found geeking around with her many bikes, telling jokes, and babysitting for some very lucky Seattle families.  Oh, and going to school in preparation to fulfill her career dreams of being a math teacher.  Phew!  We are incredibly lucky to have her on board. DOUBLE WIN!

Jacob and I consider this a huge step in Office Nomads’ growth.  We want to ensure that this space is set up to run smoothly for years and years to come. By hiring on new additions to our team, we have been forced to start actually writing things down like procedures and ideas that have been bouncing around in our heads for the first two years.  So the value is twofold: we have an incredible team to help us make Office Nomads an even better coworking space, AND we are able to grow our business to the next level by mapping out key parts of the space that haven’t been captured before.

Eric and Alexandra, we are incredibly humbled and appreciative of your time and efforts here at the office.  You guys are rockstars!

Paul Pham

Website: http://pulse-programmer.org/

Member Since: June 2009

Type of Member: Resident

Paul Pham is an inventor.  How cool is that?  He might just say that he is an electronics designer but then he will explain his job and it’s clear that he is an inventor, like we all dreamed we wanted to be at some point.  Paul designs electronics for scientific instrumentation, like physics experimentation.  This is something that grew out of his graduate school work and has taken off to be his full-time job.  At his desk in the Green Room here at Office Nomads he adjusts his designs per requests of clients from as far off as Germany.

Paul is a huge fan of shared spaces like Office Nomads.  He had been working in his apartment and in coffee shops but he found that isolating and discouraging.  Now he has his hand in two shared spaces, here at Office Nomads and at a workshop space in SoDo.  In the workshop is where he solders together his pulse programmers.  We get him most of the time, luckily, when he has put down the soldering gun and is tapping at his keyboard. “I left Amazon to work here full time.  It has helped me focus on this project, which I’ve been working on for a while.  I thought I should get serious about it and now it can be my main focus and this space lets me concentrate on it.”

Paul is a constant and positive presence in the space.  Whenever there’s a Brown Bag Lunch or any events with the Nomads gathering, he is sure to be found.  He wows us with his brightly colored hair and willingness to help out.  If he’s not at his desk, he can be found mingling around.  “I enjoy going around and seeing what other people are working on.  We’ll have game nights sometimes.  Last week three of us went out and saw a movie during the day.  If you can’t watch a movie in the middle of the day, why be your own boss?”  Excellent question.

Last night I was happy to present a quick 3-minute stint on coworking at Great City’s “What’s the Big Idea?” event.  This was the first time they’ve held an event like this, and it seems like they got enough positive support to host more in the future.

I was excited to share a big idea for Seattle, and am now happy to pass along some of what I presented.  Ideas are still very much in the initial stages, but if any of this catches your eye and you want to get involved or pick our brains about it, definitely get in touch!

Coworking Seattle: A Platform for Shared Working Spaces in Seattle
Coworking is a community-based approach to getting work done.  Coworking spaces exist to provide shared resources to independent workers and telecommuters to allow them a sustainable, local, professional option when it comes to trying to successfully “work from home.”  Seattle has put coworking on the map in the pacific northwest and has proven that it can succeed.  Coworking is recognized as a method by which cities can drive innovation and encourage collaboration – key success matrices when it comes to surviving difficult economic times. Worldwide, there are over 165 coworking spaces currently in operation, and coworking has attracted the attention of a wide spread of media outlets.

Why are coworking spaces a big idea for Seattle?  These spaces are a simple, resource-efficient way to address the transportation issue in our city. They encourage urban sustainability by encouraging individuals to work closer to where they live without sacrificing their sanity and professionalism by trying to work from their living rooms.  Coworking spaces enable citizens to get out out of their cars, save valuable commuting time, and keep their dollars local by supporting other neighborhood businesses.  Coworking spaces are economic generators for neighborhoods.

Seattle is current pouring huge amounts of tax dollars into building more roads and bigger transpiration systems to move people all over the Seattle region.  While this work is important, it also begs a question: when it comes to daily transportation needs, why not work on encouraging our citizens to stay closer to home?  Why push to do more when we could succeed by doing less? We have the technological capacity (access to the internet, virtual private networks, etc.) and city-sponsored programs to support increased telecommuting in our area. As the job market tightens, we see more and more individuals deciding to strike out on their own and start their own businesses.  Instead of asking these people to attempt to succeed by working isolated at home or amongst noisy cafes, why not support shared workspaces which not only allow individuals to work in their own neighborhoods, but also to share resources and save energy by sharing space?

There are an average of 210,000 cars going over and back on the floating bridges each day.  This is a shock, and an embarrassment to our city as we claim to be an environmentally friendly place to live.  Seattle can do better, and Seattle must to better.  Coworking spaces, whether for desk jockeys, caterers, woodworkers, or artists, are one way in which our city could take a strong step forward in making a difference.  In our current market, and with so many commercial offices spaces laying vacant, we cannot afford not to.  An effort which combines the energy of private coworking spaces and leverages their knowledge to support public spaces is going to be key to making these spaces available to all.

Nancy Ward

Website: http://www.worldjusticeproject.org

Member Since: June 2009

Type of Member: Basic

Nancy says she’s not a superhero, but listening to the mission of her work one might be able to argue that she just about is.  No, she doesn’t put on tights and fight crime or run into burning buildings to save people. Instead her subtle hero work involves getting people from 90 different countries together who work every day to strengthen the rule of law. These are people who work “to make societies safe, lift people from poverty and build economic prosperity, reduce corruption, improve public health and enhance education”.  Any person who makes that collaboration possible is a hero.

Nancy is the Event Manager for the World Justice Forum, which is part of the World Justice Project.  The forum will be in Vienna this November and Nancy is behind inviting all the participants, agenda development, logistical arrangements, and program materials.   At the World Justice Forum the participants will work to create new projects to strengthen the rule of law globally.  Nancy is “facilitating their ability to impact change.”

“[The World Justice Forum] is like Office Nomads.  ON creates a space for people to come in and do their best work.  It creates a community that can learn from each other and encourage each other.  I see ON as a community like I see the World Justice Project as a community.  They are getting people from different backgrounds and fields together to effect change.”

Nancy signed up as a Basic member in June 2009 and we saw her once a week but she has become a more frequent presence as the World Justice Forum nears. “As an event planner, I ramp up to an intensity as I near my event date,” she says. “Having an office as flexible as my schedule is helpful.  It doesn’t make sense for me to have a permanent office because I don’t know how my contracts will go.  This works with my contracts.”

When asked why she loves Office Nomads, she has much to say.  “It’s near Molly Moon’s.  It’s easy to get here by bike or bus. I love that they play KEXP all day.  I love the music.  I also like the tea varieties.” Oh, and she finds it to be a great place to get work done, too.

Singin’ the Blues Special!

Got the work from home blues? Finding yourself waiting for the phone to ring so that you can actually talk to a person instead of a computer screen? Attempting to have meaningful conversation with your coffee maker? We know how hard it can be. Don’t keep yourself trapped inside all alone! Get yourself out of the house and amongst some friendly coworkers already. Head over to Office Nomads and tell us your best story (or sing us your saddest song) of your work at home blues and we’ll reward you with a free week of coworking.

Suzi Tucker

Website: http://biznik.com/members/suzi-tucker

Member Since: July 2008

Type of Member: Resident

Suzi started coming to Office Nomads after three months of trying the ‘home office’ thing in her one bedroom condo.  She would try and work from her living room then go to Victrola (local coffee shop) then home then to Remedy Teas (local tea shop).  Each place could only keep her focused for two hours before she needed something different.  She found Office Nomads and, with it, a place to hold onto her sanity.  “I came here one day over a year ago and never left.  That day when I left Office Nomads I walked by Victrola and knew I was done with that” (for work, I’m betting she’ll still head there for the delicious coffee).

At Office Nomads Suzi has been able to stay focused on her work and complete major projects. She is an independent contractor working for a client that is a multinational, multi-institutional research organization creating an online interactive learning experience. “I bring to bear my unique combination of experiences in education, the physical sciences, and design to create engaging experiences that educate and inspire visitors. I handle concept, development, and design for both physical and online exhibits.”   Her work has led her to learn more about such topics as Alzheimer’s, global warming, neurology and more while creating educational exhibits.   Check out her latest project at http://www.emergentuniverse.org when it goes live on October 1st.

Closing her apartment door behind her in the morning and coming to work at Office Nomads has helped Suzi feel like a real person.   “My job didn’t feel real when I wasn’t leaving my house to work…Now I can set these very clean boundaries for my work.  When I’m here I work.  When I’m home, I don’t. “

Suzi is a great, positive individual in the Office Nomads space.  She loves coming to many of the evening events.  These events prove to be great opportunities to connect with the other folks working around her.

“I rave about this place all the time.  Office Nomads is $475 a month.  Therapy is so much more expensive.  This is the better deal.”

Look for Suzi at Office Nomads Turns Two and chat her up about her awesome experience here at Office Nomads.

The appeal of co-working seems clear: It provides people like Brunelle a professional and social package that most alternatives can’t match. For starters, there’s the real-live-human camaraderie you can’t get from Facebook or text messaging, as well as the potential for networking and uncovering new business opportunities. A co-working office can also offer a sounding board for ideas in an informal setting. And it relieves, for the most part, the energy-sapping world of office politics–not to mention blood-draining commutes.

Pretty awesome!  And yes, they’re talking about Resident member David Brunelle, also in the photo above.  Definitely take a look if you get a chance, and be sure to pick up a copy of Entrepreneur Magazine when you get a chance – this month is ch0ck-full of great articles.

…and you’re invited!

It’s officially time to celebrate Office Nomads turning two! That’s right, we’ll be crossing into our third year coworking in Seattle, and want to throw a party to celebrate.  Here are the important details:

Office Nomads Turns TWO!
Thursday, October 8
6-10pm
@OfficeNomads – 1617 Boylston Ave., Second Floor

As usual, there will be drinks, food, and great people.  We’ll also be featuring new art from Kuros Zahedi, who’s beautiful piece “Garden of Hope” has been living in our main conference room for almost a year now.  More of his art will be out and about throughout the space, and it is not to be missed!  This date syncs up with the Blitz! Capitol Hill Art Walk – so if you’re planning on attending the art walk, make Office Nomads a stop for sure!

Come on by, meet the awesome members of Office Nomads, and raise a glass with us as we celebrate our first two years.

Want to RSVP to let us know you’re coming?  Here are some of the spots you can find the event online (because everyone has their favorite…):

Facebook
Twitvite
Upcoming

We can’t wait to see you!

Event Details:
Capitol Hill Blitz!
Thursday, August 13
Stop by Office Nomads between 6-8pm for art viewing and shmoozing.

You can find more details on our newest featured artist here, as well as by visiting Stuart’s Flickr page.  We are already loving the new pieces that are up – not only on the regular “art walls,” but also adorning the Green Room as well.  Stuart, thanks for jumping into the art rotation schedule here at Office Nomads – we’re honored to have your work here!

Here’s a teaser for ya…