Inspiring Young Entrepreneurs: Using Our Spaces for Good

One of my favorite things about owning a coworking space is having a physical space to host community events.

My passion project right now is the Sprout Children’s Business Expo which is a program I am building where kids get to explore entrepreneurship by participating in a children’s business workshop and then have a table at an expo/craft fair type of event that is exclusively for kids to sell their items at. We just did the 2nd one and it was amazing. We had over 60 kids participate and the quality and creativity and professionalism of these kids was so beautiful to see! We partnered with the local First Friday Art Walk event so we were on their tour which helped bring in shoppers. It was a wonderful evening!

Check out photos and more here: https://www.facebook.com/SproutExpo

What are some of the ways you use your space for good?

What are some of your favorite things about owning a coworking space?

Hello Aloma from Viana do Castelo, Portugal :slight_smile:

I am precisely developing a project identical to yours - enterprising children - and it would be interesting to exchange some ideas with you by email if you are interested. What do you think ?

What are some of the ways you use your space for good?

I opened up a cowork space for several reasons, but probably the biggest of them is to love connecting people, personally and professionally, and helping them grow, knowing that I somehow contribute to it. This is what I have done so far, through events, dinners, networking meetings.

What are some of your favorite things about owning a coworking space?

Conhcer innovative projects and connect with people from all over the world, aware that otherwise would be much more difficult

LINK Cowork & Business

Ivone

terça-feira, 11 de Dezembro de 2018 às 23:53:53 UTC, Aloma Loren escreveu:

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One of my favorite things about owning a coworking space is having a physical space to host community events.

My passion project right now is the Sprout Children’s Business Expo which is a program I am building where kids get to explore entrepreneurship by participating in a children’s business workshop and then have a table at an expo/craft fair type of event that is exclusively for kids to sell their items at. We just did the 2nd one and it was amazing. We had over 60 kids participate and the quality and creativity and professionalism of these kids was so beautiful to see! We partnered with the local First Friday Art Walk event so we were on their tour which helped bring in shoppers. It was a wonderful evening!

Check out photos and more here: https://www.facebook.com/SproutExpo

What are some of the ways you use your space for good?

What are some of your favorite things about owning a coworking space?

I am an educator at heart with over 13 years as an educator. Many of my friends are teachers and what we often hear in teacher circles is the need for self-care and wanting to be appreciated. Starting in 2019, we will offer free coworking days for educators to use our space to plan and meet with their colleagues. On the weekends, we have paint and sip classes so we’re partnering with a Title 1 school to giveaway some free passes as teacher and parent incentives. We are planning some type of event for teacher appreciation week. Just not sure what it is as of today. During Back to School season, we will host a supply drive and book drive for a local school near our space.

Several of the high schools in our area wanted to partnerships with local small businesses to support their Entrepreneur initiatives for the Career Magnet programs so we are working on a partnership with a local high school.

Our space just opened so I would love to hear what others have to say about owning a coworking space.

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Tamika Washington

Hi Aloma and others,

This is very cool. Coincidentally we are are hosting a similar project at Function Coworking Community in Baltimore on Sunday. We have 25 youth vendors and performers lined up.

Our event is listed on FB at https://www.facebook.com/events/264211690962715/

Last night, with our local state senator, we hosted a toy drive for kids and families in need. We also give discounted space to local small-scale non-profit organizations.

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Gene Ward

Co-Founder and Director of Community Engagement

Cell: 202-658-6329 | Email: gene…@befunction.al | Website: www.befunction.al

I can relate to this, but am a freelance trainer working with
seniors and physically disabled people to build digital
confidence; health and social care circles are hard to enter in my
position, and I’m moving towards an inclusive coworking space in
an area with very few office spaces. Very keen now to work with
young people and older people in a small business forum type
affair, also having to look at using cafe bars which open during
the day and have good access - I give myself a hard time being
inclusive.

The best part is the mix of skills and ages I feel.

Paul

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Tamika
Washington

“What are some of the ways you use your space for good? What are some of your favorite things about owning a coworking space?”

Thanks for asking this question, I like it! These are the same for me.

Productive work in a cozy community are the top values members have for here. I value it for that. The space is just a way to get paid for community, at least for me. I view us as having two overlapping communities now – one is seven and a half years old, and the other is two years old.

There’s the “Community Mission Statement: Cozy working alongside people doing what they’re passionate about and committed to, where 80% of people say hi. Come and work here!” I like all of that.

Personally I like when there are deep vulnerable conversations that are joyful, with laughter and connection and presence. My favorite thing to do is facilitate the weekly optional member meetings at each location.

For meetups, members can host meetups in their conference room time - up to 3 hours per member every day. This month there’s: 500 Women Scientists, Functional Programming, Game Dev, Legal Innovation & Technology. And members organize member events. In the past month there was a holiday party, a grilled cheese brunch, and a Thanksgiving leftovers lunch.

Some things I value is that it’s a community where people: are responsive to requests and value responsibility and each have congruence in their words and actions, where there’s a lot of trust, where it’s open to people regardless of how cool they are or what their perspective is and where I’m constantly surprised by the connections people make, where we have collective agency to make happen what we very much want - together and individually, where there are friendships for years and years…

-Alex Linsker, Collective Agency, Portland Oregon https://collectiveagency.co/

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On Tuesday, December 11, 2018 at 3:53:53 PM UTC-8, Aloma Loren wrote:

One of my favorite things about owning a coworking space is having a physical space to host community events.

My passion project right now is the Sprout Children’s Business Expo which is a program I am building where kids get to explore entrepreneurship by participating in a children’s business workshop and then have a table at an expo/craft fair type of event that is exclusively for kids to sell their items at. We just did the 2nd one and it was amazing. We had over 60 kids participate and the quality and creativity and professionalism of these kids was so beautiful to see! We partnered with the local First Friday Art Walk event so we were on their tour which helped bring in shoppers. It was a wonderful evening!

Check out photos and more here: https://www.facebook.com/SproutExpo

What are some of the ways you use your space for good?

What are some of your favorite things about owning a coworking space?