The League of Extraordinary Coworking Spaces

January 25th, 2012 by jeremy

Today NextSpace is proud to announce the launch of the League of Extraordinary Coworking Spaces, more affectionately known as LEXC or just “The League.” LEXC is a unique network of coworking spaces with a common standard of excellence and a common purpose of providing the first seamless coworking experience in the country.  NextSpace is proud of being a founding partner in LEXC, along with our friends at Link Coworking in Austin, WorkBar in Boston, CoCo in Minneapolis, BlankSpaces in Los Angeles and 654 Croswell in Grand Rapids.

What does LEXC mean for you?  It means that if you’re a member at NextSpace, you’ve automatically got trusted access at all of the other LEXC venues.  As LEXC grows—we have a collective goal of having LEXC venues in the top 25 coworking markets in the U.S.—you’ll have a place to call home no matter where your work takes you.

This seamless coworking experience wouldn’t be possible without our other founding partner, LiquidSpace.  LiquidSpace is a mobile application company that helps people find great places to work.  As a NextSpace member, you can reserve work and meeting space anywhere in the LEXC network using your handy-dandy smart phone (I hear that a few of you have those).

As with most things here at NextSpace, LEXC is a grand experiment.  We all know that the world of work is rapidly changing.   Advances in technology, a rise in mobility, concerns over environmental issues, and a return to good-old-fashioned sanity are all affecting the how’s, when’s, where’s and why’s of work.  LEXC is an attempt to accelerate that change and make the “future of work” more accessible to you, our super-fab members.

Please check out the LEXC website.  If you haven’t already, please download the LiquidSpace app.  If you use another LEXC venue, let us know how it goes.  And, as always, thanks for believing in NextSpace. Thanks for believing in each other.  And thanks for being part of the (r)evolution of Work.

Posted in Blogroll, Jeremy's Blog

SOPA, PIPA & NextSpace

January 18th, 2012 by jeremy

Hey ‘spacers,

As most of you know, SOPA, PIPA, censorship, intellectual property, the First Amendment, and the future of the Internet are all being debated today by a wide variety of voices.  Websites like Google and Wikipedia are going dark today as a form of protest.  And Team NextSpace started discussing whether or not our website should go dark in solidarity.  Our website is staying up today, so I thought I’d share my thoughts on why I made that decision.

By way of background, I’ll say that at one point in my life, I had the privilege of raising my right hand and swearing to support and defend the Constitution of the United States.  Our First Amendment rights are something that truly set this country apart.  So I am no fan of censorship, on the Internet or anywhere else.

While thinking about SOPA, I did a little research (read: listened to a couple of stories on NPR!) and discovered that while companies like Google and Amazon who distribute content are against SOPA, companies and organizations that create content (like the film, music and entertainment industry) are for it.  As you know, NextSpace has members who come from both kinds of industries.  At Team NextSpace, we try very hard not to favor one member over another.  Quite the opposite, welcoming and supporting members from a wide range of industries/expertise is something that sets NextSpace apart from other shared office environments.  Indeed, your collective willingness to engage with each other, no matter what your professional or personal backgrounds, is what makes the NextSpace Community a vibrant, thriving place to work.  For that, I thank you.

From a high level, SOPA has emerged from a set of circumstances that sit at the root of many of the challenges that face our society today:  old rules, old models, and old paradigms are butting up against a new reality.  Whenever that happens, things get messy.  And in the case SOPA, I think it’s safe to say that the U.S. Congress may not be the best place to sort out that mess.  Instead, it takes some truly creative, innovative, passionate, visionary people to cut through the mess and develop solutions that will drive us forward.  It just so happens that I know of a place where we can find such people.  Yep, NextSpace.

I know that many of you are passionately interested in the issues surrounding SOPA.  And we love the fact that you’re never shy about sharing your opinions with us or with each other.  So I’m asking you to engage in an authentic, vigorous, respectful debate with each other.  You can do so on the NextSpace email lists, on the comment sections of this blog post, or around the NextSpace coffee pot.  And because of that debate, maybe NextSpace will be the place where a new paradigm or a new business model emerges for a fair and equitable balance between the content creators and the content distributors.  As you know, we call this process the NextSpace Effect™.  Because of you and because of the community that we create together, NextSpace is the only place in the world where you can get it.

So, the NextSpace website will stay up today.  Instead, I’ve asked the members of Team NextSpace to do what they do best:  build and curate a community where ideas discussed and solutions get created.  We can’t do that without all of you.  Again, thank you.

Posted in Blogroll, Jeremy's Blog

Reading Alone Sucks: Better Management

January 5th, 2012 by lindsay

After the holidays it’s time to get those biz brains a-whizzin’ and put those New Years resolutions to good use.  Don’t know where to begin? How about with management!  Our first book in the NextSpace business book club, “The One Minute Manager” by Kenneth Blanchard, has put the wheels in motion.  Take a gander at the book summary below and test out these management skills for yourself.

 

One Minute Manager Summary:

-weekly meetings with staff

-people work better when they feel good

-keep things short and simple

-invest in ppl- you all want the same thing!

-everyone is a potential winner (just got to find it)

 

Goal Setting:

-write a short list of goals

-review goals often

-point out good behavior and see if it matches your goals

-goals begin with behaviors, consequences maintain behaviors

 

One Minute Praising:

-people work better with instantaneous feedback

-tell ppl what was done right- be straightforward

-give a moment to react (feel good time)

-encourage more of this

-physical contact (means you support them)

 

One Minute Reprimand:

-eye contact (tell them you’re going to reprimand)

-do it immediately and be specific

-give a moment to react

-physical contact and say you’re on their side

-remind them of their value and that this was unlike them

-be over and done with it

 

3 Best Take-Aways:

-people work harder/better when they feel good, are encouraged

-when something goes wrong address it, discuss behavior and feelings

-set goals, review goals, achieve goals

 

 

Posted in Biz Book Blog

Reading Alone Sucks: The Beginning

December 21st, 2011 by lindsay

Coworking, professional, fun, networking, brainy, snarky.. What do these words mean? NextSpace! Let’s add a new word to the mix: literate.  As of late 2011, NextSpaced has starting a “Reading Alone Sucks” business book club because powering through business books alone can be hard work. Fear no more!  Each month ‘Spacers will have a chance to read a designated, informative, highly rated and relevant book, and then discuss it the first Tuesday of each month.  Wanna check it out?  Here are some insightful notes on “Getting to Yes” by Roger Fisher and William Ury to give you an idea.  Join in and stir up your biz brain!

Getting to Yes Summary:

-negotiate without giving in

-learn from doing

-it’s not about who wins, its how you make the deals

-be decent and get what you deserve (it doesn’t have to be one or the other)

 

Don’t Bargain over positions:

-mix of soft/hard negotiations

-change the game to negotiate on merits

-goals:

-reach wise/fair outcome efficiently/amicably

-solve problem

-yield to principle, not pressure

-what can you do, what can they do and what can a third party do

 

Separate ppl from problem: (soft on ppl, hard on problem)

-put yourself in their shoes

-understand their thinking

-change their perceptions: send them a message different than expected

-have them participate in process

-all emotions will come (don’t take it personally)

-allow them to let off steam

-don’t react to emotional outbursts

-use symbolic gestures (sometimes all you’ll need is an apology)

-communication is key

-active listening, speak with purpose, speak for understanding

-discuss problem, not the people

-build a working relationship

 

Focus on interests, not positions:

-behind positions are both shared and opposing interests

-find interests to determine common/uncommon ones

-ask why/why not?

-write them down

-be specific

-each side has multiple interests

-most powerful interests are basic human needs:

-security

-economic well-being

-sense of belonging

-recognition

-control over one’s life

-acknowledge their interests

-demonstrate appreciating their interests so they will appreciate yours

-put the problem before the answer

-look forward, not back

-be concrete yet flexible

 

Invent multiple options for mutual gain: (invent many, decide later)

-search for many answers, not only one

-separate inventing from deciding by brainstorming

-brainstorm-with your own side & with other side

-before:

1. Define purpose

2. Choose only a few participants

3. Change environment (this’ll suspend judgement)

4. Design informal atmosphere (relax!)

5. Choose one facilitator

-during:

1. Seat ppl on same side (physically will translate to mentally)

2. Clarify ground rules (no criticizing!)

3. Brainstorm-long list from every angle

4. Record ideas in full view (whiteboard)

-after:

1. star best ideas

2. improve/elaborate best ideas

3. set up time to evaluate and decide later (time to think alone helps)

-making offers are more effective than threats or warnings

 

Use Objective Criteria: principled agreement

-use fair standards (market value, scientific judgement, professional standards, efficiency, costs, moral standards, equal treatment, tradition, etc)

-reason/be open to reason on which standards are most appropriate

 

Best Alternative to Negotiated Agreement (BATNA):

-protect yourself-never go along too quickly

-have a bottom line

-don’t be too committed to reaching an agreement (have an alternative)

-make the most of your assets (what you own/have to leverage)

-develop BATNA:

-develop a list if no agreements are reached

-take some of promising ideas and convert them to practical alternatives

-tentatively select best alternatives

-consider other sides BATNA

 

Negotiation Jujitsu:

-if they push hard, you’ll want to push back, but don’t push back

-don’t attack their position, look beyond it

-invite criticism/advice to your ideas without defending them

-ask questions and pause (silence is one of your best weapons)

-use “correct me if I’m wrong” phrase; don’t be attacking

-wait to make important decision (don’t make it on the spot)

 

If They Use Dirty Tricks:

-deliberate deception:

-phony facts (unless there’s a good reason to trust someone, don’t)

-incorrect authority

-just because they are negotiating with you does not meant they have authority to

-it’s legit to ask “how much authority do you have in this negotiation?”

-psychological warfare:

-stressful situation

-physical place of negotiation may’ve been chosen to stress you out (make                                 suggestions for a change in scenery)

-personal attacks-attack appearance, status, refuse to listen, make you repeat         yourself

-good cop, bad cop routine: you naturally want to give in/agree with good cop

-threats

-personal pressure:

-opposite party refuses to negotiate

-find their interest of why they don’t wan to negotiate

-extreme demands- bring this to their attention so they can see how redic it is

-escalate demands

-demands raised, resolved issues reopened

-call this to their attention and take a break (avoids impulse)

 

Dirty Tricks Helpful Insights

-establish deadlines, if a delay comes up, address it and restate deadline

-take it or leave it, use this tactic if you still cannot negotiate with other side

-don’t be a victim!  treat them/negotiate the same way as you would family/friends

 

3 Best Take Aways:

-silence is powerful and can be your greatest weapon

-physical placement of people can influence negotiation (sit on same side of table, comfortable environments for both sides of the party)

-treat them as you would family/friends to come to fair and efficient resolutions

 

 

Posted in Biz Book Blog

Chasing Community

December 15th, 2011 by sara

Good afternoon NextSpacers! My name is Jordin Rausch, a recent finalist for the position of Community Builder for NextSpace Santa Cruz.
 
Today I have been tasked with generating content for this blog, but where to start… I guess I could tell you a little about me. I’m a cancer, I like mixing peanut butter and jelly in a bowl to eat with a spoon, and I have an eight-year-old brother and six-year-old sister. I have three years of an English degree under my belt and sing tenor. But I think the most pertinent aspect about myself is that I am besotted with NextSpace.
 
It is a hard feeling to articulate. And even harder to pinpoint the reason I like NextSpace so much, but from the moment Google introduced us I have been restless.
 
It was at Black Cat Coffee in Scotts Valley. I had just finished reading Rework by 37 Signals and was consumed with finding every article and interview that mentioned the company. Their blatant irreverence for all things sacred in business was refreshing and gave a flash of color to the routine laden world I had been a part of for the better part of a year. I was switching off between Googling 37 Signals and reading about my new hobby, Arduino, when I stumbled on an article about Techshop and this new movement called Coworking.
 
The idea that a person can go to a common space and for a relatively small fee have access to the resources needed for personal and professional projects was in itself a rather cool idea. But Techshop went even further by offering its member base as a resource as well. To have access to not only the tools needed but also a pool of many like-minded individuals from vastly different backgrounds to bounce ideas off of and share personal experience was a revelation to me and I immediately forgot about microcontrollers as I began pursuing the idea of coworking. And it was through this search that I came across NextSpace.
 
To think that the object of my enthusiasm was so close! I had to reach out. I had to be a part of this. And so I wrote an email. Saying how much I loved what they were doing and asking if there was any possibility of a job shadow or volunteer position within the company. That’s right. I wanted to work for NextSpace as a volunteer.
 
After sending my spur of the moment message I came back to earth a little bit and tempered my enthusiasm, as I knew the chances of a reply were slim. Imagine my surprise when a couple days later I received an invitation to join Iris at the Santa Cruz Space for a tour and informal interview.
 
Getting to poke around the space and speak with one of the big wigs at NextSpace had me seeing stars. And a growing interest turned into a need. A need to have a place in this amazing company and the community it is spawning. And so, I have run headlong towards this company and whether it is as a team member or a community member I have little doubt that I will be sticking with NextSpace for a good long while.
 

Posted in Guest Posts

DeathSpace Opens New Portals to Coworking Hell

October 31st, 2011 by lindsay

For immediate release.

October 31, 2011 – Noose Flash: DeathSpace, the co-working environment for the undead and soulless, opens new portals to hell in Los Angeles and San Jose.

DeathSpace is the best co-working option for entrepreneurs and business people who work themselves to death– and beyond. In addition to housing the cadavers of moribund start-ups, this festering meatlocker also serves as an entrepreneurial stinkubator for ghoulish ideas. Many a C-corpse gets its start here, and the DeathSpace community is known for supporting these businesses from seed stage, through expansion stage, all the way to rotting bloat stage. On any given day, a visitor to DeathSpace can witness fetid entrepreneurs vying to ensnare companions on their business’ journey through the valley of death. Like moths to flame, investors can’t get enough of these hell-spawned up-starts, and they can be found pouring over Excel deadsheets to calculate devilnue, cost of good souls, and net burnings for their next promising incestment.

But beware! An anonymous sorcerer warns of the so-called “DeathSpace Effect,” whereby still-redeemable souls are eternally enraptured in this unholy orgy of chaotic commerce. “This place is like Hotel California played by Pantera,” swooned one capitalists of the apocalypse, drunk on theDeathSpace Effect. As maggots spilled from under her blackened tongue, “I wouldn’t trade this for a first-class ticket to hell!” A chorus of gravely voices emanating from both nowhere and everywhere concurred: “This place is a whole coffin of awesome.”

DeathSpace.
The (de)composition of work.

Reported by Matthew Scarichiba

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Posted in Lindsay's Blog

Santa Cruz Community Builder Job Opening

October 28th, 2011 by iris

NextSpace Membership Coordinator

NextSpace Coworking + Innovation, Inc. is one of the coolest spots to work in Santa Cruz.  We need some help managing our coworking community of 200+ freelancers, independent consultants, start-ups, and small businesses.  So we’re hiring a membership coordinator and we’d be honored if you would consider applying.

The NextSpace Community Builder (Ns Ceebee) is part of the NextSpace leadership team and reports directly to the Community Curator. Think of it as the Robin to the Curator’s Batman. S/he coordinates the daily activities required to keep our 200+ members happy and productive, and the space running smoothly.

Duties, Responsibilities, and other Stuff You Do at This Job:

Every NextSpace employee helps to foster, facilitate, and manage the NextSpace community.  We do this so that our members can create products, services, and solutions for the global marketplace.  We work for our members.  Everything you do as the NsMC should be done with this idea in mind.

The NS CeeBee handles all the tasks required to sign up new NextSpace members:  giving tours to prospective members, assisting new members with filling out membership applications, adding new members to our database, adding new members to our social and professional networks, and ensuring new members understand how to use and enjoy all the amenities at NextSpace.

The Ns CeeBee acts as the administrative arm of the dynamic NextSpace leadership duo. Tasks include date entry, calendaring, ordering supplies, interfacing with vendors and setting up and cleaning up for our various events. Some evenings are required with this job, say 2-4 per month Max!

Hey, every job has some not-so-sexy responsibilities.  So there’s always organizing to be done, coffee to be made, messes to be cleaned up, phones to be answered, and 1,001 little details to be attended to.  The Ns CeeBee, along with the entire NextSpace leadership team, will dive into this stuff with gusto and good humor.

Qualifications:

You gotta like people. That’s a big one. Huge, even.
You’ll do really well at this job if you’re self-motivated, detail-oriented, and like to work as part of a team.
You are a whiz with technology, even if you aren’t aware of that yet. This job is about people, and our people are technologists so you are too! We are a Mac shop, so it’s best if you know how to use OS X, though not required. Some of our members have PCs so if you can trouble shoot a few IT issues on a Window’s device that’s a plus. We do expect though that you can write a proper and professional email, browse the interwebs and do online research using The Google.
You are comfortable and interested in social media tools. This includes Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Flickr and WordPress.
You like events, can help plan them and don’t mind attending or throwing a few in the evenings each month.
You are a creative troubleshooter who doesn’t stop until the problem is solved.
You don’t mind a little multitasking here and there. In fact, multi-tasking is the name of the coworking game, so you should be able to juggle the phone, your regular tasks and the constant little things that come up by the minute with grace and thoroughness.
You’re a great communicator. Our members are talkative and they wanna talk to you. This is the fun part of the job. Sometimes you gotta talk around a sticky situation and you need to do so with confidence and transparency. This is the challenging part of the job.
We think we’re pretty interesting people (the CEO can juggle flaming torches).  And we like to work with other interesting people.  So we’ll want to know what you do in life besides work.
A sizeable personality that adds to the mix is a plus.

This is a full time (40 hours/week) entry level job and pay is commensurate with experience. Our goal with this job is to train you into the Curator position so this is a career track, you’ve got an exciting future here! Interested?  Please send us a resume, a short statement about why you think you can totally rock this job, and a couple of fun facts about you.  You can reach us at iris (at) nextspace (dot) us.  And be sure to take a spin through www.NextSpace.us as well.  Have fun!

NextSpace is an equal opportunity employer.

Posted in Blogroll, Iris' Blog, News

Who Really Works at NextSpace?

October 20th, 2011 by lindsay

Every person who strolls through NextSpace adds to the overall dynamic of the community. Some members are polar opposites ranging in age (23-88), height (4′ 8″ to 6′ 9″), personality, company focus, and interests. One of our newest members, Henry, runs a freight shipping company and has been doing so for 50 plus years. Dusty, who’s been a member for about a year now, is in the early phase of his career building point of sale systems for restaurants and bars. It’s pretty incredible how Henry is still working in this point of his life and Dusty (who’ll be carded for at least another decade) can work side by side.

At the desk adjacent to Dusty sits Cliff, a branding attorney and amazing cheesecake chef. Cliff first came to NextSpace delivering one of his cheesecakes to a client and learned about coworking at the NextSpace launch party. At this party he won a free month of membership in a drawing and has been a dedicated member ever since.

Another member who’s stuck around from the beginning is the lovely and always dressed to impress Kat. Kat is a sex and intimacy coach who has written multiple books on the subject and often holds conferences for her clients here at the space. Her home away from home is at one of our comfy workstations on the third floor.

Kat’s neighbor, Rod- who is quite fluent in tech-speak, often helps Kat and other members at NextSpace with iPad and Apple issues. He is currently working on a kick-a** app which will change the way you choose and watch movies. In a nut shell it’s like a Pandora but for movies (how (r)evolutionary!). Keep an ear out for the launch of this world-shaking app!

Another way Rod shakes the community here at the space is in his generous supply of buttery croissants. He brings breakfast treats with him every day he’s at NextSpace because if he “gets one croissant, why not get a dozen”. Rod has earned quite a nice reputation and loads of good karma from all the NextSpace foodies. When you see croissants in the kitchen you know that Rod must be around!

It surely is a diverse, intellectual, go-getting crowd here at NextSpace. My favorite part of the huge spectrum is introducing others who work in completely different realms, then finding they have numerous common interests. NextSpace is truly the workplace for the new economy; we cowork across ages, genders, industries, and (of course) with warm croissants.

Posted in Lindsay's Blog

The “NextSpace Effect”

August 25th, 2011 by lindsay

As I drove to NextSpace Santa Cruz this morning, my heart raced with anticipation as I inched closer and closer to the space. I lived in this beautiful city for 5 years and interviewed here for my current position about 5 months prior (I say position because it feels so much more than just a job).

After I popped my Zipcar (my first time!) in the parking lot around the corner, I leapt to NextSpace. I planted my computer and trusty stainless steel water bottle in the same little round cafe table I had sat at before and glanced around at the familiar place.

In the same space, with the same computer and I believe same shoes, I quickly realize that I am no longer the same. Before my eyes flash everything I’ve done, everyone I’ve met and the person I’ve become. And how did I get here? Just an amazing ol’ coworking space which I call my second home.

I’ve made some new good friends here, ahem, my boss, the incredible Rebecca (now how many people can say that?!) who has taught me oodles about business, social skills and maintaining a positive outlook on life. She continues to wow me and I feel so lucky to work with a person so special.

Ohh yes, and all you members, I haven’t forgotten about you! Every single one of you has helped shape me and teach me lessons (even the difficult members who hate doing dishes). I can confidently say that I understand more about technology than ever before and am becoming, how do you say, a geek.

It’s also been fun training for the half-marathon and running with others who love it as much as I do. Brilliant thinking Iris and team! You have all pushed me to run faster and stronger, especially up those hills (Tom, you da man!).

Never in a million years did I think I could apply my music degree into any job after school, but Rebecca’s insistence on finding a NextSpace piano proved me wrong. The Dodgy Winos (our band) do me well every Friday and I can experience the members’ creative musician side. We now know “Don’t Stop Believing” by heart and we don’t stop ourselves!

Thinking back on the person I was before (timid, quiet, awkward), I am thrilled to admit that I’ve grown. I am more comfortable in front of a group (no bright-red tomato face anymore-well, as much), and I understand how to compromise and work out situations to make both parties happy. We also have an awesome intern Daniel from Switzerland (parlez-vous francais?) who I’ve helped manage. He has taught me how to be more direct in management and better ways that I can communicate to my managers as well. Woohoo growth! Even though I’m still 5’3″ and awkward.

Really this reminiscence is a thank you to everyone who’s touched my life. NextSpace has transformed the things I thought I could do into reality, helped introduce me to fabulous people and affected who I am (for the much, much better). Coworking is truly the (r)evolution of work, and life! Looking forward to the ride to come and can’t wait to see where I’ll be next.

Posted in Lindsay's Blog

Not Catching a Break.

August 22nd, 2011 by lindsay

Most days, running NextSpace Coworking is a dream come true. The people are amazing, the staff is wonderful, the coffee is fantastic. It’s my job, which I can’t believe, to chat it up with members, connect them, hang out, throw cool events, think big thoughts about the future of work, and drink wine. Pretty sure that all adds up to the awesomest job in the world.

Every once in a while, however, we hit a complete sh*tstorm of headache, and this happens to be that day. In fact, that week. I’m down in LA at NextSpace Los Angeles, helping Jonathan man the shop so Sara can take some much-needed vacation. And we’ve just hit one crazy complication after another, making this the toughest week ever.

The crux of the problem is this. We’ve been working with our internet guys for months to get the full amount of internet we’ve been paying for (20mb/20mb). They have been providing 10mb/10mb. On Wednesday morning the internet went down, and we later learned that our internet provider XO wrote an email to AT&T, telling them to cut our internet entirely in preparation to install the 20/20, but in fact, XO was not ready to install 20/20 so just completely screwed us over. Net result? We have been without internet for days, despite an SLA agreement guaranteeing 99.9% up-time.

It’s taken most of our collective time and brainpower to deal with it – working with our IT guy Peter, dealing with AT&T blaming XO, XO blaming AT&T, and members being very understanding but understandably frustrated as well and checking in every few minutes for an update. Days like this, it’s hard to keep all the other balls up in the air, and has catalyzed a landslide of other sh*t:

1. We ran out of printer toner and no longer have a working printer
2. We ran out of paper towels
3. Then we ran out of coffee
4. With the internet down, our VOIP phones are also down
5. The large main table we have on loan got taken back, so we are running out of seating
6. It got us so frazzled that when the internet guy finally came we realized the server closet was locked and the only set of keys, since Sara’s set is on vacation, was locked in there with it, so we had to have a locksmith come out

Fortunately, as I write this last paragraph, the internet is back up and flying. We have replaced the paper towels and coffee. We rearranged furniture so we have a cool make-shift large table built out of 4 desks no one is using yet. The phones are back online. The server closet is unlocked. We ordered more toner and it will be overnighted Monday. But god-damn. Our 3:58pm Happy Hour can not come soon enough today.

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Posted in Rebecca's Blog

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