2011. What a wonderful year for coworking at Office Nomads! Here are 10 highlights of a fabulous year on Capitol Hill:

1. We searched and searched for a great place to open a Northend Office Nomads. While we didn’t find the perfect fit, we did connect with a great community of coworkers, and are continuing to keep our eyes open for an opportunity for a Northend space.
2. From building bikes that can survive in harsh rural African conditions to helping folks find clinical trials they can take part in, our members accomplished great things this year. They also contributed some fantastic things to the office, including fancy-shmancy signage. Office Nomads members, you guys rule.
3. There were pranks. Many pranks.
4. We geeked out on our own member data.
5. We celebrated Coworking Day on August 9th in Seattle, alongside of celebrations happening worldwide.
6. Jacob made us a Twitter Box!
7. We all got to work in different ways.
8. Nomads shared all the different ways they worked to negotiate their memberships with their bosses. This not only was really interesting to hear about, but has helped other Nomads (and coworkers around the world) negotiate coworking memberships of their own.
9. We got our travel on! Office Nomads represented at a variety of events around the country and the world, including Austin, Berlin, and LA.
10. Most importantly, we rounded out our awesome team with the addition of the absolutely fabulous Chelsea McClain. We could not be more excited to have her as a part of the Office Nomads team!

And that just about rounds it out. What an incredible year! Thanks to all of the Nomads, our friends, and our families for making Office Nomads all that it is.

Chelsea & Alex, community cultivating rockstars

See you all in 2012!

Jacob and I regularly survey our members so we can learn more about their experiences at Office Nomads and with coworking. We analyze this data to help us create a coworking space that truly works for our members, and to ensure that we have our finger on the pulse of what makes our space work. We recognize there is a lot of value in sharing this information, so today we thought we’d post some interesting tidbits we’ve learned from our experience creating Office Nomads! Here are a few points we’ve pulled from two of our surveys: a Coworking Survey completed by members who have been with us for two months or more, and an Exit Survey of members who choose to end their membership at Office Nomads. Both of these are ongoing so the data changes over time and requires regular analysis. Each survey, as of June 2011, has been filled out by approximately 45 individuals.

Why do members come to Office Nomads?
It is a common misconception that individuals seek out membership at a coworking space because they need to share resources like the internet, coffee, or a fax machine. Through our experience starting Office Nomads, we’ve learned that individuals come to a coworking space as more of a lifestyle (or perhaps “workstyle”) choice as opposed to a services choice. Here’s a chart taken from our Coworking Survey results:

We think this makes it pretty clear that independent and mobile workers today don’t need more places just to plop down their laptops and get to work. What they need is a simple platform that enables an in-person connection with others during their workdays.

Some ideas about why they stay
What brings new members to our doors is not necessarily what is going to encourage them to maintain their membership at Office Nomads. We try to get a sense of what benefits our members experience by being a part of Office Nomads.

• 2/3 of surveyed members report they have seen an increase in their productivity since joining Office Nomads.
• 81% of surveyed members think of Office Nomads as a place where they “can meet and connect with potential collaborators for work.”
• 83% of surveyed members report their “work/life balance is healthier than it was before [they] joined Office Nomads.”
• 72% of surveyed members tell us their familiarity and knowledge of the Capitol Hill neighborhood (where Office Nomads is located) has increased since becoming a member of Office Nomads.

Why do they leave?
Part of being responsible coworking space owners is figuring out not only what brings new members to our doors, but trying to understand why members walk away. Attrition rates can only tell us how many people walk out the door, so we appreciate getting candid feedback when members depart.

The exit survey has been an invaluable tool because we can keep an eye out for red flags that do require our attention. But not every member who joins finds coworking to be the solution for them.  In fact, the exit survey process gives us an opportunity to make recommendations about where people might find a better fit. I’d recommend any coworking space operator to survey the folks who end their membership.

And now a few questions: If you own/operate a coworking space, does this data jive with what you’ve learned from your members? If you’re a coworking space user, does our membership data resonate with the reasons you’ve chosen to work out of a coworking space? Let us know – we’re curious! We’re taking all we’ve learned here in Capitol Hill and are trying to apply it to creating another space – you can read more about that process on our grow page.

Thanks to all who were able to make it out to the first meetup about the opening of our second coworking space. It was great to see some new faces along with some current members, and to get to hear more about what folks are looking for when it comes to building our next coworking community.

Hosting meetups such as we did last night is an important step in the early days of any coworking space. Not only is it important for us to provide a space for members of the community to give recommendations and pose requests for how the space will work, but  there is huge value in creating a way for members to actually get involved in the process. As we’ve said before, people support what they help to create. We hope that folks who are interested in this earlier phase will join us to go visit spaces, continue to brainstorm with us as we develop the plans for the space, and get to know other members before we open the doors to the next space.

If you missed the event, never fear – the next one will be soon! And as always, if you have any suggestions, feedback, or recommendations to make, drop us an e-mail at grow AT officenomads DOT com so we can get you in the conversation.

Today’s current standings from our Neighborhood Campaign are as follows:

1. Ballard
2. Fremont
3. Greenlake / U-District (a tie!)
4. Columbia City
5. West Seattle

Thanks to all who have sent us their feedback thus far! If you wish your neighborhood was in the #1 place, be sure to get your vote in!  We’ll be keeping the polls open through the end of the  year, and are excited to hear where it is you’d love to see our next coworking space.

Oh and hey! Did you see the piece the Seattle Times did on coworking in Seattle? It’s a great article – you should read it!

Have you heard? Office Nomads is looking to open another coworking space in Seattle!  At our three year anniversary party, we took the opportunity to let folks know about our plans, and even created a fancy-shmancy web page to go along with it.

We’re incredibly excited about the opportunity of opening another space, and bringing coworking to another one of Seattle’s great neighborhoods. We’ve had an incredible time creating Office Nomads for the last three years, and are eager to kick-start another platform on which another incredible coworking community can grow.

You can read a whole bunch about our intentions around the second space by heading to the Grow Page and downloading one or both PDFs which overview our business and financial plans. We are in the beginning phases of the process, and are working hard to gather the necessary funds to open as well as reaching out to various communities to hear more about what they’d like to see in a coworking space.

For a couple of weeks now, we’ve been asking for community feedback on where we should open said second space. Here are some initial results in order of popularity:

1. Ballard
2. Fremont
3. University District
4. Green Lake
5. Belltown / Columbia City / West Seattle
6. Uptown (Lower Queen Anne)
7. Queen Anne
8. Georgetown
9. Magnolia
10. Wallingford

Wish you saw your neighborhood higher on the list? Well get your voice heard by heading over to the Grow Page and submitting your preference. Be sure to drop your e-mail address in the contact field so we can keep you posted on our progress.

Have other feedback for us?  Drop us an email via grow AT officenomads DOT com and we’ll be happy to start a conversation with you.

Seattle Night Owls, we hear you! We’re excited to announce that Office Nomads will now be offering extended hours every Thursday! Our office will be staffed and open until midnight each Thursday, starting October 7th.  How great is that?  Membership rates are the same and managed the same way (non-resident members sign in when they get here). This will help out those folks who can’t get to the office early enough or who work best when it’s dark outside.

This is just a trial that we’re running until the end of the year. If all goes well with these first couple of months, we’ll look to make it a permanent staple of our offerings.

Have any questions?  Interested if it’d be right for you?  Drop us an email and we’ll be happy to help you out.

Thank you to Flickr user mrhayata for use of the great owl photo!

Lisa Grossman

Member Since: August 2010

Type of Member: Part-Time 10

Lisa couldn’t pick her favorite planet, much less a favorite solar system.  They were all fascinating in their own right and it was impossible to decide which one she would focus on for the rest of her career as an astronomer. It had been her dream, ever since she had learned about the possibility of alien life, to be an astronomer or, to be more exact, an alien hunter.  Unfortunately, such a career path required a specificity that she didn’t want.  Instead Lisa took her Astronomy degree from Cornell and went to UC Santa Cruz where they turn recovering scientists into journalists.

That is how we now find Lisa.  She is a science writer who educates the masses on new research in physics and astronomy in a manner that is interesting and accessible.  While at UC Santa Cruz she spent time interning at The Santa Cruz Sentinel, SLAC National Accelerator Lab and Wired.com. After graduating in 2009, she did some writing for New Scientist and Science News.

Now she has found her way to a new city and new job. “Right now, I think I am living the dream,” she admits.  “I just wanted to write about space for anybody, anywhere.  Just get it out there.”  Wired Science knew Lisa and her work and has picked her up as a full-time writer.   Now Wired.com features regular postings by Lisa.  If you see something regarding space on the website, good chance the byline has her name.

Lisa is an excellent addition to ON.  Collectively, we do a pretty good job of nerding-out over anything science or technology related.  It’s pretty neat to have someone here working for one to the biggest technology sites.  Add to that the fact that she likes board games, hiking and skiing and we’re over the moon for her.

Maybe it’s a bit of a flashback for Lisa and her summer at Johns Hopkins’ Center for Talented Youth. “A nerd camp based on 7^th grade SATs,” Lisa explained.  “All the kids at the camp had an extra geeky side to them that wasn’t being expressed at home so this was a fun, safe space to be nerdy.”  Does that sound at all like Office Nomads to anyone else?

Lisa, we’re so glad you found us and are thrilled to have you on board as a Nomad!

This time three years ago, Jacob and I were nervously working through the process of negotiating a great lease for our space here on Boylston Ave.  We had no idea what we were getting ourselves into. All we had was a great idea, some fantastic friends to help us realize it, and finally, 5000 square feet to try and make it happen.

Three years later, we couldn’t be more excited about all that has happened at Office Nomads. Since that first day, more than 500 people have come through our doors – some staying for just a day, while others have been here nearly every day since we opened. We’ve seen new businesses hatched, clients wooed, friendships forged, and yoga habits begun. It has been an incredible journey thus far, and we are encouraged and bolstered by the energy and excitement that comes from our space each day. It is a dream come true.

With our sincerest gratitude to our members and friends, let us thank you (with beer and cake)!

Please join us at the office on Thursday, October 14th from 6-9pm for our next open house and anniversary party! It’ll be a special night and we’ll have some special announcements to make. Please RSVP here on Facebook. And feel free to invite a friend or two!

Today marks a big day in coworking history: it’s the 5 year anniversary of coworking!

5 years ago today, Brad Neuberg sparked a movement when he coined the word “coworking” and started Spiral Muse in San Francisco. From the start, coworking was crafted as an open model, and one that required participation in order to succeed.  Since Brad’s initial start with Spiral Muse, a community of coworking advocates has grown and flourished across the globe.  Spaces have opened – each with their own identity and goals – all connecting back to one another through the open-sourced Coworking Wiki.  Theory, practice, and advice has flowed freely at the Coworking Google Group, growing from a small handful of participants to a whopping 2700 voices. Spaces across the globe connect their members by participating in the Coworking Visa Program. And we’ve only just gotten started.

There are more people than I could ever possibly list who have contributed, shared and queried the Coworking Google Group, thus creating the coworking community we now have.  They have contributed selflessly, advised wisely, and questioned thoughtfully throughout the years, enabling each of us to strengthen our work in the coworking world.

These folks have not only contributed to the growth and success of coworking overall, but to the growth and success of our coworking space here in Seattle. It has been over three years since the idea of Office Nomads hatched between Jacob Sayles and I. When we first got talking about what it is we wanted to do, it was discovering the term coworking that enabled us to clarify our goals and to feel a sense of belonging in a business venture that had previously felt uncharted. Coworking became our compass. Being able to identify as a coworking space gave us meaning, a platform to launch from, and a community to provide us with the support we needed.

During those early days of building and then opening Office Nomads, the coworking community was our sounding board, our advisers, and most importantly our great friends. There will never be enough words of thanks to each member of the coworking community.

So here’s to you, coworking. We raise our glasses in true salute. Off to another great year!

Eric Von Blon

Member Since: The beginning

If you have been in Office Nomads, you have met Eric.  It would be near impossible to miss him.  He’s a bit of a favorite around the office.  In the early morning he is the one who comes in and makes Office Nomads presentable for all of you.  He is also known for cooking up some mean waffles which pairs nicely with the hot coffee he gets going for all of you.

Eric came upon us after a long friendship with Jacob and a serious need for a place outside of his home.  Jacob told him about his plan to open Office Nomads and Eric jumped. “I had been working from home for 8 months and was going absolutely mad. It was really serendipitous.”  And so, Eric showed up and has been part of Office Nomads ever since.

In actuality Eric is trained as a Circuit Provisioner.  “I wouldn’t know where to begin to actually explain it,” he confessed.  The quick explanation involved ordering, tracking, and turning-up telecommunication circuits.  Yes, turns out Eric is a complex individual.  He is on the hunt now for a fresh gig in that field and until then he has taken up many activities to fill his time.  He does Quality Assurance work for Ryan Salva and Capitol Media.  That entails reviewing the websites they have designed and making sure nothing is broken.  At the same time he is a rock star in the house cleaning biz.  A number of Nomads have hired him and have welcomed Eric to work shirtless (yup) to make their homes sparkling.

If you haven’t befriended Eric yet, you really should.  He always seems to be involved in interesting stuff.  Many of us have seen the photos of him from the Zombie Walk in Fremont.  The cocollage features him taking a bit of Jacob’s head, it appears.  He acts as Fire Safety for Fire Spinners of Spinnery Arts.  That really means that he makes sure that nobody is lit on fire or hurt in any other way so, in other words, he’s the most important guy to have around when playing with fire.

Next time you’re in Office Nomads, make sure you chat up Eric.  Maybe he’ll make you waffles and tell you about the fancy chickens his mother paints.  Maybe you’ll hear a funny story from Burning Man.  Whatever the topic, it’s sure to be interesting.  That’s just how Eric rolls.