Colin Callahan of Acklen Avenue takes part in the Swap Meet.

Coworking is a creative and social alternative to stuffy executive offices and many coworkers will tell you that the community in a coworking space is what keeps them coming back.

This week, CoLab Nashville hosted something new: a swap meet on the 3rd floor.

Don’t fret if you didn’t have a chance to come by, there will be more.

So what is a swap meet?

CoLab’s very own, Colin Callahan of Acklen Avenue, was the brains behind the event. The concept came to him when he was brainstorming ways to engage the many entrepreneurs of CoLab and staring at the pile of unneeded items in his office.

Coworkers, after all, tend to be creative and social. Besides unwanted items, many are artists and have arts and crafts they like to swap or sell. The idea behind a swap meet is that you can trade your items for others or sell them. It’s both fun and helpful to members.

“I just thought this was a great way for our members to get better acquainted with fellow coworkers and it turned out to do just that,” said Colin.

If you are interested in joining a community of coworkers who get down to business but also like to have fun, CoLab Nashville is the place to be.

And coworkers – be thinking of what you have that you might want to swap at the next swap meet!

CoLab Nashville Hosts Dale Carnegie

Ever feel like your work is piling up and you have no idea where you’ll find the time to get it all done? Have you ever felt like you’ve been working for 30 minutes, but the clock says it’s been three hours? Is thinking about everything you need to get done halting your efficiency?

The good news is you’ve already taken a step in the right direction by realizing that there’s a problem.

Being entrepreneurs, we’ve all had those feelings. There is nothing we can do to stop time, but there are ways we can better manage it. Dale Carnegie Training will be here Wednesday, Feb. 8, to give advice on effectively managing and organizing our time.

As the late Dale Carnegie once said, “Do the hard jobs first. The easy jobs will take care of themselves.”

This Wednesday’s Lunch and Learn will give you the tools to manage your time and make improvements toward spending it wisely. We’ll talk about several strategies you can use to stay focused throughout the workday and reduce procrastination. Planning and prioritizing for just one hour can help cut out several hours of work. You don’t need to work harder; you just need to work smarter.

Dale Carnegie partners with middle market and large corporations, as well as organizations, to produce measurable business results by improving the performance of employees with an emphasis on leadership, sales, team member engagement, customer service, presentations, process improvement and other essential management skills. 

CoLab Nashville is hosting the workshop series to help give small businesses and entrepreneurs tools they need to succeed. The workshop begins at noon with free lunch, and each session will include a 40-minute presentation and 20 minutes for questions. The events are free and open to the public.

Join us for a free lunch and a great lecture at noon on Feb. 8. CoLab is located at 230 North 4th Avenue (the Wells Fargo building), Suite 105.

Tired of working alone?

Perfect timing — we’ve been busy expanding to the 3rd floor coworking space at CoLab Nashville and now have more room than ever.

The third floor features a sprawling 4,000 square feet of office space, coworking desks and meeting areas. A massive space that will eventually host an estimated 40 coworkers, the third floor received a complete makeover to reserve its unique ambiance. With the addition of new and modern light fixtures, coat racks, more desks, a lengthy new couch, art and retro desk chairs — we are feeling pretty good about the new space.

CoLab's third floor coworking space.

Along with the new decorations, you will also see some new faces. The coworking area is already home to a large crew of professionals ahead of the trend. From business consultants to entrepreneurs, freelancers to small business owners, coworkers at Colab Nashville know that today’s job market supports freelancers more than ever. A significant portion of today’s workforce, freelancers are looking to get out of the home office or coffee shop and find a a permanent place to gather thoughts and get their creative juices flowing.

If you are interested in coworking, or have been glued to your desk at CoLab Nashville, take a break and come visit the third floor. The right side of the floor is now open, and offices are starting to fill up. Acklen Avenue, Kaleidoscope Media and Brand Journalists have all moved into offices overlooking 4th Avenue, but not to fret! Offices are still available to anyone interested and we’ve still got several offices with windows and some internal, inexpensive spaces up for rent as well.

Its a good thing, too, since CoLab Nashville was recently ranked by Loosecubes.com as the top overall coworking space in the country!

Third floor copy and fax.

When you make your visit up to the third floor, hang your coat up on the coat rack, take a load off on the new couch or meet some of the new coworkers, stroll to the right side of CoLab and watch the passers-by on 4th Avenue. If you find yourself not wanting to leave, come join the coworking revolution – we’d love to have you.

A rise in coworking follows a surge of freelancers in 2012.

In 2012 there are several trends to watch for, including a rise in the number of self-employed individuals. The shifting economy is leaving graduates with no other choice but to find their own niche and join the self-employed work force.

But it’s not just graduates. It’s baby boomers looking to get back into the workforce without having to put up with all the uncertainty of corporate America. A recent article published on CNBC.com touted the benefits of going it solo.

“Temple University officials noticed something a little out of the ordinary when they looked at the results of the post-graduation survey of 2009′s undergraduate class,” states the report. “For the first time in the life of the survey, self employment ranked alongside banking, education and health care as one of the most popular career paths for recent graduates.”

One thing to remember when taking this route is the importance of investing in yourself. Working in an environment that promotes concentration and ingenuity is a great way to start.  Being self employed means you wear all the hats- you are your PR, accounting, sales, and management and your producer.  Surrounding yourself in an environment with other people running their shows will help you keep from running yourself dry.

Coworking is an option that has become a popular choice for the ever-growing number of entrepreneurs. Trying to develop a company within the confines of a house full of distractions can be a huge set-back. Think about how many times you’ve tried to focus on a project at your home office and found yourself instead dedicating all that time toward taking care of a house chore.

At CoLab, our entrepreneurs do lunch, chat on the couch between meetings, share ideas, and often work.  Having part of your business network readily available to you – in the same building! – will make an impact on the quality of your work and life.

If you’re interested in an office give us a call so you can see for yourself exactly what we’re talking about.

Get out of your home office and find a better place to work.

The 2011 Freelance Industry Report found that freelancers weathered the recession better than other traditional employees with 52 percent stating the recession hardly made an impact on their income.

It’s not a surprise then that 59 percent of freelance workers are happier now than they were before choosing the solo route, nor is it shocking that 54 percent would never go back.

The most striking statistic, however, is that 90 percent of those who freelance do so from home, which causes one to ask: is this why the top three challenges for these individuals are managing time, staying productive, and maintaining motivation throughout the work week?

Truth is, it’s hard to focus when your dogs are yapping, your house needs dusting or there is a Law and Order marathon on TV. Suddenly the home office you thought would save you lots of money and time has become a source of overwhelming distractions.

CoLab Nashville provides a reprieve from hectic work environments. Renting a desk, cubicle or office space can almost be like a home office away from home.

You still have the flexibility of working on your own schedule and coming and going whenever you please, but with the added bonus of a quiet workspace occupied by other entrepreneurs who share your same aspirations.

To experience this for yourself, give us a call and set up a tour. CoLab offers desk space for as low as $75 a month and small office suites starting at $375. All coworking memberships come with free use of the conference rooms, free high speed internet, free printing and free coffee.

Lil Dragon Entertainment at CoLab Nashville.

Starting a small business is exciting and challenging. It requires time, effort and most of all, money. Things like start up costs and overhead can sometimes overwhelm a new entrepreneur. Luckily, CoLab Nashville provides a great way to keep overhead and start up costs low with a virtual office.

A virtual office is simply a formal business address without the office; companies pay for the address and often the ability to get mail delivered but don’t have an actual office. With coworking, virtual office space becomes more than an address: coworkers get to use the conference rooms to meet with clients or can drop in and work for a day in addition to getting the office address.

Coworking is a rapidly growing alternative to executive suites and rented virtual addresses. Coworking is much less expensive and far more flexible. CoLab Nashville is one of the largest and highest rated coworking spaces in the country, according to Loosecubes.com.

An official business address has become much more important for businesses. Having a downtown Nashville business address at CoLab Nashville gives your business an added sense of credibility as well as allowing clients to meet you in a professional setting and not just a coffee shop or home office. Online, business directories such as Google Places, give better ranking for businesses with a ‘real’ address over ones with a residential or home office address.

Virtual office space in Nashville also comes at a fraction of the cost of regular office space leases. CoLab offers those the ability to rent an office, a cubicle, or even just a desk — which ever fits your needs.

Being able to work remotely is a valuable money and time saving option. Renting a space at CoLab allows you to do that while still providing you with the amenities that regular office spaces have: a real conference room and not just your living room, a real downtown address and not just your house with kids toys strewn in the yard and of course, a ping pong table.

Need more than just the address and occasional use of conference rooms? CoLab offers desk space for as low as $75 a month and small office suites starting at $375. All coworking memberships come with free use of the conference rooms, free high speed internet, free printing and free coffee.

To see what coworkers say about working at CoLab, read these reviews on Loosecubes.com:

http://loosecubes.com/workspaces/nashville/colab-nashville–2#reviews

If you’re interested in moving your virtual office out of your dining room and into downtown, give us a call and take a tour. You won’t be sorry you did and we even offer free work passes to try our space out for a day.

Zach and Rhain Brown

CoLab Nashville is quickly becoming the spot in downtown Nashville for creative, driven small business owners to run their enterprises in a casual but stimulating environment. The latest members of the CoLab Nashville family: Zach and Rhain Brown of The Majestic Photobooth Co., a company that rents out photo booths — the kind that produces long strips of photos you can attach to your refrigerator with a magnet — for special events. But Majestic goes a step further. You can access the photos online and download them to your computer. Recently, we sat down with Zach and Rhain to chat about what brought them to CoLab Nashville.

CoLab: What does your company do?
Zach Brown: We rent out photo booths for parties, events, weddings, corporate events, etc. Customers can go to our website, look at the photo booths and choose what they would like. We have a few packages for sale as well. We then bring it out, set it up, and have an attendant with it for the night. You get unlimited pictures all night for one flat cost. We can personalize them by branding them with logos, your event name, etc.

CL: How long have you been doing this?
ZB: We’ve been operating since 2006. We have locations in Atlanta, D.C., New York, and Philadelphia along with employees in each of those cities to help with events.
Rhain Brown: We’re originally from Atlanta but decided to move to Nashville for a change of scenery. We still have a warehouse in Atlanta but decided after a visit to Nashville that this is where we needed to be. We’ve been in Nashville for about a month and are hoping to launch here soon, probably a few months.

CL: How did you find CoLab?
ZB: We found CoLab when we moved to Nashville through a Craigslist ad. We were originally going to sign a lease somewhere else, but loved the space and the ability to start working immediately.

CL: What made you decide to choose to CoLab?
ZB: We first looked at a place in Marathon Village, but it was too much upkeep. We liked that CoLab was move-in ready, and loved the idea of being around other entrepreneurs. We didn’t want to be isolated and working alone.

CL: How do you like the coworking experience?
ZB: The coworking experience is great. We love the work environment – it’s a lot easier to be productive with other people around. It’s a completely different vibe from our office in Atlanta where it was just us. We love being downtown and the fact that CoLab isn’t a ‘stuffy professional’ space like other places we looked at. Oh, yeah — and we liked the ping-pong table.

Group lunch : a perk of coworking.

Starbucks recently made it harder to work inside some locations by limiting the number of outlets and putting caps on wireless usage. Freelancers and entrepreneurs often use coffee shops like Starbucks as an alternative to working from home.

But they apparently don’t buy enough coffee.

Working in a public space is a challenge. Just because you can work in a coffee shop doesn’t mean you should.

Working from home can be even more difficult. For many freelancers and small business owners, a home office sounds great: No expense, no commute, minimal distractions, right?

Reality is different. Try to have a client call with dogs barking in the background, the doorbell ringing or your children in the room. It’s tough. Besides, working from home makes it hard to separate work and home life. People who work from home often say they are less productive and don’t work full days because of domestic distractions.

But here’s the biggest downside, whether you’re working from home or in a coffee shop: You have to work alone.

And working alone sucks.

Identifying yourself as an entrepreneur takes guts. You are automatically different from people with jobs. Entrepreneurs think big.

Ask any successful entrepreneur or freelance worker, and they will tell you the most important element of small business ownership is networking with other like-minded business owners. Sharing ideas, getting feedback and even venting to someone who really gets what you are going through can make the difference between success or failure.

That’s where coworking comes in. Coworking is by nature social and collaborative. For as little as $75 a month, you can have a desk with high-speed Internet, access to a printer, access to a conference room, a real business address and even free coffee.

Heck, you’d spend more than $75 a month trying to work at Starbucks. These days, $75 buys how many venti lattes, four? Five?

With more than 8,000 square feet on two floors and over 50 desks supporting around 75 coworkers, CoLab is the place to be in downtown Nashville. Call, email or come by for a day pass and a taste of what working here is like. You’ll discover what dozens of smart entrepreneurs have learned: CoLab Nashville doesn’t suck.

Big Brothers Big Sisters visits CoLab Nashville

Kia Jarmon

Have a clear business plan.

Separate your personal and professional lives.

Ask for help when you need it.

They’re good rules for business in general. They matter just as much, if not more, in a coworking environment.

Kia Jarmon, who owns the boutique PR firm MEPR Agency at CoLab Nashville, recently gave a Lunch and Learn about those and other lessons for entrepreneurs in the first-floor training room.

CoLab holds several Lunch and Learn sessions throughout the year, allowing CoLab members to deliver talks on their areas of expertise. Lunch is free, and the sessions do a lot to build community and set up some powerful idea exchanges.

Kia mentors college interns about PR and entrepreneurship, and her top 10 points should matter to any freelancer or small business owner:

1. Outline your business goals at the beginning. Start with a clear plan of what you want to achieve. Without it, you’ll have a chaotic business that may not succeed.
2. Understand, respect and learn the word “no.” In business, you can’t make everyone happy! Sometimes it is just good business to say, “No.”
3. Make your own rules for work-life balance. Working 24/7 is a surefire way to burn out. Freelancers and small business owners often fail to balance their personal and professional lives, and it’s not just the business owner but clients who end up suffering.
4. Observe the Golden Rule. Treat staff and clients the way you would want to be treated. Fire staff and clients who won’t.
5. Don’t do everything yourself. Know when to delegate. Outsource what you can and know when to train staff. This ensures you have time to work on your business, not always in it.
6. Collaborate whenever you can. Being able to work with people in other businesses is one of the main benefits of coworking at CoLab. Try sharing a client with other small companies and bringing in consultants and freelancers. You’’ll extend the range of your business and build important relationships that will help it prosper.
7. Know when to ask for help. Ask for help if you get in over your head. Coworking is a wonderful environment for getting help! Most freelancers are willing to share, and you never know when you might be able to help someone else out and return the favor.
8. It’s OK to make mistakes. Businesses learn by taking risks. It’s normal to make mistakes. As long as you own and learn from them, you’ll grow.
9. Reassess your business model every year. Or more often. You’ll be surprised at what you learn when you stop and take stock.
10. You’re in a business, so act like it. As a business owner, you are always on display. So pay attention to your personal brand, both in person and online. Customers make snap decisions about you, and you can’t always take back a poor first impression!

Our Lunch and Learn series is a great place to share ideas, network and get to know your fellow coworkers. You can’t beat free lunch with the ability to gain knowledge for furthering your business! To learn more from or about Kia, visit her website at http://www.mepragency.com.