I first met Linda Broughton — head of NTI Leeds, part of Leeds Met University — in May 2007, at a meeting on the use of open-source software in the public sector where I planted the seed of an idea to develop a coworking community in Leeds in Northern England.

Within a few months, Linda had launched the “met:space” coworking community at Old Broadcasting House, which has now become the hub for most of the city’s web and new media community (also see my previous interview with OBH resident, James Ward).

I spoke with Linda about the development of OBH and her thoughts on coworking.

Imran: Tell us a little about the background of OBH. What were the motivations for coworking in Leeds?

Linda: It started out as an idea space for our graduates to move on to. We recognized that many of the students’ final year projects had the potential to become commercial businesses, so we wanted to develop a space that could support them in the early days.

I think our views on supporting the graduates have changed as we now recognize that our role is to create a climate where ideas flourish. That means the space needs to attract more experienced freelancers and businesses as well as graduates. I don’t think it would work if everyone was at the same level.

Imran: Do you see much collaboration between residents?

Linda: Yes, definitely. FriiSpray, from Jam Jar Productions, is a collaboration between three members who met here at OBH. Also the Cardboard Laptop Stand is a product developed by two of our members. We are also seeing quite a number of examples of where work is sourced between members. So we see our web designers working with our programmers, and our filmmakers working with our social networking experts. Startups, in particular, need access to good freelancers to help them grow. A coworking community helps to build trust between members which makes collaboration more likely.

Imran: What were your greatest challenges and surprises in bootstrapping Old Broadcasting House – and the largest operational challenges.

Linda: We were fairly empty at first. It took time to persuade people that coworking might work for them. But what’s great is that now people love it! I am constantly surprised by how much our members really love the space. Also it was a revelation to me just how vibrant the Leeds scene is, with so many groups meeting  regularly.

The largest operational challenge is long-term sustainability. We want to keep the rates at a level which does not deter people, while still covering our costs. This is likely to mean attracting more members, and we need to manage this without detracting from the experience for members. Overall, the space just about manages itself. Personally, I really don’t like rules and regulations so everything works on a trust basis. That seems to work just fine for everyone.

Imran: What’re your plans for the future?

Linda: I’d like to grow the community, with more physical space.  I’d also like to see a pipeline of startups from the University and the city using the coworking at OBH as  a stepping stone for growth.

Imran: What’re the key pieces of advice you’d give to people thinking about coworking and people thinking about establishing a coworking space.

Linda: To potential coworkers I’d say think of it as  joining a community. Be prepared to give something to that community. Make some time to get to know other members.

If you’re thinking of establishing a space, don’t expect everyone to join at once. You need some patience to get things going. Go out and find the groups of people who are your potential members and encourage them to try out coworking (offer introductory rates or trial memberships). You need some “fans” to get the community started; they will act as your champions. I would also say be quite flexible, if you can be, on the offer.

The relationship between OBH and the local university is unique, enabling a large institution to access grassroots entrepreneurs and innovators. Coworking can help achieve social goals. We’d love to hear your comments on other community-building offshoots from coworking.

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Imran: How did you first encounter coworking as a concept and what drew you to it?

James: I heard about an event for freelancers, GoingSolo, being held at OBH in Leeds. I had started working freelance just a few months earlier but from past experience working on my own I had learned the importance of getting out and making connections with other people. Working on your own every day in the spare bedroom can get pretty lonely and soul-destroying.

For me, attending this event was one of those serendipitous moments in life that lead to changes more profound and beneficial than I could have imagined. First off, it was my introduction to a network of professional peers all talking about the same challenges and issues as I recognize: managing finances, clients, confidence. The exchange of ideas was exhilarating. I came away from the day on an absolute high…and I had also discovered coworking.

NTI Leeds, who run OBH, have given over a large part of the building to coworking, a concept I hadn’t really heard of before. I had assumed that my only option for working away from home was to rent expensive office space or spend my days working on my lap in coffee shops. But here was a place where for a very small cost I could work  at a proper desk, in a professional environment, surrounded by other freelancers. And, to top it all, the coffee is good — and free!

Imran: What have been your greatest challenges and surprises in coworking?

James: There can be tensions in this kind of environment, especially where the culture and expectations of the members are evolving and changing as the space grows, the population changes and members’ businesses needs develop. It can sometimes be quite noisy in a shared space and I think that’s something that you pretty much have to just tolerate, just as you do in any shared environment. We recently started holding a semi-formal meeting once a month to give us all an opportunity to discuss with each other and the managers of the space any issues or ideas that we have. Like any community — and it really does feel like a community — we need opportunities to communicate with each other.

What really surprised me was that I hadn’t expected the extent to which working in a space like this would improve my life. I have gained so much: friends, business contacts, skills, opportunities for work, ideas and inspiration. Joining OBH has accelerated the speed at which I have come to know and be known on the local network and has enabled me to get involved in events and activities that I simply wouldn’t have known about otherwise: Twestival, Think Visibility, Business Link Enterprise Shows, to name a few.

Imran: How would you like to see coworking evolve, globally and locally?

Locally, I would like to see the coworking community here in Leeds grow and become more flexible. OBH is extremely well-equipped — 30″ Apple displays, Mac Pros, Adobe CS3, etc. — but not everybody needs these facilities. Some people just need a place to connect to the web and sit at their laptop. I can see scope for different membership options, depending on your requirements, although I wouldn’t necessarily want hugely complicated tariffs and per-hour charges. I like the simplicity of a monthly fee.

Globally, some people have talked about a “coworking visa”‘ that would allow members to use facilities in other cities when traveling.

Imran: What are the key insights and pieces of advice you’d offer to those considering coworking as a mode of work?

James:

• Be tolerant. If you need peace and quiet to concentrate, consider getting some decent noise-canceling headphones.
• Be respectful. We all have deadlines to meet. Try to be sensitive to other people’s needs.
• Be generous. The more you share, the more you will get back

Share your coworking stories in the comments.

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Though I was only able to attend the opening sessions with around twenty participants, the initial session to shape the day’s agenda revealed some useful and interesting topic areas for freelancers and indie workers.

Participants collectively decided to divide the day into four one-hour sessions, each moderated by a volunteer and intended to draw out the room’s collective knowledge and experience in each area. This generally resulted in sprawling mind-maps, that helped both to drive and document the discussions…

Finance – everything from defining your market, creating statements-of-work, intellectual property, sales, rates and risk. Curiously, the moderator as a rule gives away 80% of his output, depending on the remainder for financial viability.

Confidence – finding your voice, self-esteem, understanding the relationship between permission and authority for freelancers as well as mentoring those less experienced, to deepen you own value.

Growth – moving from a ‘solo’ freelancing lifestyle business to a fulltime work pattern, perhaps with subcontractors, virtual assistants, accountants and book keeper, joining professional networks, being an active contributor in social networks such as LinkedIn as well as working in collectives with other freelancers.

Clients – getting more out of existing business contacts, developing long term relationships and using case studies to sell your skills.

Participants also collectively noted their recommendations for software and tools on a publicly accessible wiki, available here; though Web Worker Daily readers may be familiar with most of them, it’s worth seeing if there are any applications or methods that may have been previously overlooked.

Finally, participants collated their reflections on the day’s discussion, notably…

• Personal branding does matter.
• Set short, medium and long-term marketing goals.
• Don’t sell yourself cheap.
• Have jobs agreed in writing before you start.
• Don’t price per hour, price according to the value to the client.
• Look to work from coworking spaces.

All in all, a handful of people seemed to have crafted an interesting and useful series of discussions. Find out more at the official wiki.

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Conference organizer Stephanie Booth has recently announced that she’ll be touring the conference globally, with the next event landing in the UK on 12th September in the city of Leeds.

Like the Lausanne event, Going Solo Leeds will focus on practical and theoretical sessions for freelancing professionals, independent workers, the self-employed, remote workers and those who are considering ‘going solo’.

Though there’s a bias towards internet and media professionals, most of the sessions are appropriate for traditional independent workers too. Here’s a taster of the planned programme…

• Laura Fitton: You Only Get What You Give (Marketing and taking care of one’s social capital)

• Dennis Howlett: The Joys of Tax and Finance

• Panel moderated by Suw Charman: Setting Rates and Negotiating with Clients (Martin Roell, Stowe Boyd, Dennis Howlett)

• Suw Charman: When Passion Becomes Profession (Balancing Work and Life)

• Martin Roell: Self-Organisation for Effectiveness: Tools and Methods to Get Things Done

• Panel moderated by Stephanie Booth: Solo in a Networked World (Laura Fitton, Linda Broughton)

• Stowe Boyd: From The Far Side To The Dark Side: A Crash Course In Business Realities For Soloists

The Lausanne sessions are available online at DailyMotion and registrations for Going Solo Leeds are currently about halfway through the ‘early bird’ discount phase of £150 ($300/€190) with only a few such passes now available…so hurry!

Going Solo will be taking place at Leeds’ Old Broadcasting House on Friday 12th September, so it’s a great excuse to spend the weekend exploring one of the UK’s most exciting cities as well as skilling up on best practices in freelancing.

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At Leeds’ The Round Foundry in the UK, entrepreneurs in the creative and digital industries can opt for traditional serviced office space or a hot-desking plan in a large shared space. Each hot-desker gets a cute lockable ‘pod’, that includes…

• Six large shelves (with file holder tabs!)
• Six power outlets.
• Two Cat-5 sockets.
• A coat/bag hook.
• A motorized, adjustable desk area.
• Um, wheels.

The pods (the model is know as a Macro-1)  are actually quite cool, designed by local company Volume Products as part of a range of modular office furniture. Though they appear to be designed for traditional office spaces, they seem to have been adapted well to the Round Foundry’s coworking area.

However is raises some interesting questions about the nature of work environments that coworkers are interested in inhabiting.

Communal environments such as San Francisco’s Citizen Space provide much of what is valuable about coworking – a sense of camaraderie, community and collaboration that remote workers lack when working from their homes. However, some privacy is desirable when conducting sensitive negotiations or discussions (though Citizen Space does have a kinda unwritten NDA between residents).

Traditional cubicled spaces are exactly the soulless prisons that most freelancers and web workers seek to avoid when they make the choice to escape cubicle farms.

Perhaps products such as Macro-1 provide a useful middle ground, enabling a semi-private environment for each worker, but portable and mobile enough to reconfigure into collaborative spaces when needed. Yes, it’s really all about those wheels :)

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