A Blatant, Shameless Plug for ShareSpace

We don’t do this all that often…which should hopefully help you realize that this is something solid.

Good friend, not just of ITintheD.com but of many of us personally, Rob Ray is working on pulling something together called ShareSpace.  It’s a really cool project – setting up…ummm, well…a shared space environment.  Duh.

The concept has a lot of potential…many people, including some of our members, have broken off from the corporate world and are either already doing their own thing, or are trying to get their own initiative off the ground.  But where do you meet potential clients that doesn’t rhyme with Shwarsucks?  Where do you go to get out of the house and get some work done without spending thousands of dollars to rent/lease out space in an office building?

It’s like that timeshare condo that you sat through a four hour pitch about in order to get the free weekend ski pass…but without the four hour sales pitch, honest.

So, here’s some details about the project, how you can get involved, how you can help, or how you can make use of what’s going on…

Their website:
http://sharespacerochester.com/

Their Kickstarter project:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/robjray/sharespace-michigans-newest-coworking-community

An article from MetroMode:
http://metromode.com/devnews/0714sharedworkspace0216.aspx

Architects from Ann Arbor designed the space:
http://rochester.patch.com/blog_posts/architects-volunteer-to-green-rochester-co-working-space

Some key takeaways:
– coworking is an awesome solution for people with the flexibility to work anywhere
– ideal for freelancers, independent professionals, remote employees and the like
– will be just over 2,200 sq. ft. located in downtown Rochester
– different membership levels depending on use
– partnering with local businesses, universities, incubators and other resources
– extremely cost-effective alternative to office space
– free coffee
– best WiFi possible
– some memberships allow you to receive/send mail using our address as your business
– being organized as a low-profit limited liability company (L3C); focus on reinvesting member dues into the space or even funding ideas.

They’ve gotten a lot of interest and are now trying to spread the word and see how many people are materially-interested in seeing something like this open in the area.  There is a ton of potential for a resource like this beyond just coworking: events, hosted-speakers, charity events…

Honestly, you know us.  We wouldn’t plug something unless it was plug-worthy…but Rob’s good people.  From helping us out at our Pink Slip Party events to introducing us to the Pink Fund and just generally being an all around good guy…he’s got an idea with some legs here, and we think more people need to get behind it.

Check out the links above…and he’s going to be at Penny Black (assuming he can get out of diaper duty for a while…) for our event, so if you want to ask him some questions in person…great time and opportunity to do so.