Independents Hall
September 7th, 2007 by Geoff 10 Comments
Recently the Business section of the Philadelphia Inquirer featured Independents Hall. In simplest terms, it is a coworking space. My partner Alex Hillman and I consider community to be an important component in this project.
Community is a word that is thrown about quite often and so it has lost some of its impact. Let me try to define a piece of it that is important to me in this endeavor.
I see Independents Hall as a “better incubator.” The current incubator model, that I am aware of, gives space and resources to a group of people trying to grow a business idea. By the time they get in an incubator, they often have a business plan written up. Sometimes they have funding. In general, though, they have an idea that they want to turn into a business. Most incubator spaces require that you have a plan for a business, or they will not let you lease a space.
To be a member of Independents Hall, you do not have to have a business plan or even an idea for a business. Jane Jacobs’s notion of the city sidewalk as a place where you happen upon people, and out of these chance occurrences, new ideas and opportunities arise is closer metaphor for Independents Hall.
Incubation of new ideas and opportunities is meant to happen organically at Independents Hall.
Robert Fulford noted that “Jacobs came down firmly on the side of spontaneous inventiveness of individuals, as against abstract plans imposed by governments and corporations,” Spontaneous inventiveness is something that artists are very much in tune with in their problem solving process.
As an artist, this is the approach I used in planning the space with Alex. This spirit also pervades daily existence in the space. Artists know that you don’t need to solve every problem in advance. You don’t have to have a plan for everything. Instead, you need to place yourself in inspiring circumstances and then trust yourself that you will know what do when the opportunity arises.
Community creates a supportive environment for people to take chances, to innovate and to make positive changes in our world. When I talk about community and Independents Hall, that is what I mean.
September 7th, 2007 at 11:01 am
Now I really want to teach yoga there! Not only because of the spontaneous inventiveness but also because of that beautiful floor! Let’s get on that.
September 10th, 2007 at 10:51 am
Coworking reminds me of the power of “meetups” combined with the power of “work share”. I don’t think I could agree with you more on the point you’re making here.
January 23rd, 2009 at 10:40 am
Geoff this is great. How you link Jane to coworking is very helpful. Makes me think of “accelerating serendipity”, which (I think) I read this on Alex Hillman’s site. Wondering what it is about what you write here that makes me feel so good. Maybe it is that what underpins what we’re doing is the hypothesis that people are good and generous and will naturally create beautiful things together: artwork, social innovation, successful businesses. Certainly what I’ve experienced at Station C proves this. And in the face of so much suffering and bad shit in the world this gives me hope and concrete ideas on how to move forward.
January 23rd, 2009 at 3:24 pm
Christine, I agree. I have a core belief that if you give people an opportunity to do good things, they will.
Serendipity. It is what makes life worth living.
May 28th, 2009 at 3:06 pm
[...] coworking movement, which brings together the best elements of the office, cafe, salon, business incubator and city street. We share a common vision and [...]
November 15th, 2009 at 12:29 pm
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November 15th, 2009 at 5:16 pm
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