Community Cafes: Outstanding hangouts for networking and work

Every now and then, I get the feeling I know nothing about my community. It’s when I am not working a “regular job” or when I am more invested in imagining my future than creating one, that I can feel the disconnection.

I tell myself it is only a matter of weeks before I’m going to take the world by storm but then, another week whooshes by as I get caught up in a ridiculous avalanche of goal-driven detail. What then?

Then–and please don’t take this in a pollyanish way–I know it’s time to skip off to cafe land. I go because I recognize how much I want to be reminded I’m a part of the community, not only by address, but in-person. I go to get out of a rhythmic rut.

Turning that corner many times over, I have confidence I can now be of help to you. I checked out YELP to get started in choosing where to go but I found that the reviews were all over the board–some didn’t reflect the actual experience, some chose criteria I didn’t care about, some were for the younger folk alone. So, I came up with my own criteria. Here’s what I wanted to know:

1. Did the cafe have a nice, welcoming, energy flow in terms of its spatial arrangements, cafe culture, attitude toward my being there, sometimes for a good part of the day? We all need to keep the energy flowing, and there are qualities to a place that often go unconsidered in this regard.

2. Did the cafe have a nice conversational hum–that is, not too quiet so as to implicate me as a culprit for actually engaging with my day and yet, not too loud that I couldn’t hear myself think? There’s a way of being comforted by the crowd but also not becoming the crowd killer. I needed to bet on the former.

3. Did the cafe serve food that wasn’t getting a kick out of bloating Americans? Funny how I think this must now be an international past time but there’s no need to serve up details, mine or yours, is there?And, here’s the point. If I’m going to be there for a while, I can really use some good but simple foods as opposed to only pastries, pastries, pastries. Did I mention pastries? How about a simple salad with lemon dressing? Or a peach from time to time?

4. Did the cafe take a bow to the community; that is, express some of the personality of the people who make up the neighborhood as well as the passions of the owners? An openness to providing some visual or auditory interest or to sharing what else is going on in the community is never going to get old.

And centers for community we still desperately crave, stated or not.

5. Did the cafe go the extra mile, and consider how different people like to congregate? Today, I’m a slouch and need some couch coddling. Tomorrow, I am meeting up with those small business owners, and wouldn’t it be great to introduce an informal element into our relationship by taking them to a comfortable, yet dignified place made for great conversation?

6. Could I imagine myself striking up a conversation with anyone and how easy would that be? Truth is, we could always use a few more friends, and cafes are one of the few remaining holdouts for unpretentious, casual, authentic conversation–face-to-face, that are true opportunities for exchange in our day-to-day. We don’t often do it, but I think most of us want to know it’s there.

What about you? Is this your criteria? Interested in my discoveries about what matters to solo workers as they gravitate to cafes?  I’m compiling some visuals of what cafes here really have appeal.  Stay tuned.

Help in the Modern Age

This is not my strong suit, this business of asking for help.

I’ll admit it. My will to figure things out on my own inevitably interferes, and I’d willingly go ’round and ’round with something myself, sometimes for many painful hours on end, than stop the swish in my brain to find another way. The sad fact is that I’m stubborn, and can refuse to let in what would make my efforts easier.  Doesn’t have to be your fate though.  Interested in some valuable tips?  Read on.
 

 
 NAME WHAT YOU NEED

First, it’s a good thing to name what it is you actually need. For me, the passage of time and the chance to be still usually hint at where I’m lagging. Then, I follow that up with a written plan of my top 3 strategic goals and my most passionate implementation ideas, both which become incredibly useful devices for helping me see my own needs. And finally, there’s nothing like the evidence of what never seems to get done at the end of the day to amplify the ways I am simply standing in my own way (just in case I might prefer to forget!).

No, you aren’t perfect and no, you can’t do everything yourself.  But, there’s good news awaiting. Name the thing, maybe even two things, to turn things around for that day, that week, that month, and you’ll do a whole lot better.  To get closer to what this might be for you, consider naming:

• what it is you are going for so you remind yourself where your energies are best placed,
• what those things are that are not getting done, and preventing you from reaching any kind of task closure, those times when even your body feels like a slug, and you’re going ’round and ’round, and
• those small steps you can take that will pull you up and out. If you don’t know them, read ahead.

It’s an ongoing cycle, this process of checking in, naming, and moving forward by the way. And we’re not done yet!

ASK FOR HELP

You’ll need to ask for help next. There can be loads of things to say about this and nothing really to say.  Or to put it another way, you’ll either ask or you won’t (sure, since it’s always easier not to.  Avoiding keeps our super person fantasies alive). Nevertheless, it really feels like crossing a threshold when you finally can make asking primary because suddenly you’ll find many people can be helpful. Letting yourself be available to influence brings a whole lot more serendipity too.  A story someone casually shared when you asked suddenly becomes the subject for you–a useful article, angle on a creation or job lead.  It’s all good.

One caveat.  Always stay true to your overriding intention or goal. If you subsumed your own interests, now is the time to put an end to that. Instead, use your metaphorical sword and shield, remember its use.  Because to continually return to what it is YOU are going for, that’s what matters. It’s the bigger picture, the grander idea you are hatching, that even our closest friends may sometimes not truly get.  So, deflect idle comments as much as possible.  And if you’re the type that’s easily thrown off course, make sure there’s a place you pass by every day that showcases a reminder photo or  mind map to help you stay on course.

ZERO IN AND GET SPECIFIC! (what really needs a boost: managing quality, cost, service or time?) 

I’ll add that knowing where to get help is certainly going to up your chances of following through. It’s distinct for each one of us.  If you are underhanded, think virtual support or sources of volunteers. If you are time-starved, timely reviews so you get to the point of what’s primary to take care of.  If you feel distanced from your own goals and/or out of the flow of the networks you want to reach, identify a few ready advisors whose guidance can get you closer. Here are some strategies for all these areas.

• Do a google search on virtual assistants (there are hundreds but check here and there) to give yourself a little relief. Some of them are good and affordable–even in our recession, 
• Check out mentoring blogs to see who you can line up to give you feedback (the words “mentor” or “coach”,  your geographic location and area of need are worthy searches to do online), 
• Get active on social networks that pull together people around the same issues as yours, 
• Put the word out to friends, online and off, who can give you leads on where they turned.

Of course, you can also check out my previous posts on good sources for volunteers and how to find good advisors.  And if anyone out there has found their own great options, please feel free to leave your helpful comments below. 

DEVELOP NETWORKS BY BECOMING USEFUL! 

One parting thought: Getting help is a new pattern for loads of us out there and quite frankly, it’s not always clear how to get within some people’s sightline. But using our networks and continually putting our real needs out are perhaps some of the smartest ideas one can have on staying afloat.  Don’t think you always need the sturdiest of vessels to close the gap between what you don’t yet know and what you think you should; an inflatable raft is really just as good.  Need to borrow one?  Ask!

Social Media Impact — Some Ideas Worth Trying

Sometimes, I just want to figure out what matters most in terms of social media impact.  As messages, dire and otherwise, blast my ears, and content consumption line my days, I decided to attend an Inbound Marketing Conference moderated by Chris Brogan in San Francisco.

I walked away with two major insights.  How to be as consumer-centric as possible, and what that entails, and how to get yourself/your company ready to deliver impact.  This topic is split up into two posts.

Developing Consumer Centricity

• Always be helping has replaced always be closing — The context at the conference assumed you were selling something, and of course, with selling, this is how it is more than ever. Can’t be overgeneralized though.  If I were always helping, I’d become depleted and lose my usefulness, not to mention go broke. But within certain boundaries, building social capital and meaningful relationships (being responsive to fellow community members on social media sites) is a valuable endeavor, requiring that you focus on ways to recognize and empower others through what and how you share.
• When you want to crowd-source something, by all means, make it easy.  Crowd what? Crowd-sourcing.  Simply means enlisting your community to contribute content. Ever try Pegshot.com or hear about the Extraordinaires? The former makes it easy to share videos and photos of what’s happening where you already are.  And the latter provides the software to help you mobilize your community to contribute photo albums and maps.  Either way, you are getting people to know who you are and what you aspire to.  That willingness to crowd-source will fuel a sense of affiliation within your community.
• When you ask people to register for your e-alerts or info, manage their expectations about they are signing on to receive — how much and when.  This will let customers know you value their time from the get-go. Don’t forget to also include options for sharing (e.g., send to a friend options) within your emails.
• Always ask: what does your community really need most from you?  Don’t wander too far from that need. What is the point of your content from their perspective?   How can you most help? Come to think of it, why not come up with something actionable from every conversation you have.
• Trust comes most frequently from recommendations and you must learn to make customers a more central part of your story in order to earn those recommendations.  Check out sources of customer case studies; in all of the ones that were effective, you can be sure customers had a meaningful opportunity to contribute and loved the recognition!

The Collaborative Process for Creatives

(remember, principles don’t have feet!)

There are principles for effective collaboration, and then, there is finding a group with whom you can actively practice. The latter has feet, the former, not really, because it is a common outcome to languish inside your thoughts as opposed to taking off through the support of others.

Here are some key principles:  

• Hanging out with creative types will keep the value of your creative undertaking front and center
• Allowing others to make fun of what you do opens up your mind.  You need that!
• Tracking your process (new media like blogs are great for this since they serve as a useful record of your evolution, which can keep you moving towards what works and can help others collaborating with you).
• Generating your creative output daily helps you learn about the impact you’re having with your creative ideas (essential!)
• Finding a creative buddy will win you regular feedback, another vital ingredient to collaboration success.

But I think the real value in any process comes from doing, and joining a group that’s already doing what you do, a group that meets in person, is great,  although yes, there are now twitter groups, blog challenges, the whole nine yards.  

This past weekend, I went to a new co-working group that opened up in my neighborhood (try googling  ’co-working and meetups’, or ‘google groups for co-working’ to find one in  yours, or look up general information about present state of co-working here).  The result?  I found it useful. No more pulling my hair out when I get to a stuck place technically. Similar to co-working, there are also barcamps too. Think of these as “do it yourself” conferences (attendees create the agenda). Many cities or regions now have them.

Or simply join a group whose focus is on the creative outlet you care about.  Ladies Who Launch is a great resource (though not free) for meeting up with other creative folks, and identifying specific directions you can take with your next creative pursuit, whether it be a hobby or a revenue-generating activity.  Then, there are online art association sites or meetup,com for finding specialty groups.  And there is creating your own blog or site so that your specialty can be seen by those who share similar interests to yours (because how are you going to find collaborators if people can’t see what you’re doing, right?) Any of these ideas make the possibilities for hooking up to collaborate much more likely.

So, you’ve got it now, the major ingredients for collaborating successfully.  Get going.  Choose one.  Go!!!

Volunteers as ready resources: they’re here but in a different way

I remember, not too long ago, being a part of a community nonprofit, and needing some extra hands. I knew where I wanted the help but I just couldn’t figure out where to look for people, and never seemed to have the time either. This may be familiar to you, but if it is, stop what you’re doing and take a look at what’s changed.

First off, we now have the ability to register ourselves online for volunteer opportunities and see others registered for the same quickly and effectively. Organizations like Idealist and VolunteerMatch allow people to post long-term and short-term assignments on their sites, and make it possible to look folks up/post according to one’s specific needs as well. Some organizations even focus on enticing volunteers by providing an active social component (volunteers go to trendy places to eat and drink afterwards) so no longer does volunteer look like duty alone. Volunteer meetups and organizations like OneBrick are two such examples of virtual volunteering.

Another major shift in volunteering is the fact that commitments are also super flexible. Typically, in the past there was a looming set of concerns on both sides. Individuals and organizations needing volunteers would worry about no-shows and waning loyalties while volunteers would worry about over-committing and not getting enough of what they wanted from the experience.

And now? Sure, there are similar possibilities but what’s different is that volunteers can sign up for just a few hours (as opposed to every week or for 3 months). Again, One Brick, located in a few select cities including New York, Seattle, SFBay Area and Chicago, does a wonderful job of this. You have some free time just this week; well, check it out! (From the group offering up the opportunity though, figure in 6-8 weeks lead time for posting. Yea, not as quick).

On the other hand, if you are a service-related group with a task that needs to get done, a very specific task like fundraising, or PR right before an event, you can post on All for Good, dubbed the Craigslist of service. This is a group that was inspired by Obama’s Serve America initiatives. The people behind All For Good, who work at places like Google, Adobe, YouTube, Causecast, and the Craigslist Foundation, essentially set out to prove him right (e.g. people are the solution). And if you put in the word, “Creative” in their search, some listings even come up to give you some inspiring ideas to keep your own involvement active.

But we’re not done yet. Ever heard of on demand volunteerism by phone? You may never meet the people directly but you can avail yourself of their help. The volunteer effort is called The Extraordinaires, and yes, it works entirely via mobile. Simarily, how about looking up virtual volunteering to take advantage of all those laid off highly skilled workers who want to continue networking and sharing what they know.  

All quite different from the classic image of volunteering just below, wouldn’t you say?

So, now back to you. In many of these cases, you may need to realign your work with a nonprofit cause or service in order to receive support. Not as direct, perhaps, but there’s more opportunity for a creative thinker than there ever was. Wouldn’t you agree?