Thursday, November 08, 2007
I Have A Dream.... Affiliate Incubator
When things are going particularly well with my sites, as they seem to be right now, my mind starts to wonder about "what next". How can I progress. Yes, I could keep making and working on websites which I do intend to do, but I also like to think about how I might diversify into other offline, bricks and mortar style ventures.
One of my interests for a while has been office space, and I was particularly keen on the idea of small businesses pooling office space and rather than it being a strictly financial arrangement, they would add value to each others businesses through synergies that took advantage of their respective skills. That was my motivation behind a website called Office Share.
But lately I've been thinking how cool it would be to set up a big open plan office where affiliates and other freelance new media types and creatives such as designers, coders, SEO and SEM people, could come along and have a professional place to work from and enjoy the buzz of kicking ideas around with similarly minded folk and find possible shared business opportunities too.
There'd be 24/7 access to the facility for people working on projects into the wee hours. There'd be a training and seminar room where people could give demonstrations to their peers, or affiliate networks or merchants could come to explain new technologies or sites. There'd be a resource library with great books and training materials on web technologies. There'd be a chill out area to take a break and chat ideas over a coffee. There'd be an intranet promoting a skills exchange between members.
Rather than rent a desk or space, it would be more like a gym where you paid a subscription and turned up on the days it suited you. Personal possessions could be left in a locker, and then you just grab a spare desk when you come in. I enjoy working from home but would I like to go work along side people doing similar stuff for a couple of days a week? Most definitely.
And from this affiliate incubator, excellence would be promoted and fantastic websites would flow.
What do you think?
I'm no where near the point of actually doing this and of course the likelihood is that it will stay as just an idea, but I do think it could be awesome, so feel free to leave any comments if you think it's a good idea, or bad idea or have any suggestions as to what facilities you think it should have. Is there already projects like this in existence that you know about?
One of my interests for a while has been office space, and I was particularly keen on the idea of small businesses pooling office space and rather than it being a strictly financial arrangement, they would add value to each others businesses through synergies that took advantage of their respective skills. That was my motivation behind a website called Office Share.
But lately I've been thinking how cool it would be to set up a big open plan office where affiliates and other freelance new media types and creatives such as designers, coders, SEO and SEM people, could come along and have a professional place to work from and enjoy the buzz of kicking ideas around with similarly minded folk and find possible shared business opportunities too.
There'd be 24/7 access to the facility for people working on projects into the wee hours. There'd be a training and seminar room where people could give demonstrations to their peers, or affiliate networks or merchants could come to explain new technologies or sites. There'd be a resource library with great books and training materials on web technologies. There'd be a chill out area to take a break and chat ideas over a coffee. There'd be an intranet promoting a skills exchange between members.
Rather than rent a desk or space, it would be more like a gym where you paid a subscription and turned up on the days it suited you. Personal possessions could be left in a locker, and then you just grab a spare desk when you come in. I enjoy working from home but would I like to go work along side people doing similar stuff for a couple of days a week? Most definitely.
And from this affiliate incubator, excellence would be promoted and fantastic websites would flow.
What do you think?
I'm no where near the point of actually doing this and of course the likelihood is that it will stay as just an idea, but I do think it could be awesome, so feel free to leave any comments if you think it's a good idea, or bad idea or have any suggestions as to what facilities you think it should have. Is there already projects like this in existence that you know about?
Labels: ideas
Permalink // posted by Rob @ 5:15 PM 
Comments:
<< Home
I think geographical locations may be an issue. I like the idea but think it would be restricted by the fact that affiliates are based all over the country.
I wouldn't mind having a peek at what other affiliates are doing though :-)
I wouldn't mind having a peek at what other affiliates are doing though :-)
Hi David - yeah I can only imagine it working in a location where there's a high concentration of affs and other new media freelancers, so probably in or near a large City I'd imagine.
I like the idea too, though one of the advantages of being home based is there's no office rent to pay.
If you widened the scope slightly to include related service industries like s/w development, PR etc then you could get enough people to fill the premises.
But a nice idea. An even better one if you happen to be the landlord !
John
If you widened the scope slightly to include related service industries like s/w development, PR etc then you could get enough people to fill the premises.
But a nice idea. An even better one if you happen to be the landlord !
John
Rob
Just spotted in your blogroll...
1. Your link to John Lamerton is broke
2. Could you update your link to my new URL of www.upthejunction.com with anchor text of either "John Cronin" or "Up The Junction" - dont mind which.
Ta very much
Just spotted in your blogroll...
1. Your link to John Lamerton is broke
2. Could you update your link to my new URL of www.upthejunction.com with anchor text of either "John Cronin" or "Up The Junction" - dont mind which.
Ta very much
Hi John,
I've certainly enjoyed the savings to be made from working from home. I think I would be willing to spend a bit to get back some of the advantages of not always working alone. In my idea, the trade off for paying less than a normal office rent would be to not have a fixed position and more of a "grab a spare seat and get working" type arrangement. You're right also, it would need to be widened to those other industries but that would be great because there's loads of skills that could complement each other. Wow, I'm talking about this like a serious idea. Hmm next stop, Dragons' Den!
Thanks for the tip off about the broken link, and I updated yours :-)
I've certainly enjoyed the savings to be made from working from home. I think I would be willing to spend a bit to get back some of the advantages of not always working alone. In my idea, the trade off for paying less than a normal office rent would be to not have a fixed position and more of a "grab a spare seat and get working" type arrangement. You're right also, it would need to be widened to those other industries but that would be great because there's loads of skills that could complement each other. Wow, I'm talking about this like a serious idea. Hmm next stop, Dragons' Den!
Thanks for the tip off about the broken link, and I updated yours :-)
There are companies providing such services- http://www.servcorp.net/default.html?lang=en
They're awfully expensive and you don't really need much equipment other than a laptop and a connection. Starbucks would make a better alternative.
They're awfully expensive and you don't really need much equipment other than a laptop and a connection. Starbucks would make a better alternative.
Permalink // posted by 
: 9:27 AM
: 9:27 AM
Thanks for the comment Will. I took a look but that looks mainly like serviced offices to me. I'm talking about something slightly different which would encourage collaboration between freelancers through a shared, open plan environment.
As much as I love Starbucks, I don't think I could ever really concentrate there and get proper work done.
As much as I love Starbucks, I don't think I could ever really concentrate there and get proper work done.
Great post - it's something I'd love to do too.
Lemon Studios is kind of like what you suggest
http://www.lemonstudioslondon.com/
Certainly less formal than standard serviced office space but not exactly as you dreamed of :)
Lemon Studios is kind of like what you suggest
http://www.lemonstudioslondon.com/
Certainly less formal than standard serviced office space but not exactly as you dreamed of :)
Working from home sends me crazy, so I rent space in a shared office (see sohodeskspace.co.uk). There's a couple of affiliates plus designers, journalists, video people etc. It's a great mix for cross-pollination of ideas.
Exhibit A: I spent Friday afternoon helping out a company that builds low-cost, rugged PCs for sale in Africa plan their online marketing.
Exhibit A: I spent Friday afternoon helping out a company that builds low-cost, rugged PCs for sale in Africa plan their online marketing.
Fraser - thanks for the tip, Lemon Studios looks great. Oh, and congratulations on your recent new arrival :-)
Quality Nonsense - Thanks for for that link, it also looks great and very close to what I was thinking. Sounds like a brilliant resource. It's something that would tempt me except I'm too lazy to go into central london regularly.
Post a Comment
Quality Nonsense - Thanks for for that link, it also looks great and very close to what I was thinking. Sounds like a brilliant resource. It's something that would tempt me except I'm too lazy to go into central london regularly.
<< Home
Subscribe to Posts [Atom]
