Co-working Nashville: Making the case for a co-working community for Freelancers in the Music City

Calling all Nashville Freelancers and Consultants:

Whether you’re a freelancer, a consultant, or a telecommuter, perhaps you’ve experienced the life of being an office environment of one. While its nice to have that flexibility, perhaps you miss the conversation around the water cooler or the ability to quickly ask for a valued second opinion. That’s where co-working really seems to shine. Having a community can help humanize your day, increase accountability, and overall increase the “fun” factor in your day.

My experience with the co-working community in DC called Affinity Labs was fantastic. They were friendly, incredibly bright and creative, and a real community. While I didn’t stay in DC and decided to move to Nashville, I hope that in the near future folks in Nashville come together to create a healthy and vibrant co-working community. Affinity Labs host group events monthly (such as trips to see the DC’s professional baseball team, the Nationals) and provide space for technology and non-profit oriented Meetup groups. It was even the epicenter of their very successful Learn-a-palooza project.

What exactly is co-working?

Co-working according to the co-working wiki is :

Coworking is cafe-like community/collaboration space for developers, writers and independents. Or, it’s like this: start with a shared office and add cafe culture. Which is the opposite of most modern cafes.

Think about it like a coffee shop / office hybrid where everybody knows your name. With good leadership and insightful real estate acumen, I firmly believe that Nashville can create a flourishing co-working community that will no only nourish Nashville freelance communities’ need for personal connection, but also one which adds to the great community in Nashville TN, which makes me proud to call it home.