The Future of Co-working is Here

For the first two years of the Second Shift, Gina and I worked from our dining room tables, which meant lunchtimes with my then 3-year-old or Gina’s cat Gibby. When we finally set out to find “real” office space we found a lot of options to choose from. Today there are even more options out there for Second Shift members with every conceivable perk and personalization you can imagine. If you’re seeking a quiet, non-cat, non-sticky space to get down to business – read on!

Way back in 2015, the concept of co-working was just taking off—today, according to the 2017 Global Coworking Study, more than a million people went to work at 13,800 co-working spaces worldwide. Why? Because co-working delivers a range of benefits including networking, 24/7 access, affordability, and built-in administrative functions. It’s a trend that shows no signs of slowing down.

Why Co-working

The concept of co-working itself gives entrepreneurs and freelancers access to all the facilities and perks of conventional office space without the cost of a lease and all the hidden extras that go with it. But co-working benefits stretch a lot further than that for many. According to Deskmag’s Annual Global Coworking Survey, 71 percent of participants reported a boost in creativity after joining a shared workspace, while 62 percent said their standard of work improved.

Co-working Options

On the whole, much of today’s available co-working space is provided by the big players Regus and WeWork; if you are looking for a desk, an office suite, or an entire headquarters, these vendors can provide it. They take care of standard amenities including Internet service, printing capabilities, mail and package handling, office supplies and more, and also layer on additional perks like professional and social events.

However, as co-working takes off we are seeing a huge variety of options for all every type of business and freelancer featuring an increasing number of boutique spaces that offer perks like climbing walls, indoor gyms and playgrounds, yoga classes, childcare and more.

Here are a few of the many options available:

·      WorkEatPlay partners with trendy restaurants in New York and many other cities to open the doors to restaurants in the hours they’re not being used. Members get the essentials–food, coffee, wifi in a trendy place to kick back and get to work.

·      Deskcamping is a global marketplace where people with extra desks rent them to freelancers looking for a good spot to work in an established office space.

·      Breather has super stylish rooms in a variety of floorplans and sizes in 10 cities. You can book a space by the day or by the hour and have access to amenities such as whiteboards, flatscreens, wifi and all sorts of plugs and chargers.

·      Additional unique options include The Hivery, The Workaround, Work and Play, and Neuehouse, Soho House.

You can also find an increasing number of women-focused co-working spaces, said to be “part of a backlash to the frat house-like companies that boast kegs and ping pong.”

·      The Wing is a modern take on the traditional women’s  club with co-working space and a full range of amenities for women including, “a beauty room for primping, a snack bar with coffees and organic granola, plenty of art, a lactation room and a large library of color-organized books written by and about women.”

·      On the West Coast (Seattle and soon LA) The Riveter is open to men and women with a focus on providing everything you need to build your own business plus daily yoga, barre and meditation classes to keep your mind focused.

·      Other female-centric or female-only co-working spaces to check out include SheWorks Collective, Rise Collaborative, New Women Space, Hera Hub and Shecosystem.

Finally, if the proverb “home is where the heart is” rings true for you, you might want to consider Quilt, an LA-based company that believes in the “power of the home”. Quilt focuses on helping working women connect offline by organizing by co-working and learning opportunities in individual homes across the country.

There’s Something for Everyone

The rise of entrepreneurialism and a growing contingent workforce is shifting the way we work and where we work—(see #makeworkworkforyou). The co-working industry currently offers +27 million square feet of space, and you can take advantages of some options for as little as $45/month. There’s truly something for everyone out there. What are you waiting for?

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She’s a creative ninja– Meet Featured Member Julie Teninbaum!

We initially met Julie Teninbaum through our member welcome call and her bubbly personality and unabashed love of graphic design really stood out. Months later when we needed some work done we remembered her and have been working together on everything from decks to invitations since. It’s not just The Second Shift that Julie has made a lasting impression on – she routinely books jobs that turn into long-term client relationships. What’s the secret to her success? Read on! 

How did you get into graphic design?

I didn’t know what graphic design even “was” until the night before my last college exam. I was procrastinating at the university library where I found a copy of PRINT magazine, and a whole world opened up. After I graduated I took an adult ed class to learn the computer programs, and got a job in the marketing department of a publishing company where I bugged the designers to show me how to do what they were doing. Eventually I made a portfolio and got an entry-level design job. From there I worked my way up the old fashioned way!

It seems like a great career because it lends itself to remote and gig work. You have had a lot of success working with The Second Shift to get work– what’s the secret of your success?

I’m always excited to think about new projects, so I hope that my enthusiasm comes through. I try to respond to job posts in a conversational way, but want to be concise and thorough – addressing all of the points in the listing. I have a fairly large range of work in my portfolio – from infographics and logos to hand-drawn typography and illustration. So, if I feel that it would be helpful to direct a client to previous work I’ve done that might relate, I will put together a presentation PDF and link it to my website.

What is the best part of remote/ freelance work?

Making my own hours, for sure. We moved from the city a few years ago and now I work from my home office on a former apple orchard, which is a good fit for me and for our family. Now I can putter in the garden and go to the farmer’s market. I’m able to see my two young kids off to school, and be here when they come home. I can adjust my day if I need to be on a phone call or respond to a ‘design emergency’ (it happens!)

What is the hardest part?

Besides proximity to the refrigerator? The hardest part is learning to create free time for myself. Even when I’m not on deadline, there’s always something to do in my office.

Any advice for clients looking to get the most productivity out of working with a Second Shift expert on a project?

Be as clear as possible about your requirements and needs up front. Make sure you’re both on the same page about the scope of work, the timing and the steps along the way.

Let’s flip that– what advice do you have for other members looking to build successful freelance careers, like yours!

Keep working on your skills – and always have a personal project or two on the back burner (I’m working on some collages for a children’s book after hours.) Once you’ve gotten a job, never leave the client hanging – let them know what to expect and when you’ll get it to them. Never leave an email unanswered. Make yourself easy to work with – be nice, responsive, alert, and aware of their needs. Don’t burn bridges. It’s comforting to have a core of long-term clients, mixed with the new.

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Let’s Get Productive!

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When my co-founder Jenny Galluzzo and I were launching the Second Shift a trusted advisor warned us that we would need to “work 16 hours a day, seven days a week to build a company that ensures women never have to work that way again if they don’t want to.” He was right. We did so – for years.

For many of us, founding a company or working for ourselves, means working all the time. But this approach isn’t sustainable, and it certainly doesn’t guarantee success. In fact, a trusted advisor who seems to do a great job of balancing it all recently told me, “Working all the time for the sake of working doesn’t move the needle. It just makes you, and everyone you love, miserable.“ In my case, that advice rang true and it drove me to really think about the best ways to manage my time.

I came up with my own approach to being more productive and asked my colleagues at the Second Shift for theirs. I’m sharing our tips here with you with that hope that you’ll find new ways this year to do more with less.

Tip #1 is the one I honed after realizing working all the time wasn’t necessarily moving the needle forward.

“I stay off email on the weekend. I take a moment to step away and be present in a way that I can’t when I am constantly hitting refresh.”

Fact is – our bodies have natural “work and rest” cycles built into them. If you work without breaks, you will burn out mentally and physically. For me, taking a break from email on the weekends gives me the space I need to recuperate and come back stronger.

Tip #2 comes from our CFO, Kemp Shift.

“My daily priorities are succeeding professionally, spending time with my family, and exercise. The only way I have found to make this work is to wake up early. 5.30 am. Every. Single. Day.”

The average U.S. individual wakes up between 6:00 am and 7:30 am, which means that waking up before 6:00 am gives you a jump on your day! It also means that you’ll have time to focus on your primary goals without your phone buzzing and emails flying. Richard Branson, Arianna Huffington, and Mark Zuckerberg are notoriously early risers. Need I say more?

Tip #3 comes from our UX Designer, Chris Steib:

“Everything I do – whether it’s an app design, a client pitch, a product strategy, a short story, a home project – starts with a pen + paper. Specifically, PilotG-Tec-C4 and a Moleskine squared journal. It helps me proliferate expendable ideas so that I may quickly narrow down to the one worth pursuing.”

According to LifeHacker.com, it’s scientifically proven that writing things down will help your brain work overtime to get them done. “Writing stimulates a bunch of cells at the base of the brain called the reticular activating system (RAS). The RAS acts as a filter for everything your brain needs to process, giving more importance to the stuff that you’re actively focusing on at the moment – something that the physical act of writing brings to the forefront.” The pen is a mighty weapon – so use it!

Tip #4 comes from our COO, Michelle Pae, who believes in:

“Timeboxing. Set a fixed amount of time to work on a given task, emails, research, etc. and then when the time is up, move on to the next thing.”

According to Entrepreneur, you can’t just mentally plan to get things done. You have to calendar what you are going to do and when you are going to do it, and then keep the appointment as if it were a dinner with your top client. Timeboxing enables just that.

Finally, Tip #5 comes from my co-founder Jenny Galluzzo:

“Everyday is a different set of family, friend and work priorities. I find extra time late at night and early morning to get everything done that needs to get done!”

If you work standard office hours, you’ve probably realized that you’re not always at your peak. The 9 to 5 grind is often at odds with our natural productivity rhythms. Try identifying your most productive work times by paying close attention to your energy and focus throughout the day. You may find you are an early bird or a night owl. Be sure to schedule your most difficult tasks for the time when you tend to feel most energized and motivated.

In summary

A recent survey by The Alternative Board (TAB) found that 84 percent of business owners put in well above 40 hours of work per week, and 1 in 10 feel continually overwhelmed by their workload. A commitment to working smarter, not necessarily harder, is helping our team at the Second Shift double their days. Here’s to your most productive year yet.

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The Maternal Wall

Our friend Amy Nelson wrote an op-ed for the Washington Post about her experience with the “maternal wall,” the barrier that both openly and subtly discriminates against mothers in the workplace. Amy points out that women are 15% less likely than men to be promoted– and a mother is even less likely to be promoted as a childless woman.

“We sent women to work in this country decades ago as we embraced feminism. History pretends that we invited them to the table. But actually, we let them into the room without giving them a seat, let alone a chance to sit down. This tightrope walk is nearly impossible: Forty-three percent of highly trained professional women with children leave the workforce at some point in their careers. The system is broken, and we know it. Yet we do nothing. Instead, we celebrate the woman who can juggle a career and children with grace, as if this is some sort of achievement. It shouldn’t have to be.”

Congrats Amy for writing so honestly about your experiences and we encourage our members tell us about when they hit the “maternal wall.” It’s something we all know about and the reason why many of our members join The Second Shift. 

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You can’t argue with facts: a new study in Harvard Business Review this week shows a direct correlation between women’s participation in the workforce with an increase in wages for women and men! 

“However, the female labor force participation rate in the U.S. has been stagnating since 2000. It peaked in 1999 at 60%, but has since declined to about 57%…. This suggests that women’s attitudes about work are changing, perhaps as women in the U.S. find it increasingly difficult to balance both work and family. Paid parental leave policies, affordable child care policies, and more flexible work schedules may help more women stay in the labor force during and after their childbearing years.”

How do companies access top female talent and thereby increase profits? The Second Shift! Our members are executive level professionals available on-demand for project-based/ part-time/ consultative work. #makeworkworkforyou #ondemandtalent #thesecondshift

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The Power of the Freelance Pro!

Employee engagement is necessary for today’s workplace environment to keep personnel happy, motivated, and in turn, delight clients. However, staff commitment is declining worldwide – less than one-quarter of employees are highly engaged and 39% are moderately engaged, according to a study featured in Forbes. Even considering these statistics, what if there is a way to employ a continuously focused and motivated team who needs little to no engagement?

Enter the always-engaged freelancer: a skilled and experienced professional who makes their living based on how hard they work, so when they’re burning the midnight oil, they’re making it count. These members of the “gig economy” are laser-focused when it comes to creating, crafting, strategizing, or developing deliverables.

Many freelancers exit the corporate 9 – 5 world to find a working solution that better fits their needs, often craving more creative projects, requiring flexibility in their schedule, or following an entrepreneurial spirit, to name a few. They’ve already developed a workday they find fulfilling, so their customers are not responsible for helping them to feel engaged.

Additionally, freelancers are often hungrier than a full-time employee and tend to spend more than 40 hours per week working, sometimes early in the morning, late at night, or on the weekends – whatever it takes to get the job done. Their schedule is more fluid because they are committed to producing excellent work when their creative juices are flowing. Plus, they’re always hustling to earn repeat business and referrals, so naturally, their work reflects that drive.

Think of freelancers as extended members of your team. They can fill a skillset gap, provide niche expertise, and bring fresh ideas to the group.  So, for your next project, consider partnering with a talented member of The Second Shift to get the job done. You can work with a skilled professional without having to provide the perfect cultural fit or engagement-boosting programs to keep this member of the gig economy dedicated. So get to work– hire a Second Shift member today! 

Written by Second Shift Member Keara Piekanski

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LinkedIn Expert Tips to Pitch YOU!

Second Shift member and LinkedIn Reboot expert Katie Fogarty has tips for landing jobs and a special offer only for our member community. 

How to Land Any Job, Open Any Door and If You’re Really Lucky – Work in Italy

Still working on your 2018 career plans? Forget the tsunami of “new year, new you” job hunting tips. Focus on the only step that really matters – have an awesome answer to the question – why you?

As Second Shift members, you have the skills, the experience, the smarts to be a game changer for a who’s who of companies and organizations. But the key to bridging the chasm between your amazing self and an open job position is the ability to convey a killer personal brand.

I know. I know. “Personal brand.” Eye roll. But stick with me.

Everyone has a personal brand. It’s what you are known for – your reputation. But is your brand strong enough to get you noticed? Powerful personal brands share brand value — what you offer to others. Take Martha Stewart. Martha’s brand is clear – she’s a domestic goddess who can bake a cake, arrange flowers, decorate a home and throw a wedding better than anyone. But her brand value?  She offers a better domestic life to the rest of us as well. “Be like Martha” – and you too can have a happier, cozier, more gracious home life.

People with strong brands are memorable, persuasive and compelling because they go beyond simply communicating what they do – they clearly share the value they offer to others. We know Martha, not because she inhabits her own perfect sphere, but because she can improve our own domestic life.

So how does this translate to work?

To walk into a job interview, create a strong LinkedIn profile, effectively woo clients, develop a larger network, and grow your professional influence – you must have a clear idea of what you do AND the value you offer to others, and you need to communicate that value clearly, cogently, powerfully.

Put your audience first, connect the dots between your value and their needs, and – boom! – you catapult success at work, job hunting, and answering that horrible cocktail party question, “So, what do you do?”

I learned how important it is to own your personal brand the hard way.

My 20-year career is in communications. I wrote the morning news in New York City. I ran campaigns for big brands at global and boutique PR firms. I even have a Masters in Journalism – hello credentials! – but it wasn’t until I bombed sharing my “elevator pitch” at a work dinner that I decided to get serious about nailing down my own professional story.

And here it is: “I help clients create powerful professional identities.”

Seven simple words that have opened more doors than I can walk through. Including a work trip to Italy (more on that in a minute.)

Begin to take ownership of your personal brand messaging today with these easy steps:

Power Your LinkedIn Headline: Go beyond your job title. Think of your headline as your “elevator pitch” – a chance to hook a viewer, share what you do, the value you offer, and entice the viewer to “click” open your profile.

Practice Your Pitch: Create a pitch that leaves your audience wanting more. Hone your professional story to no more than four simple sentences. Skip the jargon. And practice saying it out loud. A lot. Record yourself with your phone until you look and feel comfortable.

Poll Your People: Suss out your brand value by asking those who know you best. Poll former colleagues, industry peers, clients, friends and family for their perspective on your professional value. Then fold their feedback into your messaging.

Your professional story is your currency. And when yours shines a light on all you offer, it can take you amazing places. Like Italy.

A former client, and now friend, Michelle DiBenedetto Capobianco, recently approached me about collaborating on a travel experience for women wanting more than a vacation. Michelle is a former corporate lawyer turned private chef in New York, and she also leads small group tours of Italy through her company Majella Home Cooking & Abruzzo Tours.  She is the epitome of The Second Shift mantra – “make work work for you.” I think I said yes before she could even finish her sentence. Hello gelato!

Together, we’ve created Reboot + Refresh in Italy: A Retreat for Creative & Professional Women – a week of inspired living and immersive personal development workshops for women looking to catalyze what’s next in their work and lives.

Interested in coming with us? We are offering Second Shift members a $300 discount off the program rate if you book by February 15th with the promo code SECOND SHIFT FRIENDS.

But whether or not you work on your professional story in Italy or New York, make 2018 the year you nail your personal brand – and see how far it takes you.

Katie Fogarty joined The Second Shift when it launched. She runs Reboot, a personal branding and career consultancy. Her client roster includes executives from: American Express, Condé Nast, FleishmanHillard, Fox News, Morgan Stanley, NBC Universal, Oath, Turner, and numerous private equity, law & fashion firms, and start-ups. Learn more at www.katiefogartyreboot.com.

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We March!

We are still riding high from the 2nd annual Women’s March this past Saturday. Last year the Second Shift team chartered a bus to bring a group to march on DC and it was an amazing moment of peaceful protest and unity. This year we stayed closer to home but it was just as energizing and cathartic to see thousands of women and their allies coming together to change the present and the future. Bringing our own children to march alongside us was especially moving as we teach the importance of raising your voices and showing up to protest injustice and demand equality. We are going to use this energy boost to make 2018 a year of strength, change, growth and empowerment.

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Amy Nelson is Riveting!

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In 2017 Amy Nelson was a successful corporate attorney when she decided to change career course and open The Riveter, a women-focused co-working space; she was also pregnant with her third child. Amy now has two locations, has given birth, and is in the middle of raising money to open her third location. When Gina and I met with Amy last month she showed up to our coffee fresh from a meeting with a venture capital firm and toting her breast pump—she is clearly a woman who is defying the image of what a start-up founder “looks like.”

In fact, instead of family and pregnancy being a hindrance, Amy says it’s been a blessing:

“I had a few advisors tell me that I should “hide” my pregnancy because it would be difficult to raise capital.  I opted for a wholly different approach.  The Riveter is built to change the landscape for women business owners and freelancers.  If we want to make real change, we have to lead the way.  I told every potential investor that I was expecting, and also explained how my experience as a mother has made me a much better CEO. “

A recent story in Harvard Business Review focused on women like Amy who are breaking the mold of traditional start-up entrepreneurship and creating businesses in their likenesses. The truth is that not all start-ups start in a garage and not all start-up founders are young men in hoodies working 30 hours a day. This concept mirrors what Gina and I built with The Second Shift–we created the business we wished existed for ourselves and we practice what we preach: flexibility, personal responsibility, empowerment through work.

In fact, women entrepreneurs are successfully building companies that incorporate principles often cited as the core reasons women leave the full-time workforce: work/life balance, paid maternity leave, wage imbalance.  The HBR story makes the connection that in some ways working for a start-up is easier for young families, “the startup life can be even more amenable to raising young children than can life at a large corporation, with its more rigid rules and long-established culture.”

As Amy says, “I wanted to build The Riveter, but at the same time my husband and I wanted to grow our family.  We decided that if we put the right village in place, we could make it happen.” Gina and I can definitely attest to that—starting our own business, fundraising, traveling while raising children is not easy and some weeks are a planning and logistical nightmare, but it is a thrilling ride and with good help, patience, late nights, and lots of coffee we’ve learned how to build in bandwidth to be good parents and good leaders.

Breaking a mold, disrupting the disrupters—that is what women who found and grow start-ups are doing.  It’s why it is so important for women to stay engaged in the workforce and support each other and why The Second Shift is the tool to do so!

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