This guest post is by Daley Epstein, a contributing writer for SmartBrief. She is reporting live from South by Southwest in Austin this week.
Although you may walk in just to grab your morning latte, it is impossible not to notice the meetings and appointments filling the small tables at your local coffee shop. These people are networking and utilizing loose organizations, according to Clay Spinuzzi, an associate professor at The University of Texas at Austin. With loose organizations’ growing popularity, there are a few key things to keep in mind:
- It’s all about the flexibility. Freelancing and telecommuting are popular because you can work whenever and wherever you want (within reason).
- Sometimes you have to meet with people face to face. And when you do, do it right. If you are going to make the effort, then make sure you have done your research before committing. People may say all the right things at the meeting, then turn out to be flaky, so make sure you know what you’re getting yourself involved with.
- No matter how dispersed you are, maintain an ideology. In fact, your business is an ideology. Making sure everyone is overall like-minded is crucial to success.
- Reputation and trust are a big deal. Make sure you can actually rely on those who you hire.
- Co-working spaces are great- you don’t have to worry about the endless distractions at home. They are great for entrepreneurs, and you find people serendipitously who are able to work on your projects. “When it comes to coworker space, you go there because you need a place to get away, you stay there because it’s where your community is,” Spinuzzi said. Extend your community, and employ loose organizations. They make it quick and easy to gather up a team for whatever project you may need to accomplish.