From the first day of the first day of the creation, Chen Xu is telling a story. The first story is about her and her two other partners, Liu Yan and the Arab League.
Liu Yan and the angle of Shaanxi, met an electronic art festival in Holland held in Rotterdam. At that time, Liu Yan in Holland to do art management, a corner is a IT technical background of the curator, from then on, the two villagers have maintained contact. 2008, Liu Yan returned to settle in Shanghai, invited a corner joint operation of the three Art Salon - art, technology, academic, with different professional backgrounds of creative people and college students as the object, to encourage cross-border exchanges.
The intersection of Chen Xuhe Liu Yan is the one in Beijing organized by the Creative Industries Alliance forum. In England, Chen Xuxue creative industries. After graduation once follow John Hawkins, author of "creative economy", working together, has been on the domestic creative ecology is very concerned about. The forum, the two women start, coincidentally, the same area they actually live in Shanghai.
"The idea is a joint office in my living room and her home room." Chen Xu said, after understanding Liu Yan, they first through the network communication. Liu Yan talks and "Three Art Salon" dilemma, because there is no fixed venue, each of the activities are as guerrilla, sometimes just scheduled pay the a gallery, the international team of China time changed again. And Chen Xuhui said she would like to run a local creative industry space, is looking for a suitable project. Later, they are too much trouble typing, simply face to face, or I went to her home, or she came to my house, just across the road."
Chatting chatting, talk to the in the rapid spread of a new way of working -- Co working (Office), on the surface is a free profession person unwilling to tolerate long-term solitary work, share also share an office space, essentially, but stressed in this space along exchanges and cooperation, forming a like-minded and it can produce new values of the real community. The early establishment and development of good examples are located in San Francisco, Space Citizen, Philadelphia, Indyhall and New York Work City New.
At that time, they played a lot of names in the space of the plan. Liu Yan feeling, just returned in the past few years, for the sake of the children, when she was five years of full-time wife, by the hardships of no unit, the place is called the "new units", let all did not have the unit to the entrepreneurs feel there are units in the sense of belonging.
Like all entrepreneurs, positioning in the new space for entrepreneurs to provide new units, the initial story is quite difficult. Its first place is located in the Changning District creative factory, which is a state owned plastic factory transformed from the old plant loft park.
Introduced by friends, Chen Syria rented a photographer's more than 200 square meters of studio, after a simple decoration, began to find someone to be settled down. They used their best way to open a salon, hoping to participate in other creative agencies in the park to participate, we exchange ideas. The results, issued a letter of invitation, but only next to a creative company.
So, had to do the activity, a few weeks later, the customer has entered the arena, but the whole is a foreigner. The result is not what they want. Chen Xu has repeatedly stressed that they think the motive force of the creative industries in individual and small group, their interest in people, the goal is to do community, and not real estate. Therefore, and not to space rented is finished, "a local creative industry, if all the old, that is not healthy."
"Are we to overestimate the will of others to share?" A corner has begun to reflect. In foreign countries, the joint office is often a very open space, but people are very active in social networking. Can be in China, the two or three strangers in a room office, they can not say a few words a day.
New units should be tied to more shared desire of the environment, or to build a such communities, the practical information pushed to demand information, sharing, interactive strong willingness to groups to follow, active site.
These two steps are taken at the same time. Chen Syria began to find a place to. This time, they set three criteria: first, no more than 300 square meters of space; second, the transportation is convenient; third, the surrounding environment is better. So, there is a new now unit base in a building located at the center of the Old French concession in Shanghai, the 6 floor of the old house.
Compared with the creative park, where more fit the rhythm of life, more than the city's smoke smell.
At the same time, Liu Yan also began to create a community atmosphere. The new units are designed to design a cafe on the first floor. Push the door, the side wall put a sofa, one side is a simple long row table. Usually, occasionally there will be passers-by come in to have a cup of coffee; Saturday day will be done here in the design, network, life and creative aspects of the salon.
Two girls contract the coffee supply here, the price and the general coffee shop, if engaged in activities, they served as admission reception and beverage service.
Front desk is a thin clean boy, in addition to being responsible for greeting visitors, to help customers, send and receive express, order takeout outside, is also responsible for liaison between customers, to write the basic situation of each assigned to the "new colleagues" on the blackboard -- what kind of project, in which stage, you need any help... Chen Xu said that in order to drovers sizzling, she and the other two partners also use their contacts organized environmental protection, design, programming, project, attract interested people to join.
At this stage, the main source of income of the new unit is still a rental, two to six layers of a total of 18 separate desks and 4 conference rooms. In general, they are divided into chairs and tables. Chair member which is current member, can only come from Monday to Friday, after which have vacancy sat which, if there is no place in the upstairs office area, we can only sit in the hall on the first floor; member of the table is fixed membership, regardless of whether or not to will keep a place for its. The chair member's rent is 500 yuan per month; the table member is 2500 yuan per month. Existing members are free to use the conference room, but if you want to invite someone to a "brainstorming", you need to pay 15 yuan per person per hour of conference facilities use fees.
Today, most of Shanghai's creative park rental prices are about 3 to 5 yuan per square meter per day, with 70 square meters of rental area, the tenant needs to pay at least 6000 yuan per month. Individual free professionals and entrepreneurs usually do not have such a large area. In contrast, the new unit is indeed quite attractive.
And for the new unit, the price is just a balance of payments. Chen Xu said, they hope the liquidity in order to maintain the headquarters, do not lose money on the line. Another two stores will have a choice, a guide to attract customers, "a positioning in the green category, a positioning in the architectural design category".
As for the future of the new unit of the story, soon to be staged chapter called new consultant". "I come into contact with a lot of foreigners, they settle on the Shanghai a potential opportunity for creative industries and some of the possibilities, but do not understand how the city's industrial policy, the cost of business details, either has no running in the direction to be at a loss what to do, or only in the foreigner circle inquire about the news." Liu Yan believes that this is a new opportunity for new units.
The new units of the three partners are engaged in the management of creative industries, pro force for each link and steps. Over three years, through the experience of new units to be settled in the service of more than 200 people, through the network of new units of 10000 - 8000 people, they are almost all of the fresh and creative industries related to the case. The new unit plans to put all of them into their own advisory group.
Each new unit members can become a new consultant, each month to contribute 4 to 2 hours, as a consultant or mentor specifically for the new unit community service. For example, the introduction of the project, customer resources or provide business strategy, technical advice and guidance to address the needs of foreigners or other people are being troubled by a link. The cost of consulting is packaged in the office space rent.
Look for the 5 elements of the union office
Most cities now have at least one joint office. How to find a suitable place for you in a large variety of joint offices?
1, and what people want to work together?
There are a number of different people in the joint office, writers, designers, software and game programmers, women businessmen, working hours with the children of entrepreneurs, you will have 8 hours a day and they work together.
2, what kind of work environment?
If there is a coffee machine, refrigerators, printers, fax machines, large capacity storage devices, conference room, open seating area hardware facilities in the office of the United. After a few have ask, need to use should be how many hours in advance booking.
3, the cost of how, what are the different options?
Most of the joint office environment has a series of options to provide business, take the rental time, the temporary hours of rent per week, a specific time of hire and long-term lease can be. If you have an employee, ask if you can provide a team project that will meet the needs of your team. If possible, try and work with Aboriginal several hours before making a decision.
4 atmosphere how?
Personally inspect the people friendly or not, cooperation level and work efficiency, the mental state of the rate, the joint office itself is not formal, may be a bit noisy, unless you and your employees are like in a noisy office environment, you should choose a place not easily distracted.
5. Is there any additional assistance?
In some of the coalition's office, a startup accelerator, business incubator, attention to certain areas of the sponsors, local university and so on to help enterprise development projects and institutions, these for the new company is a large amount of wealth.