What is a Co-Working Session?

Today I went to a Co-Working / Networking Session in Thames Ditton organised by Megan Taylor and Emma Palmer who together have created Ditton’s Brand Lab They run workshops designed for startups, personal brands and small businesses who want to show up online with clarity and confidence.

Having never been to this kind of thing before I wasn’t sure if I should be networking or ‘working’! In fact I thought it was going to be a networking session but now I realise I had got the wrong end of the stick and that it was in fact a co-working session. This really shows my age and I was by far the oldest person there. In these days of home working – co- working is a lovely way to feel less isolated and bounce ideas and thoughts off other self-employed people. I pretended to work, taking notes for this piece but Emma very efficiently took notes whilst talking – a thing I find very hard to do.

The Vital Village in Thames Ditton, where it was held is a wonderful village hub where all sorts of classes take place – stretch, art, baby yoga, toddler music sessions – and of course networking, There was a lovely buzzy atmosphere which was appreciated by all.

The demographic was mostly young Mums with huge skill sets who are working really hard to develop their businesses whilst being around for their kids and working under their own terms. Men are welcome and one turned up after his class which was nice as he gave another perspective.

The conversation – when we were not ‘working’ was as follows;

How much to charge. It’s so difficult to get the balance right. Too cheap and you feel undervalued and resentful; too expensive and you might frighten potential clients away.
How to not work all the time. Feeling guilty when you are not working. Protecting ourselves from being spread too thin.
End of Year Review. We all liked this. Only one person did it but think we all will now.
Deviation. That might not be the right word. The photographer amongst us (who did my head shots recently) has added dog portraits to her offering. Her pictures are gorgeous.
Keeping up to date by taking courses. www.udemi.com is great for this.
Childcare/Nurseries/Naps. How to cope when toddlers decide they don’t need even one nap anymore. A scary time!

Business cards are obviously a thing of the past and I get that. Even tiny pieces of paper could be construed as un- eco nowadays but I gave out some information on essential oils as I felt the need to well …network!

I asked people for their website addresses and some were apologetic about their sites not being up to date or less than perfect – they all looked great to me – but now I realise along with the fact that it was co working not networking that people mostly expect to give their social media handles not their website address. This session was full of valuable insights on the way people like to work nowadays. Maybe @dittonsbrandlab could run a workshop for older entrepreneurs?

Here’s a list of people who were there and what they do. How fantastic to see so much young talent emerging.

@dittonsbrandlab - workshops for brand development
@megantaylorlondon - lifestyle/family/mumtraneaur
@elevatesport - fitness guru
@glendagtaylor - aromatherapy guru/writer
@cora.illustrates - illustrator/designer
@emmapalmer_photography - photography
@oselastudio - interior designer
@angelicolife - organic aromatherapy products/natural perfumery workshops
@lynseyhart_wellbeing - baby massage/baby yoga