By Brian Skeele, on March 20th, 2011
Collaboration!
Our times call for rapid prototyping social, economical, and ecological strategies so the emerging sustainable economy can….emerge! Many of the jobs being created from evolving technologies, don’t even exist yet. We are inventing the future as we travel forward.
Half of the hottest futurist jobs don’t even exist yet, according to Daniel Burrus, author of Technotrends and CEO of Burrus Research Associates. “We’re in the early stages of shifting gears into the e-society,” he says. “Virtually every part of an enterprise will be e-enabled, which includes connectivity, content, commerce, communication, collaboration, and community.”…
I’ve been a general contractor for 20 years, with 17 years of construction before that. I’ve been dreaming of a career in sustainable neighborhood redevelopment. In 2001 I got tired of hearing me talking about sustainable real estate development and dove into creating a 16 home residential neighborhood within a mixed use development.
Over the following three years, I learned what I consider the equivalent of a PhD in real estate development. I did it all; took two CAD classes (computer aided design), learned how to create spreadsheets for proformas, got 5 investors involved, worked with an engineering firm, a real estate company, appraisers, a bank, the city of Santa Fe permitting department, a construction firm that put in all the infrastructure, City inspectors, bank inspectors for draws, worked with an architect and created 5 model home plans, put together the upgrade packages, marketing… amazing amounts of learning. I even got to experience going bankrupt!
I have a pretty good idea of what kinds of learning curves entrepreneurs face. And to realize we are in the midst of reinventing our way of life sustainable is truly colossal! I’m still learning how to become a “facilitator of sustainable neighborhoods” or whatever this job is called.
It’s like we are in school, for the rest of our life. Either we’re playing in a hobby, leaning into an inspiration, working with the local business incubator or SCORE office, soliciting funds on Kickstarter, or looking for help to take our ideas to the next level; Maybe we’re taking advanced classes, professional development. I call it Lifelong Learning and I believe it’s the key element to ushering in the sustainable economy.
How do we create an atmosphere that is conducive to innovation?
This year 2011, I decided I wanted a place to throw around ideas, and get feedback. Sitting in my home office and trying to figure out what’s next seemed constricting. I needed a bigger playpen!
I happened to discover “coworking“. Imagine an affordable space in an open office, surrounded by a wide variety of fellow entrepreneurs, all working on taking their individual businesses to the next level. There are shared facilities; a printer, WiFi, free coffee, a conference room, a lounge, private “phone booths”, maybe even a kitchenette and a shower. A comraderie exists, as well. A web designer gladly give you a few minutes to work out a design challenge. When his ear phones are on, he’s not to be disturbed, but later in the day, no problem. These are some of the typical elements of a coworking! There are full time desks with full time memberships, as well as parttime memberships, and for the day users, “hot desks”.
I also happen to discover Time Banks. The Santa Fe Time Bank members trade an hour for an hour. The online software organizies all the management…It’s a fabulous way to start up a business, get help you need, and keep costs down!
These are some of the tools and facilities that can support entrepreneurs as we create communities conducive to innovation. Just what the doctor ordered when we are working to make sustainable real!!!
Got ideas that are supportive for entrepreneurs? Add them here!!