Skip to Content

Alex Hillman

better coworking, better business, and better communities

Twitter Instagram

Search this Site

Type in terms like retention, culture, or tummling and press enter to search.

If you can’t find what you’re looking for by searching, don’t give up! Shoot me a message on Twitter, I might be able to point you to a post about the thing you’re looking for.


Where Jobs Come From

1 minute read
by Alex Hillman

I just got a pretty interesting email from a small business incubator asking, quite simply, if we keep track of how many jobs have been created by Indy Hall. Of all of the metrics that I’ve wished I could provide, this one simply hadn’t crossed my mind because it represents an old method of stimulating the economy that I don’t think is wrong, but I DO think is exclusionary.

Like the modern education system, “job creation” makes the assumption that at the end of every person’s path is a job. What we’ve found to be the reality, though, (and we’re not the only ones) is that people are motivated by something different, and one of those things is “independence”.

Whereas a traditional job creation approach focuses on the businesses that provide the jobs, we’ve taken a more environmental approach to create people that are more likely to succeed, ultimately creating create jobs for themselves and in some cases, other people. This takes the “teach a man to fish” adage to a whole new level, and has the potential for a profound long term effect on where jobs even come from in the first place.

My response to the inquiry is shared below:

We’re not particularly interested in the creation of “jobs” as we are independence. I don’t have numbers that I can share at this time, but at the core of our mission is to help people cross the bridge from being dependent on a single source of income to many sources, and then to passive sources of income. We do this by helping people form dynamic “super-teams” of talent, premeditated by the formation of strong social working relationships, and then providing guidance and support for product development. The REALLY interesting part was his response:

This is an interesting approach, and I am starting to think that most co-working[sic] spaces follow a similar philosophy as you. Well. I think that’s what we call “putting a dent in the universe”.

This will help make sure you can find the most useful resources. I respect your privacy & email. Absolutely no spam, and I won't ever share your data. Pinky promise! 🤞

Hey, thanks for reading!

Alex Hillman I am always thinking about the intersection of people, relationships, trust and business. I founded Indy Hall in 2006, making us one of oldest fully independent coworking communities in the world. This site is packed with the lessons and examples I’ve learned along the way. You can find me on Twitter, too! 🐦 Say hi.