Alex Hillman
better coworking, better business, and better communities
better coworking, better business, and better communities
Beyond the buzzword, my take is that community is all about creating experiences where people feel trusted, safe, & supported.
This collection includes my full back catalog of articles about exactly how to start, grow, and nurture a thriving community.
What’s missing from this picture of a coworking space?
Continue ReadingCommunity building is an endurance sport. Far more marathon than sprint.
Continue ReadingBack when Indy Hall was just a few days old, we were “lucky” enough to get some really good front-page newspaper coverage.
Continue ReadingI can’t stand the title “community manager“. I’m not a community manager. I never have not never will hire a community manager.
Continue ReadingYou remember to talk about the future, what you haven’t done yet, because it’s still amazing/exciting to you. It’s easy and fun to dream, and share that dream with others.
Continue ReadingOh look, open floorplan offices are under scrutiny again, this time by the Harvard Business review.
Continue ReadingIndy Hall and the global coworking community has provided me with literally THOUSANDS of stories. I’ve realized, looking back, how many of them are packed with serendipity. This is my attempt to share just one of them. Hopefully, I’ll get a chance to share more.
Continue ReadingCoworking is growing into a global phenomenon — but bigger isn’t always better.
Continue ReadingIt’s been almost 6 years after moving Indy Hall into our first Old City clubhouse, and just a few years after publicly sharing the name N3rd Street for our corridor dubbed by our friends at Jarv.us. The name began as more of a colloquialism, and less of a branding effort, but...
Continue ReadingWhen we hear about coworking communities, we generally hear about the new, innovative, collaborative, creative spaces that they inhabit…but we hear a lot less about the interactions between the people in them.
Continue ReadingYet another piece of printed recognition for our community to be proud of: Select Greater Philadelphia (one of the region’s main economic development and marketing entities) just published it’s annual report. Included in it is a highlight of the city’s growing coworking ecosys...
Continue ReadingDamn, that’s a mouthful of a post title, isn’ it?
Continue ReadingThis one is from the Coworking google group:
Continue ReadingPhiladelphia is becoming a test case for a new theory on how cities develop in 21st-Century America. The conventional wisdom used to be that economic development was the key to urban dynamism. Create the jobs, the people would follow, incomes would rise, and all would be we...
Continue ReadingI’ve been to Australia twice in the last 12 months. Three different cities. All for coworking related activities.
Continue ReadingIt’s springtime, which means that we’ve been getting an influx of internship request emails at Indy Hall as people come out of their winter hibernation and gear up for the summer. Timing is ripe, too, since we’re spinning up a rebooted version of our internship program very soon.
Continue ReadingI had a conversation this week with one of Indy Hall’s newest members. He came for the first time on Monday, returned on Wednesday for Indy Hall Night Owls, and returned again last night to give a talk to one of our technology meetups.
Continue ReadingHow much of your energy is focused on growing your community by adding new members?
Continue ReadingLast night I got to tour Miner Street Recordings, the home of the Weathervane Music Incubator (disclosure, Geoff and I are both on Weathervane’s advisory board) & the birthplace of some incredible Philadelphia independent music. I found myself amidst talented musicians, ca...
Continue ReadingCharlie Robbins is a CEO. Which means, by his own definition, he’s a boss.
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