CUBER, Bukola Dagiloke is the founder and CEO of IFE Projects, which is a company that helps young people break into the fashion industry. Their latest project is are below….IFE Projects are now running Independent Fashion Entrepreneur Training and Innovative Fashion Enterprise Development courses, for more detail follow this link :http://www.theifeelexperience.com/ifespotlight.php?action=fullnews&id=64 Please get in contact if you would like to find out more information.We also have opportunities for fashion creatives to get involved in workshops and other paid projects on a freelance basis and we have some intern roles available in 2012. More information about these opportunities can be found here: http://www.theifeelexperience.com/joinus.htmlAbout THECUBE
THECUBE is a coworking space that houses diverse entrepreneurs and helps create community via events and curated introductions.
All posts tagged Community
IFE Projects Offering Support To Young Fashion Entrepreneurs
How Collaboration Works At THECUBE
We asked CUBER Jonathan Lister to tell who he has collaborated at THECUBE. Below is his story.
Who have you collaborated at THECUBE?
I have collaborated with a wide range of people from digital to coworking, below are some of the projects.
Richard White – SeenOnScreenFitness.com
Charlotte Hambly – SweetSpot.com print brochures
Alison Coward – a project proposal Alison was working on
Adam Austin – SEO proposal for SweetSpot
Araceli Camargo – Coworking plans
Would you collaborate again?
Yes!
Why do we encourage our members to collaborate?
THECUBE’s reputation is highly founded on its community. We have worked meticulously to create a space that supports collaboration. Our members generate business leads, bid for jobs together, and share skills. When you are starting a business it can be a lonely process and you need people around you to stimulate ideas and help you generate contacts.
How we create collaboration
1. THECUBE is small and open plan, this helps take away anonimity and thus encourages people to introduce each other
2. We set up curated introductions amongst our members and outside contacts
3. We hold monthly lunches and roundtables where members can meet each other and share ideas.
About THECUBE
THECUBE is coworking space in Shoreditch, East London dedicated to collaboration, building sustainable businesses, and driving innovation.
3 Questions With NGO Consultant Olivia Munoru
Today we are speaking with NGO consultant Olivia Munoro, she joined THECUBE community in the summer. Below is her story.
1. What are you working on?
In exactly 1 month, ministers from across the globe, government representatives, parliamentarians, civil society organisations and private sector representatives will come together for the 4th High-Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness in Busan, Korea. Approximately 2000 delegates will review global progress in improving the impact and value for money of development aid and make new commitments to further ensure that aid helps reduce poverty and supports progress in meeting the Millennium Development Goals.
I am currently consulting for a global NGO, who will be attending this conference. I am passionate about ensuring that this process is truly democratic which is why I have agreed to carry out some research to help prepare the delegates for this forum. They will be advocating for greater and more meaningfulchildren’s participation in policy dialogue, especially in regards to issues that impact children’s lives (such as health, housing, education and development). It is a real honour to be involved in such a process.
2. What is a book that has changed your life?
The book that changed my life was King Leopold’s Ghost by Adam Hochschild. Until I read this book I had no idea of the scale of the genocide in The Congo during Belgium’s Colonial rule. Millions were killed (estimated 10 million) and millions more had their hands chopped off for disobedience or lack of productivity.
What inspired me were the early human rights activists, some real underdogs and unlikely heros in colonial times (an African American slave, a working-class shipping clerk and a closet homosexual) who risked everything for what they believed in.
What is THECUBE?
Coworking at THECUBE London
Coworking has not yet launched in the same way as Europe, so there is still plenty of scope for definition in the UK. One of the main reasons we switched from calling the space a conceptual workspace to co-working was because it gave us clear semantic meaning. We were finding it hard to define what we did in less than a sentence, so when we learned about coworking we were happy to start using the word immediately.
As we continue to observe our members, we are moving towards more purposeful use of the word, it is not just about desks in a space, but a community. And it is not just about ideas but creating sustainable economy. It is not an overnight process but one that we tweak nearly everyday, finding new knowledge, tools, and examples to help provide our members with the best possible space.
We are committed to helping entrepreneurs and feel that it is everyone responsibility to kick start the economy.
Our space also offers the regular office tools like meeting hire, virtual office plans, deskpsace, wifi, etc. however it is the innovation tools and community chat really make THECUBE unique space to work from.
What We Do at THECUBE Coworking Space
We are about to celebrate our 1 Year Birthday at THECUBE and it will be a time of reflection. There are still miles to go before we reach our ultimate goals, but the space has already started to make the ripples in the desired direction, starting with the concept and events.
The space is booming with a diverse community and brilliant thinkers, so our job is to provide our members with innovative platforms to make them better at what they do. We will start with Idea Engineering, which is an intelligence we designed based on the needs we observed amongst our members. It is there to provide members with innovation via events, workshops, and one to one sessions. Idea Engineering is what drives THECUBE forward and gives the space its distinction; all of our members know that they join a space that has a innovation at the forefront of its priorities.
Everyone at THECUBE, including the space itself are here to grow their idea and we cannot do that in isolation, we need a strong community to raise our businesses.
Platypus
This awkwardly named event is inspired from Matel’s company meetings in which they bring various staff members to brainstorm away from the day to day workspace. We have taken it one step further and included sessions on Neurobics, which are special mind exercises, we have adapted from the book by Keep Your Mind Alive by Dr. Lawrence C. Katz and Dr. Manning Rubin.
CUBELEARN
We will be bringing in all kinds of interesting minds to do talks and workshops an THECUBE as part of expanding the neighborhood of knowledge. In most cases ideas are generated when the mind is distracted as our mind thinks by associative maps and one thought can have a domino affect on ideas.
CUBEAGENCY
We had the launch of this event last week and we created a round table agency to help counsel local East London Entrepreneurs. This not only adds value for our members, but also helps generate a sense of trust within the community.
CUBELUNCH
One of members usually hosts our lunches and shares knowledge on their specific sector. These events help create a sense of community within our members and an environment that conduces the exchange of knowledge.
There are many other little details that make THECUBE a special place to work, such as people finding new clients on their first day, or teaching graduates how to be innovators, so they stay ahead of the game.
For more information or a tour of the space, please email Araceli at info@thecubelondon.com
THECUBE Coworking Space During London Design Festival
THCUBE coworking space in Shoredtich, East London is partnering with London Design Festival.
We are exactly a year away from turning 1 year old and we are renewing our partnership with London Design Festival. This year we are sponsoring emerge during the whole week, there will be several events from idea lab, pop-up graphic design studio, private view showcasing young graduates, and seminars.
Please stay tuned for the full schedule in the next coming weeks.
About THECUBE
THECUBE is a coworking space that supports ideas and enterprise. We offer an array of events, innovation advice, and an entrepreneurial community.
There are also basic business services such as virtual office space, meeting room hire, and fast wifi.
The Sustainability of Coworking Spaces
There are many things that play a role in creating a good work space and making it viable. The steps below were devised for THECUBE using Idea Engineering, which has helped us reach profit in less than a year. We hope will help budding coworking owners as well as help define this emerging industry.
Keep Overheads Low to Create Fast Economy
Many spaces are portraying a luxurious or high-end feel and hiking up start-up costs above potential income, thus creating a longer return cycle. It is important to keep overheads as low as possible; negotiate good deals on your leases, invest in durable furnishings rather than overpriced luxury items, find a space that has little to no refurbishment needs, and look at a well connected but up and coming area as rents will be cheaper.
Marketing Position
Position your space away from members clubs, cafés, or luxury offices, so you don’t have to compete in a saturated market.
Delay the Bells & Whistles
When cash flow increases and you have broken even, then start to replace standard items with more defined products. Firstly, its good for your start-up costs, but it also communicates to your members that you are improving the space, which creates retention.
Streamline Running Costs
Create a circular economy that is lucrative to enlist quality people to help run the space, automate systems where possible, and have a small core team that is cross trained.
Stay Green
Turning off lights that are not in use and at closing time, recycling paper to create note-pads, encouraging members to think before they print, use tap water instead of buying bottled, etc. etc. Being green is responsible and can help you save money along the way.
Define Your Ethos
Find what it is that will make your coworking special and relevant to local entrepreneurs. Spend time observing and take note of what is needed. To simply set up a couple of desks in one space is not coworking, you can do that at Starbucks.
Offer Innovative Information & Events
Give your members well researched information they cannot find anywhere else and create events that are pushing innovation amongst entrepreneurs.
Bring in the Community
If you want to be around for awhile get the community behind you and create events that will encourage people to come to your space. They may not need you now but may in the future. THECUBE constantly invites the community to partake in our events and we have seen a great return on investment. Some people don’t join until 3 -6months down the line, so be patient. I will stress that you do it out of genuine interest not just for sales purposes.
Do not Franchise
According to our observations, franchising dilutes coworking spaces and makes them generic. Coworking spaces are so dependent on their community and the needs of local entrepreneurs that creating a generic space will make them vulnerable. Plus each space has to continue to change and innovate as needed, which is contrary to franchise protocol.
About THECUBE Coworking Space
Coworking at THECUBE is affordable. flexible, and straight forward. Potential members to THECUBE have a choice of 5 main tiers from which to design the most suitable work-plan.
Who is at THECUBE?
THECUBE members are curious, innovative, and driven by need to create great ideas. We believe in diversity and have attracted entrepreneurs and idea makers from across all different industries. We have film makers, PR firms, financial consultants, accountants, printers, architects, fashion, creative agencies, software developers, web developers, and graphic designers.
Why Join THECUBE?
There are many reasons, the more practical being that you need a place that will conduce concentration and productivity, a place to meet with clients, or place to showcase your work, and then there the more qualitative reasons like meeting future collaborators, clients or finding a source of inspiration, or shooting the breeze with like minded people.
In general people like coming to THECUBE, because it helps keep positivity up. Being social and being around like minded people raises dopamine levels, which means that ideas are easier to create and implement.
What is like to have office space at THECUBE?
People always comment about how relaxed the space is, we are all here to achieve goals, however the minimalistic design calms people, which means they are able to concentrate a lot more.
Since we have people from across different industries and different age groups, everyone is quit curious to learn from each other, so it feels more like a collaborative space than a rigid office space.
Other Serives at THECUBE
THECUBE also offers virtual office services, meeting room hire, boardroom hire, gallery space, and in house consultancy firm called Idea Engineering
If you would like to join our community, curious about what are about, or have an idea you want to run past someone, give us a call 0207 3779279 or email Araceli info@thecubelondon.com
The Importance Of Community
In any entrepreneurs journey one of the first steps into a solid marketing process is community. At the end of the day businesses cannot survive without the continual support of the community of which they are built on.
There is plenty of money to be made out there, people are looking to spend their money in products or services that they value, so open the doors to your idea and let them in.
1. If you are the very start of your idea, hold local think tanks ask what is the best way to communicate your service/product.
2. Hold mini events where people in your community can test out your idea and give you feed back. Use them as your focus group.
3. Reward the community effort by giving them special deals, introductory offers, or simply leave a section of your business dedicated to enhancing the community.
4. Even in regards to raising funds, if you start locally, you can hold fundraisers for both your idea and others that are wanting to start something. In Scotland a local entrepreneur has started an independent bank to lend to other small start-ups. There is nothing to stop other communities from doing this.
5. By starting locally you are creating a market for your idea, so when its time to launch, you have a tribe of followers behind you.
6. Expanding to other tribes is good and it help build rep, but don’t forget about the community in expansion as it gives you loyalty and consistency.
7. If you are fully integrated in your community, they will not let you fail as you are part of the fabric and personification of the local area.
At our coworking space, we offer many platforms for the local community, such as events, clinics, advice, and this summer we are doing open CUBETHINK. This not only helps generate future business for THECUBE, but it also makes our community stronger, more informed, and supported. We are only as strong as the weakest link, thus a strong community is going to breed strong businesses and that will create a lasting economy for everyone.
THECUBE offers different membership packages as well as virtual office space, for more information about joining our community, please send us an email info@thecubelondon.com
Say Goodbye to Office Space
Coworking spaces have been gaining momentum since 2007 and they are quickly becoming the new way of working. It’s a format of working that even academia is starting to adopt as way to introduce a better flow of collaboration and concentration.
What makes Coworking space so attractive?
1. They spark collaboration, especially coworking space, which have a diverse community, like THECUBE.
2. They give idea makers a sense of community and security. If you see other people taking the plunge to make their idea happen, then you don’t feel so isolated.
3. Gives birth to new skills by ‘osmosis’ in other words you learn by just being around new knowledge.
4. Creates new neighbourhoods of knowledge, which can be used to expand mindspace, knowledge, and create new way of implementing your idea.
5. It helps create new neurological connections. When we first learn a task or are exposed to novel information our brain thrives and creates new pathways of thinking as it becomes routine, it stops. By just being in a coworking environment will create novel experiences for your brain, which leads to better generation of idea.
THECUBE coworking space is based in Shoreditch East London and we offer a variety of services.
From Virtual office space, boardroom hire, meeting spaces, gallery, FREE events, and consultancy.
For more information, please visit our membership tiers and virtual office space services.
THECUBE
155 Commercial Street
02073779279
info@thecubelondon.com