Coworking is new to everyone. Here’s the answer to some of the questions we’ve received over time.
General Questions
- What is coworking?
Coworking is two or more individuals working independently or collaboratively who are socially interacting while they work. (Definition from Dusty Reagan’s blog post, Redefining Coworking). You can also watch some of the news clips we’ve been featured in that do a great job of introducing what coworking is all about.
- Can I use Conjunctured as my business address?
Yes, We’ve already talked to the mailman, and he’s ready to handle the demand! For members, it’s free. For non-members we charge $40/mo.
- Are you pet friendly?
Yes! Read one of our recent blog posts: Coworking’s Best Friend
- How productive can I be in the space? Do people actually get work done?
Some people have assumed that a coworking space is simply a place to be social. Yes, it is a social atmosphere, but everyone is here to get work done. Productivity is an important factor in determining whether coworking is a good investment for a new potential member. People absolutely get work done! In fact, many people find they are able to be a lot more productive because it is such a professional, focused environment. Everyone works differently, we realize. For this reason, we have several rooms dedicated to different styles of work. We have the main coworking community room, the lounge, the conference room, and even a “quiet room.” If one room is not your style, you can easily escape into another room. It is common for coworkers to work part of the day in one room and then move to another room later on to change the vibe. Coworkers also respect each other and will usually do their best not to interrupt your work-flow. Wearing headphones is generally a good tip-off to people that you’re trying to focus and cannot talk.
- Is coworking like an executive suite, but different?
Yup, you got it. Read about our take on executive suites in Austin TX.
- What’s a normal day at Conjunctured like? Who’s there/what’s going on?
It varies day to day. We’re jamming out to someone’s iTunes playlist while we’re going through our email inboxes. Sharing ideas on each other’s businesses. New people come in and out of the space several times a day to get tours and be introduced to coworking. You will meet new people and learn new things—guaranteed. On any given day we’ve got developers, designers, social media consultants and other specialists all doing their thing. And on some days our comic book artist friend, Zach, drops in! Raelee, Dusty’s mohawked dog, keeps the floor clean from dropped snacks and makes everyone smile. If it’s too busy or loud for you, you can easily escape into another room of the house–no prob! We created the quiet room for people that need a no-talking atmosphere, so that’s there for you if you need it.
- Can I buy a pack of days and use them whenever I want?
Yes. We sell our days as credits. Buy them in bulk to receive a discount. Use them when you want.
- Do I get a discount if I buy multiple months in advance?
Yes. If you buy 5months, you get your 6th month free. If you buy 10months, get your 11th and 12th month free.
- How do phone calls work?
We have a number of rooms at Conjunctured that people will hop over to take long phone calls. People regularly take short phone calls in the main room and no one cares. There’s also a nice porch and back area where people take calls. You’re also welcome to reserve the conference room for longer conference calls, which a number of our members do.
People are generally very cool with phone calls so it’s not a problem. I encourage you to drop by sometime and test it out for yourself to get a feel for the vibe!
Security
- Is it safe to leave my laptop there while I go out to lunch or run errands? What’s security like there?
Yes. It’s certainly okay to just leave your stuff on the table. Everything will be there when you get back. You also have the option of storing your stuff in one of our lockers.
- Do you have a place where I can lock up my bike?
Yes! The City of Austin installed bike racks for us on our back lot. (We also have a shower for bikers that are biking long distances.) FYI we have quite a few bike riders among our members, so you’ll fit right in.
- Can I rent and store my stuff in a locker?
Lockers are currently free! You’re welcome to bring your own lock.
Amenities
- What’s your kitchen like? Can I bring in my own food to keep in the fridge?
Yes. We have a small kitchenette with a full size refrigerator/freezer, microwave, espresso machine, coffee grinder, instant hot water heater for tea, cups, mugs, silverware, plates—and other standard things you would find in an office kitchen. We always have quality coffee beans, quality tea bags, filtered water, iced tea, sodas, and some community snacks here there.
Feel free to bring in your own drinks, food, and snacks in. You can offer it up to the community or write your name on it so that people know it’s yours. Everyone is respectful and understanding.
- Can I bring in my external monitor?
Yes! There’s actually community monitors for use already, so you may not need to bring yours. But yes, you can bring yours in too.
- How does printing work? Do I get certain allotted number of pages per month?
We have a wirelessly shared color laser printer (Xerox Phaser 8550) you’re welcome to use. Download drivers here. You’re allowed unlimited color printing with your membership, but there have been some people in the past that have abused this, so please keep “unlimited” within reason. As for black and white printing, you can print until you’re blue in the face. Color toner is just a lot more expensive! If you do have a really big color project, it’s suggested that you contribute a little bit towards toner.
Community Oriented Activities
- Do any of you frequently do social things together outside of work?
Yeah, definitely! Here’s a random list of social things Conjunctured members have done together in the past: grab lunch together at one of the numerous restaurants within walking distance, have drinks after work, do boardgame night at someone’s place, play pickup basketball games (we play every Thursday at a local park), join a dodgeball team together, go tubing down the Guadalupe (we got a 12 person van last time we went), watch the World Cup together, random walks around the neighborhood throughout the day, group skydiving, and more. Everyone is really friendly and inclusive towards new people.
- What’s types of events do you host at Conjunctured—can I attend them?
We host a LOT of events. It’s pretty easy to become involved in the tech and entrepreneur community by simply being here at Conjunctured. If we’re not hosting an event, you’ll certainly hear about what the hot event is in town that people are going to. We have some member & alumni only events and then we also regularly host community events like “Launch a business night” and “Help a Coworker Out” among others.
Since July 2008, Conjunctured has hosted numerous technology, entrepreneurial, and social media community events, including Cocoa Coder meetups (iPhone developer group CocoaCoder.org, encourages and teaches application development for the iPhone), Bootstrap Web/Interactive meetups (Bootstrap Austin sub-group, educates attendees on new internet technologies), Wordpress meetups (learn how to develop webpages and blogs for the Wordpress platform, the world’s most popular blogging platform), RISE sessions (Entrepreneur mini-conference held in multiple spots across Austin), Semantic Web Austin meetups, Google Wave meetups, Bootstrap Community meetups, Austin Podcaster Group meetups (learn to create and promote podcasts for personal and professional use), Getting Things Done (GTD) seminars (share knowledge on personal productivity), iPhone Dev Camp, entrepreneur book club meetings (share advice learned from influential business books), 24 Hour Comic Day (mini-conference where comic artists across the city get together under one roof to each develop their own comic books), Android devlopers meetup—-and the list goes on! Any event we host at Conjunctured we make sure that members are included in the list of invites!
Still have questions? Contact us. We’re FAST at responding!