successful home working
Posts tagged Lee Cottier
Lee Cottier – Jelly and coworking pioneer
11
On Friday Lee Cottier (aka @CoWorkingWest) announced he will no longer be organising Jelly in the Bristol and Bath area. In his other role of freelance management and personal development trainer his time is now being taken up with two new projects.
As he points out, the recent surge in popularity of Jelly means he won’t be desperately missed, as not only is Jelly now happening all over the UK, but workhubs are holding their own free coworking days.
This might have happened because the timing was just right, because a number of factors just happened to come together, but I also believe that Lee’s personal qualities have a lot to do with the amazing upsurge in Jelly since his first event last autumn.
His absolute insistence that Jelly should not be a vehicle to promote his own or anybody else’s business, his friendliness and generosity in communicating the spirit of Jelly – I am sure these have greatly contributed to its takeup by so many people. I may have written the How to start your own Jelly guide and published it on my website, but all of it was first edited and occasionally amended by Lee, who could be relied on to phrase potentially controversial points in his uniquely diplomatic way!
It speaks volumes about the man that I still don’t have a photo of him to use on this post – only the coworking avatar he uses on Twitter!
I’d like to thank Lee for all the help he has given me in establishing Jelly in Frome, in putting together the Jelly information on this site and to wish him every success with his new projects.
Just do one thing at a time!
0
I’m pleased to say my advice to myself worked and I was able to get stuck into my new webpage on how to start your own Jelly. It’s now published apart from some pictures I’m waiting for A to put on as we have a glitch with the site that means pictures have to go on the server first…or something. Something that I need to stay well away from, anyway!
I’ve written the new page in response to all the questions about Jelly and coworking that have been coming in to me and Lee Cottier, who organises Jelly in Bristol and Bath. It seems that although the idea of coworking has been around in the UK for a few years, it’s now really taking off. Timing is all.
Having completed this, I’m keen now to crack on with my page for freelance writers working from home.
Cottier on coworking
02 years ago
You’ll know by now how keen I am on coworking and Jelly. Well, all my information came originally from Lee Cottier, the foremost coworker in the South West, and the driving force behind coworking in this area.
Last week I had a good long natter on the phone with him about how he discovered coworking, why he’s so keen and what he’d like to see happen in the future. I’ve transferred all that information to a new page on coworking that I hope will explain the concept, still a very new one to many home workers and freelancers in the UK. There’s also a brief but illuminating video made by a coworking space in Seattle, which was brought to my attention yesterday in one of Lee’s tweets about coworking. (Follow him on @CoWorkingWest for general news as well as events in the South West).
Coworking is an exciting development for anybody working from home. It tackles both the potential problem, always looming, of isolation and becoming cut-off, and also offers countless possibilities for collaborating with other freelancers on new projects.
The twilight zone
02 years ago
This is a very peculiar time of year, a sort of twilight between Christmas and New Year in which nothing much happens. It’s a good time to do a clear-out of your home office ready for the new start after the January 1 Bank Holiday. I find jobs like getting rid of old paperwork are perfect for bridging the gap and making me feel ready for another year.
One thing I always do is go through my old diary and make a list of all the things I’ve achieved this year. It’s always far longer than I remember and makes me feel grateful for everything that’s happened, and positive about the future. This year’s list includes moving into a light and spacious house perfect for home working, the publication of my book, learning how to use Twitter, discovering Jelly and meeting some really helpful and inspiring people, including Mark Shaw (Twitter), Lee Cottier (coworking and Jelly) and Louise Billington (creative coach).
Next year will I hope include moving into another light and spacious house perfect for home working (sadly, our landlords have decided to sell up), developing some exciting products and services to help home workers be more successful, speaking to more groups about the joys of working from home and meeting yet more amazing people.
What do you want to achieve in 2010?
