A WORKHUB FOR YOU
No individual workhub will be the same as another. Each must develop its own facilities and ways of working to suit its users. Each will also have differing access to funding — from resident businesses, grant support or a combination of both.
There are some common features which we advocate however:
- a strong emphasis on face to face networking with easily accessible meeting points
- a clear sense of where the 'hub' is - a place in a natural centre such as a market town or high street (not a business park)
- good coffee!
- a well integrated email news facility that draws users and customers to any hub website
- making collaborative working and knowledge sharing a top priority
- being sustainable with no grant support
- being able as a project to expand and contract easily to work with available resources
- combining self employed and micros from different sectors - creating a varied business cluster
- strong advocacy of home based businesses' needs to relevant local and regional authorities, insisting on services that meet real needs.
We believe that the most effective hub projects appeal to both successful microbusinesses and to start ups/more fragile businesses. The start ups benefit from close association with the successful (gaining contracts and learning from successful approaches). The established businesses in turn benefit from easy access to affordable services and talent nearby — no need to subcontract to remote urban centres.