Co-Working Townhall Meeting at Impromptu Studios

Impromptu Studio is hosting a "Townhall" meeting Wednesday March 25th at 7pm.

The Townhall meeting is aimed at three types of people and part of the meeting will address each:

• Those who want to learn more about coworking and Impromptu Studio.


• Those who interested in finding out what big announcements, including upcoming events, and changes Impromptu Studio has in store for it’s community.


• Those who are interested in lending a helping hand to make Impromptu Studio better than they found it.

The Townhall is a meeting where you can bring your questions and suggestions about coworking or Impromptu Studio. This is an open invitation to shape the way Des Moines works!

For those that are curious about who you might see at the Townhall…. some of the speakers that will be either talking about coworking, Impromptu Studio, or making an announcement include:
Brian Anderson of CoLab in Ames
Member, Andy Brudtkuhl of 48Web
Scott Kubie of Market Street Media Foundry
Member, Doug Mitchell of CreateWowMedia
Nathan T. Wright of Lava Row

We hope to see you there! During the Townhall meeting we will also be collecting video testimonials in our green screen room.

For more information contact Abbie Shipton aeshipton@gmail.com
(515) 868 - 0060 - Located at 300 Southwest Fifth StreetSuite 220 - Des Moines, Iowa 50309

I'm Outta Here: How Coworking Is Making the Office Obsolete

Is the Office Obsolete?
Steve King

One indicator that a social or business trend is entering the mainstream is the publication of books on the topic. The release of the book I'm Outta Here: How Coworking Is Making the Office Obsolete is a clear signal that coworking is spreading.

Coworking office facilities combine the structure and social environment of corporate office space with the flexibility of working from home. They have desks to rent, conference rooms, Internet access, and office equipment. Most of the facilities rent space by the day, week, month, or year.

They appeal to freelancers, entrepreneurs, telecommuters, and other laptop nomads who are tired of working at home alone or in crowded and noisy coffee shops. And unlike traditional office suites, coworking facilities provide a community of like-minded people to collaborate and socialize with.

Written by coworking industry pioneers Drew Jones, Todd Sundsted, and Tony Bacigalupo, I ' m Outta Here covers the people, places, and trends that are creating this workplace revolution.

Not just for independent workers, the book also covers the growing trend of corporations reducing their office space and experimenting with telecommuting, hoteling, and other forms of remote work. This is leading to an increase in the number of

corporate employees using coworking facilities.

I'm Outta Here is quick and easy to read and useful for anyone freelancing, working from home, or telecommuting.

For more on coworking, including a list of coworking facilities, visit the

Coworking Community Blog.

Steve King is a partner at Emergent Research, where he leads a research project to identify, analyze, and forecast the global trends and shifts affecting small business. He blogs at http://www.smallbizlabs.com/.

If you are interested in co-working in Central Iowa - please take a moment to complete a brief survey about the assets, services and preferred locations for co-working offices in the Des Moines Metro. Just click on the 'New Iowa Group' logo and then click on the 'Survey Monkey' logo on the home page.

CoWorking in Central Iowa

With the opening of the “Impromptu Studio” by our friends and fellow NIEC members Daniel Shipton and Abbie Shipton, there is quite a buzz around Central Iowa about the concept of “Coworking”. The Des Moines Business Record published a feature article just recently that you can find in the “Files” section at www.new-iowa.biz.

This trend in use of shared office spaces is a relatively new practice where individual workers or even very small companies with only a handful of employees rent office space that is shared with other individuals in similar situations.

Rather than enduring the isolation of a home office or guiltily sipping lattes while draining free Wi-Fi at a local coffee shop; small business owners working out of a home office, freelancers and other telecommuters can rent inexpensive office space by the month (and sometimes the day) with full access not only to a range of office services, but also a community of other people just like themselves.

So, is this a concept that has market appeal here in Greater Des Moines?

With this question in mind, we constructed a survey that will help us to evaluate the Central Iowa market for “coworkng” and answer some of our basic questions.

Please take a few minutes and give us your responses to the survey.

Just click on the monkey!