Bridging the gap between desires and knowledge, Sierra Commons is offering a six-week business course to help aspiring entrepreneurs launch new businesses in Nevada County, a scenic Sierra Nevada Gold Rush town. This course could become a model, contributing to developing, walkable, sustainable communities with local support services in many regions. Learn more about building local, living economies here

“The Ignitor Course targets entrepreneurs who have focused business ideas and are committed to moving forward. It will be an intense six weeks, but in the end, graduates have the opportunity to transform from aspiring entrepreneurs to inspired business owners”—Robert Trent, Executive Director, Sierra Commons

Day One, Business Ignitor @ Sierra Commons

Graham and partners Barbara Sprenger and Ken Meshke started the business almost a year ago, and are on track with their projected goals.

“We always felt this would be the beta site and we now have several more sites in Santa Cruz County under consideration. I have studied co-working for years and have always wondered what prevented this way of working from really taking hold. Our idea has been to get the right mix of  components in terms of services, space configuration and community involvement and then reproduce this, with each site having a ‘neighborhood personality.'”

Jim Graham, Director of Marketing

Big Upsell: Why Drive Over Highway 17?

Felton sits near the base of Highway 17 on Highway 9. San Jose and Silicon Valley are on the other side of ‘the hill’ from Felton off Highway 17. A notoriously dangerous and often congested drive, why make it if you can tele-work closer to home? Save the highways, your car and the planet—most of all, save your own quality of life by paring down commuting time.

The Satellite is a green certified workspace and has a mix of cubicles, private offices and conference facilities. There is a large community room and a cafe lounge. The community room is available for all sorts of events, from yoga classes, the library book club to board games.

When asked what the most unexpected outcome for the Satellite has been, Graham answered,

“I thought people would come here to collaborate and work together, but what’s happening even more is that people are collaborating at their jobs, and then coming here several days a week to do very focused work alone. We are also seeing members use the morning commute rush as a time to drop by and work for a few hours, saving time by avoiding traffic. Some members stop by to unwind for an hour or so after work. The Satellite is functioning very smoothly as a place for dedicated work. We have solid internet connectivity and our own power generator, both significant  in the Santa Cruz mountains. “

Working together, closer to home with a bit of community. Unemployed and underemployed people are making their own jobs as independent consultants. Co-working is going strong in 2010.

Sierra Commons Open House

One of the bright spots in the economic downturn has been the emergence of real world shared workspaces, co-working communities and collaborative work environments.

Touting a series of benefits that range from reduced cost, quality of life, carbon-reduction and networking, telework and co-working environments return great dividends to participants.

Small entrepreneurial business ventures get a foothold with high-speed internet, phone and fax services for a fraction of the cost of providing in a home office. Add to this the possibility of informal networking and the general pleasantness of working together, alongside the carbon reduction of delivering space/utility resources that would otherwise be duplicated.

I recently visited Sierra Commons in Nevada City. Sierra Commons considers itself a business incubator, with the apropos byline “business ignitor” and a mission statement closely tied to economic development. Building business away from urban hubs provides quality of life and reduces cost of living, but presents some unique problems which co-working communities effectively address (connectivity, networking and social interaction).

Max Norton

Standing in the shared kitchen by the retro popcorn machine Sierra Commons’ Max Norton and I discussed upcoming projects we might work on together.

Sierra Commons’ big upsell over a home office is connecting to others and finding a dedicated place for focused work. Like many workshare spaces, Sierra Commons offers brown bag lunch dates, mixers, art exhibits and community events. Robert Trent manages the space and has been surprised by how much general information is shared and is glad to see a constant buzz of professional feedback and referrals.

Gaining a foothold in 2008, the economic downturn has provided reasons for working together: finding work, saving money and keeping the faith in budding enterprise.

Robert Trent & Sierra Commons, along scenic Highway 49 & 20