Kevin Moore

Website: www.kevinmooreconsulting.com

Member Since: January 2010

Type of Member: Resident

When most people are nine, they are mastering the early squiggles of cursive writing and are confident that their urges to eat paste are well gone in their past. At the wee age of nine, Kevin Moore was already tapping away at a keyboard in the early stages of his programming career.  By the time he was in high school he was doing professional web development. A visit to a career fair in college led to an internship at Microsoft, which blossomed to a career, which was a step along the way to his current freelance software consulting.  He was lucky enough to figure out what he liked doing early on and has been able to make a career out of it.

Kevin is a new addition to Office Nomads and he is fitting in perfectly. He became familiar with ON after participating in Green Drinks and Sustainable Capitol Hill. Every entrance and exit he makes in the space involves a fist pound with other Nomads. He’s a positive addition to the space, sharing his James Brown with everyone and enthusiastically joining in on the fun when we’ve gone to Happy Hour or had other events.  There are rumors that he has a singing and music background and we are eagerly anticipating the day when he decided to share that with us.

Like many other Nomads, Kevin is a bit of a world traveler.   This summer he is off to explore Argentina and Peru.  Lucky for him, his business is mobile so in between the tango dancing and exploration of ruins he can continue his freelance software consulting business, Kevin Moore Consulting.  We all are eagerly anticipating his reports on eating cuy (guinea pig) and drinking chicha (corn beer).

We are thrilled to have Kevin at Office Nomads.  Not just because he has the magically ability of fixing our computers just by looking at them, but because he is a pretty stellar individual.

Ron Theis

Website: http://www.ridic.com

Member Since: April 2008

Type of Member: Resident

Ron felt as if working from home was working for him although it also felt like it was pulling him in two directions.  His work as Lead Game Designer for Ridiculous Software, Inc. had him focused on the creation of new applications for Sidekick phones and IPhones.  It had him at his computer designing and then writing code for different applications.  At the same time he was always aware of his wife working as a stay-at-home mom with their one-year-old daughter, Addison, who was also in the house.  His fingers would be typing but his mind was aware of laughter floating in from the other room and he wanted to be there to play.  If she cried, he wanted to be there to comfort her.  Working at home was not working at all.

Ron found Office Nomads and, with it, a place where he could work with less distraction.  Before, he said, “…my one-year-old daughter did not understand why Daddy could not play right now.”  Now, he goes home in the evening and can focus on his family.

An additional perk to spending 9-5 at Office Nomads is that Ron has found a great mix of people who can be fantastic resources.  He sits in a cluster with two other Nomads in a similar industry.  Also, when he has questions about topics such as web development, there is usually somebody in the space who can help him.  “These are committed people,” Ron explained.  “They have everything together.”  He finds that that helps him and makes him love this space even more.

His wife and daughter love Office Nomads, too.  Addison loves to run around and play with Cortez, one of the resident pooches, when they come in to check on Ron.  The whole family comes out to the open houses to catch up with the other Nomads and just have fun.  As a whole, the Theis family loves Office Nomads which is fine by us because we love them, too!

Trevor Smith

http://trevor.smith.name

Member Since: April 2009

Type of Member: Resident

Trevor’s work is about helping creative individuals realize their visions.  “In general, I help people who have ideas about doing something interesting with technology.”  Sometimes that means working with an artist or with a biologist.  They all find Trevor to help them manage software development, helping find material for fabrication, etc.  “These people always have 4000 more ideas that they can’t do and that is where I fit in.”

One such project is to do the software infrastructure for a robot that will be installed in the San José Airport.  The robot will be able to react to the people, lights, the flights landing and many other factors surrounding it.  He is also building software for an installation that will be pillars covered in LEDs and his software will make the patterns in the lights.  Trevor has been a part of a diverse range of projects and his website does a great job a cataloguing them, from the robot to the websites.

Trevor is a one-man operation based in Office Nomads. Here he pours his creative energy into his projects without the distractions he found while working from home. “Raw productivity almost doubled when I came here.”  He sticks around until his daughter’s school, which is only down the street, let’s out and then they grab the bus to the door of his house.  At home he finds that he doesn’t have his own art because, he says,” All my creativity goes into helping other people solve their problems.”  He does, though, have the time to train for a half marathon he will be doing in January.  Trevor’s sister has challenged him to the Key West half marathon and, turns out, Trevor is willing to get competitive if it’s an excuse to go to Key West in January.   The Nomads will be rooting for him.

Susan Cope Evans

Website: http://www.officenomads.com

Member Since: The Start of Time

Type of Member: She wears the pants.

Tacked up to the wall by the phone booth, there are two large pieces of paper covered pen and pencils scribbles.  Together the smattering of sentences and half thoughts are the foundations of Office Nomads.  The headings are “Who We Are”, “What We Do”, and “What We Stand For”.  Susan and Jacob put that together over two years ago and, following our 2^nd Birthday Party, it’s still there and ringing true.

Susan spends her days at Office Nomads encouraging the space to grow into what she and Jacob had hoped it could become. Sitting there, she enjoys watching how ideas tossed out by members then get feedback from others, including diverse points of view from an urban planner, a couple of web designers, a publisher and others.  “The way we view things is very different, unique.  I don’t think I knew how powerful that could be or how rewarding.”

She set out to create a “platform on which a coworking community could grow” and can’t believe how well it has taken off, especially in the personal relationships people have grown.  “I hoped we would all get along and members would like each other.  I didn’t expect them to go to each other’s weddings and help each other move. “

“It just knocks me over sometimes,” Susan admits. “Holy crap! It’s buzzing way more than it used to.  [The atmosphere] has gotten warmer.”  From here she has her sights set on encouraging other coworking spaces in Seattle. She wants to help them get off the ground and be a support system for whomever is creating a new collaborative space, be it offices, kitchens, workshops, etc.  “I want to see more of these spaces around the city.  They are vital to urban sustainability, as far as I’m concerned.”

Mike Jones

Website: http://www.morganclaypool.com/

Member Since: January 2008

Type of Member: Resident

Mike Jones is another one of Office Nomads’ world travelers though he’s not from out of the country, he just seems to go there quite a lot. Mike works for Morgan & Claypool Publishers as Director of Marketing. According to him, that means he travels the world charming the pants off librarians. In fact, he sent us the biographical details we used to write this while sitting in a convention hall filled with 1,000 librarians. How he kept his mind on his email in such a place we will never know.

Mike spent three years working out of his kitchen before he discovered Office Nomads. It was not a good experience.”No one should have to work from my kitchen,” he says. “Nobody ever goes in there, there’s no food, I don’t cook, etc. In fact I think President Obama has strictly forbidden working from my kitchen.” Now, he says, he can’t imagine working anywhere other than Office Nomads. Not even the library.

After working in out of his decidedly depressing sounding kitchen, it’s no surprise that Mike settled himself squarely into the center of the main room. It’s a perfect vantage point for Mike, giving him ample access to procrastinating conversations with Jacob, opportunities to tease Nomad Suzi about her diet and to toss various objects at Erik, Robyn and whomever else presents themselves. A word to the wise: Mike is a sharpshooter with the Nerf projectiles, so be on the lookout.

Exciting times here at Office Nomads!  After two years of being open (hooray!), Jacob and I are excited to announce that we have two kickin’ new employees at the office: Eric Von Blon, master of operations, and Alexandra Kruse, community cultivator extraordinaire.

Eric has been at Office Nomads since Day 1.  There are about a million stories we could tell about Eric’s time here, but perhaps the most poignant was the day he lost his job.  At about 4:45 on a Friday at the end of a month, he got the dreaded phone call.  His full-time telecommuting job that enabled him to work at Office Nomads was no longer.  No two week notice, no exit plan, just no more job.  Eric looked up from his desk and shared the news with the other Nomads.  Their response?  Drop their work, head out the door with Eric and get some much-needed beers.  Since then, the community has pitched in and provided Eric with enough part-time work to keep him at the office.  This is the power of community.  Eric has now happily stepped up to be the Office Manager at ON, with responsibilities including opening the space, keeping us stocked on supplies, updating member info, and helping us out with critical infrastructure issues.  Not only is Eric reliable, creative, and energetic as a worker, he’s a boatload of fun to be around, which makes him a great fit for the space. WIN!

Alexandra has been a longtime friend of Office Nomads, coming to many open houses and other events in the space.  Alexandra is a community-builder.  She can’t help it.  In her past work, she strengthened key programs at high schools, tutored math, and hosted after-school events to encourage student and parent engagement.  Alexandra took on the challenge of becoming Office Nomads’ first-ever Community Cultivator, with her job’s goal being making member life here at the office even better.  She makes it a point to get to know each member so she can carve out specific events that speak straight to members, or even just foster helpful conversations between members who may not have known one another.  It’s a unique job description, and Alexandra takes to it like a fish to water.  Within her first month here at the office, she’d already worked on building a member wall, hosted a new member lunch, and planned out a fall family night for our members with little-’uns. When she’s not hard at work on member life here at ON, she’s usually found geeking around with her many bikes, telling jokes, and babysitting for some very lucky Seattle families.  Oh, and going to school in preparation to fulfill her career dreams of being a math teacher.  Phew!  We are incredibly lucky to have her on board. DOUBLE WIN!

Jacob and I consider this a huge step in Office Nomads’ growth.  We want to ensure that this space is set up to run smoothly for years and years to come. By hiring on new additions to our team, we have been forced to start actually writing things down like procedures and ideas that have been bouncing around in our heads for the first two years.  So the value is twofold: we have an incredible team to help us make Office Nomads an even better coworking space, AND we are able to grow our business to the next level by mapping out key parts of the space that haven’t been captured before.

Eric and Alexandra, we are incredibly humbled and appreciative of your time and efforts here at the office.  You guys are rockstars!

Paul Pham

Website: http://pulse-programmer.org/

Member Since: June 2009

Type of Member: Resident

Paul Pham is an inventor.  How cool is that?  He might just say that he is an electronics designer but then he will explain his job and it’s clear that he is an inventor, like we all dreamed we wanted to be at some point.  Paul designs electronics for scientific instrumentation, like physics experimentation.  This is something that grew out of his graduate school work and has taken off to be his full-time job.  At his desk in the Green Room here at Office Nomads he adjusts his designs per requests of clients from as far off as Germany.

Paul is a huge fan of shared spaces like Office Nomads.  He had been working in his apartment and in coffee shops but he found that isolating and discouraging.  Now he has his hand in two shared spaces, here at Office Nomads and at a workshop space in SoDo.  In the workshop is where he solders together his pulse programmers.  We get him most of the time, luckily, when he has put down the soldering gun and is tapping at his keyboard. “I left Amazon to work here full time.  It has helped me focus on this project, which I’ve been working on for a while.  I thought I should get serious about it and now it can be my main focus and this space lets me concentrate on it.”

Paul is a constant and positive presence in the space.  Whenever there’s a Brown Bag Lunch or any events with the Nomads gathering, he is sure to be found.  He wows us with his brightly colored hair and willingness to help out.  If he’s not at his desk, he can be found mingling around.  “I enjoy going around and seeing what other people are working on.  We’ll have game nights sometimes.  Last week three of us went out and saw a movie during the day.  If you can’t watch a movie in the middle of the day, why be your own boss?”  Excellent question.

Office Nomads is a member of our Capitol Hill Chamber of Commerce.  And we are proud of it.  Particularly proud today, as the CHCC was featured in the Capitol Hill Times!

Why join your local chamber of commerce?  Let me give you a couple of reasons:

1. It gets you engaged on a local level. As a member of the CHCC, we get regular communication digests from the Chamber about interesting events, important happenings in our neighborhood, as well as updates on what the Chamber is doing to represent us as Capitol Hill businesses.  It’s a great resource, it’s well put-together, and it is a constant reminder of the world that is right outside our door.
2. They advocate for businesses. It may seem obvious, but one of the central roles of a Chamber of Commerce is to support the local businesses around them and ensure greater support from local government and individuals.
3. Increased visibility of your business. Being a member of the CHCC has provided us with a certain amount of visibility that we could never get on our own. The Chamber offers marketing and publicity for its members that is simple and speaks directly to our audience: our neighborhood.
4. Networking! I know, I know. There are a million outlets for networking these days. But the cool part about networking with your Chamber of Commerce is getting to connect and chat with businesses that are right around the corner. Some of them you know, and some of them you never would have heard of otherwise – the Chamber is a dynamic catchment system of businesses and organizations of all sizes and types that are all interested in supporting one another. It’s a no-brainer for us.

Got any other reasons you’d like to share?  Leave us a comment and let us know what you think!

So you want to start a business but don’t know where to, um, start? Trust me, many of us at Office Nomads have been there before. Heck, even Jacob and Susan who run the place still ask for advice and help from all sorts of people (like their own personal blogger, ahem!). Working in close proximity with a bunch of other folks who are at various stages of building their own businesses is a great reason to spend time at Office Nomads, but sometimes you need a little bit more direction than a casual chat with the person at the next desk. Thankfully Marcello at Seattle 2.0 put together The Ultimate Guide for the New Entrepreneur in Seattle, an excellent resource for anyone trying to create a business using just their wits and a great idea in the Emerald City.

Along with listing a number of great places to get work done, Marcello also identifies must-read books, some lawyers to talk to (while also explaining why you SHOULD talk to a lawyer), where to networkand who to meet. It’s a great read and should be a part of any Seattle entrepreneur’s research.