July 28, 2007

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Interview #3 - Alex Hillman - IndependentsHall.org

Alex Hillman is not your average web developer. He can make his way around HTML tags, relative positioning, etc. with the best of them, but he is also Philadelphia’s resident coworking evangelist and almighty connector of independent workers. What’s coworking you ask? Read on to find out. You don’t want to miss this if you’re a home-based independent worker.

1. For those of us who are unfamiliar with you, could you briefly describe who you are and what you do?

My name is Alex Hillman, and I’m a web developer in Philadelphia. Feels like I’m doing an intro at an AA meeting, like I should be ashamed of myself. But I’m not! Being a developer and an entrepreneur in Philadelphia has proven to be really gratifying, exciting, and I mean…my friends are already here! Besides building websites and webapps, I’m leading a group we’ve dubbed “Independents Hall“, which is an organization of freelancers, independents and work-from-home talent who are looking for chances to get together and make a big difference in the local industry, and have a good time doing so.

2. What exactly is coworking? How and why did you get started in it?

Coworking, as the wiki describes it, a cafe-like culture mixed with community and collaboration. Or, start with a shared office and add cafe culture. Either way, its the best of both worlds between the utility of having office amenities and culture and the convenience and flexibility of working from home.

I got involved as a means to an end…well, a couple of ends. First, I’d lost out on an opportunity to move to San Francisco. Bummed, of course, but I evaluated why I was moving at all, and realized, it wasn’t for the job, it was for the people. I thought, “if i can surround myself with those kinds of people: creative, inspiring, and thoughtful, why does it need to be anywhere but here?”. The trick was finding those people.

Luckily, end to means two was that I was already looking for people…people to subcontract out for projects that came in. My development business already was built on the small pieces loosely joined model, and a coworking community seemed to be a natural evolution of that.

Third, I’ve been working from home for several months now and am going stir crazy, and also have no disconnect between work life and home life, which isn’t healthy for living.

And finally, the biggest catalyst for all of this happening NOW is because when I was in Austin in march for SXSWinteractive07 and [BarCamp Austin, I had the time of my life. I was surrounded by the kinds of people I wanted to be around all of the time, engaging all the time. What was disappointing to me was that even though there were Philadelphians present, nobody was promoting the fact that they were from Philly. I made it my mission to return to SXSW in 08 with a whole crew from Philly, PROUD to be from Philly, and get us our due recognition for being a city of innovation, creativity, and technology.

3. Although your coworking efforts are still in their infancy, what have you learned so far that you wish you knew when you first started out?

I wish I’d known all of these people were around! Whitney Hoffman said, and I keep repeating, “You shouldn’t need to have a huge conference], or travel to another city/state/country, to find out that my neighbor is working on the next big software release/marketing model/business venture.” I’ve learned to look at what’s right in front of me, and don’t underestimate anything.

Also, I’ve learned the value of ritual events. Making it easy on me (or anyone planning an event) by setting a repeating calendar event and just having to worry about getting things together, rather than all of that AND picking a date. Also, regularity is key. Once people get into a groove, they get emotionally invested in that groove, and look for the event to happen on the schedule that you set forth. This is really good for attendance and building a passionate community.

4. What is the best thing about what you do?

The people, hands down. I’ve been SO lucky to be one of those guys that bridges the gaps between social and geekdom. I’m a hardcore geek, my friends and family will tell you. But I’m not a “never sees the light of day” geek. I love being around people, I love working with people, I love engaging and enabling and being enabled. Through my ENTIRE career I’ve been surrounded by people that I really like being around, which is really key to enjoying your job.

Honestly, it’s not very often that my job feels like a job. I dread the day that something happens and I have to get a “Real Job”.

5. What is the toughest challenge you are currently facing?

Saying no. I’ve got my fingers in a lot of different projects, ventures, and groups, and I take on new things all the time. I risk spreading myself thin, because like I said, I love what I do and don’t want to miss out. I need to get better at delegating things, which more than anything is a trust thing. Once the cogs of Independents Hall start turning and we have an established space, I think handing over a lot of the planning work I do will become easier.

6. Where do you see Independents Hall to be in 2 years? 5 years?

Well our first goal is to get through the first year and be able to pay the rent every month. Beyond that, there’s a lot of things I’d like to see happen, some of which will take some encouragement, others I think will happen organically. In 2 years, I like to think that we’ll have brought the industry in Philadelphia into a new light. This is an old city with historical ties to innovation and community. The rest of the world needs to see that. It’d be great for Independents Hall to be more than one location at that point, too. Allowing people with different needs in different neighborhooods to partake in coworking their way. There have been talks of print-shop coworking. There have been talks of video production coworking. Northern Liberties coworking. South Philly coworking. The talent is here, the energy is here (as was shown at BlogPhiladelphia last week), it just needs a home and some focus.

In 5 years…that’s a tough prediction because this industry moves so fast and goes through lulls. Of course I hope things are still booming. For all I know, we’ll be programming “web 47-point-oh”, and driving hover-cars that fold up into suitcases. 5 years is too far off for me to really predict, I’d rather focus on what we can do now.

7. For all of the independent workers all across the country looking to start their own coworking community, what words of wisdom can you pass along ?

Start with the people. Go to user groups. Go to networking events. Conferences.
Network on your own. Set goals. Do them. Don’t sit around and wait for permission, just get going.

Don’t be afraid to talk to everyone about it. Not just web/tech/geek people, either, this is for any contemporary artisan. Writers, artists, project managers, anything really. Also, there’s a wiki for coworking all around the world, as well as a blog and a listserv. Get involved in the bigger community, and learn from the existing experiences. If you’re here in Philadelphia, start at Independents Hall and our own listserv.

Thanks for putting such a great effort into telling us your story Alex. I think can also say a big thanks from the entire Independents Hall crew for being the catalyst in connecting this community. Thanks!