By becoming part of a new creative coworking studio in central Bournemouth, Rebecca Perl has transformed her working life

Start-up activity is still on the rise in the UK and the number of active companies increased by 7% in 2013, bringing the total to 2.9 million. In a time where the type of work we do and the way we do it is changing, coworking spaces make more sense than ever before.

When I started my copywriting company, Messagelab Communications, I worked from home for a year and a half. While it had its perks (uniform: pyjamas, commute: none), it certainly had plenty of downfalls too. It’s easy to get distracted at home, and to slip into bad habits. And like most people, I needed a clear divide between work and home.

So when I heard about Nest Space, a coworking studio in Bournemouth town centre, I went along to check it out. That was in September 2013, and I have been running my business from there ever since. It felt right for me as soon as I walked through the doors – in part due to the location and the building, but more down to the ‘feel’ of the place. I felt at home.

Since then, a growing number of professional freelancers and small businesses have joined us to run their creative businesses from the studio, on a part-time or full-time basis. Membership packages are flexible, and start from as little as £1.50 an hour. The membership includes designers, illustrators, photographers, writers, videographers, web developers and marketers. They are launching apps and websites; organising conferences; creating games; making feature films and writing books – and that’s just this week. There is more expertise and drive under one roof than anywhere I have worked previously. I realise now, it is counter-productive to be working alone. Creativity is contagious. I’m inspired by my coworkers, and it’s great to be able to collaborate with them.

Nest Space is in St Peter’s Road, just a couple of minutes’ walk from the sea and the town centre. The main office space has clean white desks, wooden walls and floor and big south-facing windows. The large meeting room, or ‘Imperial Command Centre’ as we call it, seats up to 12 people and is available for hire when not in use by Nest members. In addition, there’s space to eat together, and two additional rooms for meetings or workshops.

For Director, David Stroud, having come from a creative background himself, he truly understands the value of getting creative people together in one place. With a range of experience in the creative and digital industries, David is genuinely interested in helping businesses succeed. “Everyone at Nest is part of a growing professional network, which gives each business greater opportunities than they would have if they were working on their own,” he says. “I introduce members to contacts from local industry, from universities to business mentors. When I see businesses flourishing and expanding it’s deeply satisfying, and I know I’m doing my job.”

Everyone contributes to regular member events at Nest, which help to foster a creative, collaborative environment. These include screenings, book club, TED talk lunches, creative lunchtime knowledge sessions and informal after-work networking with free beer. Then there are events open to the wider creative community too, such as Nest Keynote. At the first keynote in September 2014, Mike Hayes, former CEO of SEGA, shared his wealth of marketing experience with a packed house.

For those who like the idea of working from a shared space like Nest, but can’t make it to the studio on a regular basis, there’s the online Nest Network. For a low monthly subscription, members can connect with Dorset’s growing creative community. You get your profile added to Nest’s members’ directory, free invites to networking and industry events, and access to a range of insight videos.

It’s the type of people coworking attracts that make it what it is. As some wise person once said: “Working hard for something you don’t care about is called stress. Working hard for something you love is called passion.”

To find out more about Nest Space and its members, visit nestspace.co***

Name: Danny Stack

Profession: Scriptwriter (dannystack.com)

“After years of going stir-crazy working from home a friend told me about Nest Space. Everything about it is flexible and affordable, with fresh coffee and superfast WiFi thrown in for good measure. I can’t imagine my working life without it.”

Name: Tom Parrish

Profession: Concept artist (tomparrish.co.uk)

“Nest Space has given me access to sectors I had previously thought out of reach through the contacts I’ve gained in the Nest Network.”

Name: Charlotte Craig

Company: Neon Web Design (neonwebdesign.co.uk)

“Nest has helped me to establish and grow my business. I have access to a large meeting room for client meetings, which instantly generates a positive impression.”

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Stop Press... Nest Space is Amazon’s first partner in Bournemouth region!

In December, Nest Space announced a partnership with Amazon Web Services (AWS) which will provide startups in the Nest Network with access to Amazon’s web-based training, self-paced labs and AWS business support as part of the AWS Portfolio Package. Some of the world’s hottest startups including Pinterest, Instagram and Dropbox have leveraged the power of AWS to get started and build to scale.

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