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The Entrepreneur’s Guide to (not getting kicked out of) Coffee Shops
- executive 15y agoMore like "The Entrepreneur's Guide to a Blank Page in Chrome"
- gte910h 15y agoWorks for me in chrome.
- ktsmith 15y agoI get a flash of content and then a blank white screen. There's a bunch of 403 and 500 errors for content on the page and about a dozen javascript errors when I open up the developer tools. It may be that some Chrome versions are more forgiving then others (16.0.981.0 here).
- vitalychernobyl 15y agoSorry, it just takes an extra second to load. Will fix it in a bit. You should still be able to see it if you just wait for a beat.
- lhnz 15y agoA minute later and I'm still looking at a white screen.
- vitalychernobyl 15y agoSorry about that, can't replicate. Maybe you're getting flagged by Cloudflare security? We'll mess with it tonight when the load goes down a bit. Again, sorry about that.
- vitalychernobyl 15y agoHey, if you get a chance, let me know if you still have issues. Did a quick fix last night, so hopefully was enough. (May need to go back later and fix underlying issue.) Thx!
- colinprince 15y agoditto - blank grey page in Firefox 3.6
- thedevelopment 15y agoAnd in FireFox 7.0
- cbs 15y agoCan someone explain to me the fascination with working from coffee shops anyway? You put up without power/internet guarantees and an expectation to spend money for what? The comfort of working hunched over a laptop at a strange table and the convenience of commuting to work even though you don't have an office you have to go to? Is it a thing where you have better self control at a computer if you're not at home?
- exit 15y agoi can't explain the appeal, but i worked out of a coffee shop for 3 months a couple of years ago and it was definitely there for me. your self control theory might be a part of it although i don't recall doing any less random surfing. and believe me i would notice if some environment helped me tone down my random surfing. i think just being around people, even (maybe especially) if they have no bearing on my activity, is comforting and helps me focus. at the risk of concocting one of those questionable evolutionary psychology theories, most of our ancestors probably didn't do a lot of productive work in complete isolation?
- samgro 15y agoI worked from coffee shops for 6 months as a solo founder. Being a solo founder was incredibly lonely, and sitting at home made that worse. Going to coffee shops and being surrounded by other people working on their own gigs was energizing. Now that I'm working at a 2 person startup, I still work from coffee shops ~2 days a week. It's a great change of scenery from the office. I plug in headphones, get a caffeine buzz going, and can be very productive without being distracted. The coffee shop matters a lot. I disagree with the author's opinion that national chains are best. Starbucks tends to have terrible WiFi, average coffee, and feels soulless. You have to explore your city to find the right balance of WiFi, ambiance, coffee, and power outlets. I was spoiled living in Seattle - I imagine that search takes a bit more effort somewhere like DC :) GeekAtSea has an excellent post about Seattle coffee shops: http://www.geekatsea.com/best-coffee-shops-in-Seattle http://www.geekatsea.com/best-coffee-shops-in-Seattle
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- DavidTO1 15y agoI went through the same experience when I was doing my startup. The biggest problem I found was going to the washroom. I was always afraid someone would highjack my stuff so every time I went to the washroom, I had to pack everything up and bring it with me. This was pretty annoying. Also, if the coffeeshop is busy, good luck finding a clean toilet to sit on.
- danenania 15y ago"I was always afraid someone would highjack my stuff so every time I went to the washroom, I had to pack everything up and bring it with me." If you feel like being social, this is a good excuse for striking up a conversation with someone nearby who seems interesting. Ask if the person can keep an eye on your stuff for a few minutes. Assuming he/she is friendly, after you get back and say thanks the ice will be broken and you can chat if you want to. I suppose it's still a bit riskier than taking your stuff with you, but seems minimal.
- deleted 15y ago[deleted]
- DavidTO1 15y agoI do agree that the risk is very minimal if I had asked someone to look after my stuff, however I could not risk loosing the data on my laptop (loosing the laptop itself is not a big deal). And yes, I used Dropbox to backup most of the important stuff.
- a-priori 15y agoMaybe I'm overly trusting, but I just ask someone who has line-of-sight, "excuse me, would you mind watching my stuff for a minute?". I figure that the odds of picking the one person who would steal things is very low, and people see it as a gesture of trust. It's sometimes an opening for a conversation when you return, or at least for returning the favour.
- vitalychernobyl 15y agoI don't think there is a particular trick to fix that, here's what I do - if the place is in a decent neighborhood and there are other people on laptops around, I'll ask someone to watch my things. The trick I use is to pick someone that has line of site on my things, so they pay attention even if they don't mean to. And ideally to pick someone with a laptop, and preferably a better laptop than yours, that makes them a tad more trustworthy, because at least they probably won't take off with yours. If the neighborhood is sketchy or there is no one around, I take it with me.
- deleted 15y ago[deleted]
- orenmazor 15y agoI work out of a nearby coffee shop in Ottawa in a very small community/neighbourhood. it's low traffic, and I'm on first name basis with everybody that works there. it's fantastic, and beats working in a real office. the wifi is unlimited, there's plenty of power outlets, and occasionally on really long days, I'll have two meals there (which makes up for those crunchtime days where I'm doing nothing but drinking coffee). and they're open till midnight, and serve beer for ballmer peak days. the real key is to just work out of a coffee shop 2ish times a week and a homeoffice the rest of the time. you split your costs and you're not always there.
- scooter53080 15y agoI've found it helps if you try and go places when they are least busy. Coffee shops seem to have different down times depending on location, customer base, etc. My favorite spot is always crowded from sunrise until about 3pm and then totally dead for the rest of the day. Less noise, distraction, and guilt for taking a table when there is nobody in the place. I also recently discovered the public library as a great place to work. Of course this will vary from city to city, but mine is clean, quiet, good lighting, comfortable work areas, cheap parking, and free wifi. Also, they have a great music collection to borrow from.
- rdl 15y agoI hate working in coffeeshops or shared offices. Not being able to leave your stuff when you go to the bathroom is a big fail, but even worse, not being able to take phone calls in a low stress environment while sitting at your desk. Being able to look things up. Also, it's not really a great environment for having confidential discussions in general, especially in Silicon Valley -- I've had meetings where the VC picked a coffeeshop to meet, and 2-3 other companies were having meetings in the same space. A private office in a setting with coworkers is ideal, but failing that, a dedicated home office is the next best alternative.
- jaredsohn 15y agoAnother option is to just pay for coworking. You still get to work with strangers (but now strangers who are paying to be in a productive environment), can often drink coffee (perhaps included as part of the coworking fees), should have consistent wifi and plenty of power outlets, and don't have to worry about getting kicked out to make room for other customers.
- vitalychernobyl 15y agoYep, that's the upgrade if you can afford it and there is one nearby. Coworking places can be great.
- ohashi 15y agoSeems like a waste to me, especially since he's in the same city (DC). I am down at Affinity Lab (coworking space) and it only costs $325/month compared to his 1000$/month on coffee. Plus the internet works, you get to know a bunch of people, has more facilities than a coffee shop and it's definitely comfortable enough to leave your stuff. I've left my stuff for hours unattended and never worried about it.
- vitalychernobyl 15y ago(Hey, I'm actually the author) We were actually working out of Affinity Lab for over a year. A great place. That's what you do when you want to upgrade. But the trick with any coworking space is that it's gotta be convenient. We moved out of the city and it's just a bit too far out. But AL is great. Also, you don't have to spend $1000/month - that's just what happens if you're not careful. I generally spend about $4-5/day - so it rounds out to about $150.
- ohashi 15y agoHow do you account for wasted time out of curiosity? Do you just find 1 (or a few) places you always go to or how many hours per month do you waste searching for somewhere to work? The location is definitely a factor, I was driving to a metro and then metroing in - it took between 1-1.5 hours. Then I just started driving at off peak times and it's much faster.
- vitalychernobyl 15y agoWhen I first got my iPad I put a timer app on it, and at some point I got really frustrated by how much time I perceived was being wasted, so for a few weeks I timed it every time I wasn't able to work when I was trying to (wifi down, no power, going to a new place, etc). It was crazy, actually, but I was losing half my working day (shortly after that we joined Affinity Lab). Of course, now that I can't get to a co-working space, I had to get way better at planning and finding good places. Now I don't waste much time. For that matter, I think I am more productive (for now) because I can't chit-chat and get distracted as I would when I'm around people I know. All of our work is offsite and online right now, so no productivity is wasted. The biggest trick is, if it's a 3hr commute there and back to your office (plus settling in time) you have to weight it each time whether it's worth the trip or not. But I hit the coffee shop every morning, like it's my office, and gain 2.5hrs. You just can't slack off. I wouldn't suggest doing it forever, but if you're going to do it, that's how.
- T_S_ 15y agoThe antidote to coffee shops in Silicon Valley is Mountain View's Hacker Dojo. Drop-ins welcome.
- alphadog 15y agoPublic library + mifi
- JGailor 15y agoGood advice, although from my experience (in San Francisco), getting to know the staff is the easiest way to ensure a free -> cheap working environment. Local places with a lot of people means you can get away with 1 - 2 cups of coffee for the day, which will run you $4 - $7 depending on how swank the place is. Also, buy a couple of $5 power strips and leave them at the places you frequent. Give something back to the community that's supporting you (whether they know it or not).
- vitalychernobyl 15y agoLove the powerstrip idea. Sounds like a movement :-)
- kunashe 15y agoLove this. I've been known to take an extension cable into starbucks.
- tptacek 15y agoI can't think of many reasons to work out a coffee shop instead of a public library. Unless the coffee shop is dead, they don't want you there. The library on the other hand is funded in part by utilization, and very much does want you there. The library is quiet, is designed to provide work spaces, far larger, and generally very pleasant to be in. And it's free. The coffee shop is loud, is certainly not ergonomic, cramped, and often jarring. Also, I don't know what the word is for an ostensible who brings their own lunch daily to an establishment that serves any kind of food, but I'm sure there must be a word for it. Sheesh.
- benatkin 15y ago> The library is quiet, is designed to provide work spaces, far larger, and generally very pleasant to be in. Not my experience at all.
- brackin 15y agoMe too, my library is fairly small as it's rarely used by my community and if I sat there all day it would be very awkward as i'd probably be one of the only people in there and I doubt anyone usually works from there. Coffee shops on the other hand are usually fairly quiet in something like a starbucks (really depends on location and time). Of course when it's rush hour this all changes.
- mechanical_fish 15y agoI agree, but there are a few potential drawbacks. There are more coffee shops than libraries. Your path to a coffee shop is generally shorter than your path to a library. This problem gets even worse when you add the dimension of time. Libraries are closed a lot. Philistines keep cutting their funding, and they respond by shortening their hours. Unless your working hours coincide neatly with library opening hours you'll sometimes need an alternative. Finally, there's the social dimension. It's not easy to start a random conversation in a library, and it's essentially impossible to answer the phone. (Unless you are a big jerk and your local librarians are insufficiently ruthless.) Now, if you're trying to program such an environment is a godsend, but if you're trying to run a business programming is often the least of your problems. You have to do sales and marketing and client management and the occasional round of procurement or insurance shopping or whatnot, any or all of which may require you to talk on the phone occasionally. That said, whenever I'm near a library during its opening hours I head over there instead of towards the coffee shop. Here in Boston the library situation is good: The public libraries are fairly numerous and popular, and some of the more enlightened universities let civilians into their libraries, which have longer hours and better study spaces.
- blakerson 15y agoFor those who don't like the hustle and bustle of coffee shops, may I suggest university libraries? They're quiet, generally unattended by the local undergrads, and the wifi is generally very consistently available (even if there is a registration process to make sure your machine fits school security standards). Plenty of power, too. On the downside, there's no cheap coffee nearby and sometimes it isn't allowed at all. The same may go for parking. Still, if uninterrupted peace and quiet is what you need for productivity, they may be a solid option.
- araneae 15y agoUniversity libraries usually require accounts to use the wireless internet.
- bluekite2000 15y agoOn a related note, who here lives in NYC and works out of coffee shops?
- md1515 15y agoWhy not work at home? :\
- vitalychernobyl 15y agoFor any of you Washington DCists - following up on demand, I just published The DC Founders list of Top 10 Coffee Shops for Entrepreneurs in Washington DC - http://dcfounders.com/top-10-coffee-shops-in-washington-dc/ http://dcfounders.com/top-10-coffee-shops-in-washington-dc/ . Let me know if you have some others. Enjoy!