6 ms·

A Café for the Freelance Nation

29 points by RougeFemme 13y ago

jlees 13y ago
Someone on HN tipped me off to the Workshop in SF recently, which has a similar pay-per-minute (well, hour) model. Coffee's still expensive, but you don't have to buy it, and there's concierge service with food etc. It's been a great spot to fill a multi-hour gap without guilt.
- specialist 13y ago
  The biggest "bummer" to laptop camping is the limited food selection. I make sure to pay my "rent" when I'm in a cafe (buy stuff, tip well). But it'd be a lot easier if there was stuff more compatible with my cave man diet, selections beyond treats and panini. I get that fresh fiber is highly perishable, so is mostly impractical. Maybe soups. Or house salads (bulk, pre made) like the grocery store deli. Who ever figures out the food options will win my heart and money.
- dangrover 13y ago
  I agree, Workshop is great! No guilt, and they've got the place set up for work, no worrying about bad wifi or finding outlets. I go to other cafés for hanging out, and I go there when I need to focus on work. The nice thing about these sort of places is that if you're a freelancer, I think you can make a decent case for expensing them (not counting the coffee).
hmsimha 13y ago
My take on this: While it's an interesting concept, and I'd love to see discussion on it, $3.50 an hour is a bit higher than what I'd be willing to pay for using wifi in most American cities, unless the coffee is really good and comes with the best damn selection of creamers, sweeteners, and frills around. Now from what I understand, in some cities it actually is tough to find wifi because the inflated property costs have birthed a restaurant and cafe culture that clings to snap turnover to stay afloat. In these cities (which are in the minority, but perhaps are home to the majority of tech workers), I could see this kind of cafe succeeding wildly.
- mjn 13y ago
  In addition to the restaurant/cafe culture, the quality and quantity of space provided by the local library systems is another factor. I sometimes work in coffee shops in Copenhagen when I don't want to be in the office, but compared to other places I've lived, I find myself more often working in libraries. They have free wifi, don't care how long you stay, have power plugs, have access to various paywalled databases, and some even have cafes if you want to grab a coffee. And there are a lot of them, something like 20 libraries within 5 km of my house (counting municipal and university ones), so they don't really fill up, with the possible exception of exam weeks.
  - d23 13y ago
    This is what I've been eyeing for my next move if it ends up being remote. My only concern is a space where I can eat and conference call without disturbing other patrons or going outside.
    - mjn 13y ago
      Around here most of them have a place where you can eat, but conference-calling is more of a problem. Some libraries do have private "study rooms" or "meeting rooms" you can book (intended for students working on group projects and the like, who need a more enclosed space where making noise is ok), but I haven't looked into it.
k-mcgrady 13y ago
I can't understand the appeal working in coffee shops has to some freelancers. I can see how an hour, maybe two could break up the day but when you have free coffee and excellent wifi you're already paying for at home why would you pay to work in a crowded, noisy public space?
- specialist 13y ago
  When I work with people around, I get more done. I get almost nothing done at home. I'm an extrovert. Most of the time, I like social interaction. And when I get into the zone, I just pop in the earbuds and crank out the code. Best of both worlds. Serendipity is huge for me. My passion is open government projects. I'm astonished how many random people I meet have a keen interest and relevant experience, from every walk of life. That validation, and knowing that they'll ask about my project next chance we meet, keeps me plugging away. Have you seen the bit about the honor system for office bagels? Simply putting up a picture of human face watching you makes people more honest. I absolutely jog faster, do more pushups, write more code, etc when I feel there's someone around to impress.
  - gk1 13y ago
    This is a refreshingly honest answer, and I completely relate to it. I spent a lot of money on a nice desk at home, but I still get more done in coffee shops.
- d23 13y ago
  If you're regularly working remote you likely want to create a separation between your work and home environment. Cabin fever and what-not.
- DanBC 13y ago
  People are different. Some people like noise and bustle. Others don't. I find it hard to understand people who don't get that.
- jamesrcole 13y ago
  I find it harder to get motivated when I'm at home, but when I go to a coffee shop I know I'm there to just do work, and paying for my time there (in coffee) also helps spur me onto work.
acd 13y ago
A good work café would have Apple TV, Miracast and HDMI cables connected to 24-30 inch screens & borrow keyboards wireless and usb charging of devices.
- k-mcgrady 13y ago
  That's not a café, that's an office that has coffee making facilities.
jbeja 13y ago
Off topic: Watching the picture, do people realy code in their tablet (ipad, etc)?
- eftpotrm 13y ago
  I'd try it if I had a keyboard for mine. I've written loads on a 10" netbook; it's a great environment IMHO because it's so portable.
- bamos 13y ago
  I had a friend who tried [0] before, but switched back to a macbook after a few months. [0]: http://yieldthought.com/post/12239282034/swapped-my-macbook-for-an-ipad http://yieldthought.com/post/12239282034/swapped-my-macbook-...
  - vinceguidry 13y ago
    His follow-up article suggests he ended up doing it permanently.

29 points by RougeFemme 13y ago

jlees 13y ago

Someone on HN tipped me off to the Workshop in SF recently, which has a similar pay-per-minute (well, hour) model. Coffee's still expensive, but you don't have to buy it, and there's concierge service with food etc. It's been a great spot to fill a multi-hour gap without guilt.

specialist 13y ago
The biggest "bummer" to laptop camping is the limited food selection. I make sure to pay my "rent" when I'm in a cafe (buy stuff, tip well). But it'd be a lot easier if there was stuff more compatible with my cave man diet, selections beyond treats and panini. I get that fresh fiber is highly perishable, so is mostly impractical. Maybe soups. Or house salads (bulk, pre made) like the grocery store deli. Who ever figures out the food options will win my heart and money.
dangrover 13y ago
I agree, Workshop is great! No guilt, and they've got the place set up for work, no worrying about bad wifi or finding outlets. I go to other cafés for hanging out, and I go there when I need to focus on work. The nice thing about these sort of places is that if you're a freelancer, I think you can make a decent case for expensing them (not counting the coffee).

hmsimha 13y ago

My take on this: While it's an interesting concept, and I'd love to see discussion on it, $3.50 an hour is a bit higher than what I'd be willing to pay for using wifi in most American cities, unless the coffee is really good and comes with the best damn selection of creamers, sweeteners, and frills around. Now from what I understand, in some cities it actually is tough to find wifi because the inflated property costs have birthed a restaurant and cafe culture that clings to snap turnover to stay afloat. In these cities (which are in the minority, but perhaps are home to the majority of tech workers), I could see this kind of cafe succeeding wildly.

mjn 13y ago
In addition to the restaurant/cafe culture, the quality and quantity of space provided by the local library systems is another factor. I sometimes work in coffee shops in Copenhagen when I don't want to be in the office, but compared to other places I've lived, I find myself more often working in libraries. They have free wifi, don't care how long you stay, have power plugs, have access to various paywalled databases, and some even have cafes if you want to grab a coffee. And there are a lot of them, something like 20 libraries within 5 km of my house (counting municipal and university ones), so they don't really fill up, with the possible exception of exam weeks.
- d23 13y ago
  This is what I've been eyeing for my next move if it ends up being remote. My only concern is a space where I can eat and conference call without disturbing other patrons or going outside.
  - mjn 13y ago
    Around here most of them have a place where you can eat, but conference-calling is more of a problem. Some libraries do have private "study rooms" or "meeting rooms" you can book (intended for students working on group projects and the like, who need a more enclosed space where making noise is ok), but I haven't looked into it.

k-mcgrady 13y ago

I can't understand the appeal working in coffee shops has to some freelancers. I can see how an hour, maybe two could break up the day but when you have free coffee and excellent wifi you're already paying for at home why would you pay to work in a crowded, noisy public space?

specialist 13y ago
When I work with people around, I get more done. I get almost nothing done at home. I'm an extrovert. Most of the time, I like social interaction. And when I get into the zone, I just pop in the earbuds and crank out the code. Best of both worlds. Serendipity is huge for me. My passion is open government projects. I'm astonished how many random people I meet have a keen interest and relevant experience, from every walk of life. That validation, and knowing that they'll ask about my project next chance we meet, keeps me plugging away. Have you seen the bit about the honor system for office bagels? Simply putting up a picture of human face watching you makes people more honest. I absolutely jog faster, do more pushups, write more code, etc when I feel there's someone around to impress.
- gk1 13y ago
  This is a refreshingly honest answer, and I completely relate to it. I spent a lot of money on a nice desk at home, but I still get more done in coffee shops.
d23 13y ago
If you're regularly working remote you likely want to create a separation between your work and home environment. Cabin fever and what-not.
DanBC 13y ago
People are different. Some people like noise and bustle. Others don't. I find it hard to understand people who don't get that.
jamesrcole 13y ago
I find it harder to get motivated when I'm at home, but when I go to a coffee shop I know I'm there to just do work, and paying for my time there (in coffee) also helps spur me onto work.

acd 13y ago

A good work café would have Apple TV, Miracast and HDMI cables connected to 24-30 inch screens & borrow keyboards wireless and usb charging of devices.

k-mcgrady 13y ago
That's not a café, that's an office that has coffee making facilities.

jbeja 13y ago

Off topic: Watching the picture, do people realy code in their tablet (ipad, etc)?

eftpotrm 13y ago
I'd try it if I had a keyboard for mine. I've written loads on a 10" netbook; it's a great environment IMHO because it's so portable.
bamos 13y ago
I had a friend who tried [0] before, but switched back to a macbook after a few months. [0]: http://yieldthought.com/post/12239282034/swapped-my-macbook-for-an-ipad http://yieldthought.com/post/12239282034/swapped-my-macbook-...
- vinceguidry 13y ago
  His follow-up article suggests he ended up doing it permanently.