Tag Archive for: collaboration

The Weekly Buzz: Together We are Stronger

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The Weekly BUZZ… #TogetherWeAreStronger

We have space at the Mill:
If you’re looking to relocate your business and are interested in being a part of a thriving community…check out our available spaces here!  We have a couple of small offices upstairs in the Rodman bldg. available – one is $340 per month, the other is $450 – they both require a minimum of a one year lease and a deposit.  We also have two spaces that are around 1k square feet and will be built out to suit new tenants.  One of those spaces is wide open with a white brick wall on the street facing side with tons of light from those sexy ginormous windows and the other also has multiple windows and can be designed & built out.

Coworking in The Hive RI:
Have you been thinking about ‘coworking’?  We only charge $100 per month and you’re welcome to come ‘test drive at The Hive’ for zero, zip, zilch for the first couple of days!  Come on by, make yourself at home and see if this might be a good fit for you!

Upcoming Events:
Check out our Hive website EVENTS page to see what’s coming up.  Click here!  We also list events on our Hive Fb page – from FREE trainings on ‘5 DIY Tips to Rank Higher in Google Search’ to ‘Netwalking’ & more, we’ve got a lot going on!

The Mill at Lafayette:
Check out the rest of our amazing businesses and community members here: business directory .  Read the blogs to learn more about what’s going on in the historic (and innovative) Mill at Lafayette!

Be social:
If you haven’t already, be sure to ‘like’ and visit our Fb page to keep up on the day to day musings and goings on here in The Hive RI coworking space, as well as throughout our mill and local communities!

Have a great week everyone,
Tuni, Mike & Larry

Community Spotlight: iDance Academy with Kelly Rountree

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This week the Community Spotlight shines on Kelly Rountree, owner of iDance Academy. Kelly earned her

Bachelor of Arts in Dance/Choreography from Rhode Island College and has been dancing since 1985.

iDance Academy has called the Old Carriage house here at the Mill at Lafayette home for almost five years. “The Old Carriage House combines rustic charm with all of the new upgrades made to this beautiful space,” Kelly said when talking about one of the reasons she likes being a tenant. But there is more than just ambiance here.

“I like how everyone in the Mill community seems to bond with every other business here. We help each other build our businesses and get our names out to the entire community together.”
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Kelly created her business based on the concept of family. “iDance Academy is my second family. Every student and parent is considered a part of the iDance family and I will do anything I can to help them.” Kelly feels she has found the perfect environment to base her business here at the Mill and that she can better focus on her students “We want all dancers to learn the beautiful art of dance while having fun. Every year I watch all the students grow more and more. I love what I do and I hope to continue to grow our family here in the future.”

Visit iDance Academy to learn about all of the classes that Kelly offers and to find out about her latest schedules and tuition.

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Community Spotlight: Rachel Leonard LICSW

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Today  the Community Spotlight shines on one of our original tenants, Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker Rachel Leonard. “As a LICSW in private practice, I provide therapy for people who are struggling with anxiety, depression, grief & loss, trauma, or adjusting to difficult life situations.  I provide therapy for tweens, adolescents, adults and families.”

Rachel signed her lease in 2012 and finds that the historic Lafayette Mill was a great fit for her business needs. “I chose the Mill because I loved the way the light poured in the massive windows. I needed a small space with a waiting area and affordability for starting my new business was key.”  Along with these features, Rachel has also found that the nearby walking trails are a bonus if a client would like to ‘walk and talk.’  “The big parking lot, handicapped accessibility, and historical charm were also factors which led me to choose The Mill.”img_8068

When asked what her favorite thing is about being part of The Mill community, Rachel echoes what many of our tenants find appealing. “Personally, my favorite thing about The Mill community is the diversity of the tenants and their businesses.  If myself or a client are in need of other wellness services, financial or business services, they are all here!  While my work is very private, it is nice to know there is always a neighbor nearby.”

As someone who understand the stresses of our modern life, Rachel finds the historical features of The Mill are very grounding in our hectic world.  “It’s nice to be connected to something old, to touch the bricks, watch the water flow, and take a time out at lunch or any other part of a stressful day. I love seeing how The Mill itself changes with the seasons and time of day.”

Rachel is currently accepting new clients who have Blue Cross Blue Shield, United, and Tufts insurances or who wish to self pay.   You may learn more about her and her practice in the Psychology Today therapist directory or her website rachelleonardlicsw.vpweb.com.

Community Spotlight: Jessica Filkins of Jahmu Juice

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This month’s edition of our Community Spotlight shines on Jessica Filkins, of Jahmu PBC, a turmeric-ginger chai tea company. Jahmu’s mission is to spread the awareness of the health benefits of turmeric, ginger, and other anti-inflammatory spices, and to make healing herbs readily available (and enjoyable!) to consume.

 

Jessica is a 27 year-old mermaid, yoga instructor, entrepreneur, and founder of Jahmu PBC. Jahmu has been tenants of the Mill at Lafayette since September of 2014. “We had an office/certified kitchen built-in and it is the perfect space for us,” said Jessica. They’ve recently expanded to take over the adjacent space for additional dry storage.

 

The Mill was Jessica’s first choice for her business because “they were very accommodating, and able to affordably build out our office/kitchen to fulfill the department of health requirements.” Jessica also doesn’t mind the easy commute from her home in Newport, and loves that the Mill is only 5 minutes away from her parents’ home in Wickford.

 

One of her favorite aspects of being a tenant of the Mill are the many amenities. The Mill “borders a beautiful park, yet is close to stores, the post office, a train station, and Route 4.” After just a few minute walk, you can be “lost in the woods, laying down in a grassy field, or sitting by a lake.” Jessica loves taking walks in the nearby Ryan Park in every season – especially winter. She also loves the waterfall and picnic tables behind the Mill – a great spot to unwind, eat lunch, or even do a little yoga during a hectic workday!

 

However, Jessica’s favorite part of being a part of the Mill community is “connecting with other business owners in the building.” She loves the “fun variety of different people and businesses, and everyone is super nice, supportive, and interesting.”

 

The Hive coworking space is another amazing aspect of everything the Mill has to offer. At The Hive, you’ll find a self-serve Jahmu station where you can purchase Jahmu’s turmeric tea at any time!

 

Jahmu Chai is an instant turmeric and ginger chai tea inspired by the traditional Indonesian elixir, jamu, and the ancient Indian healing beverage golden milk, a staple of Ayurvedic medicine. Jahmu PBC has created the world’s first instant turmeric-ginger chai tea mixes. Jahmu PBC offers four mix varieties: Jahmu Chai Caffeine Free™, Jahmu Chai With Caffeine™, Sweet Jahmu Chai™ and instant Jahmu Golden Milk™.

 

Looking for a professional space to settle in and get some serious work done? The Hive RI and the Mill at Lafayette have very affordable options, from open coworking space(s), to individual offices of differing sizes, to a private conference room, or you can even reserve the larger space(s) for your own events, presentations or workshops! Reach out to Tuni at tuni@trsstrategies.com or call 401-255-7413.

5 Reasons Why You Should Work From a Historic Mill

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Working out of a historic mill is a little different than the “typical” 9-5 grind, but those of us who work here absolutely wouldn’t have it any other way! Here are 5 of the top reasons why you should consider moving your company or small business to a historic mill site, like the Lafayette Mill!

1.) It Sure Beats the Cubicle: Since they’re built upon so much rich history, mills have a much different feel than a florescent-lit, white-walled cubicle. The Lafayette Mill has countless spaces with exposed brick, original woodwork and architectural features, and natural lighting. At the Lafayette Mill, the relaxing sounds of the waterfall and chickens next door can be heard in the background. There’s also miles of walking/running trails in a town owned park available to mill tenants!

At the Lafayette Mill, there is also a ton of programming available to tenants! Mill tenants love The Hive RI’s Lunch & Learn program, which features a different mini-presentation each week, Pause at the Mill wellness studio with all kinds of classes from yoga to core strengthening, as well as the Mill’s new Food Truck Thursdays, which brings in local food trucks around lunchtime each Thursday.

2.) It’s Super Cost-Effective: Rent for a professional space at a mill is very affordable! At least it is at the Lafayette Mill. For most of the available spaces at the Mill at Lafayette, HVAC, electricity, and wifi are included with rent!

The Lafayette Mill currently has a new tenant special: sign and make your deposit by September 1st, 2016 and get a month’s rent FREE! Learn more here.

3.) The Countless Benefits of Shared Service Offerings: Many office tenants at a mill feel a strong sense of community with their fellow tenants, which is another reason why mill workplaces are so unique. In a mill office community, you’re likely to find a variety of business professionals, from accountants who appreciate the historic mill aesthetic, to eccentric artists who find inspiration in the mill’s natural lighting and exposed brick. This is advantageous to all involved – if you ever need a new website built, there’s probably a web developer right down the hall from you, or if you ever need advice on a project, your peers in the office next door are usually happy to help!

4.) It’s All About Community: As mentioned above, office tenants at a mill are usually bound by a strong sense of community, which in itself has many advantages for employee retention and morale. Building a community, rather than just a workplace, is something that more and more companies are striving to do, as many of the top companies are showing that this is an excellent way to increase overall company performance.

The Lafayette Mill has a thriving community! Office tenants rave about the unique comradery and community that has been bred here.

5.) You’re a Part of History: And finally, if you are an office tenant at a historic mill, you’re ultimately a part of something much larger than yourself. Not only are you working in a unique space with an amazing community behind you, but you are helping to preserve an important part of history. Putting historic mills to good use and preserving them carefully ensures that they will be admired and put to good use for many years to come.

Interested in joining a historic mill community? Be sure to contact us at the Mill at Lafayette before our new tenant special ends! 

Weekly BUZZ – Food Truck Thursdays Begin THIS Thursday!

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Food Truck Thursdays…start this week!  Woohoo.
We are SO excited to announce Food Truck Thursdays are starting this Thursday!  Mark your calendars, tell your friends & stop by the Mill at Lafayette for lunch! *They’ll be parked around back!

Blog
Have you checked out our blogs?  We have the millatlafayette.com website chock full of information (including our blogs) in case you’re in the mood to peruse!

Exercise at the Mill?
Check out our Fb page for Pause at the Mill and please feel free to share.  We have classes listed as ‘events’ – take a 1/2 hour or more to just ‘pause’ and recharge your battery…*New Schedule here!

Networking & Business Development
Our Lunch & Learn program will start back up next Thursday, August 18th. We’ll be sharing presenters and more information in next Monday’s Weekly BUZZ!

Community
Join our Mill at Lafayette community…we are offering a really great special – sign a lease by 9/1 and get your first month’s rent FREE! Reach out to: tuni@trsstrategies.com or call 401-255-7413.  Here’s a list of available spaces open within the mill.  There’s a video on this page that shows the 3rd floor that is now ready!

Sales professionals (and others who only need an office one or two days per week)…we have one furnished flex office available starting 9/1 for $175 per month for 2 days per week.  If you’re interested please let us know as we already have one signed up and can only have 3-4 (there are only so many days to ‘share’ during the week!).  Email tuni@trsstrategies.com.

And…don’t forget we continue to offer our awesome deal at The Hive RI of $100 monthly memberships for our coworking space – total access Monday thru Friday 9:00-5:00 & so much more!

Social Media
Don’t forget to ‘like’ us on Fb – we share information there on a daily basis!

Art
We are SO excited to announce…’it’s official, Cindy Wilson Photography (our photographer in residence here at the Mill) will be a permanent rotating show’ (on the left side where the internal offices are) here at The Hive RI.  She is such a busy lady with shows throughout the region on a regular basis, teaching photography to individuals and classes, and traveling the world with her Profundo Journeys groups but somehow she manages to keep our walls filled with beautiful works of art.

Michelle Gradus Parenteau’s Soul Awakening Art Show is still up too.  Only a couple of weeks left to check out her beautiful work before we set up the much anticipated Mill at Shady Lea artists’ show!

We recommend self-guided tours anytime during regular coworking hours (Monday-Friday 9:00-5:00) and if you are interested in purchasing any artwork within our gallery – please email tuni@trsstrategies.com.

The Hive RI and the Mill at Lafayette have very affordable space options, from open coworking space(s), to individual offices of differing sizes, to a private conference room, or you can even reserve the larger space(s) for your own events, presentations or workshops! 

The Benefits of Shared Spaces

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The Hive RI

More and more companies, including leading innovators like Google, Microsoft, and Twitter are reaping the benefits of collaborative work environments. Coworking, collaborative environments create their own version of community and makes people feel interconnected. Collaboration has countless benefits for companies and individuals alike. This spirit of collaboration fosters increased productivity and revenue, strengthening networks and relationships.

Shared Spaces

Shared spaces are an inherently important part of a co-working community and encourage collaboration. Here at The Hive RI, our Hive members really value the shared space(s) and appreciate having multiple choices of work setups from reclining chairs to couches to stand up tables to desks.  We also offer a conference room. Our conference room is a private area separate from The Hive’s open office space and is available for our Hive members to use for conference calls, meetings, or whatever they might need. It is also available for rent to the general public. In addition to our Hive members and Mill community, we have many different outside businesses, groups and organizations that use the conference room or our large open space to have off-site meetings, hold retreats, breakout sessions, workshops, presentations and more (we’ve even had an upcoming production/play hold auditions here).

Our Hive members also love being able to “work alone together.” At The Hive, you always have the choice between working solo at one of our desks, plugged in and hyper focused or collaborating together at one of our large tables. You can simply turn to the person next to you, and perhaps you’ll find a graphic designer, editor, marketer, or web developer at your service.  It’s really amazing how many different professionals we have here!

“Work Alone Together” With Us! 

Interested in joining our collaborative coworking environment? We have available space at The Hive, as well as in the Lafayette Mill.  And…we will also have affordable flex office membership options starting on 9/1/16 – perfect for the sales professional or lawyer!  Don’t forget, the conference room (or our larger open space after hours/weekends) is available for your next event or meeting! If you would like more information on becoming part of the Mill at Lafayette community, contact us today. We look forward to welcoming you!

Why We Believe in Cross-Pollination

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This week, The Hive RI’s Queen Bee Tuni Schartner was a featured guest blogger on Hub Digital Marketing’s weekly blog & newsletter. Amy Levesque Fields of Hub Digital is a Hive coworker. She and Tuni, owner of TRS Strategies, both run their own boutique marketing firms but often partner on client projects. This is a perfect example of the shared service offerings that are a huge benefit of coworking!  

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Check out the original blog and more by Amy of Hub Digital Marketing here.

cross-pol·li·na·tion  [kraws-pol-uh-ney-shuhn, kros-]  noun

  1. Botany. the transfer of pollen from the flower of one plant to the flower of a plant having a different genetic constitution. Compare self-pollination.
  2. a sharing or interchange of knowledge, ideas, etc., as for mutual enrichment; cross-fertilization.

Well, clearly we’re relating to the latter definition here!

At The Hive, we have a mix of small business owners, writers, artists, technical folks, marketing professionals, remote sales people, entrepreneurs, scientists and many more. We respect everyone’s right to privacy, but offer the opportunity to share what it is that we do. The person working next to us might be able to design our logo or write our next press release, and conversely, we might be able to help them write their business plan, or handle their books!

The Hive was established with a mission to always encourage collaboration between members and so far, it’s working.  We’ve been (officially) open for 3 years and what has already happened here is pretty awesome!

We believe that a coworking environment in general, and The Hive specifically, is the perfect place to set up shop for a small business looking to grow organically. Coworking spaces are environments that promote positive energy and new ideas – innovation through collaboration. Your network of fellow coworkers provide a huge referral network, for your clients and colleagues when they need services your business can’t provide. Coworking spaces offer a network of professionals who you can throw ideas around with, discuss some of the newest trends with, and discover how you can bring innovation to your clients. As a collaborative work environment, there is always a small business owner around to help guide you through the difficult and sometimes confusing process of starting, or running, a business in Rhode Island.

Coworking is a relatively new concept for Rhode Islanders, but it’s a concept that encourages original thought, new ideas, and business development. It fosters independent growth in a heartening environment. It’s the right place for many to begin, or sometimes continue, their journey of business ownership.

Based in the historic Lafayette Mill complex in North Kingstown, Rhode Island, The Hive RI coworking space provides inexpensive working space, conference and meeting areas and professional amenities such as copy machines, printers as well as high speed internet. Local artists, businesspeople, lawyers, engineers and other professionals come together at The Hive to work independently, but not alone. The Hive is open from 9-5, Monday through Friday, welcomes walk-ins and offers affordable rates for daily, weekly and monthly use. The Hive hosts weekly lunchtime networking events and is also available for group events at non-working hours. Please visit http://www.thehiveri.com for more information on coworking, or www.millatlafayette.com for information on spaces available.