We’re happy to be part of the stellar planning committee to bring you FreelanceCampTO. Join us on Sun Oct 3 at the Ted Rogers School of Management for a day of learning and sharing from your freelance peers so that you can become a better freelancer.

The event is free, but registration is required. We’ll have a stream of sessions for those just starting their freelance careers, and another stream for well seasoned freelancers, so there is something for everyone. Tell us what you hope to learn from the event and we’ll pass the relevant info on to the presenters or create sessions or panel discussions from great ideas.

See you on Oct 3.

When else can photographic evidence of beer win you great prizes?

Camaraderie has teamed up with member Beerology to present Toronto Beer Quest to celebrate Toronto Beer Week. In the spirit of camaraderie and collaboration, this joint effort event will test even the most clever beer fan on Toronto beer history for a chance to win some great prizes from Toronto companies – including Leslieville Cheese Market, Rock Oasis, Gelaskins, Crumpler Canada, Book City, Ale Street News, and Wind Mobile. So far that’s over $1000 in prizes to be won!

This urban adventure takes place on Sun Sep 26; tickets are only $30 for a team of two until the end of Aug (then $40 in Sep). Do you have what it takes to win this event? See http://bit.ly/TOBeerQuest1 for details.

Our next bookclub meetup will be on Sep 21 at 6:30pm. Join us to discuss Connect! A Guide to a New Way of Working. Please register so that we know how many people to expect.

Thinking of heading to SXSWi? There is quite a bit in store for entrepreneurs and freelancers to learn and absorb from the long list of panels up fro vote until Aug 27. Some of our favourites are:

World Wide Working: CoWorking & Collaboration
With the rise in Independent Professionals and Freelancers comes the rise of the CoWorking movement. Many panels and blog posts have been done on the state of coworking for the individual and how it affects the future of Work. Our panel focuses on the international coworking space from a creation and management perspective.

What We Can Learn from Small Town Entrepreneurs
Small town entrepreneurs have been building communities to grow their businesses for hundreds of years. We will unlock the secrets of rural entrepreneurs that can now be used to help anyone build a business regardless of where you are located.

Collaboration Over Competition: Competitors as Business Partners
The old way of thinking tells small businesses to worry about competitors. Worrying takes the focus off the business. By collaborating with competitors the focus remains on the client and business goals.

Freelancing in the Future: When and Where Ever
How do you get started? How do you succeed? This panel will deal with the foundations of working on the go, including the cloud apps that allow mobile workers to get things done, accept payments and stay organized while working from anywhere.

Which ones would you vote for?

On this day 5yrs ago, Brad Neuberg opened the first coworking space geared towards community and collaboration. Today we’re celebrating Coworking Day with our members, friends, and fellow facilities around the world.

Have a look at how it all started.

Happy Coworking Day!

Bursting with colour, connection, and camaraderie, the photos by Alexa Clark gracing our walls are inspiring and fun, and every one of them tells a story. Potential @ Camaraderie highlights the untouchable bond of friends to the detailed texture of found objects.

You’ll be able to enjoy the current exhibit until early Sep.

Join us for a reception on Aug 3 and meet the artist. (RSVP requested)

We’ll be open on the Civic Holiday this coming Mon, but with reduced hours. Please sleep in and join us from noon to 5:00pm.

When we can help our members, we do. Here’s a message from one of our members who is looking to establish herself in Canada by helping others:

Is there is something in your life you would like to change? Perhaps you are already in the middle of a change and, boy, it´s not easy? Is there something that has been on your mind for a while or maybe something that just shows up sometimes and then vanishes just to come back another time?

Whatever it is, these are the things coaches are there for.

My name is Kathrin, I am a business coach working with professionals – be it entrepreneurs or employees. I moved to Toronto recently and though I am still working with German clients, it is time I start to establish myself over here!

If now you started to think: Yes, you’ve mentioned something that sounds like me, here are answers to the most prevalent questions:

• I don´t know if I can afford it! I am working on a Pay-what-you-can-basis so money should not be an issue – we´ll work something out.
• I don´t know what coaching exactly is! Check out my website: http://kathrin-kroenig.de/Coaching.html .

If you are debating with yourself, contacting me doesn´t hurt! mail@kathrin-kroenig.de.

Sometimes when people come in to see our space, they are looking for private offices with walls and a door, and are surprised that we have an open concept workspace with only a partial wall (it’s a supporting wall – we’ll leave it there!). We tell them that walls of any kind, cubicle or otherwise, are barriers to communication, collaboration, and general camaraderie. Sure, walls and a door are necessary when having a meeting, but for general coworking, we avoid the barriers meant for isolation and encourage our members and guests to work in the same space.

And while I’m not sure what this video has to do with the product it advertises at the end, the video itself is actually kind of awesome.

We know that some freelancers don’t/can’t take holidays, so we’ll be open on the Canada Day holiday tomorrow from 12:00pm to 5:00pm.

Have a safe holiday, no matter what you’re up to!