Girls In Tech

The 9-5 grind is gone. How we work, who we work for, and when we do it are more flexible, but also more complicated. That’s why two freelancers from Santa Cruz, Shane Pearlman and Margaret Rosas put together the first Freelance Camp back in 2008.

Their mission: help independent consulting professionals be in business for themselves, not by themselves.

Freelance Camp’s one-day un-conferences, organized independently and run from the barcamp.org playbook have taken place on three continents for three years and now San Francisco’s own Freelance Camp will take place on June 5th at the NextSpace Coworking San Francisco, 28 2nd Street, 3rd Floor.

Tickets are available on Eventbrite http://freelancecamppro2010sf.eventbrite.com/.

Run by a local team of volunteers, and always organized for the benefit of the local freelancing community and not for profit, all proceeds (net of expenses) are donated to the organizer’s nonprofit of choice. So far, all the events have included breakfast, a working lunch and an after party.

Freelance Camp takes a wide view on who exactly a freelancer is: if you’re a developer, designer, blogger or bookkeeper, great.  Same story if you work as a Realtor, lawyer, carpenter, engineer, or inventor.

Due to popular demand, the organizers of Freelance Camp San Francisco 2010 have created a new sub-brand, Freelance Camp PRO. This “unconference” will target attendees who have been running a freelance business full time for a year or more. The event will be smaller (+/- 100), topics more advanced, and participation is expected to be at a higher level than the past camps.

The morning will kick off with coffee and pastries (yum), and a brainstorm of desired topics. Participants with something to contribute or a specific topic idea generate the breakout sessions which are then scheduled throughout the rest of the day. Freelance Camp PRO will culminate with an after party to further the networking and knowledge exchange in a casual, social setting.

Throughout the event, Freelance Camp PRO will share live tweets (@freelancecampsf and #freelancecamp) and updates to the Wiki page, so the fun and learning can be followed outside of the space.

Tags: community, coworking, freelance, NextSpace, San Francisco, unconference
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Guest blogger:  Charlene Jaszewski

When she’s not writing on The Redhead Said about geek stuff , including social media, usability and behavioral economics, Charlene spends her time appeasing her appetite for all knowledge, and making homemade marshmallows dipped in chocolate.

She makes her living helping people make their websites easier to use, editing books so that their ideas are crystal clear, and making marketing materials sound less markety. Wanna see stuff she’s done? Click on over to charlenejaszewski.com.

Traditionally, society forces us to choose between working at home for ourselves, or working at an office for a company. If we work at a traditional 9 to 5 job, we get community and structure, but lose freedom and the ability to control our own lives. If we work for ourselves at home, we gain independent but suffer loneliness and bad habits from not being surrounded by a work community.

Coworking is a solution to this problem…coworking provides the office of a traditional job, but in a very unique way.

- I’m Outta Here: How Coworking is Making the Office Obsolete.

The world of work is changing. While many of us are already freelancing, with the current economic climate, more of us are taking the opportunity to start new businesses and work on our own terms. But where are we working? Most of us think of two options: a home office (or, a corner of the kitchen table), or working at Starbucks. But there are more options available that you might not be aware of that offer more than just a space to lay your laptop. In the right environment, coworking provides collaboration, cooperation and inspiration.
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Tags: Amy Cham, charlene jaszewski, coworking, New York City
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