

The Entrepreneur’s Guide to (not getting kicked out of) Coffee Shops - bigsassy
http://dcfounders.com/entrepreneurs-guide-to-coffee-shops/

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tptacek
I 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.

~~~
mechanical_fish
I 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.

~~~
tptacek
I always just went down to the lobby to do phone calls; how many kinds of
calls can you reasonably do from a coffee shop?

Maybe all the coffee shops I like are just way smaller than the ones you all
use.

Mostly: I had great success working from libraries, and I know that many
coffee shops _do not_ like people working from them all day.

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cbs
Can 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?

~~~
navyrain
I'm a telecommuter and I work out of coffeeshops quite often. For me, they
offer social interaction and a change of scenery that I don't get at home.
Going to a coffeeshop will also force me to get to business if there is some
work I've been particularly dreading. There's a cozy little bubble which forms
when working amongst strangers in a neutral location, which shoots my
productivity up.

It is possible to mitigate most annoyances by bringing along extra supplies:
power splitters + long power cords for limited access to plugs, your own data
card for the unreliable wifi, laptop locks for when using the bathroom, and
noise-isolating/canceling headphones for the occasional bad music, and an
spare sweatshirt for when the coffeeshop leaves their door open.

Its not for everyone, but it has its merits.

~~~
dhimes
Something else to try is the public library. I've had excellent results there
(but don't have the coffee). Plus, I don't feel as guilty.

There are, however, books. And magazines.

~~~
navyrain
Yeah libraries are another good candidate. In my experience, libraries aren't
as social, and can be a little antiseptic, but I think this varies widely
based upon which library you visit.

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DavidTO1
I 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
"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.

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orenmazor
I 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.

~~~
DanHulton
Used to live in Ottawa, still love the place. Where's this?

~~~
orenmazor
alpha soul in hintonburg (next door to hintonburger and bonkers)

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JGailor
Good 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
Love the powerstrip idea. Sounds like a movement :-)

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executive
More like "The Entrepreneur's Guide to a Blank Page in Chrome"

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gte910h
Works for me in chrome.

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ktsmith
I 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
Sorry, 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
A minute later and I'm still looking at a white screen.

~~~
vitalychernobyl
Hey, 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!

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scooter53080
I'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.

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blakerson
For 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
University libraries usually require accounts to use the wireless internet.

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ohashi
Seems 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
(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
How 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
When 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.

~~~
ohashi
Thanks for your explanation :) I actually don't find that I am wasting the
travel time though. I have no anxiety about going personally, I know once I
get there, I can sit down and get to work without thinking about any of the
potential problems. In fact, it's a great time for me to think about things.

Going in: what do I absolutely need to do today? What would I like to do? How
can I get it all done?

Going out: Did I reach my goals? Why/why not? What are some of the bigger
issues I need to keep thinking about while working the day to day?

It's not an insignificant amount of time, but I don't find it wasteful, I
easily spend that much time thinking about problems anyways, now I just am
commuting at the same time!

~~~
vitalychernobyl
Sorry, am feeling very verbose the last few days. That's a great way to go too
:-D

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T_S_
The antidote to coffee shops in Silicon Valley is Mountain View's Hacker Dojo.
Drop-ins welcome.

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rdl
I 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.

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jaredsohn
Another 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
Yep, that's the upgrade if you can afford it and there is one nearby.
Coworking places can be great.

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vitalychernobyl
For 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/> . Let me know
if you have some others. Enjoy!

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alphadog
Public library + mifi

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kunashe
Love this. I've been known to take an extension cable into starbucks.

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md1515
Why not work at home? :\

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bluekite2000
On a related note, who here lives in NYC and works out of coffee shops?

