If you’d like to know what the community’s been up to, here’s a brief list of what’s been going on:

1.) We have many new coworkers for which a section on this website is being created to showcase the awesome community of people that we have the opportunity to work in and around.
2.) We’ve been exploring more of our own neighborhood. Luigi’s Pizza and Jalepeno’s sure are getting a lot of business.
3.) Testing out new workshops and Meet-ups. We’ve already started playing Game Nights on Mondays. Where else could a person have to pay $25 million for a city called Diamond Hills?
4.) We have 6 interns working for various companies in our Coworking space. Prepare for Intern Wars!
5.) Key areas of our Midtown Coworking space are being streamlined and organized. It’s like treasure hunting in our own office!
6.) We’ve designed new pricing that we’re excited to provide to everyone new and existing. Stay tuned as we’ll be updating the Benefits section.
7.) Capsity Parks has moved completely to the 2nd floor at our 2nd location and we’re working on the interior design. Also check out changes at Pangaea Café and the other new businesses joining us at the Parks!
8.) And finally, don’t forget to put in your Calenders our Open Coworking Fridays: February 26th! Food, Games, and Serious Play.

And there’s much more for us to unveil! In the mean time, our Sacramento Midtown Coworking space is available for enrollment (sorry folks, no Full Times offices available at the moment as we have a waiting list now) or let us keep you informed through our Newsletter. And…and…please do drop by as we’re doing a Food Drive for the River City Food Bank (thanks to City Life Church for bringing in the bin) until Easter.

See you all very soon!

Sac-Coworking has been working hard to find solutions for Sacramento Coworking offices such as Capsity Offices and The Urban Hive. They’re looking at how we provide affordable health services and products to the coworking community at large. So they’ve given us the opportunity to work with them in the 1st steps towards finding those solutions.

The collaboration of Sac-Coworking and Capsity Offices will be hosting a Seasonal Flu Shot clinic . The event will take place on Monday the 9th of November at Capsity Offices the Parks (Map). Please register online and reserve your spot: http://flushot.eventbrite.com/.

Come and visit us at Capsity Offices at The Parks. We have plenty of goodies for you:

- Coffee and food from Pangeae Coffee Shop
- Massages (yes that’s right), provided by 3rd Avenue Atelier between the hours of 10 and 12.
- Ice cream coupons,
- Gym coupons,
- etc.

It will also be a Free Coworking Day at Capsity Offices for you to enjoy the facilities as you wait for your shot to be administered. On Free Coworking you can come find a desk space and jump onto the WiFi.

So let’s give Sac-Coworking a lot of praise for pioneering new solutions for existing obstacles!

Locally, Global Entrepreneurship Week highlights the resources available to and success stories of green, women-owned, high-tech, agriculture, service, live music and art business. Last year, Sacramento GEW activities attracted more than 700 people to seven unique events. This year, the event platinum sponsor is Entrepreneurs’ Organization-Sacramento. Learn more at http://sacgew.com or on twitter at http://twitter.com/sacgew

About Global Entrepre neurshi p Week / USA

Global Entrepreneurship Week 2008 involved an estimated up to five million young people in thousands of events across 77 countries with the specific aim of developing enterprising ideas to tackle both international challenges, such as poverty and climate change, and more specific problems in local communities. Global Entrepreneurship Week / USA is: sponsored nationally by the Kauffman Foundation and the Acton Foundation for Entrepreneurial Excellence; founded globally by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation and the Make Your Mark campaign; sponsored globally by NYSE Euronext, IBM and Ernst & Young; and, supported by JA Worldwide, Endeavor, Entrepreneurs’ Organization, DECA, YPO-WPO, and National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship. Learn more at www.unleashingideas.org.

Here is the schedule that is planned for this year’s GEW:

The goal of this article is not to analyze At Home Businesses but more so to discover the symbiotic relationship that an At Home Office and a Coworking Space in Sacramento can do for someone that is currently working from home or is thinking about starting a business in this down economy.

I think the balance of working at home and a shared office space in Sacramento is found through:

1.)    Finding the right boundaries for your work schedule

2.)    Being aware of the non-tangible costs of having all of your work at your home

3.)    Finding a community that understands what it means to run a business

4.)    Leveraging the business concierge from a network of people that you trust

• Finding the right Boundaries
  • When I’m at home in the evenings, if I have access to a Laptop or my iPhone I’m checking email or getting documents filed. I realized that having too easy of access to my work enabled me to work, but I found I wasn’t enjoying my surroundings at home. Staycations just weren’t the same. The physical boundary was critical in establishing the line between what I would do at home and what I would do for professional work. The door to the den just wasn’t cutting it as a boundary. So by creating a physical boundary of not bringing work home I was able to clear my head in the evenings and feel better about my business quality of life.

• Awareness of Non-Tangible Costs of working at home
  • I think there are some costs that we don’t consider when we start our At Home Businesses, some of which include: cost of isolation, cost of distractions, cost of a non professional place to meet
  • The cost of isolation can sometimes lead to inspiration blocks or solution blocks. As businesses our whole end goal is to be solution oriented with our services and products, so a block means no business.
  • The cost of distractions is mainly a cost on your time. For every distraction in a day it takes 15 to 20 minutes to refocus. If you work an 8 hour day with at least 6 distractions, and a couple breaks, your day can be spent trying to refocus rather than actually accomplishing anything.
  • The cost of a meeting space can be crucial depending on who you’re meeting with. Casual acquaintance meetings can work with a coffee shop or even the dining table, but for a professional meeting for a big contract it’s best to have another option.

• Finding a supportive community
  • There was one quote from a friend of ours that said as she was leaving Capsity Offices one day, “You’re lucky that you have a business partner for you to bounce ideas and work with you through the day.” I immediately thought to myself that’s one of the main purposes of the Coworking space: to provide a community for sole proprietors and micro business owners in which they can share ideas and best practices. Business partners can be established without a contract. I think most of us as micro business owners understand that we rely on more than just ourselves to grow our companies. I cherish the fact that I can chat with an attorney, web designer, and a holistic behavioral therapist at different times of the day to get feedback and ideas on different parts of my business.  The diversity that comes with a Coworking space in Sacramento is great for getting multiple perspectives.

• Leverage the business network around you
  • Coworking in Sacramento leverages social networking to its fullest by having a community that simply likes working together. In what other space could a video production company knock on another person’s door and ask them if they want to be in a commercial or where the spouse of a business owner can come in and get help with the fax machine? Or to simply get the word out for a charitable event.

Coworking in Sacramento has given me a flexible place to which I can use as an extension of my Home Office or sometimes I see it as my main “Home” office. I could go to a coffee shop but I think there’s a general rule that you don’t inquire with people at a coffee shop what they do for their business.  I’m thankful that we have the opportunity to work in an office setting such as Capsity Offices. It’s the people here that make this shared office space possible and make me appreciate the meaning of Home.

We are the space for you! We will be opening our new offices on September 1st for business people that are looking to save money as they run their business. We already have clients reserving the conference rooms for workshops and seminars at our new location.

Give us a call if you are interested in holding a meeting at our locations. Also, click here for more information on the meeting spaces we offer.

Moreover, we will be holding our grand opening on September 1st from 11:30am to 2:00pm. Terrence Johnson, Executive Director of the Oak Park Partnership and Stockton Boulevard Partnership and candidate for the City Council District 5 seat, will be our special guest. RSVP here http://capsityparks.eventbrite.com

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I think the best part about our newest location is that you can go grab a bite before or after your meetings at Pangaea Cafe. You can also walk across the street to Gunther’s Ice Cream. Gunther’s is one of the oldest ice cream shops in Sacramento (Great ice cream btw, my favorite is Rocky Road).

-Ricardo Robles, Capsity Co-founder

Heresy is defined as “dissent or deviation from a dominant theory, opinion, or practice; an opinion, doctrine, or practice contrary to generally accepted beliefs or standards”. That’s what you’re going to find here: dissent from the dominant theory that business is only about money, deviation from the practice of treating employees and customers like expendable commodities.

According to Canfield and Kennedy the reason they are spreading the word with Business Heretics is  they want more business folks challenging the status quo, more people clasting icons, more upstart thinking in business.

Here is a short clip with highlights of their last visit our space in The Parks.

You can also visit them at http://businessheretics.com

Here are a couple of the points that describe an Entrepreneurial Fueling Station:

1.)    Low cost business services such as copy, fax, print, mail handling, telephones, etc.
2.)    Motivated interdependent community members, usually business oriented
3.)    Collaboratively independent work stations and shared office space
4.)    Comfortable and professional meeting spaces for both business and social settings
5.)    Physically and Virtually interactive learning environment with fun and creative challenges
6.)    Supportive environment for getting things done and learning new techniques
7.)   Energized atmosphere for making the work day enjoyable

But even those points aren’t descriptive enough to delineate our concept. So then the next method is to point out what we’re similar to:

1.)    Executive Suites and Office Business Centers
2.)    Coworking Communities
3.)    Commercial Real Estate
4.)    Business Incubator

It’s a wonderful thing when people can work on independent projects in a community setting. I think there comes a point in an office setting when you just want to close the door so you can focus. At the same time, you don’t want to be in a dungeon. I suppose it’s all about finding balance for your work day.

I think the most important thing is the flexibility that comes with being in an environment that is both open and allows for privacy. While the environment should provide all of the typical business amenities; it should include as much concierge type services as possible to accommodate the needs of each community member.

The communities that we’re a part are expansive and we’re very fortunate that we can participate and provide services to more than just a 1 or 2 communities. From small business associations, start-ups, colleges, and community based organizations we’ve found some wonderful people to work with and call colleagues. We’re looking forwarding to meeting more groups, more associations, and seeing Sacramento grow!

Here’s a quick breakdown of our evolution and the people we must acknowledge for those steps:

• Stage 1: Provide Virtual Offices and Small Biz Services thanks to a catalyst idea from Kevin Nakano of Nakano Real Estate.
• Stage 2: Virtual Offices and Entrepreneurial Center, thanks to a meeting with Ernesto Delgado.
• Stage 3: Virtual Offices and Coworking, thanks to Joe Hruban telling us about Sandbox Suites in San Francisco
• Stage 4: Entrepreneurial Fueling Station thanks to a 2 hour brainstorming session with Brian Fischer
• Stage 5: Capsity Offices gets a Brand and a Logo thanks to Jake Favour. See the Flame!
• Stage 6: Capsity Offices expands to Curtis Park thanks to Pangaea Café!

What we’ve found over the last year with our community of Coworkers and Cohabitants is that the Coworking model has no “original” form. It has existed as multiple forms before it was deemed “coworking”. It’s an ever changing model that allows for growth and evolution because that’s what its community demands of it, so it’s bound to change.

For our First Location, we focused on entrepreneurs, micro businesses, sole proprietors, non-profit organizations, and at home businesses. Through participating in things like My Sister’s House Run for a Safe Haven, Sacramento Global Entrepreneurship week, Sac Bar Camp, U-Can Food Drive, Midtowngrid.com, The Asian Chamber,  and many other associations, we found that Sacramento is an amazing place for start-up ideas, collaboration, and community building.

Capsity’s 2^nd Entrepreneurial Fueling Station will also include Coworking in Sacramento, but also putting more emphasis on Arts, Technology, and Community building. We’re excited to be in The Parks:  located between Curtis Park, William Land Park, Tahoe Park, and Oak Park. The potential for amazing community oriented events and social networking is unlimited.

Lastly we’d like to acknowledge all the people listed below for putting some sort of foot print in our development stages, and we apologize if we missed anyone:

• David Roberts of Roberts and Philips Insurance for taking a chance on a new idea
• Jessica Chapman of Room to Breathe for helping us discover our true mission
• Peter Cole of PDC Technology for being our first coworker and sharing the start-up passion
• Tremekua Ruud of America’s Youth United for finding us on Craigslist and making the call
• Mike Rehm for being a part of the community and introducing us to Derek King
• Kristel Durand for not only decorating our office but being a wonderful friend
• Professor Seung Bach for providing constructive criticism and challenging our ideas to be better
• Barbara Thompson of Mojo Marketing for bringing her workshops to Capsity
• Brian Fischer for inspiring us, guiding us, and giving us time
• Jake Favour for creating a logo that conveys our brand perfectly
• Midtown Jazz: Susan Tobin on vocals, Renaldo on tenor sax, and Gary Yee on guitar for always entertaining us
• Ernesto Delgado of Free Mind Studios for taking time to inspire us
• Mon Hart for her amazing support of our endeavors and being a great mentor
• Monica Harper of Monica Lynn Events for assisting with events and making us laugh
• Lori Enos of RBS Lynk for trusting us with the merchant system and believing in what we were building
• Chick-Fil-A @ Arden for all the food, the fun, and of course the milk shakes
• Midtowngrid.com for joining us at 2321 P Street and for helping us build more awareness in midtown
• Sacramento Asian Chamber for helping us network and utilizing our conference room space
• Kevin Nakano of Nakano Realty for supporting us from the beginning and catalyzing the 1^st idea
• Elk Grove Hub for giving us the opportunity to do presentations at Educational Workshops
• Brad Asbury of Asbury Financial for meeting with us and giving us great feedback
• Fast Signs Team of Elk Grove for providing every single piece of signage at our place
• Putu Knutte for introducing us to My Sister’s House and helping us coordinate our 1^st Event in October 2008.
• Jacob Schantz, Reggie Waters, Ian of New Fangled Flix for showing us that Capsity isn’t just an office, it’s a video production location for movies
• Sacramento Press for sharing your enthusiasm for all things Sacramento and of course all the schwag
• Makiko Yamashita of Radee Wine for being an amazing business woman and providing wonderful insight
• Scott Pannier of Online Lead Lab for being a part of the community everyday!
• Ronnie Ledesma of Social Media Club (and Wells Fargo) for inspiring us and always believing in our madness
• JT Long for writing about us and always supporting our goals (see “Sacramento Embraces Coworking Trend” by JT Long) in Sacramento Press
• Derek King Attorney at Law for bringing a unique sense of knowledgeable entertainment to the office
• Ernest Krause, Attorney at Law, for being a part of the community and the constant compliments
• Julie Gallaher of Get on the Map for believing in our ideas and developing workshops with us
• Rachael Lankford of Sacramento 365 for consistently supporting and promoting us
• Lorena Beightler of SacCycleChic for providing an upbeat energy to the office
• Ed Cox of Bikeramento for helping us get the 3^rd Sacramento Bike rack installed at Capsity Offices
• Jesse Hernandez of Clear Printing for your pushing the boundaries of entrepreneurship
• App Monsters (Mike, Cory, and Michael) for joining our community
• Surf In Town for providing amazing wireless service to our 2^nd Location at the Capsity Parks
• Rebecca Johnson of Get Networking Now for bringing in clients and keeping us networked
• Darby Flynn of Eventually for bringing fun energy to the office
• David Chapman & Robert Pine of ImageCorp Media for keeping the atmosphere cheerful
• Philip Howard of The Right Music for providing insightful information to marketing
• Delano Sherman of Blue Circle Realty for being a part of the community
• Danny Vuong of Cathay Bank supporting us in from the beginning
• Keith Adachi of Leland Insurance for being patient and helping us understand our exposures
• Paul Dickey from Sacramento State College for keeping us involved and being a great sounding board
• Connie Nakano of Fancy Four Paws for referring business and being a great community member
• Ed Chandler of Loft Gardens for the consistent support, feedback, and eventual rooftop garden
• Dean our UPS Delivery Guy for letting us have his mobile phone to contact him
• Jerry Kennedy for taking chances and taking action for himself and his colleagues
• Michael Leeper (formerly of CPP) for going above and beyond and hearing all our complaints
• Joel and Sue Canfield for helping us stoke the fires of entrepreneurship
• Jenna Langer for allowing us to take part in SacBarCamp 2009
• Dustin Bell of Dusty Bee Janitorial Services for keeping Capsity Offices clean
• Jaclyn Hopkins of Body Zen Healing for bringing a new energy to the office and providing complimentary massages
• Emilie and Vadym of Saccoworking for supporting the Coworking community and having a vision for something great (see Saccoworking Twitter)
• The Urban Hive Coworking for being supportive of the Coworking movement in Sacramento
• Bikeramento Team for being here at Capsity and helping the Sacramento community
• Daniel Baker of CBRE for working with us and helping us find our 1^st Location
• Ashley Marino of Aqua Perfect and ICUP Comedy troupe for our serendipitous meeting and providing delicious coffee
• Dan Fischer for giving us solid feedback without the frills
• Karla Fung for helping us brainstorm marketing ideas and always being supportive
• Linda Khiev for being there at the very beginning and your constant smile at the office
• Rickey Sanchez and John Orozzco of A2B Concepts for joining the community and immediately having an impact
• The rest of our 2321 P Street Community: Rainbow Health Kare, Dr. Amy Brown, Blossoms Embrace, and GH Realty
• Stephanie Nguyen of Asian Resources giving us the opportunity to participate in a wonderful Community Based Organization
• Meng Vue, Derek Nguyen, Hao Do for being our 1^st Capsity Sparks and always going above and beyond our expectations
• Judy Lin, Jenn Dela Fuente, Dan Johnson, Rickey Sanchez, John Orozco, Rob Archie, and in spirit: Teresa Gordy for participating in our 1^st Annual Chick-Fil-A Nugget Eating Contest at our 1 Year Anniversary
• Roderick Bedingfield for being an amazing mentor and giving us an opportunity to learn
• Inside Publications for writing 2 awesome articles about Capsity Offices (see “Collaborative Working Space” by Jocelyn Munroe and “Beyond the Cafe” by Julie Foster)
• Melanie Turner of Sacramento Business Journal for giving us the chance to be in the Sacramento Business Journal, twice (see Article 1 and Article 2)
• Jonathan Mendick for writing up excellent articles about Capsity Offices and Sacramento Coworking in the Sacramento Press (see “Capsity Offices” and Article 2)
• Rob Archie of Pangaea Café for inspiring us and giving us the opportunity to develop the Parks
• All our Followers on Twitter
• All of our Fans on our Facebook Fan Page

And finally:

• To La Soga for providing delicious burritos for the 1^st brainstorming session of Capsity Offices!

At first glance when I came into Capsity for an interview I felt comfortable.  Somewhere I can settle in and feel at ease.  The employees were also very generous.  For example, when I walked into  Capsity I was invited to have a seat and asked if I wanted any water to drink.  This impressed me.  Along with the generous employees the environment made me feel like I can relax.  The way the furniture was placed made it comfortable and it feels like a lively atmosphere.  This lead me to conclude that Capsity would be a great place for me to work and network with new people.

The first week as a Spark at Capsity started on Monday July 6, 2009.  It was a great experience! How?  Well to start, I had a meeting when I first walked in for the first day.  This meeting wasn’t just any other meeting.  It was more like a “get to know your coworker” meeting and see what you would want to do for the weeks of being an intern at Capsity.    The first assignment was to get familiar with Capsity and the community along with meeting all the coworkers in the building.  The first day was getting familiar with Capsity and the coworkers and to be able to get a chance to see my role as a Spark.