monday's workspace inspiration :: hocoa

today's workspace inspiration comes from gravy member, sam at hocoa. 

"My father was a pilot growing up, so my brother and I grew up around airplanes. We always wanted to fly. My dad thought it would be a good idea to buy a salvaged airplane and park in front of the house.  I was 5 years old when we got it. All of the neighborhood kids loved it, we had more adventures in that plane. Oh yeah, we also crash landed it 90% of the time! I have that picture hanging in my office to always remind me of the good times and to always think outside of the norm.  Whoever would have thought to have a salvaged airplane instead of a tree house?"

thanks for the inspiration, sam!

rethinking gravy

pop-up office : literally out-of-the-box

gravy's been simmering for a good while with our core ingredients: inspiring spaces, a wealth of community exchange and most importantly, friendly folks! thank you all for being the flavorful ingredients in our gravy! but, hold on, our recipe’s not done yet - it's time to spice things up!

inspired by coworking communities all over the world, including colleagues on tap, we began to rethink: how gravy can more actively support and inspire out-of-the-box, creative thinking? here’s what we’ve come up with:

1.   increase frequency. by popular demand, gravy coworking jellys will now be appearing the 2nd and 4th fridays of each month.

2.   get outa town! why not use our nomadic status to our advantage? as a "pop-up office," we can go anywhere. by hosting our jellys at cool spots around north county san diego, we hope to engage individuals and businesses across communities.

3.   keep it free. our challenge is to find spaces at no cost or for mutual exchange, actively participating in the world of collaborative consumption we now live in. want to get involved? help us find and promote the next spot!

4.   play around. inspired by google, we’ll be actively promoting 20pc time at our jellys to stimulate creativity and just plain fun!

gravy’s changing. growing. large scale, our goal is to connect independent working communities in north county; small scale, we’re determined to find creative ways to inspire and support each other. but we’re not done yet. we need you! we hope you’ll continue to participate as our coworking community takes shape!

first “pop-up” stop: work and play at vital climbing gym! 

work + play survey results

Who is gravy? What do they do? What do they like?


Being creative outside of work can also extend to being creative at work. In addition to polling our coworkers about what they want to learn more about in business, we asked them what interests them when they're not working. Here are the results.

Top 3 Work Interests:

1. Blogging
2. Social Media, Email Newsletters, Marketing, SEO
3. Bartering/Time Dollars

Runner-up topics include Small Business Strategies, Startups, Mac Workshop, Public Speaking & Web Design.

Top 3 Play Interests:

1. Wine Appreciation/Pairing
2. Gardening, Paddle Boarding
3. Yoga

Runner-up topics include Cooking/Baking, Photography, Fashion, Walking & Swimming. 

Time to use this collective creative energy in work and in play! Want to contribute/participate/join in? Take our survey!

Now. Who's up for some Paddle Boarding?

monday's workspace inspiration :: gravy | zoom in design

now accepting work from my outdoor patio! forecast: sunny, winds from the (hold on, gotta do the finger trick) northwest, i think...

a bit of furniture arranging, a tablecloth, extension cord, some greenery, bruno on slacker and i'm set!

have a great monday everyone!

jelly cliff notes :: writer's workshop on elevator pitches

thank you to carol farrar for hosting the writer's workshop at last week's jelly. we got some much needed practice on putting vision into verbalization. we started the week with tweets of carol's tips on perfecting your elevator pitch:


tip1: Keep it short, sweet & engaging. Leave people asking 4 more.

tip2: Practice makes perfect. Know ur key pts, memorize & own them! 

tip3: Smile. People like people who are friendly & approachable. 

tip4: Don’t “throw up” all over ur audience. Slow down. 

tip5: Speaking fast won't get ur msg out quicker. Only confuses listener 

tip6: Avoid ahs & ums. Pause. Then speak.

my key takeaways. the nitty gritty. 

have an intro, body and a close. 

ask questions to engage your listener. create a visual. tell a story. 

talk conversationally. no need to talk in complete sentences. 

use everyday language. don't get tech-y.

have several pitches at the ready depending on your audience.

end with a close. what is your goal? a sale? a referral? a facebook like?

we wrote. we shared. we fumbled. we laughed. we constructively criticized. we rejoiced in our outtakes!


so. what do YOU do?

jelly sponsor: 4 questions for Carol Farrar | NCSD Properties

Please welcome Carol Farrar, a beer aficionado turned real estate agent who enjoys blogging about her passion of the community. She will be moderating this week's roundtable Writer's Workshop on Elevator Pitches.

When did you begin speaking in public?

I joined Twin Oaks Toastmasters in May of 2008. I was terrified of speaking in front of an audience & couldn’t imagine delivering a speech in public. I knew that would be my biggest limitation in business so I joined Toastmasters & never looked back. In 2009, I attained the competent communicator designation which requires 10 speeches ranging from 4 to 12 minutes. I’m now two speeches away from the Advanced Communicator Bronze.

How did you get to where you are now?

It’s been quite a journey. Since 2000, I’ve been immersed in the craft beer industry (yes, I’m a beer snob). It was 5 years in the making as Distribution Supervisor at Stone Brewing Company where I managed the logistics of distributing a portfolio of craft beers nationally & regionally. 2005 was a pivotal year for my life & with it came the decision to change careers. Looking back, it certainly wasn’t the best time for jumping into the Real Estate Industry but everything happens for a reason. I worked as a mortgage consultant through 2007 until the housing market crash which brought me to another fork in the road, make another career change or segue into a different avenue of the industry. The choice I made is what I do now passionately. Serving the community of North County as an independent real estate agent who enjoys helping people navigate through one of the most critical & expensive changes in their life.

What do you love most about your job?

The people of course! I couldn’t do my job without them. My clients become my friends & vice versa. Plus, being a native to San Diego, I also enjoy finding creative ways to share my expertise of the area through my blog, 365 Things to do in North County San Diego.

What do you find the most challenging?

With the ever evolving changes in the real estate, it requires daily education to stay sharp on the latest rules & regulations. It’s essential to keep a pulse on marketplace. Relevant branding is also constant challenge.  People expect more than just a face on a sign, they want a reliable resource. 

jelly sponsor: 3 questions for zoom in design

An Architect turned Graphic Designer, Kim approaches design in a simple and modern way.

How did you get to where you are now?

After coming from an architectural program that was pretty heavy on design, I found the actual practice of architecture a bit stifling. Graphic design held a better balance of scale and design for me. In 1999, I started creating graphic pieces for my life (my wedding, my son's baptism and birthday invitations), as well as for my friends' and family's celebrations. In the past 5 years, my projects have been mostly identity design projects (logos, flyers, business cards) for small businesses. I love being a part of synthesizing the visions/feelings/hopes a client has for their business into physical form!

What do you love most about your job?

The design part of course! Sketching, brainstorming, finding that perfect fit and feel for a project.

What do you find the most challenging?

I love the flexibility that comes with working on my own, but disciplining myself to work at home is tough sometimes! Coworking helps me get out of my own mind and into an interactive work environment.