Impromptu Coworking in Des Moines

This is practically from the vault! Mr. Lacy and I shot this video with Des Moines' first co-working space Impromptu Studios during the Mid-West swing of our User Generated Book Tour, but never got around to editing it until now. It's still timely though, since Impromptu Studios just had its open house last week.

I'm fascinated by the coworking trend, because I'm firmly convinced the social web has given anyone hardworking and talented in the services sector of the economy a new opportunity to work for themselves.

If you don't know about coworking, watch this video. If you are trying to start a coworking spot, hopefully it will inspire you. A group in Des Moines had been talking about co-working via an email group, but it wasn't until the conversation moved to Twitter that things started to actually happen. Eventually software developer Daniel Shipton-- encouraged by his wife Abbie-- had to "man up" and put their names on a lease and hope others followed. They charge people about $350/month for a permanent desk, with a small discount for a several month commitment. It's just enough to break even.

If you already have a rad coworking space and we're coming to your city on the tour, please let us know!! We'd love to come check it out!

CO-WORKING IN DES MOINES from sarah lacy on Vimeo.