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And that’s all against the backdrop of a world where it seems like every day has its own scheduled chaos. While all of these experiences have unique elements, one thing they have in common is how lonely it feels while you’re going through it.
Something we don’t talk about much is how Indy Hall gives us a unique lens on these kinds of experiences. In the last 2 weeks alone, we’ve seen a very visible uptick in members actively choosing to increase their time in the Indy Hall community, and in person and online.
And I’ll be honest: it makes Adam and I very proud that after all these years Indy Hall continues to be a community that people seek out in times like these.
Last week, Adam sent me an Atlantic article titled “The Anti Social Century” about people choosing isolation, and why today’s world actively encourages it. We don’t necessarily agree with everything in the piece, but two things stood out that felt connected to the experiences I was just describing.
Why “feeling” the Loneliness Gap is different
First, we like how the author defined loneliness as “the gap between wanting to be around people and actually having it.” This reminded me of an analogy that I’ve used for a long time, but hadn’t written down or shared anywhere. So today I want to share it with you.
When stacked up to other common feelings, that “Loneliness Gap” is a distinctly weird sensation. My favorite comparison is the sensation of hunger.
Most of the time, when we’re hungry, we recognize that sensation before it becomes a problem (and definitely long before it becomes an existential problem). And when we do recognize that sensation we know how to solve it. We go to the fridge or pantry. We go grocery shopping. We walk to the corner store or cafe. We order takeout… notably isolating compared to a social dining experience, innit.
(And I have to acknowledge that everything here assumes you have the necessary access and resources, which not everyone has. But I’ll come back to that in a moment.)
By contrast to hunger, loneliness is a sensation that typically lingers in the background for a LONG time before we’re actively aware of it, let alone ready to do something about it.
Most often, we don’t even recognize it as loneliness. Loneliness is more often a root cause of other common sensations we are consciously aware of, things like “I don’t feel creative” or “I don’t feel like my work/effort is any good” or “I’m not very confident in my decisions” among many, many others.
And whether it’s because the feeling is more hidden beneath the surface, or simply because we’re less “attuned” to loneliness than we are to feeling hungry, what do we do once we DO realize we want to be around other people?
Closing the loneliness gap isn’t nearly as easy or convenient as going to the refrigerator or grocery store or ordering take out. Even if you know “where” to go, just showing up only goes so far. Really, you have to interact. And if you’ve gotten out of practice, talking to strangers (or even friends!) can feel more overwhelming than the low simmering discomfort of isolation.
The Loss of truly “Social” Media
The second point from “The Anti Social Century” that connected for us is how the entropy and fragmentation of social media and online communities into apps and infinite-scrolling feeds exacerbates these problems.
As someone who grew up in online communities, and who pioneered online communities being a key part of the coworking experience, the last few years have been really hard to reconcile. It’s hard to feel like I have a “place” on the public internet anymore, and I know I’m not alone in that feeling.
But the quarantine era of 2020/21 made it the easiest or only option for connection. Combine that with the way social media is designed for addiction instead of the connection they purport to create, it’s no surprise that our brains have been trained to reach for our phones to scroll TikTok or Instagram when we feel lonely.
And look, I have built real relationships and felt a sense of community on TikTok. Not judging it or saying it’s impossible. But kinda like eating junk food when you’re bored, scrolling social media when you’re lonely might satisfy the initial craving but probably lacks the real nourishment your body is telling you it needs.
Put it all together – the perpetual global chaos, the pandemic isolation habits, and social media being “easy but less healthy”– it’s easy to see how so many people are ignoring their own loneliness until it’s unbearable.
But there’s a glimmer of hope.
Back to the beginning of this essay, we’ve seen more and more people hitting that breaking point where they recognize that nothing will get better as long as they remain isolated.
Maybe you’re connecting the dots on your own, and realizing that it’s time to seek out places where community is happening before it becomes an existential crisis.
And my biggest hope is that if any of these ideas feel resonant, that you know you’re FAR from alone in feeling them.
Like with most things, the hardest part is usually getting started. If you’re already an Indy Hall member, talk to me, Adam, or other members so we can help you find ways to feel anchored and connected.
If you’re a fellow community leader, feel free to forward this message to them. I’ve also recorded an early version of these thoughts in a video if you’d like to share that instead!
And if you don’t know where to go, consider making Indy Hall part of your routine. Now might be the most important time to build or rebuild the habits that keep you out of The Loneliness Gap.
Take care of yourselves, each other, and the places you share.
We’re here to help.
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Wally is a recent returnee to Philadelphia, most recently from LA. And like many other members, he recognizes that Indy Hall is a lot more than just a workspace — it’s a lifeline to the city’s vibrant spirit, and a gateway to meaningful human connections.
Wally tells me he first encountered Indy Hall when he was in college, and at the time the space seemed like a “mysterious, cool, and artsy” hub, but he wasn’t sure how it fit into his life.
Fast forward several years and some time living in LA, he was dissatisfied with the disconnected feeling of working in his apartment so he started searching for a way to be more connected. “Working remotely has been a difficult transition for me as someone who enjoys talking to people,” reflecting on how much he missed casual conversations and the energy that comes from being around people.
It turns out, he wasn’t alone in that feeling, even within his own team!
His employer – a fully remote software development and design agency called Tamman, that focuses on human-centered and inclusive design – approached Indy Hall about a way for Wally and some of his fellow Philadelphia coworkers to start coming to the Indy Hall Clubhouse once a week or so.
Quickly, Wally and his teammates found that Indy Hall filled that “casual conversation” gap..and more!
Unlike other coworking spaces he’d tried, Wally found that Indy Hall’s community felt more personal, less transactional. He recalls having a meaningful conversation with Adam, one of Indy Hall’s community leaders, who introduced him to members with shared interests:
“It was immediately more community-focused than anywhere else I’d been.” He found himself not just working, but genuinely connecting with people outside his own company, bonding over shared passions, and making new friends.
With a smile on his face Wally sums up the Indy Hall community “Everyone in this building would pass the shopping cart test. There’s a vibe here,” with a smile he continues, “It’s energizing, and it just makes me happy.”
For Wally, Indy Hall is more than a place to work, whether it’s with his direct teammates or alongside other members working on their own thing. For him, it’s a symbol of Philly’s spirit of collaboration and community, a space where connections are valued as much as the work being done.
And as he navigates his reintroduction to the city, he’s grateful to have found a place where he feels right at home. “There’s a beating heart in this space that I think is not common, and it’s one of the defining characteristics of what makes it a cool place to be.”
Stopping by Indy Hall you might find Wally relaxing on the roof deck, taking in the serenity of the Philadelphia Skyline!
Today, that changes! Behold: https://indyhall.org/guestpolicy/
Check out this page to quickly understand when bringing a guest is free vs paid, our mutual expectations about your guests, and something new we’re calling a +1 Pass.
Indy Hall is better with friends!
Starting today, we’re experimenting with a new benefit of being an Indy Hall Clubhouse member. It’s called the +1 Pass, and here’s how it works:
Each +1 Pass allows you to bring one friend with you to the Clubhouse for free. No additional cost to you or them as long as you register them.
The best part? Once your guest visits using your +1 Pass, you’ll be rewarded with an additional day pass on your account, giving you an extra, free coworking day to use in the 30 days after your guest visit. Bring a +1, earn a +1! Get it?! 😉
Learn how the +1 Pass works here.
New phase, vaccination still required
While we welcome guests, our Clubhouse is still a vaccination-required space. Members inviting people to the Clubhouse bear the responsibility of their guests’ health and behavior. Read more about Guest Expectations, Rights, & Responsibilities on the new guest policy page.
Questions about the new guest policy? Need help booking your first +1 Pass? Drop us a line, we’re happy to help.
]]>The thing we didn’t anticipate was the range of thoughtful, challenging, & frankly important questions that came into the chat.
Turns out, an hour long session wasn’t nearly enough time to introduce a brand new, complex, and deeply personal concept while also thoroughly answering all of these questions!
We’re still gathering questions and feedback
In recent weeks, the live presentation we hosted (and embedded below) has prompted loads of valuable questions and feedback.
From these conversations, we’ve distilled some early answers that you’ll find below, along with where I think we’re headed next.
Once you’ve had a chance to read through the details below, please fill out this form to help us gather the questions & concerns that you weren’t able to voice in the live chat (or weren’t comfortable voicing in a public setting):
👉 Healthcare for Independents Pilot
Note: Everything shared in this form will be kept confidential, and ZERO personal identifying information will be shared, including with our partners. This information is only to help me and my team improve access and the services included, and communicate updates as we continue developing this project.
In the coming weeks, I’m working to compile the best answers we can to answer EVERY question that’s been asked so far, whether it was in the chat or via the form linked above.
If you asked a question during the February 3rd event that wasn’t answered, answers are on the way!
The biggest question, of course…
What exactly is Vitable? (and what is it NOT)
Vitable is a monthly subscription + app + concierge style service for accessing a suite of healthcare services without paying out-of-pocket fees.
Vitable is NOT insurance. It’s a similar model to Direct Primary care, which has a different economic model that tends to result in better care, lower overall costs, and less stress.
If we proceed with this pilot with Vitable, members will be able to to pay a flat monthly fee of ~$75 for their entire household for unlimited access to:
- Primary care and triage services
- Urgent care visits
- In-home care, X-Rays, lab work
- Discounted and mail-order prescriptions
- …and a lot more.
That $75 is our discounted rate per household, inclusive of spouses, partners, kids, parents, even housemates. Live with someone else? It’s less than $40/person per month for all of the same access for each of you. Family of 4? Less than $20/person per month.
We will be able to offer that discounted rate once we have a minimum of 20 committed to signing up, and unlike insurance, we can continue to reduce costs even further (or add more services) using our collective buying power as a community. That, ultimately, is the goal.
Indy Hall will not be earning any sort of commission or kickbacks from Vitable subscriptions. We are only leveraging our reach to negotiate a lower rate for our community.
Is Vitable right for you?
Ultimately, the value of Vitable to an individual will vary depending on your needs, your existing out-of-pocket medical expenses, and other factors.
For example:
- For people who currently do NOT have insurance, Vitable is not a replacement for insurance but a more affordable way to get access to primary care.
- For people who DO have insurance, Vitable may help reduce some of your out of pocket expenses.
- If you’re insured and get paid hourly, the time-savings and convenience aspects of Vitable alone may be worth it.
All of that said, Vitable absolutely has limitations, including critical needs that are common in our community. Some of these needs, they are already working on. Others, we may be able to address with additional partnerships and programs.
I see this as a critical starting point that we can build on, not a self-contained solution. More on this approach below.
Missed the live presentation + Q&A, or had to leave early? Here is a replay:
Most importantly, we’re listening.
In addition to enthusiasm for the potential of this pilot, we definitely heard the range of questions and concerns in the chat about the very real reasons why this particular program might not work for you.
Let me say clearly: This is not the end of the road for our efforts. It’s just the beginning.
We’re going to take our time to dig through all of the questions and concerns.
While we’re compiling our best answers, I wanted to offer a few reflections, and next steps:
- Indy Hall is not a healthcare provider, nor do we aspire to be. We want to be an advocate for you and people like you, with the goal of making sure that your voice and needs are heard and understood by decision makers and care providers.
- We’re approaching Vitable as part of a pilot, not a total solution. If this particular pilot doesn’t work, or if it doesn’t serve us, we move on to a new effort with all the information and experience gleaned from this one.
- Our prospective partnership with Vitable will not be ideal – or even work at all – for everyone. This sucks…but the same is true of traditional insurance-based access. That’s a frustrating societal shortcoming, but an issue that I will continue volunteering my personal time and resources towards. “Fixing” the insurance based system is just a very slow, very long road, and we need to be working multiple angles at once. I’m actively working alongside professional advocates and policy experts to share details and stories of people like you, and they’re always looking for more.
And we’re working on some tools to help
Since everyone’s situation is different (and some are more complex than others), and sometimes these decisions come down to the cold hard numbers, I’m working with a health insurance expert to build a calculator that will help you easily (and privately) figure out if something like Vitable will actually save you money of the course of a year.
I’m also working on a series of educational pieces to start sharing more of the surprising – and often counterintuitive – lessons that I’ve learned over the last 10+ (!!) years exploring this arena.
So all of that to say, more is on the way.
But for now, we want to hear from YOU.
So again, please consider filling out this form to help us capture any questions & concerns that you weren’t able to voice in the chat (or weren’t comfortable voicing in a public setting):
👉 Healthcare for Independents Pilot
Note: Everything shared in this form will be kept confidential, and ZERO personal identifying information will be shared, including with our partners. This information is only to help me and my team improve access and the services included, and communicate updates as we continue developing this project.
And stay tuned for our next round of updates as we compile answers to everyone’s questions!
Thanks for your interest and encouragement,
Alex Hillman
Founder, Indy Hall
An under-discussed effect of COVID is how we kind of lost casual friends. The incidental buddies you ran into at a BBQ, holiday party or softball game- just rapture-like disappeared. Now everyone you talk to is either coworker or 1 of the 5 most important people you've ever known
— Sean Bair Flannery (@sean_m_flannery) February 17, 2022
For one, I think that the sense of connection that many people in the Indy Hall community – myself included! – have felt during the last couple of years is distinctly different from the typical coworker relationship.
Unless you’ve experienced it, you might not realize the difference between coworkers that come with your job, and having a crew of “chosen coworkers” that aren’t directly related to your job, or even your work.
Some of these relationships are more casual. Others are more meaningful. But to the point of that tweet, I think that the power is in their persistence rather than a judgement of their depth.
The point is, these relationships are real, and when they are missing, they are felt. I’m deeply grateful for the presence of these kind of relationships, and that Indy Hall gives me (and hundreds of others) a reliable source for finding and building them.
But the thing that REALLY hit me from this tweet was the presence of these two little words: “ran into.”
When Everything “Social” feels like a meeting…
So much of our limited tool set is designed for meetings, it’s no wonder that everything feels contrived and emotionally draining, even when it’s with people we like seeing.
But I think it’s more than that.
Pre-pandemic social interactions might be scheduled, they might be random, but in all cases they had room for serendipity.
Bumping into people that we didn’t plan to see. Hearing about things we didn’t plan to talk about.
These interactions might be brief or small, but the unplanned delight of a serendipitous interaction has a different kind of energy that endures, even once they are over!
Designed for Serendipity
You can’t really “create” serendipity, but you can make pathways that make it more possible!
We’ve gotten really good at this within Indy Hall’s online spaces. Coffee chats, happy hours, campfire circles. Even seeing an unexpected face pop up in the Discord coworking channel is a delightful break from every online social experience feeling like a meeting.
Tell ya what, this combo of Discord Event embeds + our “Live on Zoom” Discord bot are a total dream team. 😍 pic.twitter.com/PMzltc1RCd
— 📙 Alex Hillman (@alexhillman) December 9, 2021
Take a Different Route, On Purpose
This whole experience also reminded me of this post that I wrote a ways back about how a bit of friction in my morning commute gave me back some serendipity I didn’t even realizing I was missing.
Spending time in our new clubhouse at 709 N 2nd St has already brought back these feelings, too!
So much positive and creative energy comes from intentionally choosing to be around people in these serendipitous ways.
It’s not magic…or is it?
That connection between serendipity and relationships seems to be a big part of the Indy Hall “magic” both online and in person. Creating just enough structure for comfort, but intentionally leaving space for the unplanned feelings of connection.
I’m glad for the relationships we do have, and I hope your week includes a dose of serendipity that helps you feel connected.
To that end, here are a few pathways for serendipity you might like to try out. You never know who you’re going to run into!
]]>Slack had a bot called “Donut” whose job was to match an members randomly, and prompt them to say hello and go have coffee, lunch – or a…donut 🍩 ! – with their match.
Donut matched me with another person a few days into my first month of membership in late 2018, but I didn’t have the stones to take the initiative and go say hi to my random match. I was too self-conscious, too new at this.
I regret how that fear slowed down my engagement with Indy Hall – I was a wallflower back then, so it took me an embarrassingly long time to make friends to joke around and trade resources with.
Indy Hall members use a Discord server now for online coworking. However, to my knowledge, Discord doesn’t have a bot for that kind of “spin the bottle” adventure – and besides, random selection might be too jarring for certain types of folks anyway.
So to hear me out: be your own Donut.
What? How do I do that?
If you’re a relatively new member of an online community, you might quickly land on a favorite Discord channel – and then a bestie or two within that channel you haunt most often. Just given that online proximity, you and your virtual buddy already have an interest in common, and you’ve likely gotten a sense for the other person’s personality and engagement style.
In the next few days, I challenge you to read the room there and feel out if your prospective invitee would be ok with a private message to invite them to a quick hang – or ask them in the channel if you’re not sure. If you only know your friend from text interactions, invite them to a 10-minute Discord call just to hear what their voice sounds like, relax together for a little bit, and chat in real time about that thing you both enjoy.
This experiment doesn’t even have the unnerving randomness of the Donut bot – you already like each other!
I’m game, but I still feel a little unsure. What if it’s awkward?
Share the link to this post in your favorite channel! If you and your friend are both aware of what I’m recommending right now for a direct invite to a low-commitment hang, your buddy could be delighted you took the lead – and not even surprised!
And when it comes time for your big date (whether it’s “what are you doing right now?” or scheduled), know that you can do anything for 10 minutes. Even if it feels a little scary in those first few seconds, I bet you’ll be amazed at how quickly it settles into a comfortable, familiar conversation.
If a 1:1 sounds too intense to start with, there’s always the option to ask if your buddy would be interested to hang out in a group gathering. Indy Hall has Coffee Chat (a Discord-video chat held twice every morning) and three weekly Campfire hangouts on Discord voice in the afternoon.
Being your own Donut in person
The Indy Hall clubhouse at 709 N 2nd Street in Philadelphia has reopened for in-person hangs (how exciting is this?!). Spinning up some new collaboration- and conversation partners at an in-person coworking location is even easier.
According to Community Director Adam Teterus, the easiest, most casual, and most successful way of making new buds in the flesh at Indy Hall or any in-person coworking space is simply to take a lunch break in the kitchen area around noon. This low-effort tactic takes the pressure off and removes the feeling of risk with approaching people you might not know well just yet. If a lot of people have lunch at or around a conventional lunchtime, one person at the counter becomes two people, which attracts the third and fourth.
Smooth sailing! New friends!
Say hey to an all-but-guaranteed win
My hypothesis is that folks that would self-select to join a coworking community are inherently friendly and social to begin with. I would think it’s likely folks both online and IRL would be receptive to another member inviting them to hang out – either by Discord voice chat or just eating in the kitchen area instead of alone at a desk.
I also encourage you to check in with the other person to see if they’d be cool with sharing your all-but-inevitable success story with the wider group online.
Shared stories of awesome encounters and deepened connections beget more of that, and everybody gets more out of coworking when the community gets to be a group of closer friends and valuable colleagues one friendship at a time.
Let’s go! 🍩
By being your own Donut, the odds are overwhelmingly in your favor for quickly becoming at ease in (and getting more value out of) a coworking community.
Give it a shot this week in a community you’re a part of. If you’re looking for a new spot to give this a try and could use a tailwind, schedule a personal tour online or in person with the Indy Hall team!
You got this!
]]>👉 On February 3rd, we are hosting a free virtual event to introduce our Healthcare for Independents pilot partner – RSVP here to learn more.
In America, “affordable” healthcare benefits being tied to employment is the #1 barrier to self employment by a WIDE margin.
You would think that a group like Indy Hall, with hundreds of workers, SHOULD have the same ability to get group rates like a corporation but unfortunately, that model isn’t possible.
And our healthcare system, like many things that were crappy even before the pandemic, has become even worse. People lost healthcare when they lost jobs, and many who found or chose entrepreneurship still live uninsured or underinsured.
Even with decent insurance, you’re likely to still pay something out of pocket every time you interact with the healthcare system.
This system sucks.
But before we can see much needed policy change, what if the system we knew wasn’t the only way to access quality healthcare?
And what if that alternative could actually be genuinely better, not just more affordable?
Turns out, a lot of medical providers are just as fed up with the stupid system as we are, which has given way to a growing set of options that skip over the traditional insurance + networks + deductible racket. I’ve spoken with people who use many of these alternatives and I’ve personally tried several of them myself.
Some of these providers were good, most weren’t.
Lots of them ended up being more trouble than they were worth for the cost savings, others made promises they couldn’t live up to.
Then last year I learned about a provider based right here in Philadelphia.
And they are the BEST experience I’ve had across the dozens I’ve tried.
In the coming weeks, we hope to begin working with this provider to provide Indy Hall members in southeastern Pennsylvania with an optional healthcare plan that includes:
- Primary care visits for proactive & maintenance care via telehealth and in-home care visits. Yes, in home care!
- Urgent care services for urgent but not life-threatening needs.
- At-home lab testing, X-Rays, STD & drug screenings.
- Discount drug prescriptions, delivered by mail.
All included, with no extra fees or co-pays. Mental health services are on the way, too!
One flat price covers your entire household. Spouse. Kids. Domestic partners. Even housemates.
And since this all works outside of the insurance system, we CAN create a group and use our buying power to get the best price.
Our member group rate BEGINS at just $80 per household, and will only get better as we add more members.
To get started, we’re setting a modest goal of 20 member households enrolled during the month of February for a pilot. If we quickly exceed that goal (as I expect we might) we can expand enrollment sooner and offer the same plan for even less per household.
Zooming out to the bigger picture, beyond this initial pilot I want to expand our group beyond Indy Hall members to include members of other communities like ours and share the benefits with people who need them most. This pilot is just the beginning!
Is this too good to be true?
We’ve explored other options in the past, and even surveyed for interest, but none have actually delivered what they promised.
So naturally, I was skeptical of this option too.
That’s why I wanted to try this service myself before sharing it with our community.
I signed up quickly, logged into their app for the first time, and booked an at-home physical within minutes. I hadn’t had one since at least 2019 (and let’s be honest the last couple of years haven’t been great for health).
A couple days later an RN arrived at my house, perfectly on schedule, and completed a physical exam (including drawing blood samples for a panel of tests) right in my living room. She was done in less than 30 minutes, including time for us to shoot the shit, talk about pets, and commiserate about how messed up the traditional healthcare system is. Easily one of the best medical experiences of my life.
3 days later I got a text saying that my lab results were in, and I booked a follow-up. When the time came, I used the app to start a video call with my provider right from my phone.
From the comfort of my home office we ran through my results and her recommendations in 7 minutes. It never felt rushed, but it also was notably faster than having to go to a doctor’s office just to be told “everything looks good” let alone find out bad news.
While I left with a clean bill of health (phew), my provider said if I did need additional testing or to see a specialist, my health concierge would be able to help me coordinate that.
Knowing I can schedule an appointment anytime I want without fear of cost or scheduling headache feels revolutionary.
I know this solution won’t be a perfect fit for everyone, and it does have limitations of the services that they’re able to cover. But having options beyond the traditional system is a major win.This version also provides transparency you won’t find in the world of insurance, and it’s optimized for accessibility.
This solution won’t be a perfect fit for everyone, and it does have boundaries of the services that they’re able to cover.
But you can say the same thing about the traditional system, and this version provides transparency you won’t find in the world of insurance and optimizes for people without access.
Want to learn more, and join our Healthcare for Independents pilot program?
On Thursday February 3rd, at 12pm EST, we’re hosting a virtual information session during Indy Hall’s weekly Show and Tell for a lunchtime talk about how this model works, with lots of time for questions and discussion.
]]>This event is free, but RSVP is required. Open to all independent and self employed people in the greater Philadelphia area…including the surrounding suburbs and counties.
You do not need to be an Indy Hall member to attend, all are welcome!
I’m back with another update, and I think it’s a positive one.
First, though, I hope you and your loved ones have been safe these last couple of weeks. I know that a number of members and their families have been dealing with and recovering from a range of challenges from COVID exposures and symptoms to related life upsets. If that includes you, know that you’re not alone in the struggles.
The good news is that over the last few days, Philadelphia’s transmission numbers have started to show a peak. Hopefully, this is the very beginning of the sharp decline (source) that’s been seen in Omicron waves elsewhere, and the dangerous burden on our area hospitals follows this downward trend within the next 2-3 weeks.
To be clear, I’m not saying we are out of the weeds. Omicron is still present. Vulnerable people are still at risk, though vaccinations and boosters help significantly. People living with immuno concerns and parents of children who are too young to be vaccinated are still making difficult calls. Long covid concerns are real, and still largely unknown with Omicron. I’ve shared some of my thoughts on how I’m calculating risk from a leadership perspective in this Twitter thread, if you’re interested.
With all of that in mind, my hope is that over the next 7-10 days we’ll be able to begin making informed decisions about how to pick up our plans to launch coworking memberships and re-open our space in a way that is both safe and comfortable, and minimizes risk for the wider community.
In addition to official recommendations, I’m looking to related and adjacent industry examples for best practices they are applying.
Among the primary considerations, it’s very likely that we will upgrade our vaccination requirement to also include a proof of booster.
More on that and any other changes to our COVID/Safety policy soon!
Updated Timeline
I’m still not totally comfortable giving a firm start date just yet, but I am hopeful that to begin inviting people back to the space within the first two weeks of February. And if we can do it sooner safely, we will!
Once we are on track to reopen, our plan is to roll out coworking memberships in 4 phases to help us ramp up incrementally and avoid overwhelming the space, each other, and of course myself & Adam.
Each phase will probably run for ~2 weeks.
Phase 1: Open to active members who attended one or more of our free “preview days” at our new space during the end of 2021.
Phase 2: Open to all active members.
Phase 3: Open to all active + past members who wish to return.
Phase 4: Open to all members + public waiting list.
Once again, the exact timing of these phases will depend on the reality of COVID over the coming weeks and months. Thanks for understanding!
Want to reserve a membership to our new space?
Our plan is to be open at least 5 days a week, and we will offer plans that include 2 days per month, 6 days per month, & an unlimited flex option.
Since capacity is going to be limited and we want to avoid overbooking, the number of memberships at each level will be capped!
If you aren’t already a member or on our waiting list, you can add yourself here:
As soon as we are moving forward, we’ll make sure you’re among the first to get the info about the new location, how to come in for an in-person tour, membership levels, pricing, what’s included, etc.
Thanks everyone. My fingers are crossed that we’ll be back together soon, and my next update in 7-10 days is another positive one!
-Alex
]]>We planned to launch our coworking memberships and 5-day a week access to our new space, but this morning I’ve made the call to delay that launch by 2 weeks or until the most critical COVID numbers are trending down again, whichever comes first.
During these 2 weeks we will not be hosting any members-only “preview days” either – the new space at is effectively closed for Indy Hall members. We will evaluate this plan again as we approach the week of January 17th.
I’m sorry, this is frustrating and disappointing on many levels.
But even with delayed data from the holidays, many area hospitals are nearing capacity.
The good news with this wave is that hospitalizations are not nearly as steep as the positive case counts, and nearly 80% of people hospitalized are unvaccinated, which means vaccines are working!
But in addition to the overall health and safety of community, I would like to avoid the whiplash of finally opening up…just to close down again.
I’m hopeful that the worst case scenario is that this wave blows over quickly compared to the past waves, and this brief delay helps us (and our interconnected communities) avoid the worst of it.
And of course, none of this will impact anything we’re doing online!
If you want to know more about the rest of our plans for our new space, you can read more here. If you have any questions, or ideas, you can email me directly.
Stay safe,
Alex
]]>Today we have an update. The answer is…we don’t know.
What we DO know is that we are NOT reopening our space at 399 Market in Philadelphia.
Update for February 2022: We’re back, baby!
Find us at our new fully-vaxxed community clubhouse.
More details here as we re-open in phases.
That said, we also are NOT going away. We are not “closing” and certainly not forever. As we’ve been reminded during the pandemic, Indy Hall is a people, not a place.
This is not the end, it’s a fresh start.
Since last year, our online coworking community has grown far beyond Philadelphia, and our new Summer Camp programming paves the way for even more deep connections online that we will continue to expand.
Simultaneously, our physical home has been stuck in limbo.
The last 15 months have been harrowing on so many levels. In addition to caring for our community, we’ve been working on several potential paths to recovery so we could reopen safely and sustainably.
Most of the potential paths ahead were not good.
Rushed timelines. Untenable debt. Compromises to our core values. Even bankruptcy.
Thankfully, we’ve found a resolution with our landlord that avoids all of the dead ends and worst case scenarios. One that avoids the complications of bankruptcy, while also giving us a fresh start.
So we chose the path that has a future.
While this best path forward involves the short term pain of moving out of our space, it grants us the ability to think and act long term. To do better, and for more people.
Perhaps most critically, we have time to figure out what a future in-person Indy Hall looks like after a year and a half of isolation. Time to understand what people in our community (existing and future members) want and need most. Time to co-create new versions of our in-person experience, borrowing lessons from the best of our past spaces and solving for the realities of being a freelancer, entrepreneur, or remote worker in Philadelphia in 2021 and beyond.
We will be together again soon.
It’s not without irony that this past week we’ve had the most people in our space since March 2020, as members have stopped by to pick up their belongings and offer a hand packing things up. Even with the space disassembled, it’s been a great reminder of how good it feels to be together in person.
The positive spirits and support from our community members is a perfect antidote for the mixed feelings of clearing out a space we’ve called home for the last 5 years just weeks before our 15th anniversary.
And it’s a reminder of how great it will feel to be together for a 16th anniversary. And a 20th. And a 25th. A 30th.
We aren’t done yet. No space has ever defined Indy Hall. Space is a tool, and a means to an end.
What kind of space best serves our community in the future? That’s what we get to figure out next.
Even better than a fresh start.
In sharing these changes with our community, I’ve compared our next steps to the idea of “New Game Plus” in which a video game lets the player go back to the beginning of the game for a replay while also carrying forward the abilities they’ve earned from their first play through.
Throughout our history, we’ve earned countless abilities. Relationships forged. Lessons learned. Perspectives altered. Our next moves are simultaneously unburdened AND we get to carry these lessons, relationships, and perspectives forward.
This has already proven itself true in how quickly we were able to coordinate a place to store our stuff while we figure out what’s next.
Want to co-host some coworking with our community?
Once we finish moving out and catch our breath, our next priority is exploring collaborations and partnerships for “pop-up” style coworking options with our community members.
This could be as simple as one-off coworking sessions in borrowed spaces, or deeper collaborations with communities, orgs, and people with whom we share goals and values.
If you’re interested in collaborating while we’re figuring out what’s next, including if you own/manage a space, drop me a line at alex@indyhall.org. I’d love to talk about how our sum could be greater than the parts.
Want to know what comes next?
Drop your name in the box below and we’ll keep you posted. Our list is low-traffic, and we’ll never share your email with anybody else.
Onward, together.
I look forward to a time in the near future when I can answer the question “when is Indy Hall reopening for in person coworking?” with an invitation to come spend a day (or more) working together.
That day will come soon.
Until then, endless gratitude to my team, who have been incredible though this whole thing, and to a list of community members longer than I can count who have helped in so many ways.
Of course, that gratitude includes the people who’ve shown up over the last couple of weeks to help us pack up the office in record time, but it also includes the entire community.
You are the voices of support and encouragement for each other (and us) in times of need; you are the hosts for daily coffee chats and D&D campaigns, and the stars of our weekly Show and Tell. Through the hardest year, you’ve trusted us to do the right thing, challenged us to do better when needed.
You are the reason for Indy Hall to exist!
It’s only possible because we aren’t doing it alone. Thank you.
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