Interviewing Hub London members, January 2006

2007-06-22T05:42:00.000-07:00

"It’s just the atmosphere, it belongs to everyone…it doesn’t feel that there’s someone that owns it, it really feels natural to help, and that is a huge plus. Before my work lacked meaning, now I work on things that matter to me. The Hub has literally changed my life.""I can’t think of anywhere better to operate from, in terms of running your own consultancy, in terms of making contacts, it’s phenomenal. The major impact it had was on my psychological health, and I am not exaggerating. I was almost not functioning in that tiny office on my own because in this job there’s no team, there’s no one telling you what to do, there’s no boss, you have to create everything yourself. So on good days that’s wonderful but on bad days you just don’t have any idea of what you are doing next and if you’re on you own trying to do that is awful whereas coming to the Hub was a completely different mind space. You can just walk across the room and sit in a corner and get a different perspective, crawling to this soft library…you get the impression that the place is not frantic, that people are allowing themselves time to think. There are no rules here, people do their jobs in so many different ways."
"Mainly it helps me build confidence going on to jobs, feeling that I come from more than just me and my house, I come from a bit of a mini-tribe, it’s a bit of strong word but I have got that sense that there’s people behind me somehow." "It’s so important. You get a community above and beyond anything really. You get a sympathetic community and one that you’re proud of.""I use the Hub on a part-time basis, and am attracted to it like a magnet. I have found it to be a place full of people that make good things happen. People here are lively, sparkling with ideas, community-spirited, and committed to environmental and social causes. It is quite remarkable."
"It facilitates open discussion but it’s also very work-applied so it’s a good combination of influences on people when they come in. There’s one practical point about having an office to work out of but actually people really recognize it as something new, it’s inspiring. The other thing is about being around people who are very serious about their work and motivated by their work because it’s productive. You couldn’t easily get that in other offices…there is something which is uplifting about being in a place where people are committed to similar things, where people are engaged in finding solutions which might not be always apparent immediately, but doing things which are socially conscious. It is really good to be working with that, with people around me, because it gives me licence to think, expand my thinking." "It’s the knowledge exchange that’s really valuable about the Hub, the informal communication that happens when somebody says ‘you need to look at that book, you need to look at this’, that’s something that is difficult to put a price on but it’s incredibly valuable. You can’t google that, it’s just about that soft situation. And I expect that will happen with projects as well. You will do something in a particular way and someone will say ‘oh, you need to do it in this way.’ That’s the real value of the Hub, it’s that soft communication."
"The Hub has had a massive impact on very various different aspects of my life. In terms of work, I genuinely feel that if I hadn’t found the Hub as a working space than the Fun Federation would not exist anymore. You get this kind of mirror to talk at, this environment to try out things. And it’s also a place full of people who know lots of people and if you tap into one network it’s like pum-pum-pum, you have access to lots of people. The Hub is full of experts, friends, coaches and that’s what you need. That’s what I need."
"Straight away, after three days in the Hub I got a new project, so the networking element in this place it’s just been unexpectedly fantastic really. I have spoken to a few people who led on to possible opportunities or who made me think differently about certain things that I am doing. I think the shared learning around the place…it’s amazing how so many people have a similar philosophy coming out from so many different backgrounds. It’s really good because it shares a different light on what you are working on. So in terms of the space at the moment I am really impressed by the kinds of people around here and how focused and how passionate they are about what they do and that obviously creates an amazing vibe around the place."
"The Hub brought me / Lightweight Medical & ELEMENT 06 into the world of social enterprise. Although we’re a 100% sustainable company in both our operation and the products we design the team are not from a social enterprise background. It widened my knowledge of social enterprise and electrical/wireless/invisible stuff from the techie crews who sit around me."

London Members say

Interviewing Hub London members, January 2006