OPEN FOR BUSINESS: THE BROOKLYN CREATIVE LEAGUE

Think about this: If you are an independent professional - e.g. a self-employed/freelancing/ entrepreneurial individual - you may spend a chunk of your time hanging out in local cafes with your cell phone and laptop computer. Maybe you even see clients there and do some networking.

Let's say you do this five days a week and you spend $10 a day on food and/or coffee at these places. That's $50 a week or $200 a month. Then there's the bucks you spend at the xerox shop and the time you spend running between home and the cafe and the xerox shop. If your time = money, then you are spending far more than $200 a month to run your affairs.

Good news, y'all: Brooklyn Creative League offers a sound alternative to being an entrepreneurial cafe lounge lizard. For as little as $350 a month, you can rent office space while being around other interesting, creative independent professionals. It's the next best thing to coming to work in your pjs. (And something tells me that Co-Founder Neil Carlson wouldn't mind if you did!)

The BCL "[...] gives freelance professionals, small-shop companies, and nonprofits the tools they need to get their work done: affordable, green, shared workspace and a community of professional colleagues."

There are 45 semi-private workspaces, where you can take on a month-to-month membeship as a full-timer or a part-timer. There are also nine private offices. Even the semi-private spaces are designed in a way that makes them acoustically private. Think about it: you can mill around and mingle with other BCL folks if you wish, but your phone conversations stay within the walls of your cubicle.

Also: there's a kitchen, cafe/lounge area, high-speed internet access, office machines, mail service, conference room, bike racks, and a reception desk.

One of Neil's goals is to get folks in the space who are in adjacent industries so that they can learn from and collaborate with one another.

Another one of Neil's goals has been to use be green and energy-efficient in building the space while also using cheap, durable materials. LiRo architects Murray Levi and Sara Anderson have helped him to achieve that goal.

BCL is the brainchild of Neil and his wife, Erin Carney. They identified a need for affordable work spaces and a place for community among independent professionals. BCL was born out of a joint recognition that there's a lot of creative energy that comes from being part of a network of colleagues.

The doors to BCL will be open by March 15th. I encourage you to go over and check it out!

To contact Neil: neil@brooklyncreativeleague.com OR 718-576-2104