Ingenious Incubation: Co-working Re-engineered
Fact for the day. The word engine, is derived from the word ingenious:
adj; ingenious (comparative more ingenious, superlative most ingenious)
- Displaying genius or brilliance; tending to invent. This fellow is ingenious; he fixed a problem I didn’t even know I had.
And, just maybe, the people behind the newly built ‘The Engine House’ in Castletown have been quite ingenious themselves recently. Located just next to part of the iconic Isle of Man steam railway, looking out over the Silverburn River and the historic Capital of Mann on one side and South Barrule on the other, stands the newly conceived soft landing space for media, arts and technology individuals and companies.
“The Engine House is a new, vibrant incubator and landing zone for companies in the arts, media and tech sectors relocating and establishing new businesses on the Isle of Man.
As well as providing affordable workspace, The Engine House will also provide support and expertise to new business and will partner with, incubate and accelerate small and growing enterprises with real substance and creative synergies.” says Jane Hall, Director.
The team opened the doors to the public for their grand opening on the 14th of May 2018 with Isle of Man Government Minister Laurence Skelly cutting the ribbon with special guest, artist and designer, Roger Dean in support.
This was a showcase of the new work space for individuals and companies in the arts, media and technology sectors, and the wide variety of guests and attendees from all sectors paid homage to this. Not only was there support from government officials (both past and present), there were representatives from tech business, musicians, artists, entrepreneurs and local media companies. For those that weren’t able to make it, below are my top takeaways.
Creative Powerhouses
Working collaboratively has been a hot topic of late, I recently attended the Northern Media Summit where collaboration across the Northern Powerhouse was an indicator of shared growth. If it can happen region to region, it can happen business to business.
Over the last months, I’ve had some conversations with the directors of The Engine House, and it’s been evident they’ve researched how creatives (or maybe just people?!) work best. They’ve created tones and shades of working areas; space to work collaboratively yet also have “hideaways” where individuals can feel safe to create in peace. It all allows for the driving force of creative thinking to be at the heart of the space, and certainly solidifying my thinking that creativity is really the heart of every business.
With the look and feel of The Engine House, you can tell it’s been made with creatives in mind - from the handmade desks bathed in natural sunlight, to the slick refreshment station stocking (Manx entrepreneurs) Noa Bakehouse’s roast coffee. It’s not your traditional ‘office’ vibe.
It was interesting to see the creative powerhouse Roger Dean there in support of the venture. Not a rarity to Manx shores, he’s known for supporting many Creative Industries on, and off, Mann, including the Media Industry where he has supported the Isle of Man Film Festival over its years. In many ways the opening event was a nod to inspiration, entrepreneurship, creativity, and as the name ‘The Engine House’ suggests, ingenuity…quite like Mr Dean himself.
Thrive in a Tribe
Entrepreneur, Jim Ron very famously said:
“You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.”
With whom you surround yourself is important and clearly demonstrating this, The Engine House has aims of building a community not only a co-working/incubation space. Going by the ethos that by choosing the right working space, you can surround yourself with the right ‘vibes’ and ‘tribes’. (I wrote about tribes in a recent article looking at the Founders Festival, Gefachella.) In these sort of spaces we can learn from working next to people in a similar industry, or even contrasting ones. Without office politics people can bring ‘themselves’ to work, as Harvard Business Review notes in it’s article “Why People Thrive in Coworking Spaces”:
Thinking about a space which provides learning opportunities by being surrounded by a variety of individuals and businesses made me consider whether a move to hot desks and interesting work spaces is really where office environments of the future will be. Places where you have the opportunity to move spaces… or not. You can be the manager of your own desk and destiny - be that at home one day, traveling the next and in your chosen co-working space on another. With clever cloud technology and connected devices, it makes sense for the modern ‘office’ not to act as an albatross around one’s neck.
The global co-working community WeWork are pretty evangelical about what they call “creator spaces”:
The nature of work is changing. Recruitment, retention, innovation, and productivity now require not just coffee, but also yoga, not just printers, but also art installations. WeWork offers companies of all sizes the opportunity to reimagine employees’ days through refreshing design, engaging community, and benefits for all.
From Bengaltu to Bogatoa you can do your Year End or Yoga Class at a WeWork site, and although I’ve only seen the inside of the ‘real deal’ on a Google Image search, I get the feeling the brains behind The Engine House have really given the Isle of Man a taste of a modern “creator space”.
Level Up
The term “regeneration area” in the Isle of Man always makes me giggle, with images of ‘Gangstas Paradise’ flashing through my mind. However, I can confirm the regeneration areas referred to by the Isle of Man Government are NOT the ones Coolio was referring in his mid 1990s hit. They are, infact, to “act as catalysts for future growth and investment” and to “encourage trade” as the Manx Government say online.
If your exsisting or new business lies in one of these areas you may be able to access funding assisting with rent costs via one of the grants and financial assistance opportunities offered by Government. Right now The Engine House falls in to this classification of a “regeneration area”, so a good place to ‘level up’ your business and leverage support available if you are thinking about using it as a launch pad for a new or growing company.
Rather handily placed - a 3 minute drive away from Ronaldsway airport and also a 3 minute drive from the Secret Pizza Company’s new dine-in stone-baked pizza experience this modern co-working space is in a prime location if you ask me, never mind “regeneration”.
I know there are more plans for The Engine House to unveil and I’m excited to see how the next phase moves forward, with talk of a ‘members area’. I’m interested to see which other (they have some of their first creators set up already) companies and individuals will make use of the areas available.
The doors are open for viewings, and I’m sure if you would like a viewing Jane, or one of The (ingenious) Engine House team, would be more than happy to show you around - see for yourself.
