Note: Hi, I'm Tony. I'm championing coworking in NYC and met The Butcher & Bandit when they were in town last week. I hope to add my perspective and experiences to the mix here and, with any luck, contribute something that's insightful and enjoyable. Feel free to contact me!

In his Coworking as a Catalyst post, Bandit mentions the following as an impact coworking introduces to the mentality of the worker:

A shift from employer as supervisor to employer as customer.

I'm new here, so maybe this ground's been tread before—but this concept merits further exploration.

I was raised in a system that taught me that potential employers were the Alpha. They were the top of the pecking order. They had the money and the jobs, and I needed money and a job.

So I would prepare my resume and edit and re-edit it, hoping to make the best impression I can. I would go to an interview and wear my best (only) suit that I obviously only wore to interviews, hoping that the company likes me.

And then I would get a job, and I would have a desk and a set of orders. And I'd be grateful.

After all, they're the ones who pay me the big fat check. I should be grateful that they portion out ten days a year for me to do whatever I want, right?

For some, the above scenario might be fine, and it works well for them.

But it doesn't work for many others.

For the millions of people out there who drag themselves to drab offices to do work they don't have any personal passion for, there's an undercurrent of discontent. Something's wrong with this picture.

For some perspective, I look to Steve Pavlina. He's a personal development guru who is very passionate about entrepreneurship and personal independence, and he's written some fantastic articles on the subject.

A few links for you here:

• 10 Reasons You Should Never Get a Job
• 10 Myths About Self-Employment

He makes many good points, but one point in particular really drives it home for me:

You don't work for your employer. You work for yourself. You lease your services out to a client, or several clients as you see fit, and you're compensated for your work. Regardless of your current employment, be it full time or otherwise, when you start approaching things with that mindset, I think everything else starts to fall into place.

Think of yourself as Your Name, LLC.

Now you're in business!

Cheers,

Tony Bacigalupo