It occurred to me that my friends and I, however disparate our backgrounds, were all becoming web developers of various sorts. And in individual relationships we seemed to be encouraging the potential of working together. I started pursuing these relationships a bit more seriously and an idea half-formed that collaboratively we might be able to accomplish something interesting that individually wasn't possible. Perhaps there was an opportunity to work with many of these friends collectively and foster a loose-knit association that had advantages for us all.
Well, I didn't expect quite the resonance that the idea returned when I first shared it. At dinner we were talking about ways of more actively passing work back and forth and I started to stumble through explaining my embryonic thought on collaborative work. Together we began molding the idea and discovered that it was very appealing. This initial refinement produced many ideas that could be the basis for a informal cooperative built from the idea of doing work we enjoy with friends we want to spend time with.
In the hope of defining these ideals into a working mechanism that supports them, I propose the following arrangements, hoping that those who participate will assist in detailing and revising them so that they are effective and appropriate:
1. "The Collective"[2]
We should develop a loose cooperative which allows us to exchange and share work opportunities, teach each other in the various skills and knowledge of our work and business, and support one another with a spirit of friendship and community.
The genesis of this idea is the understanding that working as individual, small freelance developers we have many limitations but these are reduced when we can collaborate to provide the services or the skills needed for a job. As a result, we collectively are able to gather more projects which match the capabilities and interest of each individual. If we expand this further by assisting one another in learning about how to accomplish both the income and administrative aspects of our work, everyone benefits. Finally, we can smooth over the boom and bust cycles of a freelance schedule by sharing during times of abundance and scarcity.
2. Relationships
We should build community, founded upon relationships.
At the heart of this collaborative enterprise is the concept that our lives will be richer through sharing our working hours with friends. The reason we should be working together is because we enjoy the relationships. That is a value that can be extended to clients. And it is a value that should supersede all others.
3. Communication
Communication should be used to foster relationships and community.
Using the tools that are appropriate to the time, we should make ourselves available to one another. In particular, an email mailing list will be set up which should be used to discuss the matters of the group. Work opportunities, business needs, skill development, group administration, and most any other relevant subject should be freely discussed. The list will be freelance@sunnywood-designs.com.
Secondarily, instant message systems are of value in a virtual working group setting. Depending on how closely the group works together, this may be worthwhile. It encourages some of the communication that is otherwise restricted to in person offices.[3]
4. Learning
We should endeavor to teach and to learn through the group.
It is in the interest of everyone to see the skills of the group increase. For those learning, new abilities are obviously valuable. For those teaching, having others improve their capabilities and be able to offer these to the collaborative enterprise will allow greater flexibility in schedules and projects, particularly to the teacher who will have more time to take on challenging or interesting jobs.
5. Sharing
We should foster a desire to share both in a material and a narrative sense.
Tools and resources of business are often underused by individuals and may be efficiently shared by small groups. There are many ways that we can share what we have available or what we develop so that we don't spend time or money for that which others can offer. Similarly, there are stories to be told of our successes and failures that others can benefit from.
6. Finance
We should establish fair rates for services and follow such a schedule as appropriate.
To encourage an equitable exchange, we should agree on recommended rates for services based on type of work, experience, and/or capabilities. Such a schedule should cover external and internal rates. The intention would be to provide a guide, but individual circumstances will always be the final determinant.
7. Contracts
We should set up standard language for internal and external agreements that can be applied as needed to guide official arrangements.
A simple subcontract would be of use for sharing work internally. Similarly, a guide, or specific language, for what should be in original source contracts would be of value in assuring group members that expectations on a work project will be met.[4]
8. Consensus
We should discuss and decide matters through consensus.
Any successful individual relationship requires a spirit of compromise. A group relationship is no different, so, in order to preserve our relationships we should use consensus in decision-making situations.
9. Antimatter
We should bear in mind these negative-space views of what this is not: Formal. Governed. Inspired by Marx. Revolutionary. Original. Binding
(But it might be an open-source version of company development. That would be pseudo-original, but only in name, since collectives, cooperatives, partnerships, alliances, guilds, associations and other business relationships have all chewed through ideas like this for many years before I came along.)
10. Self
11. Group[5]
eric@sunnywood-designs.com
kimfisher@acedsl.com
heidineilson@acedsl.com
liz@sunnywood-designs.com
zach@sunsolver.com