When: Wednesday 10th of June 2009 from 6pm

Register: online - see bottom of page

Delivered by Sue Taylor.

This session is to promote the power of small groups we are calling these Masterminds @ The Werks

Have you ever worked through the day/week with a particular work problem on your mind? Not sure where to go with it or how to tackle it – it just stays there, then you meet up with someone and while chatting they say something that leads you to solving that dilemma? You might call it coincidence or a lucky meeting! I think it is a meeting of minds that can be orchestrated. I facilitate such meetings of minds.

Through my years of learning and growing as well as being self employed I have logged what works and what doesn’t.

These are the benefits I have found through facilitating groups of like minded but very different people.

• Working alone can be therapeutic and just what you want to do but there is no-one to bounce ideas off or give you feedback, it is sometimes lonely.
• Share, solve and support through a trusted group all wanting a similar outcome.
• A respected comment can unleash a burst of creativity
• Develop your people skills such as listening, selling, dealing with difficult people.
• Bring renewed motivation to a stagnant week.
• Hearing what works for others can provide marketing or technical ideas for you.
• Being part of a group can help with your commitment to achieve in the allotted time.
• Helps you focus on the step by step process rather than the big picture.
• Helps you visualise the big picture that makes you take those small steps.

I could go on because different people get different things but all want passionately to work for themselves.

Please come to see what it is all about. Groups will be formed and the next meet will be arranged. The cost of each Mastermind meet will be discussed then, but it will definitely be affordable.

After almost 2 years of putting the different parts of the business together; Crunch Accounting Ltd and E-Crunch Ltd, Crunch launched on April 8th this year.

As the first seamless service offering of a secure online Accountancy system and a Charted Accountancy, the combined service offering is starting to take on Freelancers and Contractors from every possible sector. Everyone from new media freelancers to Locum Doctors are coming on board.

This marks the first public unveiling of the Crunch system. Built in banking grade Enterprise Java as a highly secure system, Founder and Managing Director Darren Fell will explain where the system is going and why the integrated approach of a combined Chartered Accountancy service is making so much sense for it's customers.

19:00, Wednesday 20th - downstairs at the Werks, Church Street, Hove

Then to The Farm freelancers meetup at The Wick Inn

When: April 23, 2009 from 8pm - 11pm

Brighton Robotics have Graham Wiseman from the Shadow Robot Company coming to talk about the company and the advanced robotics that they build commercially.

Shadow has been developing robots and other unusual technologies since 1987, for research customers and for people with real-world problems. It was set up as a group in 1987 by Richard Greenhill. The group met weekly to work on the development of the domestic robot. The Shadow Robot Company was formed in 1998 by a small team of the original developers.

Shadow is a small company specialising in the development of advanced robotics. They use innovative actuators to develop a wide range of robots, including The Shadow Dextrous Robot Hand which is capable of 24 movements, is regarded as the most advanced robot hand in the world

The Shadow team currently consists of eight full-time engineers, plus support staff and a network of associates. Their skills range from mechanical engineering to real-time software and systems.

Shadow has had a range of prestigious clients over the years, including NASA and Carnegie-Mellon University and have won many awards.

Upcoming event

• Are you in Accountancy Hell?
• Want to find out how to save as much tax as possible as a Freelancer?
• Or would you just like someone to explain, in plain English, the basics of Accounting?

Here’s your chance to meet the professionals behind Crunch, the brand new Accountancy service and online system specifically for Freelancers.

Crunch Director, Steve Crouch will be guiding you through key important areas for freelancers:

• What the benefits and drawbacks are of being a Sole Trader / Limited Company
• What expenses you can claim, and how much tax it would save you
• What paperwork you need to claim these expenses
• What you should do to avoid getting caught by IR35

Steve is also owner of the very successful SRC Chartered Accountancy firm based in Brighton.

Conveniently The Brighton Farm weekly meetup will be across the road at The Wick Inn.

When: April 14 from 18:45pm

Where: The Werks

Cost: Free, registration required

Speakers: Filip Healy & GiGi Demming from Amberlight

Filip and GiGi are both principals at Amberlight Partners. Amberlight is a London based User Experience Consultancy. Clients include Apple, Microsoft, Sony and O2.

• It’s becoming increasingly popular for large companies to bundle together a range of services such as broadband, mobile and TV. While this can result in lower prices for customers, how does it really impact the customer experience?
• Amberlight has engaged in a number of service design projects that have looked at this very problem – how can these bundled but disparate services be aligned in a manner that presents a coherent, ‘joined up’ feel for the customer?
• In this presentation, Amberlight will talk about their learnings, and will lay bare some of the key questions that you need to think about when dealing with this tricky service design problem.

Following the presentation there will be an open discussion, and informal show-and-tells. Please feel free to bring along visual stimuli for discussion!

And after that, we’ll probably head to The Greenhouse Effect for a drink.

Tickets are FREE, registration required

The Werks, based in the Hove area of Brighton, opens up on Friday's for free coworking to developers, writers, creatives, freelancers and independents.

Coworking is a new way of working designed to remove the isolation that work at home, freelancers, travellers or micro businesses experience. Created with an intentional social and community focus, coworking is fast becoming the preferred way for people to work, socialise and grow together.

The Open Coworking deal: come along (9:30 onwards), use our space, broadband and facilities and in return; respect the space and the people in it, collaborate and if you found it worthwhile come again.

Get in contact if you have any questions.

When: Every Friday between 9:30-10:30am

Turn up with something you are working on ready to talk about it (printouts work better than a laptop). You should be able to explain the project and target audience and goals so that comments can be relevant to the project. Once that's done other people in the group will give constructive feedback. Each person gets 20 minutes focused on them.

Even if you don't have something to talk about you can still come and crit other peoples work.

The crit isn't restricted to UX design. All designers are welcome if you just want to bring along a current project that's unrelated to the web that's fine.

Here are a few dos and dont's:

• Do know what you want out of the crit and tell people early on, it could be opinions on the design or opinions on function or UX.
• Do be succinct with your description of the project.
• Don't bring work that is finished or can't be changed criting this is pointless.
• Don't bring something that isn't your own work, that's not fair on the person who did it.
• Do make sure what you are saying is relevant.
• Do play nicely.

New to crit groups? Then read this.