Blog and
Events Calendar

This week we've seen Marissa Mayer, CEO of Yahoo, making a stand against homeworking, requesting all staff to leave their homeworking existence and report back to the office from June.  Much has been said and written about this policy shift, so I decided it was time for me to add to the debate!…

On 28th February 2013 a new type of business space launches in Consett, Derwentside.   Business owners Fran and Simon Williams open their family-owned and run business space 'Perspective Business Centres' at Ponds Court Business Park in Consett.  Facilities at this stage include hot-desking…

People who work for themselves often work by themselves.  In this short presentation, Jayne Graham, Founder and Director of Colleagues on Tap, explains how co-working can be a welcome antedote to the isolation many businesses face when they work alone, and provides some real life examples of people…

Colleagues on Tap welcomes new sidekick, Jo Singh, to its growing team of Associates to host co-working days in Newcastle's West End from February. Jo’s appointment represents yet another stepping stone towards the company's quest to extend Colleagues on Tap across the North East, and…

Our already lively SpoT chat at The Beacon Colleagues on Tap day in late January was lifted further with some great news from regular co-worker Rachel Cochrane.  Rachel, a writer and dramatist, and the founder of website listenupnorth.com that showcases other local writers, has been…

It's great working for yourself. That's a fact.  'Going it alone' means freedom, flexibility and of course plenty of fun, but as we've discovered through Colleagues on Tap a few people around you now and again can help to make running a business much more fun;  working…

Exciting developments are a-foot for small business owners and freelancers in the North East, as Jayne Graham, founder and director of Colleagues on Tap, gets set to launch more ground-breaking new services in the New Year in response to market-demand, as well as stepping up co-working event activity.…

Lynn Carr-Woodward has run her business and people development consultancy since 2004.   Building on her background as a quality assessor and auditor, Lynn prides herself on being able to help people to get organised, save time, and develop their businesses. While she was looking at how to move…

Martin Underhill designs and builds websites for small businesses, and his affable style has brought him regular and long-standing customers from a pretty diverse range of sectors, from travel and tourism to finance.   His website business, Temper Temper, runs from wherever Martin is; being able…

Having held over 60 successful Colleagues on Tap co-working days all around the North East, it's clear to founder Jayne Graham that home-based and freelance businesses see co-working as the way forward.   Jayne explains "Co-working days provide the opportunity for homeworkers to combat…

Space on Tap's Founder & Director Jayne Graham has contributed to development of a White Paper on Co-working and Co-working spaces  written by the EBN (European BIC Network) in partnership with Global Enterprise.  The paper, which was published in October 2012 explores how and why…

Hugh Stolliday, Development Manager for Friends of Summerhill, the Trust that owns and runs Summerhill Bowling Club on Summerhill Terrace in Newcastle, has shared with us his top 5 tips for hiring out space.   Summerhill Pavilion is becoming an increasingly popular venue for both business and private…

    We all love positive feedback that endorses that we're doing a good job!  It was great to receive thanks from Emma Harle, Director of Elrah Consulting, this week; her thoughts on spaceontap.com are below.   Elrah Consulting provides development programmes that help people…

On 4th October Jayne Graham, founder and director of Space on Tap & Colleagues on Tap, exhibited at the Inspire Network North East Open Day which took place at Bede's World in Jarrow.   The great venue was complemented perfectly by an amazing group of business women who attended the event…

Christmas parties, training days, gala dinners, you name it; it's all going on at The Beacon, a great new business and community venue on Westgate Road in Newcastle!  To give you a flavour of what's possible at this great venue, The Beacon is holding a showcase open day on Saturday 22nd…

After over a year of searching, and several months of planning, Helen and Mark Reed will open their 2nd fully serviced business centre later this month.   Building on their success with Newcastle Business Village in Benton, North Tyneside, they will be opening the doors of Clavering House…

A report in The Journal Business News on 30th August 2012 explains that 'business parks remain popular with occupiers despite the recession and concerns over the future economic outlook, a new report suggests'.  It goes on to say  'The research, by leading commercial property advisor…

Space on Tap users are often on the look-out for somewhere a bit different to hold an event.  Corporate away days, conferences, training courses and meetings can now have a touch of creativity as an added ingredient as arts venues across the North East get into the act.   From Stockton on…

Helen and Mark Reed, owners of Newcastle Business Village, will be opening their second business centre next month, at the prestigious Clavering House, Clavering Place in Newcastle City Centre, with an official launch event planned for the evening of 20th September. Newcastle Business Village in Benton…

We all recognise that face to face contact, at least sometimes, is good for you and your business.  But that's not always possible or practical, and with the recent increase we've experienced in global trade, combined with an exponential growth in remote and home-based working, it's…

More and more airtime is being spent on discussing co-working these days.  I'm pretty confident that all of this talk will ultimately translate into action in the North East of England, and the rest of the UK, where I've been extolling the virtues of co-working for the past couple of years;…

It was great to see the success and plans for expansion of Colleagues on Tap reported in Saturday's Financial Times.  See the full article below.  

Space of the Week this week is hosted by MPH Conference, a training and conference centre which is located only a couple of minutes from Heworth metro, just off the Felling By-Pass.   The spaces here are many and varied, and our featured space is a full equipped IT suite complete with Dell laptops…

Let's face it, with so much space sitting empty across the UK, from office premises to high street retail units, it's time for a re-think. Demand for commercial space is probably just as high as ever, but rental fees are a real put-off so businesses are adapting through setting up at home and…

Networking, where to network, how to network, and even whether to network, is a regular topic of discussion amongst small and home-based business, and it's often a hot topic at Colleagues on Tap co-working days. This is good news, as it's generally agreed that networks, in some form, are the…

When Gateshead businesswoman Jayne Graham came up with the idea of setting up a pop-up office for home-workers as a one-off event to promote her new online venue directory business www.spaceontap.com, little did she know that it would lead to yet another great new business opportunity which would be…

As reported in the Journal newspaper Space on Tap founder Jayne Graham is teaming up with other female entrepreneurs and networkers to mark 'Take A Businesswoman to Lunch Day' on Friday.   An informal lunch and networking opportunity will take place at the Baltic’s Six Restaurant,…

St Cuthberts Hospice provides free care and support to people with life-limiting illnesses and their families in North Durham, and as part of its fundraising efforts is keen for local businesses to discover the purpose-built training centre within their grounds just a few minutes from Durham City.  …

Newcastle Business woman Vicki Stone knew she wanted a venue that little bit different for the launch of her new women’s business network, so when North East space finders Space on Tap suggested a city-based Bowling Pavilion could be the perfect place, she was intrigued to find out more. …

Space on Tap is delighted to be working with Inex, a company located on Newcastle University's city centre campus, literally a stone's throw from Haymarket metro station and all major transport routes into the City. Inex has top quality space for occasional hire and longer term rental (with…

  We were excited to be invited recently to speak about Space on Tap's social media successes during an event being run by Service Network, a North East network that aims to provide a stimulating environment for businesses in the region's service sector to learn, grow and prosper.…

It's often assumed that businesses are only home-based because they have no other choice.  We're keen to find out if that's really the case.  VOTE HERE NOW!

  Happy@Homeworking, Guest-blogger Jane Anderson of Radio Wellbeing   Jane Anderson, Radio Wellbeing Thank you to Jane Anderson of Radio Wellbeing for providing our first guest blog.  Jane is a consultant and writer in environmental wellness; she helps organisations to create…

A recent survey commissioned by Virgin Business Media to celebrate the 10th anniversary of sitcom 'The Office' found that, within 10 years, the office as we know it could be history.   The study explored the impact of technology on the lives of 1,000 UK workers over the past 10 years, and…

"The growth of social media and the power of e-mail mean that many can work from home, wherever that happens to be" explains Carol Lewis in a Small Business Insights article in The Times, 30 June 2011. The article provides an insight into a handful of home-based businesses, including North…

  Cutting the tape on a new place for co-working and collaboration   Potential co-workers find out about what the Hub has to offer Newcastle Business Village launched their brand new initiative, the 'Newcastle Business Hub' last week, supported by the Mayor of North Tyneside, Linda…

The Culture of Success Awards were created by Service Network to shout about the expertise, talent and passion in the North East region.  The judging criteria, unlike many other awards, aren't just about success in monetary terms - they evaluate the company's people and customer service,…

We're collecting lots of information here at Space on Tap about what's hot in the space market at the moment and, as importantly, what's not! Over the coming months we'll be sharing with you what our registered users and people who are searching for space at www.spaceontap.com are telling…

"In north-east England Space on Tap is filling a void that its founder believes nicely complements the Workhub model. The online service started out as a sideline to Jayne Graham’s home-based business consultancy and is increasingly taking up more of her working week. The inspiration…

At the recent Co-working Europe Conference Jacob Sayles, who runs Office Nomads in Seattle, talks about what co-working is, and what makes a great co-working space. CLICK HERE TO VIEW FULL INTERVIEW (You Tube) 

"What five years ago started unpredictably as a cross-over between a business center, a shared office and a cafe has become its own entity with a unique identity", say http://www.deskmag.com/.  "Coworking spaces can today be found in all cities where one can – or must…

From portacabins to caravans, we’re pretty familiar with the whole concept of shipping in a temporary structure on an ‘as and when’ basis. What has now emerged from today's portable society, however, is the 'POP-UP' culture; the concept of finding a structure that already…

Alison Freer of Thinkfreer was the lucky winner of a free copy of 'I Wish I Worked There!, by Kursty Groves in Space on Tap's 'Inspiring workspace' competition last month.  Here Alison reviews the book and talks about the elements she thinks are important in making workspace more…