If you ever doubt the power of people, you haven’t been to Philly. This weekend I attended the one-year anniversary bash of Indy Hall in cool “Old City” Philly, PA.

Ever-clever Indy Hall founder and coworking guru Alex Hillman convinced some fine folks to sponsor the food and booze. The drink tickets and apps were endless and no one was shy about digging in. It was a real treat for me to meet some of the folks that I’ve been connecting with online, particularly Alex, Tony “Be Goode” Bacigalupo of New Work City (among other things) and marketing soc-med “it” girl and bleach blond coworking soul sista Tara Hunt. The coworking crew vets have been a tremendous help for me and my partner with group88.

The party was a kicked back good time and it also totally kicked my creativity in the butt about a few projects that are cooking. I’m so jazzed to be a part of the coworking movement, however small my contribution. I’m also really psyched I could meet some killer smarties. We chilled, we laughed, we philosophized, we drank, we ate (who can go wrong with piles of chicken on a stick teepees?) we watched Alex break every glass in the joint, we drew phallic symbols, we gave up the woohoo shoutouts when called for, we snapped shots (some to be flickred, some not), we made bets of which I am sure to win, we got cool free T-shirts and we made plans to kill the corporate world with coworking.

I’m sure I’ll forget someone, and I apologize in advance, but I have to mention a few guys and gals that really made the night for me and have inspired me to get my arse in gear on a few things . . .

Alex: You kill when it comes to getting schnizit done and motivating others. I can’t wait to see what you can do. Just make sure you do it in a plastic cup because glass is just not your bag baby.

Tony: Do us all a favor and stop drawing phallic symbols. I don’t know what biology class you took but that teacher has some explaining to do. I can’t wait to hash out Indie Mentorship with you, Alex and the crew. Interning, schminterning!

Tara: Strength, beauty and vision. I cannot wait for your book release party!

Erica: You are the ultimate image connection girl. In just seconds you gave me tons to think about, and hopefully a great solution to our videoconferencing woes via Oovoo.

Bart: Careful with the Sniffy Sniff. You’re just a little toooo into it.

Jonathan: Your five bucks is in the mail. Dang it!

Mark: Tell your mom I said hi.

Geoff: I am still seriously impressed that you called up “group88″ as soon as I introduced myself. If you ever find yourself back in Stafford looking up your ancestry, give me a shout.

Carlos: Good ideas with the corporate training. We’ll chat soon for sure.

Kevin: At some point we’ll chat about our approaches to brand strategy for our clients. I would really like to be more of a wing it strategist, at least partly, and I’m sure we can swap ideas about adding a bit more structure to your process (or help you get a process if needbe).

Blake: You’re sure to make a name for yourself and Anthillz is a great start.

Rachel: Keep on spreading that energy girl, hot pink hair and all.

There were tons more folks that I’m not mentioning but to all of you at the Indy Hall bash, I just want to say thanks for welcoming me with such open arms. This event has encouraged me to increase my travel budget. Connecting online is great for every day mojo. Connecting face to face is the only way to take my creative mojo up to the next notch.

Today I was a contestant in an Elevator Pitch Contest sponsored by CT Showcase and Microsoft.

There were about 25 of us competing. I decided to pitch my other biz, group88, for the contest. All were small biz folk and ranged from my pal Cherie Griffith-Dunne of VLO Group Northeast who is on a mission to bring affordable but sleek houses to the underserved market of young professionals and the winner of the contest, Dori DeCarlo of S1 Bags who produces see-through bags and backpacks that helps make security check-throughs a breeze for travelers and high school kids.

The first contestant was a cookie lady who brought props, a.k.a. cookies! She handed them out to the judges and the entire room. Dang it! I half thought of running into the back room to grab the tray of fruit for my pitch but I couldn’t figure out how to make the connection from cantaloupe to coworking. The cookie lady was pretty good but I have to say she quickly fell into a classic mode of thinking, “well, I’ve 60 seconds so I might as well fill it right to the brim.” Kind of like a big cookie that has chocolate chips, pecans, butterscotch, craisins and dates. The cookie was great until you hit the craisins. And the dates were just not necessary at all.

Some folks were pretty seasoned pitchers. Others had tons of hootzpah and will be great if they keep at it. I was somewhere in the middle. The night before the pitch session, I was meeting with my top client and I had the chance to bounce my pitch off of them. They had some great feedback which I incorporated. Being able to verbalize my pitch outloud the night before was just what I needed to juice up my confidence and tighten up my goods.

Here was my pitch (although somewhat morphed because verbally it was a bit more cas):

“Hi, my name is Suzi Edwards and I’m with group88. group88 is a community of independent professionals on a mission to stay independent. At our facility in Simsbury, we share work and meeting space, office equipment, wifi, coffee and knowledge. Our members are freelancers, ecomm entrepreneurs, laptop loungers and road warriors. Starting at just $18 per day, members can use group88 when they need it: either 1 or 2 days per month or every day. You can find us at www.group88.us or call us at 860.658.4888. Our motto at group88 is, ‘hey, if you can work from anywhere, why not here?”’

Blech. Well, it was okay but I could have done better and this is how:

“Hi, my name is Suzi Edwards and I’m with group88. group88 is a community of independent professionals on a mission to stay independent. At our facility in Simsbury, we share work and meeting space, office equipment, video conferencing, wifi, coffee and knowledge. Our members include a doctor venturing into ecommerce, a marketing consultant, an executive search professional and other mobile workers. Our relaxed but professional environment helps solo professionals break the chains of solitary confinement and save on the costs of working solo. Starting at just $18 per day, members can use group88 when they need it. Some members drop in 2 days per week and others come and go when they need it. You can find us .88 miles from the Avon line on Route 10 in Simsbury. Check us out at www.group88.us or call us at 860.658.4888. Like we always say at group88, ‘If you can work from anywhere, why not here?”’

In listening to the other pitchers, I have to say that I see three top elements to a great pitch:

1) Pain Point: You need to express pain with pleasure. Connect with your audience by presenting the problem, a.k.a. “pain,” and the solution that will take the pain away. My pitch still needs help on this one but I’m getting there. John Stroiney from Microsoft, our host, picked his personal fav as the winner, Dori, because she hit the pain and solution points perfectly.

2) Illustration: Use stories and examples. Any time your audience can visualize how your schnizit rolls, you can take them 5 more steps into understanding what you offer. The third place winner was Princess Bola Adelani of Royal Proclamations. She was the only person to make personal contact with the judges. She walked right up to them, shook their hands and walked down the table to make direct eye contact with each of them. With her passionate words and interaction, she killed the judges and the crowd.

3) Clarity: Say what you mean and do it 30 seconds or less. Don’t say that you “build relationships” (which I did not hear today thankfully) or that you “provide solutions.” Terms like that mean nothing and get you nowhere darn fast.

So, I didn’t win. But, that’s okay. Dori, the gal that did win, totally blew us all to bits and she deserved it. It was definitely worth my time. I made some great connections and learned some good tricks. I might even steal the idea for a group88 event. The cookie lady will be invited for sure.

To Connecticut businesses big and small: where are you? A small scant of you I met this morning at Connecticut Business Day (if there was more information on this event, I’d link to it). Others are skimming this post and asking, “what is Connecticut Business Day?” Sounds impressive doesn’t it? It’s really less of an event and more like a half day of discussion and stale danish.

I didn’t know Connecticut Business Day existed until I attended a Simsbury Chamber of Commerce event last week. I also didn’t know what to expect. I attended the open session to hear Governor Rell and legislators speak about the top priorities in Connecticut business. Mission accomplished. I also attended with the intention of raising my hand to ask Gov. Rell if any incentives or programs are being discussed to support the growth and unrelocation of mobile and solo entrepreneurs. Oops.

Well, I missed my chance with the governor but I was able to pose the question to Rep. Kevin Witkos (Avon, CT) and we also had a quick chat about coworking. Kevin will be one of our first group88 speakers and seemed jazzed about the idea. I also had a half-second drive-by chat with the ever-effervescent Rep. Rob Simmons, Connecticut’s Business Advocate. I will be taking Rob up on his offer of 15 minutes of his time (your place or his), and hope to get his thoughts on how we can introduce Connecticut to coworking and other new ways that entrepreneurs are doing business.

Walking out of Connecticut Business Day (which, by the way, is from 7:30-noonish, so not so much of a “day”), I felt both inspired to get more involved with the state (did I just say that outloud?) and edgy about possible outcomes from upcoming sessions: either paralyzation of possible incentives or overreaction of useless mandates. Below are a list of action points discussed and WallFly’s review categorized as “Inspired” or “Tired”:

High-tech Corridor – TIRED: Discussion of this state’s wish to be nano-pioneers and the mayor of high-tech is great but what communities are we building for innovators? We have pockets of innovation via Yale, CCAT, UConn, CCSU and others. Resources, programs and seed/investment dollars are available. What we lack is real-world connections and initiatives that move at the pace of business versus government. Government needs to understand the unique mojo of young entrepreneurs. The new mobile, home-based and start-up workforce requires different environments, culture and interaction. Unfortunately, I feel like that by the time government gets it, the trends will have moved on.

Many times today, I heard “You entrepreneurs need to reach out and get involved. Talk to us. Tell us what you need.” All true, we do need to get more invovled. But, to be candid, the Connecticut government needs to work on its rep for newbies to even consider reaching out. If you are new to entrepreneurship, the word on the street is that state government will slow you down and pain up the process of doing business. Is it true? Honestly, I don’t know. The few folks I’ve met in the state are sharp and very helpful. Is the state my first choice when I need help? No. Last summer I presented the idea of coworking to one state-funded org. Discussions were encouraging and there were many Hollywood “yes’s” about the project. But, eight months later, I’m still waiting to hear if they’re going to move forward.

Transportation – INSPIRED: If you’re not trapped under something heavy during the hours of 7a.m. to 6p.m., driving in this state is an issue for you. Gov. Rell gets this. Her recent proposal to split the DOT may or may not be the best answer but at least the discussion will (fingers crossed) lead to a real reorg. As State Senator John McKinney commented, the best solution for transforming the DOT is up for grabs right now but, one thing is for sure: “the answer is not more roads.”

Energy – TIRED: There are no energy-related bills on the table this year. The state is currently implementing and “administering” the building of transmission lines so any other discussions on energy is apparently not a priority. Connecticut has the highest energy costs in the nation. According to State Senator Donald Williams, we pay $300-500 billion in energy costs due to out-of-state purchases and then paying for it all year long. Rep. Larry Cafero told the story of a business who increased prices 75% to cover the cost of his skyrocketing electric bill. He also discussed a recent article in Expansion Management magazine that ranked Connecticut as 50th in attractive business-friendly political climates. How is it possible that energy and cost-reduction measures are NOT a priority?!

Health Plan – INSPIRED & TIRED: Gov. Rell discussed her Charter Oak Plan (insurance for those of us in the gap – i.e., one of this state’s primary workforces) and her distress on this bill (and others) that will “break the bank.” Her original proposal would cost the state $15 million while the current proposal on the table is peaking at $15 billion. Ouch.

Entity Tax Repeal – INSPIRED: Okay, it’s only $250, but for a tax that did nothing except take money out of our pockets, I think we can all be happy to say goodbye to that one.

Overall, Gov. Rell’s message is to be “cautious and realistic” as we bear through this thing that her advisors are afraid to call a recession. I agree with cutting costs, for sure. But being “cautious” doesn’t exactly fit right. Yesterday was the 75th anniversary of FDR’s famous “the only we have to fear is fear itself” first inaugural speech. For those kids out there who have heard the “fear itself” quip many times, he was not talking about Al Queda. He was talking about beating the Great Depression and building a vibrant economy that required action and didn’t bow to self-fulfilling financial doom prophecy. Today it’s true that our economy is built on stilts right now. However, if we don’t move forward and be aggressive and smart, we are sure to fall on our face.

I hope to meet with more legislators to discuss the new business environment. If there is any mandate out there to discuss, it should be the requirement of new businesses to meet with government in some fashion. Talk all you want about inactivity or overactivity in state government, until we all make our Who voices heard to the Hortons at the Legislative Office Building on Capitol Ave., can we really complain about it?

A few months ago, I wrote about the Coworking trend and gave Betahouse a bit of flack for structuring their Coworking space versus going the hippie “free love for all” path that most casual groups have adopted. Time to eat my words.

I am currently embarking on helping The Donaldson Group, a very cool Simsbury, CT design and ad agency, set up a structured Coworking space within their building. The space has 2,500 square feet, a kitchen, bathrooms and raw space that will be outfitted with office areas, conference rooms and open hang-out corners for us couch potatoes.

We’re looking to build the space with the folks that will join the group. We want a mix of 4-5 anchors (members that have dedicated office space) and floaters (mobile workers who plan on using the space part-time). Currently, we’re conducting market research to garner interest level from various industries. Ideally, we would like an environment that mixes industry – IT, creatives, road warriors, start-ups, legal beagles – anyone that is interesting in networking outside their circles and requires office space that won’t kill their budget.

Know of anyone in the Simsbury, Farmington, West Hartford, Avon areas that might be interested in joining? Contact me at suzi[at]wallflymarketing.com.

The latest thing in networking and working, if you haven’t heard, is Jelly. Started by Amit Gupta of ChangeThis and BarCamp fame, Jelly-type gatherings bring solo entreprenuers and freelancers together to work out of somone’s home once a week or whenever. The result is a mutt environment of social hanging out, idea storming and actual working - all sans office politics.

Jelly is the hippie, laidback sister-in-law to the evergrowing Coworking trend where independents pay to come and go at jointly-funded office space. A local example of this is Betahouse in Boston. From what I’ve heard, the slots are for established techies versus just-starting-outs. A colleague of mine is dying to get in to Betahouse because of the networking potential. I’m sure Betahouse serves its renters well but the whole concept of how this developed intrigues me. I am always fascinated by how trends take shape and sometimes morph into the very thing they were getting away from. In this case, one of the goals of creating non-traditional work spaces through Coworking was to stave off office politics and create an open environment. Betahouse only has so many desks (12, I believe). It makes sense that they would limit those slots to folks that would most benefit from working in close quarters, but by channeling the networking, has an environment of exclusivity been created, similar to those found in traditional office politics? This isn’t a rhetorical question, I’m really asking. If anyone in Betahouse or any other Coworking space stumbles on this post, I’d like your thoughts.

Note that I have no idea if someone would be turned away from Betahouse if they didn’t fit the typical characteristics of that crowd - and, if they did, so be it. They have every right to do whatever they want with their rental space. I just find the evolution of certain types of social networking intriguing. No matter how organic an idea begins, it’s bound to get formalized. Rules follow, opinions clash and pretty soon bloggers like me start jumping all over it.

Pals of mine recently started a Jelly in Connecticut, Jam At Work, and so far I’ve only attended one afternoon. I liked it - I actually did get some work done and had a few laughs in the process. I’m sure I’ll return in the future. I doubt, however, that I will rent a coworking space anytime soon but I won’t discount it down the road.

I could start a jam or jelly or preserves of my own. Of course, this would require me to keep my dining room table free of papers, coffee mugs and random items that seem to crawl up out of nowhere. On second thought, I’ll preserve my workspace and keep the jelly in the fridge.