Inspired Meetup at Orlando Open Coffee Club of Catalyst

Dear Friends & Neighbors,

Catalyst-art work by Chelsea Chen (photographed by Windermere Sun-Susan Sun Nunamaker)

(Please click on red links & note magenta)

I‘ve been wanting to visit Orlando Open Coffee Club for over two months now because of its tagline, “Good coffee. Ideas. Entrepreneurs. Conversations”….something quite concise, inviting, and non-judgemental about this…so, despite the fact that I was up ’til 4:00 am with a deadline, I dragged myself to 1 S. Orange Ave., Fifth Floor, Orlando, FL  (where Orlando Open Coffee Club meets) on Tuesday morning. The fact that I’ve already RSVP’d may had something to do with it too. But morning fog and extra time it took to find the parking space delayed my arrival by 15-20 minutes. I was really tempted not to walk into that building….but the non-judgemental tagline convinced me to grow an extra layer of skin. One hour and forty-five minutes later, I walked out of that building feeling really fine about having grown that extra layer of skin.

Catalyst, up on the fifth floor of 1 S. Orange Ave., Orlando, FL, is a collaborative work space where entrepreneurs, startups, freelancers, creative professionals work, learn, engage, and I believe would thrive. I can see the appeal of shared workspace: small business owners with kids at home;  the fact that some entrepreneurs may need to meet clients at a professional setting in order to conduct business; last but not least is sharing experience with/from other entrepreneurs would be valuable. I am quite new at these meetup gatherings. Orlando Open Coffee Club is unique in that every participant is encouraged to present and exchange. In the process, new opportunities and new way of thinking in acquiring clients, business strategies, or even in better health are discussed. No topic is too sacred. I met 2 people from Brazil with new way for business travel at Bizairlines.com,  Michelle Bilegsaikhan of Keller Williams Advantage II Realty, Lora Lee Harmon of How To Grow Your Small Business, Elliott Johnson of Niveau Smart Energy, Bonnie Robin Charyn of Bonnie’s Puppet Palace, April Williams of World Financial Group, Chelsea Chen of move2create, Seth Rowlands from Keller Williams, Dominique Douglas of St. Johns Business Solution, Richard Licursi of venVelo, and Orlando Open Coffee Club organizer Dennis R. Pape of Catalyst and few others. Among them, there are new startup owners, authors, investors/VC (venture capitalists),  realtors, puppet master, web designer, business accelerator, and marketing people looking for potential leads and collaboration opportunities,  etc. As a matter of fact, Bonnie of Bonnie’s Puppet Palace may be able to help deliver singing telegram (for Valentines Day, Get Well wish, Birthday tunes,etc.) in addition to performing puppet shows for special holidays and birthday parties, and meet-and-greet.

Catalyst1-art work by Chelsea Chen at move2create.com (photographed by Windermere Sun-Susan Sun Nunamaker)

Organizer Dennis R. Pape in blue shirt at Catalyst (1 S. Orange Ave., Orlando, FL), Shared Workspace (credit: Windermere Sun-Susan Sun Nunamaker)

Brazilian with Bizairlines talking to Bonnie the Puppet Master at Catalyst (1 S. Orange Ave., Orlando, FL), Shared Workspace (credit: Windermere Sun-Susan Sun Nunamaker)

Bonnie Charyn of Bonnie’s Puppet Palace at Catalyst (1 S. Orange Ave., Orlando, FL), Shared Workspace (credit: Windermere Sun-Susan Sun Nunamaker)

Something about free exchange or  free coffee and bagels bringing out the willingness for people to interject their honest opinions….my lack of sleep or bringing out my iPad to share www.WindermereSun.com with others  made me chattier…I actually got some worthwhile and thoughtful comments/ suggestions. For a group of about a dozen, there are people from Brazil, Mongolia, California, and Florida, very interesting mix. For those of you with a preference for laid-back approach to meetup and/or those of you looking for potential work space, clients, worthwhile inputs, or leads, consider visiting Orlando Open Coffee Club at Catalyst on a Tuesday at 9:00 am. Check out their meeting time, date, and place via: Orlando Open Coffee Club meetup page. Be sure to give yourself at least 30 extra minutes for driving, walking, and parking time because Catalyst is located in center of downtown Orlando. Be sure to obtain business cards from those who attend the meetup and google them after the meet so to have a better understanding of what their organizations represent. I noticed some of the realtors have their photos on their business cards. It’s also a good idea to have your photo at your web site under “About” since it has been known (years ago) that an employee of a company somewhere not in Florida actually tried to impersonate as the president of a company.

Lastly, always inquire if you may contribute something to the group, either in person or via online at the meetup page (usually in the left margin by clicking on the green box labeled “Chip in” if a meetup group is accepting contribution.  Usually my preference is paying with cash in person or via paypal. But in my lack-of-sleep state, I forgot to make my contribution in person. I’ll have to make it up later. Wish more meetup groups would accept paypal so I could have paid in advance and not have to worry about carrying cash.

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