Running a small business or creative venture often starts with passion. You have an idea, a skill, or a vision—and you dive in. But as you move from “I think this could work” to “I’m building something real,” there’s one question that becomes more and more important: WHAT’S THE PLAN?
At Stoke, we are all about community. From our values of inclusivity and authenticity, to the way our staff know our members personally, to the work that we do to support entrepreneurs in Denton - we put people first.
At Stoke, we are all about community. From our values of inclusivity and authenticity, to the way our staff know our members personally, to the work that we do to support entrepreneurs in Denton - we put people first.
We’re highlighting the business owners in our 2024-25 AccelerateHER Denton Cohort. Learn more about these amazing entrepreneurs and the stories behind their businesses.
We’re highlighting the business owners in our 2024-25 AccelerateHER Denton Cohort. Learn more about these amazing entrepreneurs and the stories behind their businesses.
Tuesday, April 7th for Coffee + Convo, we chatted with Juli James, the cofounder of two ed tech companies, Playable Media and Wildcards, and professor at UNT in the Mayborn School of Journalism teaching game design, digital media, and digital design + journalism. We talked about how she balances her side hustles, main gig, and life outside of/alongside work. She shared with us a few things to identify and implement for our wellbeing as we live the hustle.
Need help starting to plan your business or in the middle of preparing to launch your startup? You might find that having someone to act as a sounding board or hearing from a person who’s been in your shoes before is just what you need to begin or keep going. Whoever fills roles such as these could be considered a mentor.
You have the Sunday blues, dreading Monday and the work week. You’re exhausted just thinking about the upcoming meetings and calls that you’ve scheduled out for yourself. You tell yourself, “this is the dream!” but you’re still yawning. The work that you once approached enthusiastically now seems to require cups of coffee just to open and respond to the emails in your inbox.
Maybe these are exaggerations, or maybe it’s your reality.
Whether you’re an employer, an employee, or self-employed, burnout can have serious consequences for your productivity and work performance, making the difference between operating a thriving business or one that will have to close its doors.
In a coworking space, you’ll find people working diligently on their individual businesses, projects, and endeavors while sharing workspace. The idea of a shared workspace is often associated with misconceptions like it’s too noisy, only entrepreneurs and startups work in coworking spaces, and membership is too expensive.
We’re exploring how to develop and engage in a supportive company culture for the future of work and to strengthen teams in distributed workforces. We sat down for a talk with Ryan Plauche, Software Engineer with satellite software startup Kubos, who worked remotely from Stoke but had to transition to working from home during Texas’ stay at home order.
We sat down in a Zoom call for a Coffee + Convo session with Emile Stewart, founder and owner of Wildflower Art Studio, where Amazon best-selling calligraphy and brush-lettering kits are packaged and shipped off to help fuel creativity in people across the world.
We’re revisiting and combining a couple of previously published Stoke blogs, Workplace Wellness: Take a Break and To Sit or To Stand: How To Choose & Use A Standing Desk to deliver this blog to you that’s pertinent to the times. Whether your team has gone entirely remote, or you’re working at the office still (while practicing the appropriate amount of hand-washing and social distancing of course), take these tips for workplace wellness and and add a few into your routine.
We’re elaborating on the tips that we published in 5 Tips For Starting a Small Business in Denton (linked) in a new series!
Let’s face it: working remotely or from home can be challenging as much as it can be enjoyable. Sometimes the nature of your work (updating your client on project progress face-to-face, perhaps) requires you to step out and find a different space. Or, you’re a remote worker who has the freedom to travel and work from anywhere, which is great, until you need a place with impenetrably secure and reliable internet and zero distractions/noise to check in with your supervisor or team.
Studies have shown that standing desks are beneficial to your health, and can increase workplace productivity and your own creativity. Increased blood flow while standing = better brain power.
On the other hand, being on your feet the entire day can also be detrimental to your health and is linked to heart disease. What’s the happy medium?
Read a summary of what attendees learned at Stoke’s February Lunch + Learn, lead by Dr. Christopher Harris, assistant professor in the College of Business at Texas Woman’s University and Human Resources expert. Topics covered included recruitment and selection, onboarding, keeping personnel files, creating an employee handbook, and an overview of labor laws pertaining to small businesses.
Coworking spaces bring together professionals from diverse backgrounds who are working for themselves, on a remote or small team, or starting their own business. Members in coworking spaces can offer their expertise, insight or resource recommendations during planned social events or organically, during a coffee break or over lunch.
