This free time being alone provided me an opportunity to reflect upon some of the amazing feedback I have received in starting an IT focused Architectural Association in Atlantic Canada. Here is a brief summary;
- Have daytime meetings... Atlantic Canada IT professionals are much more likely to participate in professional type events during the day.
- Don't start an association in December... The Atlantic Canadians are focused on family and December is a month of family and friends.
- Use online tools like Google Hangouts more frequently... people are interested in participating, getting together face-to-face creates a huge barrier. Particularly for those who don't live downtown St. John's.
- Be patient, people express interest... but actually getting them out to participate is difficult.
- Some people are willing to put in considerable effort in supporting this idea. They will make introductions and reach out with very relevant resources.
- I have had 14 serious inquiries from three of four Atlantic Provinces and the traffic coming into my blog posts on the idea is well over 400 views.
Even though I am alone in the Georgetown Pub, I am still very encouraged by the interest I have had in the idea...
Next Steps;
- Continue to build community.
- Have face-to-face meetings downtown during the day.
- Prepare for online hangouts. Consider having themes with speakers.
- Reach-back to experts offering assistance.
- Keep the vision, hold the space!
