Business & Networking ClubAmsterdam Coworkers Meetup
Hi I'm Ben, organizer of the Amsterdam Coworking meetup. Remote workers, freelancers, and consultants who found that working from home doesn't have to be lonely—but also that after-work networking events aren't the answer. We meet weekly in central Amsterdam, mornings to afternoons, to share space and work alongside each other. Coworkers without the office.
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I've always considered myself an introvert, but after years as a freelancer, working from home, I felt like I was going insane.
Staring at a screen all day, with no in-person contact with other people takes a toll. It makes you detached, lonely, ruins your self-esteem. Looking at the perfect stories of people on social media didn't help either.
I tried going to meetups, but it didn't help that they were all in the evening, all involve some form of alcohol and agendas. I just wanted to work on my stuff and not be alone in my home. I went to cafes and coworking spaces, but people there just dive into their work and don't talk to each other. This way I'm spending money just to be where I already was.
Then I saw a post on Reddit: "Work from home is driving me crazy. Let's get together and work in the same space!". I was overjoyed! I was not alone feeling like this. Problem was: the post was made for people living in Stockholm.
Then I thought: Why couldn't I organize something? I never organized anything before beyond a holiday. I thought: organizing events is for extroverts and professionals. What would I be doing organizing?
But I thought what the hell and made a post about the same thing, but for Amsterdam. I didn't expect any replies, but figured it's worth a shot.
The response was OVERWHELMING. Dozens of people responded the same day, sharing their desire to work in the same space.
And thus the Amsterdam Coworking Meetup was born. The first event 4 people showed up, the next 6, the one after, 7.
Many people from the first few weeks are still with us weekly, after 1.5 years of almost weekly meetups — and we're always happy to welcome new faces.
This has become more than a meetup for me and is now a group of trusted friends. Turns out I was an extrovert all along and bringing together people with positive energy is what I'm passionate about.
