Work Nimbly is observing national co-working month with a scavenger hunt that aims to get residents of the Historic Triangle out into their community.
The brainchild of owners Natalie Miller Moore, Gretchen Bedell and Jenn Haynes, Work Nimbly opened its doors almost one year ago to people in the area looking for a productive workplace setting from which to run their small businesses, work on independent projects or telecommute.
The idea behind Work Nimbly is that many people who lack a traditional workplace and would otherwise be working from home would actually benefit from having a distraction-free office space where they can bounce ideas off other people.
Another component of Work Nimbly’s mission is providing a space for collaboration and networking. In keeping with this goal, Moore decided to put together a small business-oriented “Hipster Hunt 2015.”
Up to four people age 21 and older can make up a team of scavenger hunters. The goal of the hunt is to earn points by completing a series of tasks that will take the participants around town.
More than 20 local businesses have signed on to take part in the scavenger hunt. Each business provides three actions that will earn points for your team.
Tasks can be as simple as “like us on Facebook” or as involved as asking participants to come out to the store and take a “selfie” with the mascot hidden somewhere on the premises. Each business provides a 1-point action, a 3-point action and a 5-point action, and hunters can pick and choose among the entire master list for what they want to complete.
The two-week period between Aug. 31 and Sept. 13 is the official window for participation, but interested parties can jump in and start earning points at any time within that window. No registration is required; teams must visit the Work Nimbly website to access the necessary forms and checklists, which will be turned in at the end of the competition.
The winning team will be awarded with “the best table in the house” at the Blue Talon for a free dinner, as well as tickets to the Williamsburg Gallery Crawl on Oct. 1.
The hope is the participating businesses will also come away from the contest feeling like winners. Many of the actions that participants will be asked to take involve promoting or spreading awareness of local businesses, like using special hashtags, “checking in” to businesses and posting pictures taken with store logos on social media.
“We want to use social media to not just get the participants to these small businesses, but to expose others,” Moore said. “It comes down to making sure people know these places exist so they can be aware of the cool stuff they are offering our community.”
