Design Won’t Replace Care: Why People Still Matter Most
Every improvement we’ve ever made at The Hub has started with a conversation. In a world focused on AI, technology and beautifully designed workspaces, I’ve been reflecting on why listening, relationships and genuine care still matter most.
The Myth Of The Fully Flexible Workday
Flexible work was supposed to make life easier. But for many people, flexibility without enough structure or support has quietly become fragmentation. A reflection on modern work, cognitive overload and the environments that help people work more sustainably.
The Small Things That Quietly Make Work Easier
Modern work isn’t just shaped by productivity systems and technology. It’s shaped by caring responsibilities, invisible mental load, flexibility and the environments surrounding us every day. Suzanne Murdock reflects on real life capacity, neighbourhood coworking and the small things that quietly make work easier.
Keeping things local isn’t always the safer option. But sometimes it’s the truer one.
What running a neighbourhood coworking space in Newry reveals about cross-border business, compliance realities and the quiet support structures small enterprises rely on every day. Over the past while I’ve found myself thinking more intentionally about what it means to keep a coworking space local. Not just geographically l
When Ambition Isn’t the Problem
Why sustainable micro business design starts with your real-life capacity, not others’ expectations. If you run a micro or small business, you may recognise this feeling… I’ve been telling myself for a while now that I feel lost, but the more I sit with that feeling, the more I realise I am not lost at […]
Small business owners don’t lack ambition, they lack capacity
I was genuinely delighted to be invited to take part in #SMESafari in #Warrenpoint, hosted by Warrenpoint Credit Union, alongside Emma Jones CBE and her team. What struck me most throughout the day was just how familiar so many of the stories felt. Different sectors, different stages of business and yet the same underlying the
The Hidden Pressures of Running a Coworking Space
From the outside, running a coworking space can look deceptively simple. Open the doors, fill the desks, and let the community take care of itself. But anyone who has ever run an independent or neighbourhood coworking space knows that behind every thriving workspace is an operator quietly carrying an enormous and often invisib
Leading With Heart: Creating People Centric Coworking & Flex Workspaces
I was delighted to be a guest on the Baseworx’s Flex That Worx podcast for an open and thoughtful conversation about what it really takes to create people-centric coworking and flexible workspaces. Hosted by Graham Clarke and Anne-Marie Murphy, this episode goes beyond design trends and productivity metrics to explore th
What Small Business Really Looks Like: Voices From the Inside
Welcome to this special episode of Powering Productivity, created in celebration of Small Business Saturday and our place in the UK’s SmallBiz100. Over the past few years, I’ve had the privilege of sitting with founders, freelancers, independent coworking operators, community leaders and small teams, all people who’v
S4. Ep.12 Leading With Heart: The Emotional Realities of Coworking Leadership, with Lucy McInally
What it really takes to run a coworking space without running yourself into the ground. From the outside, running a coworking space can look beautifully simple: open the doors, fill the desks, host a few events and “let community happen”. But for most independent and local operators, the reality is far heavier and far more
Scaling With Heart: Mantle’s Growth to 8 Sites While Staying People-First, with Jo Hart
What does it really take to scale a coworking business without losing the soul of what made it special in the first place? In this episode of Powering Productivity, I’m joined by Jo Hart, who has been at the heart of Mantle Space’s growth from a single serviced-office centre to eight thriving locations across the […
When Productivity Advice Meets Real Life – A Conversation with Bernie Mitchell on the Coworking Values Podcast
If you’ve ever felt smothered by productivity advice that doesn’t quite match the realities of running a coworking hub or micro business, this conversation will feel like a deep exhale. In this guest episode of the Coworking Values Podcast, I sit down with Bernie Mitchell – long-time champion of the European coworkin
S4E10 Quiet Strength: How Introverted Founders Build Community, Cashflow & Belonging in Neighbourhood Coworking, with Melissa Richards
What does it really take to build a thriving neighbourhood coworking space as an introverted founder especially when you’re juggling cashflow, confidence, and community in equal measure? In this episode of Powering Productivity, Suzanne sits down with Melissa Richards, founder of Buick Mackane, a vibrant creative coworking,
Building a sustainable business that fits real life – lessons from The Hub Newry
When I started The Hub, I didn’t have a big team, endless hours, or family down the road to lean on when things got lonely or overwhelming. I’d moved from South London to Northern Ireland as a new parent, in a new place, without family nearby or reliable childcare. My husband was originally from here, […]
Finding freedom in frameworks: Why structure isn’t the enemy of flow
If you run a small business or lead a coworking space, you already know that structure & systems can be a double-edged word. You crave it the rhythm, the calm, the sense of knowing where things fit but it can really go against the whole human led feel of your business. Yet for all its […]
What Makes The Hub Newry Unique – A People First Coworking Space in Newry
As we head into November, we’ve been reflecting on what really makes The Hub Newry unique and how it all began. When we first opened The Hub back in 2012, coworking wasn’t really a thing here in Newry. We just knew there were people like freelancers, start-ups, small teams all trying to build something meaningful, [&hellip
