One Year On: How a Conversation at SPACE4 Sparked a Whole New Chapter

Williamz Omope’s Story:

A memory popped up on my social media stories this week, the Creatives + Cooperatives event at SPACE4. Hard to believe it is already been a year. At the time, I walked in not fully knowing what to expect. Rae Goddard had invited me to speak about freelancing and collaboration, and me and Rae had been exploring the idea of creating some kind of freelance cooperative. It felt like the right thing to show up and be part of that conversation.

What I did not know was that showing up that evening would completely reshape the next twelve months of my journey.

That event was the first time I met Natasha, from SPACE4. One conversation turned into a meeting. That meeting turned into a proposal – a weekly job club delivered through W.O. Consultancy, bringing laptops, digital skills and employability to the people of Finsbury Park. Before long, our Friday Finsbury Park Job Club at SPACE4 became the beginning of something bigger than any of us imagined.

Now, one year on, the Job Club has become a real anchor for the community. It has become a space for learning, confidence building, digital inclusion and genuine connection. I am genuinely proud of how far we have come in such a short space of time, and proud of how W.O. Consultancy has grown through strong partnerships and trust.

The ripple effects have been powerful.

I also had the chance to sit down with Bernie J Mitchell for a Coworking Values podcast episode about building a consultancy and this whole SPACE4 chapter. He told me it became his most listened to episode this year. Moments like that remind me how important it is to share the journey as it unfolds.

We are now preparing for the next step, expanding Fridays into Digital Fridays at SPACE4. There is a lot more coming, and I will share those details soon, but the vision is growing.

Through all of this, I have come to appreciate SPACE4 not only as a venue but as a community of thinkers, doers, makers, organisers and creatives. Every Friday, I look forward to being in that environment, hearing people’s stories, exchanging ideas and building something meaningful together.