Why Your Business Needs You to Join a Co-working Space
It was an ordinary day when my partner, Ryan got a phone call.
I would later refer to this call as the moment that shifted our lives into the before and the after.
Just four days before the call Ryan and I had signed a lease on our dream apartment. Stainless steel appliances, walk-in closets, an extra bedroom, and a balcony overlooking state preserved land. Having come from New York City, the fact that all that didn’t cost $10K+ a month wrapped up the dream in a beautiful little bow.
Ryan had been working seasonally as the manager of a floatplane operation in Alaska for about five years. Six months on, six months off. But the time away affected his life in a variety of ways (lack of balance, being away for family and friends’ life milestones) and he decided to give it up.
Then, the call.
The guy they hired to replace Ryan was so horrendous at the job they called back in desperation.
“Please, we’ll do anything,” they told him, “We’ll double your salary. Name your conditions. We need you back.”
I’ll never forget the color of his face when he hung up.
“Aaron called, they want me back.” Ryan looked at me, waiting for my response.
“Aaron who?” I knew who Aaron was. I was stalling. I wanted to live another second in the before.
Ryan had referred to the work in Alaska as grueling. Seven days a week, fifteen hour days for a full six months, working with perpetually angry tourists and having more than 200 lives in his hands every day (floatplanes are not known for being safe). But the mountains, the fishing, the environment made it all worth it for him.
After a few weeks of pros and cons lists, we decided to go.
He would go back to managing the operation and they hired me to be the bookkeeper and office manager.
There I was, having worked in fashion editorial in New York City, now in Merrill hiking boots and Carhartt pants, living in the tiny village of King Salmon outside of Katmai National Park, Alaska.
The experience was remarkable. But just like Ryan described, the work was grueling.
When the six months were over, I needed a beach, warm weather, and most importantly, community.
I ended up in Bali, Indonesia at the Dojo co-working and co-living
It was everything I needed to pull my head out of the Katmai fog. Spending a month in a co-working space and a community of travelers impacted my mental health and growth of my business in invaluable ways. I needed to kick it into high gear and quickly. The single most effective way to do that was to find a co-working space.
Alaska was Ryan’s haven. But for me, though an experience I wouldn’t trade for anything, presented a lot of mental health obstacles. It was hard to stay positive. I didn’t have a tribe. I didn’t have time to build websites. I didn’t have anything I needed to keep myself well-rounded and happy.
When I booked my stay at the Dojo in Bali, I didn’t realize I was doing the absolute best thing for myself in finding a co-working space right away. I didn’t have to pretend to like fishing to be included in conversations (you can imagine the extent I had to go to in Alaska just to make a few friends). I didn’t have to pretend to be anything other than me.
My first step when I’m in a new place: find a tribe. And when you’re running a business remotely, your tribe is at a co-working space. Now, in Charlotte, my tribe is at Advent.
