Enjoy this guest post from coworker Kristin Mastre on how coworking gave her much needed balance between being a stay at home mom and a small business owner. Having my cake and eating it too.
The other day, my kids and I were attending a birthday party for one of my older son’s preschool friends. As the kids were running around jumping in bounce houses and sliding down slides, another mom and I had a chance to chat.
“Congrats on all of the progress you’ve made with work! You deserve it. You’ve worked really hard. There are quite a few moms around town who are envious that you have it all. You have a balance of staying at home, but still working in a career both at the same time. A lot of people wish they could do the same.”
It was an incredibly flattering compliment, and it wouldn’t have gotten it without the help from my fellow coworking space members. I can live that double life while night coworking. I do have a great balance with home and work. I get to take my boys to everything they want to do – karate classes, attend school field trips and park days; I also plan meetings, collaborate and grow my business and passion. I get to have my cake and eat it too. Being a work-at-home-mom is isolating and frustrating, often times feeling like you’re talking to yourself (or the walls). When I was at my lowest point in motherhood, I joined a moms group and became an active member, essentially saving my sanity. When becoming an entrepreneur, it seemed like a natural step to join a coworking space to network with other professionals. Fortunately, my coworking space had the best membership for me where I could still keep my flexible work-at-home lifestyle and cowork with other local freelancers at the same time. It’s great! One night a week I leave the boys at home with their dad so they can have “boys party”, watching movies and eating popcorn. They enjoy sharing their special bonding time together. I get to pack up and head off to coworking where I get an incredible amount of work done while forming business relationships that are taking my career to the next level. Without my membership, my business growth would take a lot longer, not having those vital professional connections. Also, my kids would be missing out on some important one-on-one time with their dad. We really do have the perfect balance that way and it wasn’t difficult to obtain, thanks to night coworking.
This is sooooooo cool! Way to go! I have 2 year old twin girls and run my own company as well. Coworking communities offer a great option for Moms like us. Thanks for writing this. Another great resource for working moms and anyone interested in sharing office space can be found online at https://www.SharedBusinessSpace.com.