Oh the craziness of life that allows us to put tasks on a To-Do list and promptly ignore them. Such is the life of someone trying to blog while opening a third business. Trying to cram family life, learning business skills and juggling volunteering leaves little time for the all important word share. But maybe at this time of night, when my house and brain are quiet, is a good time to talk about something else on my To-Do / Done list. My other house. The one I’m opening up to you.
AtMyOfficeCanada.ca officially opened on May 1st (see previous post about that conundrum) and I’ve been promoting as only a solopreneur can do. Which means all over social media, to my fledgling email list, my networking groups and soon the Burlington Chamber of Commerce. I must admit I feel slightly more legit as a business person having joined the Chamber. Weird but true. Wednesday, May 20th will be a big deal for me. I’m opening my house up to the public.
Now I’ve shared pictures and told stories about the genesis of AMOC. I’ve had a few friends come in and give it the once over. I’ve had service providers and mentors and all kinds of folks come by to see what I’m trying to build. Thank goodness the feedback has been very positive – friendly, warm, professional, inviting. All fabulous. My current tenants are very happy, thanks goodness, but they were also the previous tenants so they’ve been through the change with me. But this Wednesday feels different. It feels like I’m opening my second home and laying it out for people. This feeling is so new to me that I’m struggling to even describe what it feels like.
I’ve put more effort, sweat and stubbornness in to building this business than I’ve ever done before. This office space that I’m building for others is also an extension of what I’d like to see in a work space and perhaps that is the weird feeling. It might not be obvious to others but I’ve tried my best to put in personal touches so that the space doesn’t feel sterile and cookie cutter. And now I’m inviting people in to see and judge and decide. After all that’s what I started it for: people.
What kind of people? People like me and not like me. People building a business and people scaling their business back. People who provide services, who move products, who build things, who talk for a living, who design for others and who’ve decided that doing that requires a certain type of space for their business. People who hopefully like Thor and the Avengers in the lunch room. People who appreciate different types of teas and coffees that won’t fit in a Keurig. People who, like me, are learning what their business needs and what it can do without.
It’s like the first time you invite a new friend over to your home. You think what you’ve decorated and lived in for so many years is just the bee’s knees. It expresses who you are and shares a private part of your life that people you network with or clients who you meet in coffee shops will never see. It’s that step towards creating a relationship on a bit of a deeper level. At least that’s what inviting someone in to my home means to me.
So what’s my point? I guess May 20th is my invitation to take a relationship to a different level. For people to choose to be a part of the community I’m trying to build with At My Office Canada. I don’t think of the office space I’ve created and decorated (yes, there is Thor) as an impersonal, business only situation. I think of it as the first step to a relationship that will hopefully make it on to a To-Do list for you. Why? Well, what I’d like to offer you and your business is a lot less crazy, a little more getting done and a lot more fabulous.
Originally posted on Rub Elbows with MCV in April 2015.