Out of the House Coworking
Meet the Members for March highlights a wonderful work alternative here in Pemberton, Out of the House Coworking. Tanitha shares her story:
Originally from Port Hardy, BC, I grew up and lived in various communities in the Fraser Valley and Lower Mainland of BC, before settling on the Sunshine Coast and starting our family. We sold our house and most of our things, and spent about 2 years trying out “RV living,” half stationary and half adventuring with our two young kids in Canada, the US and Mexico. We weren’t sure where we would end up, but upon coming to visit Bryn’s parents in Pemberton and learning that his dad could use him in his electrical contracting business, we decided to stay and have lived in Pemberton for nearly five years. We have three boys and love spending time outdoors with so many beautiful spots to explore in our own backyard.
We took the leap and opened Out of the House Coworking space on the heels of life getting back to “normal” after so much had changed during Covid. As previous and current service based business owners operating from home, we knew we didn’t know exactly what we were getting into with a brick and mortar business – but felt that a coworking space was much needed in Pemberton. We were motivated by the practical side of having a great work facility for the many remote workers and entrepreneurs, as well as visitors to the community, and also the many intangible benefits of coworking such as creating community, combating the isolation that can set in when working alone from home, and the fresh inspiration that comes when you switch up your environment.
The biggest challenge for us in operating our business really has been time. We are at a very busy phase of life with a young family and both of our other work and businesses, so figuring out how to make the day to day operations work on a semi-automated system was a top priority. I think we’ve found a decent balance, and are always looking for ways to improve things in the pockets of time we have here and there.
The greatest reward by far, has been hearing from our members how having access to coworking has benefitted their lives in various ways. For some it has been productivity and a place to focus, or somewhere professional to host meetings, and most of our members have also mentioned how much it benefits their mental health and overall wellbeing to be around other people more regularly. We love that so much!
We are coming up on our second anniversary in March. It took time to get some traction, but we have seen a substantial uptick in the last 9 months. We have a great set-up that includes monitors on most desks, a couple of sit/stand desks, fast wifi, printing for members, events area, a small meeting room, a basic kitchen including bottomless coffee and tea, and a phone booth for calls and videos. We have a wonderful group of core members and there is definitely still room for more!
If you are curious and want to give coworking a try, please get in touch to book a complimentary trial day. We have a varirty of flexible membership options, from occasional to daily use. We hope to COWORK with you soon!
Learn more about COWORKING
