Member Sarah Jane shares her story of how she came to join Cohere and ended up starting a business

I don’t think I was born to be an entrepreneur.  You know how you’ll meet those people, and they say to you within 5 minutes, “I was born to be an entrepreneur?”.  I think they’re crazy.  And maybe they are.  I think it takes a little crazy to be an entrepreneur.

As for me, I like security.  I like having a plan.  I like knowing where things are going. That’s why I’ve always had the traditional 9 to 5 day job.  And it sort of worked for a while.

And then I got laid off.

The day I lost my job, I packed up my things, did my “thanks for the opportunity” speech, and drove immediately to Cohere.

In hindsight, I really have no idea what I was thinking. I just knew that for several months I had been stalking Cohere and its members online.  I liked those people.  A lot.  They seemed like my people!  They were funny and witty and smart and interesting, and I’ll admit it, I had a total Cohere crush.

I showed up that day, and before you knew it, I had a membership.  It started with this idea that I would just hang out until my next gig.  But then people started talking to me, asking about what I was interested in, what my skills were, what I was passionate about.  Within 2 paid coworking days (that’s less than $38 investment), Angel offered to make an introduction between me and someone else who is passionate about food like I am.  One lunch later I started doing some work, the exact kind of work I had spent hours at the old job daydreaming about.   I started to get comfortable to try to do the work I’ve always wanted to do.  Thinking, I just might be able to make it work.

In the weeks since, I’ve cannonballed into this entrepreneur thing, loving every minute of it. Each time I’ve started to panic, or needed a template for a business plan, or wanted to ask for input on a business name, I’ve gotten support from the community.

See, a Cohere membership, to me, really has little to do with our great space, amenities or wifi.  It’s really about the people, the personalities and the energy of this space.  Could I have started a business at home?  For certain.  Would I have?  Absolutely not. I needed the encouragement, support and community that coworking at Cohere provides.  Simply put, I needed a little help.  Help I’ve found in abundance at Cohere.

If you’ve ever thought about trying things out on your own or are still trying to figure out what coworking is/does for people, I strongly urge you to come join us for a day.

As for me, I’m hard at work. Things are starting to fall nicely into place.  I’m working more than ever.  And I’m loving every minute of it.