I’m the founder of Cohere Coworking and I had my second child a few months ago. This baby is rocking my world in a couple of different ways. First, she is empirically adorable, which has saved her life a few times at 2 am and second, she makes it almost impossible for me to return to work.
Between her on-DEMAND nursing schedule, my sleep deprivation and the fact that she is the complete opposite of my first child has made getting back to work a task I just can’t tick off my list.
If I hated my job this would be a non-issue but I LOVE WORKING AT COHERE. The socialization, laughter and seeing my friends is just the balm this tired mama needs. It makes me realize that I have quite a bit more power than the usual employee because I can take action to solve this for myself and for many of my members.
At my recent work conference (attending which was so complicated with a baby it’s a whole ‘nuther post) I learned about Nanno. It’s an on-demand nanny service that some coworking spaces are experimenting with. What caught my eye about Nanno is that they are founded in Denver and their vetting process is unmatched. In fact, only 60% of people who apply to be nannies with them actually make the cut. I like those stats.
I’ve always written off childcare in coworking spaces as a non-starter, a thing that is not achievable and a thing we just don’t have the space to pull off. In fact, there is a whole list of places that have tried integrating the two and have shuttered their doors. There are a handful of places pulling it off but they are few and far between.
When I really broke down WHY, WHERE and HOW Cohere could add childcare it came together pretty easily.
WHY: Necessity continues to be the mother of innovation. I can only attend Cohere events if all the stars align and the feeding/napping schedule is just right, my husband is in-town and a grandma is nearby. But what if I could BRING THE BABY with me and leave her with a trained professional for a hour? This removed all the nursing variables and if she’s crying, well, that’s what nannies are used to right? It also saves me in commute time. Due to her aggressive feeding schedule, by the time I drive to and from work I can only spend about 40 minutes at work. Lame.
I started to ponder if this was the case for other parents and it absolutely is. There are parents who are working remotely or doing part time jobs only during nap time. These are smart capable people reduced to 30-90 minute bursts of productivity. It’s silly.
WHERE: Cohere is spread over 5 floors and while it usually annoys me, it turns out to be a boon for putting a bunch of kids in a room for a couple of hours. When I started to think of our large conference room as more of an on-site family room things started to take shape. What if we put the kids in there with trained nannies?! It’s sparsely furnished so we don’t have to worry about climbers nor breaking anything technical like members’ computers. There is also a restroom right outside the room so PERFECTO.
HOW: I couldn’t get on the phone with Nanno fast enough. Not only will they come to coworking spaces to cover childcare for events, they will also extend a discount for their services to ALL COHERIANS to use whenever they need some extra help. I will add some outlet covers, a baby gate in front of the stairs and some door closures and viola we’ll have a kid-proof safe space in a matter of minutes for about $40 in supplies.
Nanno assures me that they only need 48 hours advance notice on how many kids will be there and they will send a nanny squad to take care of the brood while we socialize upstairs.
For our pilot of this program, I am going to cover the cost of the Nanno nannies for any member who wants to attend the first event, a happy hour. I’m anxious to see how it works and figure out how to get parents back to our community by solving the greatest barrier to extracurricular activities.
If you want to be a part of our childcare experience, request a tour (you can bring your kids) and then join by June 1st!