My "ah ha" moment.

The concept of coworkHERS deeply resonated with me, giving me chills; it was an "ah ha" moment, in Oprah's words.

In 2014, we purchased the building where coworkHERS is presently located through an auction. This was made possible by selling a large apartment building at the base of Munjoy Hill. We invested the proceeds in the historic Masonic Temple building on Congress Street, home to the Maine Attorney General’s office, Bayside Print, and a few other tenants. The executive office and retail shop for the then-named Maine Red Claws basketball team, now known as the Maine Celtics, occupied the space where coworkHERS first opened.

The still vacant sixth floor has over 8,000 sqft of stunning views overlooking downtown Portland, City Hall, and the ocean. The space is flooded with sunlight, thanks to the high windows, and the charm of the old brick fireplaces on the east and west sides of the building adds to its beauty. Every floor of the building also has a walk-in vault. Behind every heavy steel door lies a wall of tall black lockers surrounded by brick walls at least 17’ high. Each locker is handpainted with gold numbers and has an old-fashioned combination safe-like dial. Several of the lockers remain locked to this day.

At the time of purchase, less than half of the vast building was occupied, and the rest came with furniture and file cabinets from a law firm that occupied the top three floors for 60 years. They vacated the premises when the building was sold, took their client files, and left everything else behind.

We were left with numerous oversized wooden desks and perhaps 100 bulky metal file cabinets built into the mazes of hallways on each floor. The challenge of disposing of them in a world focused on digital documentation has proven difficult. We still have dozens of them on the vacant sixth floor, which has become a holding area for junk I can’t seem to sell on the Facebook Marketplace.

We did advertise the available floors, hoping another law firm would appreciate the built-in file cabinets and move right in. However, we soon discovered that attracting great tenants was more challenging than anticipated. Fortunately, we secured the firm Thompson Bowie and Hatch on the fifth floor, leaving only the third and sixth floors to be filled.

During our discussion on what to do about filling the building, I proposed a strategy of leasing out individual offices to multiple tenants, gradually filling up the vacant floor one tenant at a time. I knew this was in the realm of coworking, and although I had heard about coworking spaces in town, I wasn't well-informed about them.

My first thought was, could Portland support another coworking space? I knew of 3 others in town, and I was afraid the market was already tapped. However, I soon had an idea. "What if we focused on working women?" I thought. "And what if we made it more than just an office? A destination where women could socialize, do activities, attend workshops, make friends, and work alongside each other." 

However, I soon began to question whether it was legally acceptable to exclude men from the space and focus solely on women. So, I researched and discovered that other coworking spaces across the country did just that. This inspired me even more, and I became excited about the concept. Okay, I was very pumped, and that’s when that “ah ha” moment hit me because if they could do it, I could also create a place like this right here in Portland, Maine.

Since opening, my philosophy of focusing only on women has shifted for several reasons. Every coworking space is different; they all have a different vibe, and sometimes, the vibe is bro-heavy and masculine, which can feel intimidating or unsafe for any marginalized group. I even heard a story of a man getting hit on by another man in a coworking space, and he felt uncomfortable, so he came to us.

There is a time and place for that sort of thing. I feel, just like the gym, that your workspace should be a safe space where you can focus and not worry about eyes on you or that if you’re dressed a certain way, you’ll attract unwanted attention, or if you sit on a couch next to someone it’s not that you’re “into them,” and if you accept an invitation for coffee that there is no hidden agenda. 

Here at coworkHERS that’s all we want. To work, to feel safe, to make friends, to separate home life from workspace, to find balance, and to be a part of a community.