It’s been a while since I’ve written a blog post…not for lack of inspiration! Perhaps more for lack of words – and time – if I’m really honest. There are seasons of rest and seasons of building. This summer has been a season of building including these 5 developments.
1) Building our Team
We’ve built our team with the addition of our Co-Founder, Heather Nerem. Meeting Heather a year ago was a divine appointment on many levels. She is a strong woman of God with a passion for soul care and a vision to help women find rest in their Creator. In the three years of developing the initial Creative Habitat blog, coaching resources, and workshops, I have interviewed and talked to hundreds of women who are becoming moms or starting businesses or both for the first time. In my initial conversations with Heather, it became abundantly clear, we share the same vision.
We each bring a different perspective and skill set, but the heart is the same – to serve women in their creative giftings by providing quality childcare and coworking resources to bless busy moms with time and space to focus on their unique talents and gifts and a tangible community of support. We aim to use our “Triple T’s” (time, talent, and treasure) to create space for women to tap into theirs.
2) Building our Summer Co-Op Program
In June, we launched our Summer Childcare Co-Op Pilot Program in West Des Moines serving 9 moms and 13 kids! Our innovative approach to childcare and coworking has allowed us to partner with the DSM Children’s Museum, Valley Community Center, and the West Des Moines Library. It has been a joy to see this vision come to fruition and get to know the amazing moms and kids who “took a chance” on a new concept. This is one of the reasons we love working with and serving entrepreneurial moms, because they are willing to “try something new” and grow with us. If you are a current co-op member, thank you for believing in us the way we believe in you!
3) Building our Coaching Capacity
After 3 years of contemplating becoming a Gallup Certified Strengths Coach, I finally took the leap and attended an intensive week long training to ensure we are applying industry best practices to our coaching resources for mompreneurs. Gallup is a global leader in talent development, workplace engagement, and strengths-based coaching and we now offer Gallup’s proven strengths coaching resources in our leadership development curriculum, childcare curriculum, and individual and team coaching.
4) Building our Outreach
This past year felt akin to jumping into the deep end and floundering a bit before learning the key strokes. Fortunately, we had a few lessons on how to stay afloat while we navigated our new environment. We have learned how to “tread water and hold our breath” for each new lap in this 800 meter race – AKA the business development process. Good news is, we are officially recognized by the IRS as a 501(c)3 which was a big milestone in legitimizing our mission and starting to build more awareness in our community.
5) Building in Margin
By joining forces, Heather, my mom and I have multiplied our ability to serve more with less. Like many of you, we are all in busy life seasons as well (Heather and I both have 2 young kids) and my mom just got married, moved, and is embarking on a whole new chapter! We all value work/life balance and try to live our mission and values by carving our consistent time to rest amidst the busyness of doing life. We have experienced God’s extension of time, grace and provision by prioritizing margin, even in a busy building season.
Speaking of margin, I am writing this blog after 2 weeks of soul care and “rest”oration. With God’s blessing, I purposely stepped away from my normal routine to prepare my heart for the next round of building! As summer fades to fall, we rejoice because fall means harvest and we are ready to harvest all that has been sown for His glory (John 4:35)!
As always, wishing you creative and refueling days ahead.