I’m not sure where I originally heard this quote but it’s always stuck with me.
“One day can change your life forever, so all life really consists of is 4 or 5 major days that completely change everything.”
4 or 5 days seems really small to me. We can only hope to have many more than that. And when I think about it, I think I’ve been fortunate to have already had a few of those days.
This last year was filled with building and what seemed like milestone after milestone. Little wins (days) seemed to add up to bigger and bigger days. Sometimes big days start as just a small conversation, but only when looked at in retrospect do you really realize those big days actually occurred and the impact they ultimately had.
In 2014, Think Big and I had several big days, to name a few;
- We decided to grow Think Big Coworking by moving to 1712 Main.
- The day I heard Mayor James say we were going to move forward with working on the Smart City Initiative.
- A Couple of newly formed partnerships yet to be announced.
- I was honored by the Kansas City Busines Journal as a Next Gen Leader.
- The Social Smokers won the Kansas State Championship in BBQ Brisket at Lenexa BBQ.
Time will tell if these days actually add up to meaning something in the grand scheme of things. But, I think today (or January 5th, 2015 depending on when you’re reading this) could be one of those days that definitely changes things.
I’m excited for today. We move into our new Coworking campus at 1712 Main Street.
If you’re not familiar with Coworking spaces, they are kind of like a gym, but for entrepreneurs and with lots of amenities meant to save entrepreneurs and their employees time and educational classes.
The building is a beautifully restored historic building that is 43,000 square feet and right on the new Street Car line.
Its location is also prime for work, as we are surrounded with hundreds (a parking garage and a parking lot) of parking spots for our members. The building is also outfitted with the latest in networking gear from Cisco. Simply put, it’s awesome.
We occupy 3 floors, 1 for open coworking and event space, another for our employees and overflow coworking, and a co-office floor for growing startups. Our portfolio company Eyeverify is taking the 5th floor. And a fast growing solar company will occupy the remaining 2 floors.
1712 will be a place for opportunity. A place where you will sit next to your next developer, designer, accountant, […insert any other freelance service provider you could think of here.]
It expands on what has evolved from the community at the 1800 Baltimore space. I can’t wait to see how the community and network will continue to grow with a bigger and better space.
I’m excited not only for what it means personally, but for our team at Think Big, and to our partners… Most of all, I’m excited for Kansas City.
I’ve lived downtown since 2008 and it’s been amazing to see downtown grow up. It’s a place where so many entrepreneurs and pioneers see nothing but opportunity all around. We’ve all seen the lists, Kansas City is hot! I think this space is another “feather in the hat” of Kansas City, a large community space for entrepreneurs is something “big cities” have. We just got one today.
I think the next 18 months are going be an amazing ride full of growth.
I’m looking forward to seeing what 2015 has in store,
P.S. We’d love it if you Coworked with us at 1712 Main. There are only 1 or 2 open private offices left, but plenty of open coworking memberships to be had.
P.P.S. I’m challenging myself to write more in 2015, I’m not sure how this is going to evolve, but I’m committed to it. I’ll be writing about what we do at Think Big, the projects I’m working on, what I’m reading, startup life, mindfulness, competitive BBQ and whatever else strikes me or I get feedback on. Sign up for my newsletter here or at the top of the page.
