“I really want our community to understand what a co-working space is,” stated Fenika Miller, non-profit leader and community activist.
Miller is a Houston County native. She is an alumna of ‘The’ Fort Valley State University and an electoral organizer in 26 counties. After a 20-year career of being a real estate property manager, Miller explains how she walked away in Dec. 2019 to pursue a ‘God given’ business.
“I stepped out on faith and launched this business of self-empowerment for black women and girls,” she said.
Miller says that co-working space is a shared workspace that is a nice place to meet clients and a space for networking and collaborating with people in similar industries.
“There is a lack of information and resources for black and brown entrepreneurs, particularly in Houston County,” said Miller. She plans to serve African American women a core function and meet a need that she said does not exist in the area with the new coming of a co-working space.
Succeed.Co is a co-working space that Miller is bringing to Houston County targeting and focusing particularly on women of color. The co-working space will be a place for African American women that may be local college students, remote workers, professionals, and solopreneurs of all ages. She says that having this space will provide the resources and tools necessary to succeed.
“This is the first co-working space in Houston County,” stated Miller.
Miller added that there are a lot of young African American women entrepreneurs, and the ages 25-45 are the women that are targeted for this co-working space. However, she says that there is a ‘Wee Succeed’ program offered for youth entrepreneurs that will highlight and feature ages 18 and under girls with different programming.
“Programming connects them to other entrepreneurs who look just like them and that are under the age of 18,” Miller explained.
She aims to provide a safe space to grow African American women businesses, along with give them the opportunity to network and collaborate their growth in business.
“Black women are the fastest growing entrepreneurs in the nation,” she stated. “These statistics apply to the state of Georgia.” According to Miller, Houston County is the only county in the region that has experienced population growth where 52% of the population is women.
It will feature a wide range of programs including hosting speakers to assist with raising awareness on things such as entrepreneurship, financial literacy and how black women and girls should be self-sufficient and self-reliant.
A bonus to being a safe workspace, Miller says that there will be an atmosphere where women can be their authentic selves. “You won’t have to shrink for anyone,” she said.
“We have a lounge like atmosphere within our co-working community…” stated Miller. Hot-desk and Wi-Fi will be available. There will be student day passes for women who just may want to pop-in.
The co-working space will include conference rooms and space areas for events such as ‘pop-up shops’ that will be available to rent. “Tiers are $49 to $100 depending on how much time used while renting,” Miller said.
There will be products and merchants available where the women will have the opportunity to barter for services.
Hot desk mail services are $19 a month and will provide business owners with a business address where their merchandise can be delivered to the center instead of using an actual home address.
Miller said that COVID-19 slowed things down; however, the goal is to have a ‘soft-launch’ opening of Succeed.Co in mid-October 2020.
“If you’re going to start a business in this window and season, there’s a huge opportunity for us to start and sustain our business,” says Miller, “but we have to do it the right way.”
Visit www.succeedcowork.com to sign up to be on the email lists for updates on upcoming events and follow on social media platforms.
HHJ News
