Sister duo Tammira(l) and TeKesha(r) started The Cube Cowork in 2016 to remove the barrier of childcare for mom entrepreneurs. Now, the space has expanded from just 1,200 square feet to 15,000. (Courtesy Photo)
By Megan Sayles,
AFRO Business Writer
Report for America Corps Member
msayles@afro.com
Seven years ago, Tammira Lucas was running her own consulting business while also raising her daughter. Four-year-old Ryann was born into entrepreneurship. Both of her parents owned businesses, so she was understanding when her mother and father had work to do.
However, Lucas felt guilty every time her daughter was forced to sit with her iPad while she and husband were working.
In 2016, she opened The Cube Cowork with her sister in Baltimore County to ensure that entrepreneurial mothers like herself would not have to choose between having a career and raising a family. The coworking space provides affordable babysitting services to remove the barrier of childcare for parent entrepreneurs.
Now, The Cube Cowork has relocated to Baltimore City and expanded from a 1,200-square-foot space to 15,000 square feet, making it the largest Black-women-owned coworking space in the United States. On Oct. 23, the company will celebrate its ribbon-cutting and grand opening at the new Harford Road location.
“I’m from West Baltimore and the odds of me being anything besides a drug dealer were against me every single day that I walked outside of my house being a single mother raising five children under the poverty level,” said Lucas. “I want people to know that if I can do it— living in extreme poverty and coming out of extreme poverty— they can also do it.”
With the expansion, The Cube Cowork will be able to add private offices, meeting rooms and an event space, and its new play area is about four times the size of the old one. The space will also offer free business workshops.
The ultimate vision is to cultivate an environment where community can be built and the voices of Black mom entrepreneurs can be amplified, helping them to elevate their businesses and build generational wealth in the Black community.
According to Lucas, there tends to be a stigma associated with moms starting their own businesses. The entrepreneur even faced it herself when launching The Cube Cowork. Many people told her she would not achieve success because she had a young child.
“Not only is my goal to bridge that gap in the economic resources that are available for moms, but it’s also to reduce the inequities that are placed upon us as mothers, especially Black mothers,” said Lucas.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, The Cube Cowork employed grandparents to babysit the children in addition to its regular staff, but, as a precautionary measure, the business has stepped away from that. Once the world returns to normalcy, Lucas hopes to partner with various senior programs so they can supervise the youth again.
For the mothers out there who have a desire to start their own business but are hesitant because of their children, Lucas had one question: “Do you want your children to see the mom that didn’t step out and follow their dream, or do you want your children to see the mom that took a chance to better the livelihood of her children?”
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