As 2021 comes to a close, we can again say, “what a year.”
The challenges were real, folks. It was a roller coaster ride in more ways than one. And while it’s easy to focus on the lows, we want to highlight the good things that happened around the SOCO community.
It’s a bit of a “family tradition” around here. Once a month, we have #winningwednesdays which we use as a time for members to share the awesome stuff in their life (business or personal). And once a year, we ask them to tell us what they’re most proud of over the last 12-months.
The answers cover a broad spectrum of accomplishments. But the common theme is this: these folks did incredible things over the past year, like freelance copywriter Cat Treme, who kept her business going (and thriving) while caregiving for her parents.
Or Mary Cate Spires, who wrote a book that’s scheduled for publishing in 2022. We love to see our folks be recognized for their hard work.
Others, like Amanda Goforth and Jeremy Tong, landed new jobs (working remotely at SOCO 🙌) with companies they’re really excited about.
And SOCO’s own Whitney Balish blew through her reading goal of 60 books (“I’m sorry, did you say 60”)? And read 78 books as of the publishing of this article (her highest total ever).
Yours truly (Ben Culbreth), quit the 9-to-5 life to become a full-time freelance writer.
These are just a few examples of what members are up to. From building new companies to leading non-profits, we’ve got a pretty amazing group of people who call this community home.
We don’t like to talk about ourselves too much, but we’d be remiss, not to mention a few things we’re proud of.
First, we welcomed two new team members; the aforementioned super reader, Whitney Balish, who’s leading our sales and business development efforts, and Hannah Lee, who manages operations and makes sure the workspaces work the way they’re supposed to.
For the first time since SOCO 80808 opened, we participated in Vista Lights and welcomed more than 1,000 people to our humble abode in one evening.
We invested blood, sweat, and maybe a few tears into the GrowCo Growth Summit and continued to fulfill one of our values by supporting the entrepreneurial community.
At 80808, we made some home improvements by enclosing offices to give members a better experience to do their best work. In addition, we upgraded seating at both locations and added outdoor lighting. In short, we have the best work infrastructure in the city (Seriously, it’s really awesome).
And gave back; SOCO members lead the way by donating more jackets and coats, which will keep local students warm this winter than any other group participating. We have Dawn Dawson-House to thank for getting us involved.
It’s been a long year. But we’ve battled through a pandemic and many other things, and we’re still here. We’ll continue to support the good people who choose to be part of SOCO. We’ll tell powerful stories and hopefully offer the advice and insight that will make you better at what you do and a better human.
Nothing in life is a given. Not for one second do we take for granted the opportunity we have to serve people who are doing work that is changing our city and the world. Whatever 2022 throws our way, we’re ready. And we hope you’ll be right there beside us.