Dear MCC Community,

Five years ago, I took the entrepreneurial plunge – you know, that moment when you trade a steady paycheck for a steady stream of "what-ifs" and wake up as your own boss (read: janitor, accountant, IT department, and occasional therapist).

But here's the thing about this wild ride – it's been worth every anxiety-inducing tax season and every time we had to close our third location after an ambitious but ultimately unsuccessful expansion. Okay, so that one only happened once. Thankfully. What started as a business has grown into something far more meaningful: a refuge from the modern epidemic of disconnection.

Let's talk about loneliness for a second. We're living in an era where we're more "connected" than ever, yet somehow feeling more isolated. The irony isn't lost on me that I'm writing this on a device designed to help us connect, probably while you're reading it on yours. But that's exactly why spaces like ours matter so much.

In five years I’ve watched: 

• Engineering firms and attorneys expand their big city practices to serve smaller communities like Medford with an office at MCC

• Semi-retired professionals find a work home for their new thriving part-time practices (court reporters, therapists and more) 

• Small business owners serving our community as travel agents, insurance brokers, financial advisors, to name a few…

• Local non-profits and service-based orgs host monthly, quarterly, and annual planning retreats in our homey conference rooms, meeting spaces, and gathering areas 

• Remote employees working for non-local companies but choosing to live in Southern Oregon and making their work home with us! 

• 6 art shows in our art gallery, participating in the thriving art scene of Downtown Medford 

• 1000+ professionals who've made MCC their workspace over the years

• 312 pounds of Cerberus coffee consumed yearly

• And countless new members who've chosen Southern Oregon for its unique balance of opportunity and lifestyle. 

The reward isn't in the revenue (though it’s nice to see the debt pile grow smaller as the space ages!) – it's in creating a space where the antidote to loneliness isn't just a desk and WiFi, but the genuine human connections that happen when we share space, stories, and occasionally crisis-level coffee runs.

To everyone who's been part of this journey – whether you've been here since day one or just joined last week – thank you. Thank you for making our space more than just four walls and some strategically placed plants (though let's be honest, those plants have seen things).

As we move into year six, my promise remains the same: to keep building a place where work feels less like work and more like coming home. Except cleaner. And with better coffee. And fewer dishes.

Here's to us and to whatever comes next.

With gratitude, coffee stains, and only minor ezeep-related PTSD, 

Abigail

MCC founder Abigail (center) with Rebecca (left) and Tara (right) from the supported employment team at Living Opportunities.

We are so proud and deeply honored to partner with the local nonprofit, Living Opportunities, which was founded in 1974 to support people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Their mission is to support people with intellectual and developmental disabilities to live in the same neighborhoods, work for the same employers, and share in the same experiences to which we all aspire.

Recently, Medford Cowork Collective was highlighted for our work by the Oregon APSE (Association of People Supporting Employment First) with a Southern Oregon Employer Award. It is given for demonstrating a commitment to supported employment, increasing representation of employees with disabilities, and having gone above and beyond in supporting Employment First's mission of employment for all!

Thank you so much to Living Opportunities for nominating us — we couldn’t be happier about partnering with them. Our MCC Hospitality Host, Wyatt, comes to us from Living Opportunities and he has been a fabulous addition to our team. His bright spirit, can-do attitude, and ceaseless smile make everyone around him happier. Check out the video below which gives a behind-the-scenes look at a typical work day for Wyatt.

Living Opportunities is a phenomenal local nonprofit doing amazing work in the Rogue Valley to  create a welcoming community that embraces individuality and passionately supports and empowers people. If you’d like to learn more or get involved, find more information about Living Opportunities on their website.

A behind-the-scenes peek at a day in the life of MCC’s Hospitality Host, Wyatt Thorpe. Video shot and edited by Living Opportunities job coach, Shani.

We are fresh into the NEW — new year, new goals, new dreams, new resolutions… join the gym, 10x your business, and kickstart your morning routine! I can picture the pom-poms and “you can do it” sticky notes on all the MCC desks now.

But here’s the thing, reflection isn’t just that thing you do as the December weeks wane. It’s a vitally important practice to cultivate all year long.

That’s easier said than done though, right? Whether you have distance learning kids driving you batty, a slow internet connection that makes working a struggle, or a snack-filled pantry that is perpetually calling your name, finding your flow with day-to-day work can be a struggle, let alone blocking out time for reflection.

How do we actually learn new skills though? How do we increase our performance? How do we create the experiences we want in our lives and our businesses? What makes us successful in these endeavors?

According to research from the Harvard Business School, “learning from direct experience can be more effective if coupled with reflection—that is, the intentional attempt to synthesize, abstract, and articulate the key lessons taught by experience.”

We all face new challenges every single day. We have to break down walls, move through our own resistances to gain new skills. We put in time, energy, effort, and sometimes tears. And here’s the thing… according to that same study “reflecting on what has been learned makes experience more productive.”

This means that all that time, energy, money, effort invested doesn’t go to waste. In fact, it’s the opposite; it gets put to better use and our experiences are more fruitful when we reflect on the learning and growth they’ve given us.

“The more you reflect, the more what you learn sticks, the greater success you have, and the higher your confidence. ”

And finally, “reflection builds one's confidence in the ability to achieve a goal (i.e., self-efficacy), which in turn translates into higher rates of learning.” We learn better and faster, and have more confidence in our skills, when we reflect on the learning experiences we’ve had. The more you reflect, the more what you learn sticks, the greater success you have, and the higher your confidence. Sounds like a win-win-win to me.

Given all of this, how will you make reflection a regular part of your life?

Some easy ideas include doing a daily or weekly review of what you accomplished, what worked, and what could use improvement.

You can also choose a few key business metrics and every month or quarter do a deep dive to see where your business stands.

As you reflect, it can be helpful to have internal space to get clear on your own opinions and thoughts without the influence of others. We recommend booking a conference room for a few hours or a day pass at MCC. Enjoy the free locally-roasted coffee and productivity vibes. Get out of the chaos at home, turn off your phone, and go inward.

Only then should you reach out to those close to you. Involve your work team or business partners in reflection. Make it a regular ritual that fosters growth as well as connection. Ask your significant other to do a relationship review. Reflection can foster togetherness and get everyone on the same page.

Ultimately, reflection is a tool to serve your continued growth forward. You don’t want to get lost in the past or beat yourself up about how things went or could have gone. Instead, use reflection as the tool that it is. Non-judgmentally evaluate what worked, what didn’t, and where you want to go from there.

As any navigator will tell you, you can’t chart a course forward without knowing where you are now. Reflection makes sure that you know where you’re at at any point in time, so as you continually refine your goals, you are grounded in where you’ve been and where you are.

If you haven’t sat down for some intentional reflection of late, we recommend giving our new Reflect and Succeed Guide a try. Book that conference room with us or create some space at home. Treat this time like an intimate date with someone special — perhaps grab something fancy from Beerworks, light some candles, get your very favorite takeout (may we suggest Common Block or Over Easy), or simply binge on that awesome free MCC coffee. And, obviously, put your phone on do-not-disturb.

This Guide was built to review 2020 and create goals for 2021, but the exercises and practices are not limited to these points in time. They can be used however and whenever it serves you.

With guided goal-setting, a full system visualization, and mindful exercises for clarity and awareness, this Guide is different from most. You get to reflect and engage your whole self in the life and business you want to create. Make it your own and let the reflection begin.

Medford Cowork Collective and Virtual Main Street mourn the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Tony McDade, and countless other Black people at the hands of police. We stand resolutely for peace, justice, accountability, and fair treatment of our Black community members and all people of color. Standing in solidarity with the victims of systemic racism and their families, we are committed to taking action against racism and discrimination in all its forms. The humanity and dignity of Black people must be honored and respected in our coworking space, on Main Street, in Medford, and in the United States. Black lives matter.

Protest in downtown Medford, June 6, 2020. Photo by Travis Toll.

“Every seven minutes, a Black person dies prematurely in the United States,” says social scientist David R. Williams citing extensive data.  

These deaths are not random. Black drivers are 30% more likely to be pulled over than white drivers. Black people make up 40% of our prison population, despite being only 13% of our total population. The statistics are staggering on any metric. This is not correlation without causation. There is a direct throughline between surveillance of Black people and law enforcement. 

Laws that suppress Black people are peppered throughout the history of America, in so many directions, that it’s led to racism within housing, employment, schooling, imprisonment, entertainment, and everywhere else.

We invite you to take action

Demand accountability from our leaders and law enforcement. Policy reform can lead to justice. For example, Portland Commissioner JoAnn Hardesty is calling on us to reach out to state legislators to amend Oregon’s Officers’ Bill of Rights (ORS 236.360), the state law that protects officers engaged in misconduct.

This is a big part of American history. And Oregon history.

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Read more about sundown laws and Medford here. Protest in downtown Medford, June 6, 2020. Photo by Travis Toll.

“Oregon was founded on the notion of creating a racist white utopia and on the removal, exploitation, or exclusion of all people of color,” writes historian and reporter Walidah Imarisha. We cannot forget that we established a Black exclusion law in 1844, criminalizing the “very presence of Black people in the Pacific Northwest.” Oregon did not drop racial discrimination from the constitution until 1927 (less than a century ago). It is no surprise that sundown signs were present in Jackson County until the 1960s. 

As a result of structural racism, Black people are significantly more likely to contract COVID-19. In fact, “racial inequities actually exist not only for COVID-19, but for almost every disease,” David R. Williams says. The coronavirus “is simply becoming a magnifying glass that helps us to see some longstanding shortfalls in health that have existed for minority populations.” Systemic racism has created social policies, favoritism, prejudice, and fear that “have created pervasive social and economic inequities in the United States.”

Williams’ research on the Everyday Discrimination Scale captures ways in which the dignity and the respect of people who society does not value is chipped away on a daily basis. Systemic racism is killing Black lives, and Black-owned businesses. The system isn’t broken. The system is rigged. 

We have watched from our downtown Medford coworking space as hundreds of protestors have shown up, day after day, for the last week, to peacefully protest against racial injustice, and for racial equality. We stand with the protestors (literally and metaphorically) in this cause. Racism and racial inequality is deeply embedded in our society, and the advantages of feeling safe are routinely denied to people of color, whether shopping, walking in a park, jogging, or exercising the right to be heard. Injustices are further compounded by health disadvantages, and institutional barriers to wealth and business building. As a community of entrepreneurs, we grieve this historical inequality. I, Abigail, personally acknowledge the racism and implicit bias embedded in me.

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Caption: Protest in downtown Medford, June 6, 2020. Photo by Travis Toll.

Resources for Progress

It is important that white Oregonians do the work. “The opposite of ‘racist’ isn’t ‘not racist,’ it is ‘antiracist,’” writes Ibram X. Kendi in How to Be an Antiracist. Medford Cowork Collective challenges our white members and community to realize our privilege and do our own research: 

• Become allies in the fight for racial injustice

• Recognize and denounce utilitarianism,

• Actively consume anti-racist resources. 

• Take a pause before posting about our work -- performative wokeness is not helpful.

MCC’s commitments

In addition to the work we do internally, our community of entrepreneurs also is making these changes.

CONFERENCE ROOM CREDITS: Local groups creating programming and resources to eliminate racial inequality can apply to use our conference and meeting room spaces free of charge. To get more info on this program, sign up here. 

DONATIONS: MCC is a for-profit business, and while I hid under the “we are still paying off our start up debt” as an excuse to not start paying it forward, it is one of the most effective ways to empower and elevate a voice besides my own. For the months of July, August, and September, I commit to giving away 3% of gross membership revenue to the organizations outlined below.

For 2020 Q4, I will ask our membership community to help shape our giving, and invite members and the greater Medford community to participate in a matching campaign. Our community’s structural foundation must be built upon sharing our community resources with others, especially those impacted by institutional racial barriers.

Entrepreneurs face multiple barriers when it comes to starting and growing successful businesses. But as a Black or minority-owned business, those barriers are compounded by institutional and racial barriers. Our ecosystems and economies will not thrive if we continue to leave out Black entrepreneurs from narratives, funding efforts, programs, and initiatives.

CODE2040: Code2040 is a nonprofit activating, connecting, and mobilizing the largest racial equity community in tech to dismantle the structural barriers that prevent the full participation and leadership of Black and Latinx technologists in the innovation economy. Through events, trainings, early-career programs, and knowledge sharing, Code2040 equips Black and Latinx technologists and their allies with the tools, connections, and care they need to advocate for and achieve racial equity in the tech industry.

Accion: Accion is a nonprofit, community organization dedicated to helping small business owners succeed and thrive. We provide fairly priced, flexible loans to a diverse group of entrepreneurs. In fact, over 60% of our borrowers come from minority communities. Getting financing for a small business can be difficult, and securing the capital needed to start or grow a small business can be even tougher for minority-owned businesses and minority entrepreneurs. Despite that, minority-owned businesses have been growing at twice the national average, and immigrants are nearly twice as likely as native-born Americans to start businesses. Accion is committed to helping minority-owned businesses.

Outcomes matter

We are committed to continuing to listen, learn, talk, and act to dismantle racism. We will continue to roll out events, strategies, and funding to work towards this goal. Reach out with your ideas for collective action.