What Happens When You Get Evicted
After 15 years at our West End location, ERG has been asked to move out of our 4th Street headquarters office space. Our landlord needs to make a change and is going to make an apartment out of our office. Sigh…
Hope and I walked in this space 15 years ago and didn’t really know what we were about to do. When the landlord asked us what we did, we looked at each other and said, “We are consultants.” And the rest is history.
That is really one of those things we spoke into being. We had never had a workshop or written a contract and had nothing but a vision of what was possible. This is the place we have shown up to for 15 years, developing the ideas for ERG. This is the place we have had many meetings to discuss our promise for growing all learners.
We started working on a card table and expanded over the years. We brought our sick kids to this office so we could work. We had our first summer session with Cris Tovani when we were in this office. We started (and ended) our first parent workshops here. We have trained teachers and consultants in this space. We have met with superintendents, legislators, and tutored students in this space. We have even brought our dogs when we couldn’t get home to let them out because of a scheduled phone call or meeting that needed to happen.
We have laughed, cried, and screamed in this office. We have had tremendous success and many failures in this office. The physical space not only holds the memories of 15 years but also the literal work of 15 years (books, files, and supplies). This quaint little office has been our home away from home.
So, once the news sunk in, we did what two former teachers turned entrepreneurs would do: we decided to turn this obstacle into an opportunity. We have started shopping spaces and realized in the process the value of looking back but even more in looking ahead.
We have had to really be thoughtful about what kind of space we need for our current and future work. How much space is feasible (and by feasible, we mean affordable) given the thriving business scene in Winston-Salem?! What do we do with all our resources? What items will make the cut to move into our new office space? Will we be able to resurrect some workshops in the new space? How can our new place align with the future of ERG?
We could whine a little about how this is an unplanned task for the summer of 2019, but it’s actually a blessing. Last summer we were deep in our website refresh, and who knows what next summer will hold. We were very spontaneous in our first ERG spot and we have faith that it’s going to work out again. Evicted shmicted.
So here we go… ERG Headquarters will move. It feels like the perfect time to refine even more, shed some skin, and usher in this new era of ERG. Thanks for being on this journey with us and stay tuned – we can’t wait to unveil the space of ERG 2.0!
