Work Is Where The Wifi Is
Monday mornings can get a bit hectic at times, but when MentorMob mentioned they wanted to come hangout with us for the day, our Monday got a little better. Follow along as our favorite individuals shared their experience of “My Office Today” at Virgin Hotels Chicago!
Big ideas are not born into big buildings, and they are certainly never confined to one. Which, we like to think, is why MentorMob has yet to find one exclusive workspace. After all, why stay between four walls when you really have four hemispheres to work with?
Long story short, the MentorMob team works remotely. We work from planes, trains, automobiles, coffee shops and with the help of our friends at Virgin, hotels. Our mission is a global one and it’s hard to stay in one place when exciting things in our industry are happening everywhere in the world.
Our huge idea is to change the way people use the web to learn, and we’re not talking calculus. We create passionate communities around skills and hobbies like kiteboarding and photography. We use the crowd’s expertise to curate beginner to expert learning Guides that allow you to change or evolve your life, hobbies and passions without spending a dime on classes or paid content.
Our communities are enthusiastic about getting new people involved with their crafts, and we go great distances (both literally and figuratively) to get the right people on board to pioneer our global learning communities (we’re hoping to land in one particular island next).
Since Virgin opened their inaugural hotel in Chicago, they have been very generous with their space with us and other entrepreneurs, which at first may seem odd. You don’t commonly think to stop in a hotel to finish up your work or try to steal some wifi to get a quick conference call done, but that’s really the magic of this space. It is free and open to the public, and frankly, much better than an overcrowded Starbucks.
We have had the pleasure of using their spaces as ours from time to time, when our schedules land us all in Chicago, and this past week Virgin invited us back to explore all of their work spaces with the MentorMob community.
With large layouts, comfortable lighting, more power plugs you’ve ever dreamed of and the best free wifi you will ever find, it has never been a question if we would come back for some work zen. However, being able to fully utilize the space to connect with community members and even meet a few new ones (kudos to the awesome and impressively talented staff) was both a treat and small aha moment for the team.
The Virgin Commons Club homes a comfortable funny library, for getting work done, adjacent to a swanky lounge area for eating, drinking, happy hours, meetings and above all for getting work done. Even their diner has a back area, dubbed the Casting Room that is perfect for team meetings, brainstorms, and it you’ve got the friends, a party. And still, there is the coffee shop / wine bar (TWO-ZERO-THREE) for quick sips, and an upstairs Speakeasy for hosting events, or in our case, bringing in the MentorMob community things like salsa lessons or group discussions.
Being able to fully utilize the space was awesome, and it was while certainly not the last time we will do so, it was a reminder of the importance of intertwining exploration and your work. Even in the places you think you know, there are often Easter eggs planted all around – whether it be a hidden room, a creative detail or a free ride in a Tesla. Find inspiration in your environment. If that grows and changes as much as you do, you’ll find more happiness, more diverse experiences and hopefully greater success.
Learn more about MentorMob and our mission here: www.mentormob.com
See how Kristin Demidovich, MentorMob CMO is using her skills she learned working at MentorMob and her passion for learning for contribute to Virgin’s Step Outside Program.
