Grace Yvonne Attard, Creator e-Spot™
“I involved my family in the creation of e-Spot™ in a big way. Work and family don't have to be separate. It's as much part of their creation as it has been mine.”
Grace had an idea to create a “club for entrepreneurs”. It was on her vision board 4 years ago and last month e-Spot™ officially opened its doors in Oakville, a home for entrepreneurs everywhere who want to grow themselves and their businesses. Grace is a Mother on Fire! Read her inspiring story of courage and determination and how she made it a reality.
MOF: When did you discover your dream?
Grace: I actually think my dream discovered me and it keeps unfolding. When I was sick of the unconscious hamster wheel I had lived in with my corporate job, my dream was to start my own coaching practice. That dream became a reality through the help and encouragement of many good friends (many Mothers on Fire), support from my family and GULP, a shot of courage. I have been blessed to have worked with so many phenomenal entrepreneurial men and women who have done the same - jumped off the corporate cliff and started their own businesses. And then the dream of opening a physical safe space for all entrepreneurs became more and more pressing for me. We are hungry for connection, hungry for being with like-minds, hungry to be in physical energy with others (especially in this increasingly online world) and so the e-Spot™ was born. It started 4 years ago, through lots of conversation which ultimately landed on a vision board. I truly believe it manifested from there.
MOF: What inspired you to create the e-spot?
Grace: Emptiness inspired me to create e-Spot™. Through coaching entrepreneurs, all I would hear was how lonely it was being a home-based business owner, how it would be amazing to be in the energy of others and how unproductive and isolating it was to build a business alone. Now there's a spot where entrepreneurs can belong. It's like a home office away from your home office PLUS all the perks of working with others without the drama or the politics.
MOF: How did you make it work with your kids/family?
Grace: It's definitely been an adjustment. We opened our doors officially at e-Spot™ just over a month ago however the design and construction phase already started to shift the amount of time I was spending with my family. As a coach, I worked from home so my kids were really used to me being "around" even though I may have been in my office. My husband also works from home so we were one lucky family and spent lots of time together. Now, with me being at e-Spot™ every day, I have managed to create and count on a couple of great carpools for my kids and have involved my family in the creation of e-Spot™ in a big way. Work and family don't have to be separate. It's as much part of their creation as it has been mine. They have all been excited to show their friends what our new creation is.
MOF: How did you involve your family?
Grace: At the beginning, it was really about having a very open conversation about how we wanted our family to be. I had to ask for what I needed and they had to ask for what they needed. It was about laying it all on the table and making sure that everyone felt heard, was supported and was not going to feel let down. We realized that our expectations of each other had to change i.e. I wasn't going to be picking up from school every day and that sometimes everyone would have to be at e-spot, helping out. The biggest realization for me was that I couldn't and didn't want to separate my work from my family so now it's truly a family business.
MOF: What was your biggest obstacle?
Grace: My biggest obstacle has been learning to trust my intuition and act on it early. I have always wanted to give people the benefit of the doubt and take what they say at face value. I still believe, for the most part, that that's true. However, I did make a couple of costly (both in time and money) mistakes in working with people who did not deliver what they promised. I knew it in my gut initially but didn't act on it straight away and that ended up being a huge learning.
MOF: What did you learn?
Grace: Wow - that's a whole new story in and of itself. I have learned so much and continue to learn so much. I've learned that we must lead our lives from our authentic selves, and not be what we think others expect of us. I remember when I was younger, many of my role models of leadership had been men. And they had been great men - men who lead with directness, ambition, were competitive, authoritative and they were usually really tall! Besides the fact that I could never do the tall thing :), I realized that the masculine qualities of leading were just not authentic for me as a woman. Now I choose to lead with compassion, I choose to nurture the people who are important to me, I choose to build lasting and intimate relationships, I choose fun intermixed with work - leadership can be warm, loving, expressive, and heart-felt. I choose to lead from there and that has been my greatest learning.
