Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Molly Caskey. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Molly, appreciate you joining us today. Risking taking is a huge part of most people’s story but too often society overlooks those risks and only focuses on where you are today. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – it could be a big risk or a small one – but walk us through the backstory.

The real estate broker called and agree to show me the space that would eventually become The Hive PCFL- a boutique Coworking Space on the most beautiful street in Historic Downtown Panama City.

He paused in the phone call and asked me “You know there’s a Coworking Space opening today just around the corner, right?”

I had just responded to a dozen inquiries on the website I had launched only days prior using branding I had created 4 months prior. I was already one foot in… I took a walk through my home garden which is home to so many pollinators, but coincidentally, I had never hosted a honey bee. As I was complaining to God about all the reasons I shouldn’t open The Hive, (There’s a Coworking Space already! I’m a military spouse and we’re going to have to move! It’s so expensive and I don’t have the money!) I was standing next to my favorite tree when my first honey bee in 3 years flew across my path and landed in the tree.

I don’t expect everyone to share my faith in God, but surely a sign like this can be appreciated by all! Every step of the way has fallen into place and I am so proud that our Coworking Space filled all of it’s opening membership offering. We serve Panama City, FL in a unique way and I couldn’t bee more thankful for the incredible journey it’s been so far!

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I was incredibly fortunate to be able to be a work-from-home mom as soon as my son was born. For a few hours a day, a nanny came to our home, played with our son and I got work done up through his mid-day nap. It was a pretty sweet life but over time, I heard my son having so much fun and I became incredibly distracted even behind a closed office door.

I remember feeling guilty that they were having fun and I was choosing to work instead of play. Then during his mid-day nap, I would be so overwhelmed by the workload for the day (because I accomplished very little while listening to them play) and I would have chunks of my to-do list still incomplete by the end of his nap.

I became resentful that he was awake instead of embracing that time to finally start playing!

It was a nasty cycle and for the first time in my 10 years of working from home, I knew I needed to get out of the house. This was near the end of the pandemic here in Panama City, FL. We were fortunate not to be impacted quite as badly as the rest of the world, but our only coffee shops were national chains whose seating areas were still closed.

I searched for a Coworking Space, and it came back empty. I couldn’t even find a small office to lease. Having using a Coworking Space in previous cities, it was the perfect solution to my problems and I was sure other parents were facing the same issue. Sure enough, within one week of launching a very basic website, I had a dozen inquiries!

Can you open up about a time when you had a really close call with the business?

Man. We don’t talk about this one enough, huh?

“Don’t go down with the ship just because you designed it.”

I was getting some advice from another small business owner in my area and something he said hit just right. He frequently used boat analogies and he was telling me in my early days of opening not to go down with the ship. He was referring to not letting the business sink without me realizing it was sinking.

My metaphorical boat wasn’t sinking, but it also wasn’t moving in the water. We were floating, but I really needed it to start moving!

A Coworking Space like mine is really a game of real estate- the more memberships I can sell in the space I have, the better my boat will move. I was getting so attached to the layout and plans I had for my building was starting to be the reason I wasn’t moving forward.

I am so glad this is one of the few times I’ve actually taken someone’s advice (what can I say? I’m stubborn!) and I was able top quickly pivot my membership options and after being open for 4 months, I had made a small profit!

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

The Hive PCFL has a small library featuring some incredible books that our members have said changed their lives or how they do business.

The book that is recommended the most (and we even offer a yearly workshop over) is Atomic Habits. For business, health, personal goals, relationships… WHATEVER you are trying to improve on in life- I can’t stress enough what an incredible difference it makes when you work just 1% at a time.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.thehivepcfl.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thehive_pcfl/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thehive.pcfl

Image Credits
Molly Caskey