We are living in a time of flux. Which means, as we start new businesses it is unlikely that we will know what they will be like in the end. We will pivot, head off in other directions, on a regular basis. Sometimes we will hit a dead end and have to retreat a bit before we can make that change.

We started a HUB in my rural community. All other HUBs are in large urban centres. When we started we knew that we wouldn’t nail it the first time out or the second or the third. And we didn’t.

We had the opportunity to rent the church hall. a small gym with stage, commercial kitchen and a couple of classrooms in the back. It was perfect, or so we thought. It was big and it sparked the imagination. People came through and got excited about the possibilities, but they didn’t stay to work. The coffee shop across the street, on the other hand, was full, even with the sketchy internet.

We began began to host gatherings of like-minded people. It emerged that people want to connect. The best way we could help was to facilitate that connection.

As it happens, our month to month lease was not extended one month and we left. We are a HUB without a home for now. We have said from the beginning that half the value of HUB is the connection, not just the space. We will focus for a time on that connection.

Several people have said how sorry they are that it didn’t work out.

Oh, we are only just begun!

We learned 2 important things:
It is working! People want to connect.
Membership fees are not the economic engine.

Both of these are important learnings and we will use these to make our next iteration. Stay tuned.