Many people experience a feeling of uncertainty when they reach a point in their life of professional transition. While Elaine Glowacki was seeking the path for her next journey, she discovered the coworking philosophy and was instantly drawn to the idea of bringing people together around a common goal of mutual support. Eventually, this led her to found PinkSpace Coworking in April 2015 on the east side of Madison.
After earning her Bachelor’s degree in psychology from California State University-Long Beach, she came to Madison in 1995 and resumed her fundraising and communications consulting business. She later completed her Master’s in business at Edgewood College. From there, she had a consulting practice for more than 20 years and held five different communication-related jobs, among others.
When she’s not at PinkSpace, the busy Glowacki serves as the Foundation Director at Capitol Lakes Foundation and is a member of the Madison Nonprofit Technology Group, Madison Area Business Consultants and Consultants for Organizational Reflection and Effectiveness. Glowacki credits reading the books “The Confidence Code” and “Lean In” for helping her make some positive changes, guiding her to the point of her life where she is today.
Upon explaining her vision of PinkSpace to her friends and colleagues, Glowacki connected with the founder of The Hops Museum, who offered a location for the coworking space on the days the museum isn’t open. Betsy Swenson, PinkSpace cofounder and owner of Swenson Consulting Services, understood the need for such a place and instantly volunteered to help build the business. PinkSpace will remain at the museum until the museum itself moves within a year, according to Glowacki.
Glowacki acknowledges that other coworking spaces offer similar philosophies of supportive community, but PinkSpace has a particular focus on older professionals in the community.
“I want to support those who may be going through a professional transition, say, from paid employment into consulting or even consultants starting their own businesses,” Glowacki said. “We have so much to offer each other, and there aren’t a lot of spaces that champion and support the kinds of risks we are contemplating and undertaking.”
PinkSpace is still in its startup phase, open only on Thursdays and Fridays. The space sees between one and four people per day, with accommodations for up to 20. For $25 per month, comfy seats, Wi-Fi and beverages are added benefits to a friendly, engaging environment.
“We will provide varied opportunities for people to meet and connect, such as an online chat group, pure networking events, member profiles and even old-fashioned personal introductions,” Glowacki said. “We will also encourage members to drive these kinds of activities.”
Glowacki said she heard a story from one coworking site that some members spontaneously started a band because one member asked a related question on their members-only chat group.
Within the next three years, PinkSpace hopes to grow to 250 members by way of current members’ recruitment efforts and by continuing to help those in need during professional transitions.
“PinkSpace is not an incubator or accelerator where people take what they need, then graduate and leave,” Glowacki said. “It’s a truly supportive community that people value during all phases of their professional experiences.”
