HELENA — The Virago Collaborative was started by five Montana women to offer a female-led, co-working space. "It's tailored to women and women's needs, but men are welcomed to join as well," said one of the five owners Mercedes Bawden.
Part of catering toward working women is allowing children. "There are tons of working moms here, who need office space,” explained Bawden. “They need a place they can bring their kiddos for a couple of hours and get work done."
There are three levels of membership that give women access to a work desk, copier, and other office supply needs. An app that can be downloaded acts as a key to enter the building at any time.
Virago is intended as an alternative to having Zoom meetings at a coffee shop, or just needing a place to think about new ideas.
Leslie Lukas, owner and founder at Wander North Events, says that one of the key reasons to choosing to work at Virago is the connection she feels with other entrepreneurs.
"It's all about community, and kind of think tank when you run into another entrepreneur business owner that works here, you can just quickly connect and talk for five minutes about your goals what you have going on, and it's kind of just re-energizes you," said Lukas.
There are also other opportunities at the Virago, including training seminars on a variety of topics. "We offer a number of different events throughout the month. We try and get a couple each week on the schedule, so anything from career building, business building to interpersonal skills," Bawden said.
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