Women are building communities to empower, encourage and support other women in their business endeavors. You’re an active mother of three trying your best to juggle your family and your job. Perhaps you’re a recent college graduate trying to start a career, or you’re a new wife transitioning from wedding planning to career mapping. Maybe you’re a postpartum mama worried about returning to work. You’re an established businesswoman trying to find time for yourself, or you’re a working single mother trying to make ends meet.
You’re a woman, and it’s hard. But even though life is hard, we don’t stop; we can’t stop. We have kids, bills, and responsibilities. But we also have passion. We have a drive inside of us that makes us want to succeed, want to be better, and push boundaries. Because even though it’s hard, it’s exciting.
I’m one of these women. I’m sitting at my desk at 11:03 at night, typing up this article. After working my full-time job all day, feeding my son dinner, giving him a bath, reading him a book, and putting him to sleep, I then clean the dishes, call my husband to say goodnight while he is working late, and walk the dog. Then I finally sit down and start thinking of the millions of other women worldwide doing the same thing as me.
I don’t have to write this story. I have a good job, I’m a busy mom, and I’m tired. I don’t have to tell this story; I want to tell it because it is the story of so many other women like me who have goals and dreams that are worth chasing. This is a story of how women not only work hard to grow themselves but also to help other women find the same success.
The Cube
Dr. Tammira Lucas is a powerhouse mom entrepreneur who has spent her life providing support and resources to other moms looking to balance their careers and family. She founded the National Association of Mom Entrepreneurs (formerly Moms As Entrepreneurs) and The Cube, Cowork, the largest Black women-owned coworking space in the United States that provides babysitting services.
Before Tammira was Dr. Lucas, she grew up in Baltimore as one of five children in a single-parent household.
Following Dreams
“Growing up as a Black woman in Baltimore,” Tammira stated, “the odds of me becoming anything were very low.” Tammira never desired as a young child to become an entrepreneur. But when she was young, she watched her mother give up her nursing career to raise her kids. Tammira didn’t understand why her mother had to give up on her dream just because she had kids. This became a turning point in Tammira’s life and paved the way for a career that would help women follow their dreams even if they had a family at home.
Tammira went to Villa Julie (now Stevenson University) and studied Visual Communication Design. After failing out, she transferred to Coppin where she studied computer science but did not feel welcomed in the field as a woman. She changed her major to management science which is where she found her love for business and graduated Coppin with honors with a bachelor’s in management science.
After graduating, her daughter was born, and Tammira created headbands and custom hair accessories for her as a form of therapy. She eventually turned it into a business and found that she grew passionate about the many moms who asked her how she got into the business.
After founding the Moms as Entrepreneurs Foundation in 2014, she began exploring another idea. Through her foundation, she learned what working moms truly were seeking: coworking office space with babysitting services; a place where people could work and grow while balancing the needs of their family.
“I’ve watched people give up on their dreams because they don’t have the resources. We help families to find those resources to be sucessful.”
Business Launch
In 2016, Tammira and her sister launched The Cube, Cowork, whose mission is to “create a world where raising a family and running a business is normal.”
Tammira knew she wanted to become a staple in the community and make her services economically affordable to provide to those who needed it most. She started with a 1,200-square-foot space and has since grown into a 15,000-square-foot facility with plans to add another 25,000 square feet with a new building in 2025. The Cube offers private office space, meeting room rentals for in-person or virtual needs, onsite babysitting services, community workspaces, a virtual mailing address, and even a podcast room. Various tiers of membership are available to purchase, from single-day passes to long-term office leases. Babysitting services are sold separately and are priced affordably so moms can use it as needed.
“We understand the obstacles women face every day. Most of our clients are moms, and their childcare should be affordable,” said Tammira.
At The Cube, they believe that parents shouldn’t have to choose between their careers and their families.
“We are the space where people can live their dreams no matter what they are,” Tammira said proudly of her business. “I’ve watched people give up on their dreams because they don’t have the resources. We help families to find those resources to be successful.”
Providing Resources
The Cube brings those resources to the community every month, free of charge. Each month, The Cube hosts events where Tammira and her team learns about, and provides for the needs and desires of women business owners in Maryland. In collaboration with Morgan State University Entrepreneur Development Assistance Center, The Cube also donates $1,500 each month to a woman-owned business that has attended and registered at one of these events.
The Cube has become a community hub run by a family-owned business, marking a great community achievement for Tammira. She has helped people grow their businesses and become part of her family in the process.
“I had one woman here with us for five years. We watched her children grow up. When she moved to North Carolina, I was proud to know that we helped grow three children with her,” Tammira said. “We get emotionally attached to the kids before they go to school. We all become one big family.”
Planning the Future
Tammira is hoping to franchise The Cube in the near future and expand into the Atlanta market. She also plans to purchase the current building they are in and rent in the new space to accommodate her constantly evolving business. With an influx of remote associates post-pandemic, Tammira would also like to partner with large corporations and give them an opportunity to offer her coworking space to their remote employees.
“We want people to have access to this and hopefully spread throughout the country,” said Tammira. “God put me on this earth to do this and I want to be the connector that helps everyone win.”
Tammira’s pride is in the thousands of women she has helped through the work she’s done. But by far, her greatest motivation is her daughter.
“I never want her to see me give up the way I watched my mom give up,” Tammira said. “To be able to give her a head start in life and make her proud; I get emotional about it. For me to beat the odds and get to this place. It’s not about me, it’s about people. I’m happy when they’re happy. And our cities and counties can thrive when our people are happy.”
Leading Lady
Superior local entrepreneur AliceAnne Loftus, the owner and founder of Leading Lady Coaching in Annapolis, provides business and leadership coaching to high-achieving women seeking community, collaboration and excellence. Born in the Philippines, AliceAnne has been a business owner for more than 20 years. She studied early childhood education and wanted to be a teacher from a young age. She is a life-long learner who believes with the right support and in the right environment, people can reach their full potential.
“When I first started as an entrepreneur in childhood education, I believed in quality childcare and couldn’t find exactly what I was looking for, so I created it,” AliceAnne explained of her start into business. She opened a childcare center just days before giving birth when she was 22 years old. Creating her business blended what she believed as an educator and wanted as a new mother.
Juggling Responsibilities
“I was very lonely when I got started,” she said. “I struggled with feeling alone as a business owner; I didn’t have a community to learn from. I was so exhausted and not thriving. I struggled for nearly 10 years and after some major missteps in business and life, I went back to school to learn skills and strategies around business and leadership.”
“A strong support system is also important. I wanted to make that village for them.”
AliceAnne realized she could help other women through the same challenges she had experienced. She knew there was a need in the community for women juggling the many responsibilities of business and leadership and wanted to find a way to create a platform specifically for them.
“Most women in business didn’t go to business school and don’t know what they don’t know,” she explained. “A strong support system is also important. I wanted to make that village for them.”
In 2016, AliceAnne became a business coach and soon began renting space in Annapolis to host workshops for other women on topics like budgeting, technical aspects and to have real conversations about finding success in business.
“It was hard to find a consistent space for these workshops,” she said. “During the pandemic, I purchased a large office space and in 2021 I opened my own office and the first coworking event space in Annapolis.”
Annapolis Collective
Thus began the Annapolis Collective, a community within Leading Lady that offers a yearly membership to women in business to connect and collaborate. The Collective provides members with luxury upscale co-working, event and meeting space, monthly networking meetings, individualized business coaching, professional trainings and extensive business support.
Solution Focused
In addition to private coaching with AliceAnne, Leading Lady also provides a six-month business coaching group masterclass, as well as a collaborative Strategic Planning Day for business owners. Leading Lady also has a group of ambassadors, highly vetted women entrepreneurs, who are specialists in their field that provide support to members of Leading Lady.
“When a woman walks into our space, we want her to feel calm, as if it was designed to be exactly what she needs,” AliceAnne said. “It’s a very professional space in design; we are careful in vetting a standard of excellence to provide expert resources to the community. For a member to take her expertise and bring an affordable, incredible meeting to our community using my space, it makes me choke up,” said AliceAnne of her pride in Leading Lady.
In addition to the local community, Leading Lady helps nurture an online community of over 7,000 women across the country.
“We are solutions-focused and hit challenges head on,” said AliceAnne. “We are breaking stereotypes and redefining gender roles. We challenge the community to do the same and we motivate women to be the best they can be.”
AliceAnne still runs her childcare centers alongside Leading Lady, proving that it is possible to nurture more than one passion. She also turned Leading Lady into a podcast and wrote a book called Take the Lead to encourage women to be their own leader.
AliceAnne lives by the motto, “Empowered women, empower women.” When we feel supported and inspired to be our best, we can step out of our own roadblocks and support others around us.
Fount and Flourish
Bailey Feldman, owner and founder of Fount and Flourish, is another standout local entrepreneur who creates an intentional feminine space for women to work and connect. Bailey has a vision of showcasing women’s strengths and giving them a safe community to focus on their whole selves.
Hailing from South Florida and now residing in downtown Annapolis, Bailey lives with her husband, three young daughters, a dog and four chickens; what she calls her wild, beautiful mess. She has an environmental science background but pivoted careers a few times throughout her journey. She found that she enjoyed bringing people together.
While working in programming and consulting, she learned how to structure customer events, as well as train and coach others. She was one of the first in her office to have a baby and upon returning from maternity leave, she realized she loved coaching and mentoring the women on her team, specifically preparing them for leave and re-entering work.
She then shifted her career focus to supporting women. During the pandemic, Bailey saw many people lose their community and sadly watched women leave their jobs. She started Fount and Flourish in 2023 to rebuild the village that was lost.
“I call it a revolution, a disruption of the industry. It is truly about being brave enough to shake up the status quo.”
Creating Community
“I needed to fill a void and create a special space and community for women,” Bailey said. “I had the time and was able to take a risk to fix this problem and fill the gap. I call it a revolution, a disruption of the industry. It is truly about being brave enough to shake up the status quo.”
Fount and Flourish was designed solely with women in mind. “Fount – the spaces we gather and Flourish – the way we grow.” Membership options include a variety of tiers featuring different perks and services. They offer training, consulting and coaching packages, as well as a like-minded social network of other women business owners seeking community. The Fount offers a beautiful space for women to support each other and gain inspiration.
Coaching and consulting services are private sessions with Bailey.
“I coach women at all levels in their career,” she said. “But I really love working with entry level, young moms, and those preparing for maternity leave.”
Gaining Confidence
The Fount is referred to as a place that nourishes the female mind, body, and soul. Each month, specially selected events are built around these three elements. Members have access to events such as yoga, headshot day, and happy hours. A new Master Your Moxie 12-week program also gives members an opportunity to gain confidence and learn new skills towards taking the next big steps in their journeys. A Member Meet and Mingle event will occur on May 15th for those who may be interested in visiting The Fount to learn more about joining. RSVP here.
With her business only a year old, the acceptance and excitement from the community is already breaking Bailey’s goals.
“We had a goal of just 25 members at our launch last year,” Bailey said. “We are already at 65 members! It is really beautiful to see this community we built.”
Bailey hopes to add more space next year and would also like to have a professional center with a childcare option. Her goals are to increase membership and raise awareness that Fount and Flourish exists in the community. With more members, she can invest in more programming and spaces to meet more needs. She is also looking to expand locations with professional hubs outside of Baltimore and into Northern Virginia.
“I want to create a world for my three little girls, where they have options and opportunities,” Bailey said. “I’m setting an example for them and paving the way to make their path a little wider. My vision is to create more space for the women who come after me. I believe in creating and maintaining this space for women to explore what’s possible and make decisions with clarity and confidence—no matter what life throws our way.”
These three women are examples of true work ethic and dedication to women in business. They are assets to our local community and shining representations to women like me, writing articles at 11:03 p.m., and of the many women around the world working hard to succeed as entrepreneurs.
Photography by Dunks Photography