Families with very young children find themselves head-to-head with the issue of returning to work after their children are born. For most of us the options on the table are: one parent back-burners their career to stay home or you enroll your child(ren) in traditional childcare for 30+ hours weekly.
bloom CH+ CO has one overarching mission:
give families choices.
Our spaces offer flexible childcare and coworking options designed for families and local movers and shakers seeking a workspace outside of their home. We are all on the hunt for meaningful connections. bloom offers families two critical components to making it all work - community and flexibility.
We believe in the economic advancement and empowerment of family units. bloom CC + CO is interested in likeminded investors who can help make our idea, space, and community stronger.
WHAT WE OFFER
bloom CC + CO is a thoughtfully-designed, distraction-free space for work and play in Bloomfield, NJ offering services families, entrepreneurs, creatives and self-starters want and need, making it easy for them to be their best selves. Think of bloom like this:
- A place to work and bring your child. Your professional self will feel a sense of security because you are physically close to your child, allowing for deeper of productivity.
- A place for your child to grow. As parents, we know how important it is that our children have opportunities to explore, build friendships, and develop trust with other caring adults. bloom offers flexible, yet consistent, schedules for your little one to do all of the above in a beautiful and rich space.
- A place to dream it and do it. The community of freelancers, artists, PR, tech and HR professionals, professors and students working at bloom grows every week! Moving from your home (...and laundry) or favorite coffee place (without your little), to an environment designed for productivity is inspiring. Invest in yourself by taking a look at our amenities and coworking memberships!
THE SPACES
We're creating a physical space for our local community to work, meet, and grow their businesses and skills. Many of our families have young children. We are building partnerships to make life run a bit more smoothly. Key amenities and aesthetic include:
- Art and decor from tons of local artists and makers
- Space to connect with bloom members or to host clients, stand alone desks, private conference rooms and workspaces
- Designated Amazon drop off location
- Free dry-cleaning pick up + drop off
- Onsite CSA + meal pick up from Jessica Alfreds Food
- Business address availability
- COMMUNITY, COMMUNITY, COMMUNITY
- A fresh rotating selection of treats and beverages
- A great sound system
WORKSHOPS
bloom CH + CO offers workshops you need to take your business to the next level. We are growing right along side of you so we've designed our workshop offerings around the things we wish we had during different stages of building our own small business. Workshops will include:
- Small Business Branding by Carley Storm Video + Photography (Bloomfield, NJ)
- DIY PR + Marketing by Fluent Video (Oakland, NJ)
- Leveraging Social by LWP PR (Montclair, NJ)
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Lecture series with authors, artists, activists, and entrepreneurs about politics, culture, and art
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Social mixers
- Priority access to paid Create + Connect Events hosted by favorites from near and far:
- Blooms In Hand (Verona, NJ)
- My Family Treece (Montclair, NJ)
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MEMBERSHIP
FOUNDING FAMILY MEMBERSHIP ($2400/Term)
bloom will have the capacity to welcome only 28 families to our community after expansion. After these spaces have been purchased, registration will be closed, likely through January 2020. Through iFundWomen, bloom is offering a $320 discount on this limited number of FOUNDING FAMILY MEMBERSHIPS. Purchasing your membership today secures your space in the new bloom space for either:
- Summer 2019 (May - August, two days per week, AM or PM session)
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Fall 2019 (September - December, two days per week, AM or PM session).
Membership with bloom includes full access to our coworking space, child care groups, services and amenities during operating hours, and base admission to all bloom events and programming. Founding Family Memberships also come with perks like:
+ One free month of unlimited access to bloom Afternoon + Weekend Open Playdates
+ Access to all base calendar events
+ 25% discount on any space rental (coworking, child's space or a
combination of both) for personal or professional needs.
+ Hard Hat Tour before bloom CC + CO officially opens
+ Two (2) tickets to launch party
+ Executive coaching for a discounted Founding Members rate
COMMUNITY
As a member of bloom you will be welcomed into an active community of families - one we help you connect with in whatever way you need. We facilitate introductions around shared interests and passions (e.g. looking to get into politics, starting your own business, looking to jump to the next stage of your career, etc).
bloom provides a great landing pad and respite for those who are new to our city with organized events and dinners specifically for new residents of Bloomfield, Montclair, and the surrounding areas. Included in our community benefits are connections to other local organizations and places of business that promote pro-family ethics of local cities.
INCUBATOR SCHOLARSHIP
A cornerstone of bloom's business is our incubator scholarship. Coordinating and investing in this scholarship enables us to offer memberships to local entrepreneurs, educators, and small business owners in our community who meet specific socioeconomic needs, support our mission to create a truly diverse and inclusive environment, one where families thrive. Scholarships will be based upon applications and recommendations.
As a founding member you can invite 4 other friends to sponsor a scholar with you and we’ll create a space in your name.
By sponsoring the incubator program, you are funding the following to a community nominated individuals:
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Fall 2019 bloom CHILDCARE + COWORKING membership for a parent and young child
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Professional filming, editing and production of a 90 second brand introduction video from Fluent Video
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Two (2) hours of photography plus editing by small business branding expert Carley Storm Photography
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Two (2) tickets to bloom's launch party
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Access to all base workshops
BOSS AMENITIES
Our amenities are curated specifically to help you reclaim your time. From dry-cleaning pickup and delivery, to registering your kids for summer camps, helping to schedule home services (e.g cleaning/organization services) to helping you remember personal commitments, to being a designated drop off for Amazon returns - we offer the concierge services you need to stay in Boss mode. We even have a hyper local meal prep service from Jessica Alfreds Foods available and plans are in the works for an onsite fruit and veggie CSA!
As a founding member you can help us craft the specifics of these services and ensure all your needs are covered!
Bathrooms that are always stocked to meet your needs. The work space includes extra chargers, printers, and the tech to keep your life moving. Of course we also have coffee, tea and other goodies to keep you motivated throughout the day and evening! As a founding member you also get access to our preferred vendors list and personal introductions to the Partners and Services that keep bloom running.
SPACE
To allow our members the chance to built their brand as much as possible, we’re opening our space after 6pm for rental. As a founding member you receive a 25% discount on any space rental for personal or professional needs.
WHY CROWDFUNDING?
We explored many different paths to funding bloom CHILDCARE + COWORKING including traditional funding from VCs, investors, and banks. But at the end of the day those options don't reflect our mission of being built by our members. We believe the power of bloom CC+CO lies with the community so we decided to turn to iFundWomen, a crowdfunding platform for female founders, to get the job done. Funds secured through our crowdfunding campaign will be used to purchase and build out our physical space, the critical next step for bloom.
FOUNDER
bloom CC + CO was founded by local early childhood educator, MSU grad (Master in the Arts of Teaching and Curriculum), and parent Amanda Krochik. While Amanda climbed the corporate ladder within an international childcare organization after years of teaching and mentoring in the classroom, she came to the realization that the world she was trying to succeed in was not built for those who wanted to prioritize family life without forgoing professional goals. She decided it was time to offer a new option for families. She is driven by a cause much larger than any person or family - and is setting out to foster a personal and professional haven for our community.
