Sitting at the table during a Feedback Friday session, Dream Village founder Eunique Jones Gibson considered what the coworking space’s next move would be. So far, Dream Village had only been opened at its Hyattsville, Md. office for a couple of months, and the company already had plans to open in Baltimore.
Now, the quickly growing coworking space is working to catch the eyes of diverse creatives in the D.C.- metro area.
“A lot of my members have been members of a lot of the larger spaces and have canceled those memberships to come over to Dream Village,” said Gibson. “They feel like it’s a space that was curated with them in mind.”
“It’s also for people who really want to be in a space where they know that their presence is valued.”
Founded in late 2017, the coworking space currently has 15 members, including the mayor of Hyattsville. Members can enjoy 24-hour access to the workspace, coffee and snacks, and the ability to host one event per year for free.
“It’s really for people who have a business or a goal and people who want to make meaningful connections with individuals in and outside the space,” said Gibson. “It’s also for people who really want to be in a space where they know that their presence is valued.”
Hyattsville was an easy choice for Gibson to dive into the coworking space industry. Gibson is from Maryland and wanted to start her business in her home.
“I wanted to do something back home first because the goal of Dream Village is to have more than one,” said Gibson. “We want to have them in areas that are upcoming, artsy districts — but where the bigger coworking spaces might not exist.”
One of the ways the Dream Village does this is through Feedback Fridays, where members gather to work out issues in their respective businesses.
“We’re able to help each other think through some challenges and business cases," Gibson said.
Dream Village is not the first of Gibson’s well-known successes. In fact, she's also the founder of the "Because of Them, We Can" campaign, which focuses on highlighting African-American historical figures through the images of children. Gibson said that all that she has learned from the campaign, from speaking engagements to consulting work, has prepared her for her Dream Village experience.
“I was able to get it done because I have a dope team. I don’t do anything by myself anymore,” Gibson said. “Having people I was able to bring in, whether it was to help me design Dream Village, design the website, made Dream Village happen. It was all because I was able to tap into my village.”
Gibson said that she hopes Dream Village will grow into a place where successful business owners look to visit and provide words of encouragement to rising entrepreneurs.
“I wanted to create a space where, when influential individuals come into D.C., they have space where they can give back to other individuals who are looking for those nuggets of wisdom,” said Gibson. “Conferences are so important. Workshops are so important, but sometimes it takes someone coming and talking to a crowd and telling their story.”
Dream Village has Baltimore and Atlanta on its shortlist of cities to open a new location.
