Kickin’ It Outside 

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There’s no better cure to a stressful day than some fresh air and sunshine. Going outside does great things for the body, mind, and soul. I believe the outdoors were provided to us as a place to retreat to and reset. 

Body

Simply going outside can provide great health benefits. Time outside can help you be more active and even sleep better. Just a plant in a room can make someone feel less anxious or angry. Going outside emphasizes this, and exercising outside is the best thing you can do. Fresh air relieves stress which means you’re less likely to have high blood pressure (so get your daily walk in!). 

Mind

The outdoors boost and restore your mental energy.  The “greenness” of the outdoors has been proven to improve concentration and increase creativity levels. So if you’re ever in a rut at work, go outside for a few minutes to refuel. During that refuel the sunlight will keep up your serotonin to make you happier throughout the day.

The Japanese have a practice called forest bathing. This practice is not to exercise, but just be in nature and take it all in by opening up your senses. Even a quick forest bath unplugged from your devices can destress and relax you. So go bathe in the fresh air today!

 

Soul

For me at least, spending a few minutes outside makes me happier. Even if I’m just watching some Netflix, I prefer to do it from my hammock where I can feel the breeze and smell the freshness in the air. Fresh air is good for the soul in other ways as well. It is social, even if you aren’t trying to see people, you likely will. My time with friends has been almost exclusively on walks and hikes the last few months and I’ve really come to appreciate that people and the great outdoors are really some of the most important things in life. 

 

Our partner this month gets people outside on a regular basis. SKY Soccer strives to create an experience for all of its athletes that is enriching to their body, mind, and soul. They are doing this by creating an outlet for outdoor exercise, building discipline from the game, and providing a social experience too. 

So really, when you get stressed out, just remember to take a break. Go for a walk or a run, if you can’t go get a cup of coffee or just do something for yourself to refresh!

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BG Nonprofits

In line with our community partner for the month, SKY Soccer, we are talking all things non-profit and how utilizing a coworking space goes hand in hand.

In the business world, nonprofits and coworking spaces (co)work well together for several reasons. Nonprofits need to focus on their mission, not the little things that it takes to make a business run. Coworking allows them to share infrastructure costs which lets them save a lot of time and money. (Which we are all about!)

Sharing office space with other nonprofits can reduce isolation they may feel. Remote working together reinforces a much-needed sense of community. Additionally, 90% of coworking members have been found to be happier after joining.

SKY Soccer Club is a nonprofit and they love working at Ment. When SKY went virtual a few years ago, they knew they still needed a space to work away from their homes and host meetings. SKY’s club administrator, Keiliah Prater, said that having the ability to work at a place that provides for all of their needs has been such a crucial part of their success as a non-profit, especially over the last few months.

The availability to come and go as we please, the amenities, board room, and location, are all the things that won us over! It was ‘Ment’ to be.

SKY Soccer is just one non-profit organization in Bowling Green. We want to mention a few more that we think everyone in BG should know about:

Bowling Green Warren County Humane Society
Potter Children’s Home and Family Ministries
International Center of Kentucky
Center for Courageous Kids
Community Farmers Market
Hope Harbor
Hope House Ministries
HOTEL INC
Junior Achievement of South Central KY
LifeSkills, Inc

 

You can find a full list on the BG Chamber website.

 

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Kicking Off Summer

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We’re kicking off summer with our July community partner, SKY Soccer Club! Who also happen to be Ment members. 

SKY is a non-profit organization with a mission to develop great players and people and enhance the community they serve. They provide sports programs to roughly 2000 kids in southern Kentucky every year! Their services have been provided since 1976!

Talking to Keiliah

I talked with Keiliah Prater, the club administrator, about her time with the organization.  Four years ago she wasn’t even looking for a job when they offered her one. SKY was just what she needed with her background in sports.  She is driven by her lifetime of passion for sports and how they enhanced her childhood. Working at SKY has further developed her passion for sports and for this organization because of what it brings to the BG community.

 “Being able to provide the youth in our community a place to feel empowered, practice living a healthy and active lifestyle, encouragement to be good leaders and good people, and learn to work well with others, are just some of the reasons why I do what I do!” 

 

What’s happening right now

Youth sports play such an important role in physical, mental, and social development. Soccer, and all sports, are looking a little different right now. But SKY is working hard to make sure the youth of BG are still able to play! They have already kicked off the season and hosted a successful, socially distanced tryout for their Academy Select teams and are planning a full recreational season this fall.

Keiliah said that COVID-1 9 has really put their mission back into focus as they strive for players and families to have the best possible experience.  During Tim (director of operations) and Keiliah’s downtime over the last few months, they’ve really been basking in the kindness of their players and families, as well as, working on a new strategy for future success after taking a hit as a non-profit during COVID-19. 

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Goodbye WFH

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As we say goodbye WFH (work from home) and hello to our new normals, it is important we take with us the lessons we have learned over the last few months.

Whenever I used to get really busy, I would always think it would be nice to have a couple of months where I could veg out and watch all the Netflix I wanted. You know what they say – be careful what you wish for! I think quarantine gave us all a taste of this and I’m not sure we will ever want quite so much time on our hands again.

The four or so months of staying in emptied the walls of Ment for a while however our members are slowly coming back into the office (yay!). After hearing from them, it is clear to see that while quarantine had its low points it also had its upsides. 

The New Normal

We have all been affected personally and professionally by the outbreak. During these last few months, we were challenged to create a new normal, and still are. For most, work did not stop, but WFH (work from home) meant that the kids had to be taught and taken care of, laundry needed to be done, dinner needed to be made, all while keeping up with our work tasks interchangeably. Thankfully there was camaraderie in the fact that we were all at home. Many of our members decided to create a new dedicated workspace from their homes but said that there were still many distractions. 

Beyond working and doing chores, our members found other ways to be productive with their time. Tim and Keilah from SKY Soccer both did a lot of exercising to keep their mental and physical health in check. The Harris’ spent a lot of time outside with their dogs. Kari spent a lot of time with her dog too (I think we all wore our dogs out with too many walks). Nick gardened and ran. Eric spent time Netflixing and planning for future trips. — these are just some of the things they did to keep happy and healthy during possibly the weirdest 4 months we’ll hopefully ever have. 

We’re All in This Together

Our members work in several different industries which is why work was very different for everyone. As we can see from above though, we all can relate at some point during these strange times. Some of our members saw business as usual, and some, unfortunately, saw a loss. However, everyone took this as a time to reevaluate in some way, shape, or form and slow down. Whether it was with their companies’ futures due to complications from the coronavirus, or their work-life balance routines. 

When it is all said and done, I think we can all agree it is nice to leave the laundry in the basket and step out for a few hours to go to the office, dedicate our time and brain space to our projects, and then be able to go home and feel completely present.

 

*Special thanks to our members with OnTarget Cleaning and Restoration for staying really busy by cleaning and sanitizing to protect from COVID-19! 

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Is Sale/Leaseback Right for your Company/Organization?

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Similar to coworking, a concept that is being seen in larger cities now trickling down to the secondary markets is called sale/leaseback. However, the two stem from two totally different means to an end.

Business owners who have immediate needs to be met that require operating capital can sell their property to a third party buyer such as an investor and then lease it back under a traditional long-term lease. This option would create liquidity from the sale that the owner could then use for other operating expenses within the business allowing them to stay open.

Local and national real estate developer JD Haase sees this as a viable option for any business, including small, privately owned businesses in the Bowling Green/Warren County area as the realities of COVID-19’s impact on the economy become clearer.

Larger corporations figured this out a long time ago and typically do not own their own buildings or properties. This gives them access to money that can be better spent in their business for other operating expenses. We have seen this strategy work well for them and I believe it can work well for smaller businesses too.

Haase began his commercial real estate investment and management company, Ewing Ford Properties, in 2017 although he has been in commercial real estate since 2004. He currently owns property in multiple states while also developing a coworking space, Ment Cowork, after purchasing the historic Ackerman building in downtown Bowling Green, KY.

I have always lived by a quote from my late father Jerry H. Haase: ‘The best get better by working together.’ This is how I feel about the times we are currently all working in.

Through the Paycheck Protection Program and SBA loans, we have seen a response from the government for Coronavirus financial help for small businesses, however, it may still not be enough.

If you are a business owner and running out of operating expenses, consider looking into the sale/leaseback option for your facility.

 

TO INQUIRE

Ewing Ford Properties

[email protected]

270-991-9434

 

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