Today was one of the most exciting, and terrifying, days of my life. As I’ve been finishing up my CAPPA childbirth educator certification process, I began searching for a place to teach my classes. I called all over my area pricing yoga studios, and found that most charge somewhere in the neighborhood of $25 per hour. If I want that space 3 hours a week, then that quickly adds up to around $300 per month, and nearly $600 per class session. It didn’t seem very economical.
So then I got the hair-brained idea of renting an office space with another educator or two. I asked around on the Chicago doula list, and immediately got responses from a few interested parties.
Fast forward a few weeks, and now I’m looking at spaces. A few more phone calls and emails, and I officially had 3 other ladies who wanted to go into a space with me. Now things were moving forward, but given the amount of space we needed, and what we hoped to pay, it was slim pickin’s in the Chicagoland area. Last week I found one storefront space that would have worked, but by the time I called the owner back to say I might want to take it, he had already rented it. Bummer.
So I drove and drove all over the areas I hoped to rent in, called a thousand different places, and finally found one little space that would have worked, but I wasn’t super excited about it. I felt it was really our last option though if we wanted to start our classes in August. Then I thought (for no particular reason), “I’m going to drive down one more street, just to see…”
And then – I drove by this…
I hopped out of the car and ran to check the window. It looked perfect size – actually slightly bigger than we hoped for. I immediately dialed the number on the For Rent sign, but it rang to the flower shop next door that was closed. I would have to wait until the next day to find out if the space was in our budget.
Other than my labors, that 24 hours of time passed more painfully than anything else I’ve ever suffered through. I wanted this place. I wanted it yesterday. I fell in love with it. In the words of the mouse Chrysanthemum, “It was absolutely perfect.”
When I finally got the owner on the line this morning, I found out that the place was just a bit beyond our price range, which I had expected. I couldn’t let it go without a fight though, so I immediately ran to the space and begged the owner to work with us. She did, and we brought the move-in price to something that I could swallow. By 4:00 pm today, my name was on the lease, and I became the proud renter of the space that will become West Chicagoland’s premiere childbirth & parenting education studio.
Between the four of us, we’ll be teaching comprehensive childbirth education courses, Hypnobirthing, prenatal fitness classes, breastfeeding classes, newborn care classes, sibling classes, and anything else that may come up. I’ve even talked to a photographer who may come in and do affordable maternity shoots once or twice a month for our students. We’re also hoping to work with local green parenting retailers to share business. The possibilities for our space are endless, and I’m feeling great about this decision.
Introducing….
Birthing Babes Childbirth & Parenting Education Studio
728 South Main Street
Lombard, IL
Classes start August 1st! More details coming soon!
Congratulations!! What a gift! :-) You will do wonderful things there, I can't wait to see how you decorate it.
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