The folks at the Two Brain Workshop in Sault Ste. Marie want to give a body and brain workout to small business owners enrolled in the Two Brain program.
Owned and operated by Chris Cooper, and managed with the assistance of director Eden Watson, the Two Brains name and philosophy for business owners refers to the left and right sides of the human brain: the logical side and the emotional side.
Both sides of a small business owner’s brain need to be balanced in order for his/her business to succeed, Watson said, perched on a director’s chair from the set of the Two Brains media room, from where Cooper delivers weekly podcasts to those in the Two Brains small business mentoring program.
Five office spaces are available for rent at the Two Brains site, along with a boardroom.
Small businesses and entrepreneurs may rent the boardroom for business meetings and have lunch catered by Mary Greenwood’s Feeding Your Soul cafe, another tenant of the Two Brain Workshop building.
“The difference with our boardroom rentals is if you want to hold your meeting here, we would do the catering through Mary, and instead of a 3 p.m. coffee break, we would get you into an adjacent room to do a 3 p.m. Brain W.O.D. (Workout of the Day),” Watson said.
“That’s lingo borrowed from CrossFit, the gym next door affiliated with us.”
The brain and body workout, led by a Catalyst CrossFit trainer, is not overly strenuous, “but it’s using your brain and muscles to get the creative juices flowing,” Watson said.
“After the workout, you can go back into the boardroom and hop back into the problems you’re trying to solve at your meeting. It’s not essential (for anyone wanting to rent the boardroom) but it’s something we believe in. Fitness should be a part of your day.”
“It’s just jumping squats or air squats, not usually heavy weights, maybe some pushups or situps, all for fun. But sometimes we get a competitive nature coming out in some folks,” Watson smiled.
“You could just simply rent the boardroom for the day, and that’s fine, but why not come here instead of someplace else? We’ve got breakout rooms and a café here under one roof.”
There are various parties interested in renting out the various spaces in the building on a permanent basis, Watson said.
“There’s been a lot of interest. It’s awesome.”
“Our vision for the space is to have folks involved in this who appreciate the services here, like eating healthy food at the café at lunch, doing the workout at Catalyst.”
A space exists for entrepreneurs to sit with their laptops and work out their business plans.
“Chris has been really successful in mentoring different businesses,” Watson said.
“He’s had 350 clients in the last 18 months, largely gym owners — CrossFit affiliates from all over the world seeking his assistance because he’s got over 20 years of experience in that area — but the Two Brain Workshop principles apply to any small business.”
“We’re trying to be more accessible, to help the local baker, the local mechanic, to mentor them as well and help them keep their businesses on track.”
The group has also hired 15 mentors to assist in delivering the Two Brain program.
