Elena Drakos
From: Brooklyn, NY
Job: Mom, COO Prosper Gowork, Property Manager, Landlord
Over how many years have you been a mobile professional? About 10 years, in differing definitions of that term.
What is the best thing about being your own boss and what is the worst? The best? Freedom, flexibility, and knowing that the sky’s the limit as long as you build a network and team that is supportive, open minded and realistic about setting and achieving goals.
The worst? The clock doesn’t stop, and being responsible for one’s own success creates a lot of pressure to be “on” all the time.
Can you run us through a typical day in the life of Elena? There is no such thing as a typical day! But most days start with chasing my 2 year old son, feeding everyone, getting dressed and getting my son to school. The rest is dictated by which properties I need to visit, if we have vacation rental prep to do, what the members at Prosper need, making sure people get paid, etc. All this must get done between 9-3, when I pick up my son and resume my other job of parenting.
Can you describe your typical “office” (before you discovered Prosper)? Well, when I worked remotely for eyewear-giant Luxottica, I was on the road a lot, or working at home. When asked to come into the NYC office, the company was growing so fast, it had nowhere for us “field” employees to sit. I would usually cram myself onto the end of a desk of one of the office employees. This was rough for many reasons, but mostly because I had no space, I was imposing on my colleague’s space and I take a lot of calls so I was always floating around looking for a place where I wasn’t disturbing people.
Working at home for my Property Management business was fine when doing back office stuff, but new clients often want to meet at “my office”, which was next to our bedrooms and I wasn’t going to invite strangers into my house. Meeting on site is often tricky because there are tenants in place so you end up standing on the sidewalk trying to make a pitch. I also frequently meet with contractors, designers, other real estate agents, etc and again, meeting at home, on site or at a coffee shop just wasn’t professional enough.
Not to mention that working at home is really distracting! There are always kid’s toys to pick up, laundry to do, a rug that needs vacuuming…
Where’s your favorite spot to work in Prosper’s Bed-Stuy space? I like the Greenhouses – they’re really cozy. But I usually work at the open tables upstairs so I can welcome visitors and see what’s happening on the sidewalk.
What does the word “Gowork” mean to you? Working wherever I happen to be, but in a professional space that allows for maximum productivity.
Can you share one of your personal or professional goals of 2018? To roll out our next locations for Prosper!