Dr. Tammira Lucas is a powerhouse mom entrepreneur who has spent her life providing support and resources to other moms looking to balance their careers and family. She founded the National Association of Mom Entrepreneurs (formerly Moms As Entrepreneurs) and The Cube, Cowork, the largest Black women-owned coworking space in the United States that provides babysitting services.
Before Tammira was Dr. Lucas, she grew up in Baltimore as one of five children in a single-parent household.
Following Dreams
“Growing up as a Black woman in Baltimore,” Tammira stated, “the odds of me becoming anything were very low.” Tammira never desired as a young child to become an entrepreneur. But when she was young, she watched her mother give up her nursing career to raise her kids. Tammira didn’t understand why her mother had to give up on her dream just because she had kids. This became a turning point in Tammira’s life and paved the way for a career that would help women follow their dreams even if they had a family at home.
Tammira went to Villa Julie (now Stevenson University) and studied Visual Communication Design. After failing out, she transferred to Coppin where she studied computer science but did not feel welcomed in the field as a woman. She changed her major to management science which is where she found her love for business and graduated Coppin with honors with a bachelor’s in management science.
After graduating, her daughter was born, and Tammira created headbands and custom hair accessories for her as a form of therapy. She eventually turned it into a business and found that she grew passionate about the many moms who asked her how she got into the business.
After founding the Moms as Entrepreneurs Foundation in 2014, she began exploring another idea. Through her foundation, she learned what working moms truly were seeking: coworking office space with babysitting services; a place where people could work and grow while balancing the needs of their family.
Business Launch
In 2016, Tammira and her sister launched The Cube, Cowork, whose mission is to “create a world where raising a family and running a business is normal.”
Tammira knew she wanted to become a staple in the community and make her services economically affordable to provide to those who needed it most. She started with a 1,200-square-foot space and has since grown into a 15,000-square-foot facility with plans to add another 25,000 square feet with a new building in 2025. The Cube offers private office space, meeting room rentals for in-person or virtual needs, onsite babysitting services, community workspaces, a virtual mailing address, and even a podcast room. Various tiers of membership are available to purchase, from single-day passes to long-term office leases. Babysitting services are sold separately and are priced affordably so moms can use it as needed.
“We understand the obstacles women face every day. Most of our clients are moms, and their childcare should be affordable,” said Tammira.
At The Cube, they believe that parents shouldn’t have to choose between their careers and their families.
“We are the space where people can live their dreams no matter what they are,” Tammira said proudly of her business. “I’ve watched people give up on their dreams because they don’t have the resources. We help families to find those resources to be successful.”
Providing Resources
The Cube brings those resources to the community every month, free of charge. Each month, The Cube hosts events where Tammira and her team learns about, and provides for the needs and desires of women business owners in Maryland. In collaboration with Morgan State University Entrepreneur Development Assistance Center, The Cube also donates $1,500 each month to a woman-owned business that has attended and registered at one of these events.
The Cube has become a community hub run by a family-owned business, marking a great community achievement for Tammira. She has helped people grow their businesses and become part of her family in the process.
“I had one woman here with us for five years. We watched her children grow up. When she moved to North Carolina, I was proud to know that we helped grow three children with her,” Tammira said. “We get emotionally attached to the kids before they go to school. We all become one big family.”
Planning the Future
Tammira is hoping to franchise The Cube in the near future and expand into the Atlanta market. She also plans to purchase the current building they are in and rent in the new space to accommodate her constantly evolving business. With an influx of remote associates post-pandemic, Tammira would also like to partner with large corporations and give them an opportunity to offer her coworking space to their remote employees.
“We want people to have access to this and hopefully spread throughout the country,” said Tammira. “God put me on this earth to do this and I want to be the connector that helps everyone win.”
Tammira’s pride is in the thousands of women she has helped through the work she’s done. But by far, her greatest motivation is her daughter.
“I never want her to see me give up the way I watched my mom give up,” Tammira said. “To be able to give her a head start in life and make her proud; I get emotional about it. For me to beat the odds and get to this place. It’s not about me, it’s about people. I’m happy when they’re happy. And our cities and counties can thrive when our people are happy.”
Photography by Dunks Photography