Meet Martine Resnick | Entrepreneur

We had the good fortune of connecting with Martine Resnick and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Martine, alright, let’s jump in with a deep one – what’s you’re definition for success?
The definition of success for me has definitely evolved over time.

**Big Brands and Travel For Work.**
In my 20’s it was more about who I worked for, what was the company or brand name. I was attached to the social currency that comes with working for a creative company with a known name. I also had a job in my 20’s that had me living in London and travelling to places like Rome, Milan, Paris, Madrid, Amsterdam, Berlin fairly regularly. I thought that was pretty cool.

**Experiencing Other Cultures.**
In my late 20’s and early 30’s I wanted to shake things up, explore the world and experience what it was like to live in another country, so I moved to another big city, New York.

**Being More Intentional.**
By my mid 30’s I had two young kids and that really shifted things on multiple levels. The perks I was now looking for were leaving on time and travelling for work as little as possible so I had more time for other things outside of work like spending time with my family, sports, hobbies and being outdoors. I also was no longer motivated by the addictive dopamine rush you often get from working in a fast paced environment on lots of cool exciting projects. That began to feel hollow to me. I wanted to be more strategic about the projects I worked on, focus on quality over quantity.

**Inclusive Communities.**
I got to the point where I knew corporate America couldn’t give me what I was looking for so I quit to start my own business. I wanted to build a space and a community that was designed for a diverse group of professional women, where we didn’t embrace or encourage grind culture and hustle culture. Where women felt seen, heard. and supported, That’s what The Lola is today.

**Freedom and Flexible Work Cultures.**
We’ve just lived through a pandemic and that has shifted everyone’s definition of success and really opened people’s eyes to the immense upside (and inclusive nature) of flexible work cultures and valuing things beyond work and traditional definitions of success.

During the pandemic we moved our family to Spain and have i’ve been running our business remotely from here for the past 12 months with my Co-Founder. While it has its challenges at times (and forces you to be even more intentional with your priorities and time) the challenges are really no greater than ones we face anywhere.

Where we are there are many people who are living and working remotely. They have found new and creative ways to make it work, so i’m seeing this modelled more and more. The freedom that comes from knowing that you can break convention and still succeed in life is immense.

What should our readers know about your business?
The Lola is a coworking space and digital membership community for women in Atlanta and beyond. We believe success is found in the people you surround yourself with, people who don’t necessarily look like you or think like you. Our goal is to help women make high-impact, meaningful connections with other purpose-driven women so they can find the tools, resources and support to grow and thrive in business with less hustle and more ease.

We have a beautiful 5,000-square-foot space, spread across two levels in Atlanta’s Historic Old Fourth Ward. The space has been designed for women by women and includes a Member’s lounge, shared workspaces, meeting rooms, quiet work areas, a bar/café area, a mother’s room, a beauty room plus event spaces. We’re open for Members 7 am to 10 pm Monday through Friday.

The Pandemic hit when our new space had been open less than one year, not at all what we would have predicted! Overnight we had to pivot all of our events and programming online to keep the community connected and provide a valuable support system through unprecedented times. At first we were piecing everything together through email, Slack, Eventbrite and Zoom, but we quickly realized we needed something more cohesive and robust. We re-launched our community fall 2020 through Mighty Networks, a community management and engagement platform where we connect Members, run events and community groups plus share ideas, tools and resources as well as connecting in person at our physical space.

It has been our intention from the start to build a diverse and inclusive community and the pandemic was a perfect opportunity to double down on that mission. With the support of amazing leaders and experts in our community we have intentionally built inclusivity into our community code and values but most importantly into the fiber of everything we do including our events, workshops, special programs, marketing and communication etc… While we are proud of our efforts so far, there is always more that can be done.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
After living in another country for a year you realize what you miss! While the Mediterranean diet is one of the best in the world, the Spanish don’t really do spicy food, so when we recently came back to visit we ate a lot of Mexican food and Asian Food. Nam Phuong on Buford Highway is one of our favorite Vietnamese restaurants. Little Ray, Superica or Bar Taco for Mexican food and Willy’s if you want an affordable pick up – a winner with kids. Fox Brothers for BBQ (I’ve recently gone vegetarian but those spicy chicken wings are to die for) i’m also partial to the buffalo wings are George’s in Virginia Highland. Finally Zyka for Indian food (also approved and recommended by friends from India!)

Other things I’ve missed while being away have been the diverse neighborhoods. We stayed in Inman Park and enjoyed visits to Krog Street Market and checking out the art along the beltline. I also love Cabbage Town for its quirky narrow streets and packed in houses and for a quick getaway the Georgia Mountains and Sea Islands are amazing places to visit.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Western cultures are more individualistic, prouder of success and more ambitious for personal growth. We have been taught that your own hard work and grit will get you far in life, but I don’t believe we can hustle and strong arm our way to success and that thinking often leaves us less connected to the people around us. Looking to others, finding support and asking for help is where we find sustainable success.

Throughout the pandemic I’ve looked to the women in our Lola community and beyond for modelling and inspiration. How were they doing it or doing it differently? What were the lessons they learned, where were they seeing success? I have been closely watching, listening, following, joining their groups, taking their workshops and courses. I have been so inspired and learned so much just by paying attention to the other women around me.

This isn’t an exhaustive list by any means but here are a few female business leaders who have taught and inspired me recently:

Sinoun Chea, Brittany Claud, Candace Wheeler, Lianamar Dávila, Kate Kordsmeier, Tallia Deljou, Dayle Bennett, Porsha Thomas, Helen Ngo, Abbey Glass, Manu Muraro, Kate Rosenow, Amy Porterfield, Tarzan Kay, Rachel Cook, Kate Northrup … and I know i’m missing others! Plus a BIG shout out to Kwajelyn Jackson at Feminine Women’s Health Center for tirelessly fighting for our basic human rights.

Website: the-lola.com

Instagram: thelola_women

Linkedin: The Lola

Facebook: thelolawomen

Image Credits
Image of Martine: Credit, Leah Roth