Local children’s author opens shared workspace in Junction City, aims to help working parents with affordable office space

When writer and illustrator, Jonna Magnussen, moved to the Flint Hills region in 2015 when her husband was stationed on Fort Riley, it seemed at first an idyllic start to a new life. They found a beautiful country home outside of Junction City. “We started a small farm and had a big garden, with goats and chickens, and it was beautiful.”

Although the family enjoyed their change to country living, the rural area lacked one crucial amenity: internet. “I felt so isolated,” says Jonna. This made staying connected with people or even promoting her books more difficult.

After her husband’s retirement, she had hopes they would move back to her hometown in El Paso, Texas. At first Jonna was disappointed to learn that her husband had fallen in love with the area and did not want to leave. But she decided to commit to the challenge of making Junction City her home long-term.

During Covid, the family found that acquiring Internet was crucial for their children to do online school. But the access was still very limited. “[The internet service] was through the electric company and a satellite, and there was just enough internet for my oldest son, who was a freshman in high school, to do his online learning,” says Jonna.

In 2022, Jonna’s sister presented her with job offer, one that would lead her out of her home in search of internet access and into new opportunities she had not yet imagined. A real estate agent with Arrow Key Group of Keller Williams, in El Paso, Texas, her sister needed support for her growing agency. “My sister needed a transaction coordinator and a marketing coordinator, and she had trouble keeping someone consistently. And she was like, ‘You’re the only person. You’re my big sister. You have to help me.’ And so, I started taking classes to get my real estate license in Texas,” says Jonna.

Working remotely with her sister provided Jonna with a hometown connection that made her feel less isolated in her community as she continued to adjust to life in Kansas. “I wanted to be close to my sister from so far away and working remotely makes me feel like we get to see each other every day,” says Jonna. “She is my best friend, little sister and boss lady.”

With her new job being remote, internet suddenly was no longer an extra - it was a necessity. She determined to find a place to work that would have internet access. “My youngest son went off to preschool, and I said, I need an office,” says Jonna. She started looking for office space in the area, but she found that everything was out of her price range. “I started asking around, like, ‘Can I just hop in with you? I’ll pay a couple $100 and just take a small corner’, but no luck,” says Jonna.

But it was her experience running into an affordable workspace barrier that prompted Jonna’s next move: a business plan to start a co-working space in Junction City. Her target clients: other remote workers and small business owners who needed accessible, affordable office space to work.

After meeting with a friend, Meredith Fisher, Jonna was encouraged to join the Junction City Entrepreneur 101 course. “I’m like, ‘Why not?’ So, we went, and I really enjoyed it,” says Jonna. Once she joined the class, Jonna found that at the end of the course the class hosts a pitch competition, and she decided to participate. “Throughout that class, I made new connections, even the owner of this building that I’m in now, and he was like, ‘I might have a space for you, it sounds perfect,’” says Jonna. When she saw the space, she knew that was it.

“Everything worked from there; doors just opened,” says Jonna. Jonna won the pitch competition at the Junction City 101 First Annual First Investment Competition, on October 24th, 2022, funded by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. With the grant money, she was able to obtain the location on Main Street and outfit it with desks, chairs, a coffee maker, a refrigerator and a water cooler. Her hard work paid off, and Jonna opened the doors to The Junction City Workshop in January of 2023. 

Once The Workshop opened, her friend, Meredith’s support continued. Herself a member of the space, Meredith owns a business called Business Helpers, in which she provides business assistance to new entrepreneurs. Meredith used her connections to help expand the office and recruit other small business members, M&R Renovation and Repair and WHOLE Health, to the co-working space. “She has helped me the most, I think, by giving me that sense of belonging and community and guidance. And she is also trying to build her business too. So, I feel like it’s a starting path for us as women and we support each other,” says Jonna. 

In addition to her remote work and starting the Junction City Workshop, Jonna is also promoting her first children’s book, “Go With The Moon.” It’s a story about a big sister showing her little brother how to go with the moon and overcome his fear of the dark. In writing and publishing her own book, Jonna continues to face the challenges of starting a creative business and brand as she promotes the book through library and bookstore readings and prepares kid-friendly and interactive activities. (Visit Jonna’s Facebook page for “Go With The Moon” to attend one of her future readings.) 

Looking ahead, Jonna has many aspirations for The Junction City Workshop. She would like to add more space, host more trainings and meetups, and support working parents with a family-friendly workspace. As a working mom, Jonna understands the hardships that working parents face when caring for their children. “My target is working parents because eventually I want to have a space for the kids to do arts and crafts or have a quiet time, and even partner up with one of the local daycare providers so it would be part of the membership.”

Jonna sees shared workspace as solving two problems, not just affordability but also community. “When I published my first children’s book two years ago, it was such a struggle because I didn’t have any community or any place to test it out. And I feel like I want to provide that to other parents or military spouses that might be feeling alone or like they don’t belong.”

She adds, “I want to target people like me. That’s what I know.”

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Check out the affordable workspace options at The Junction City Workshop’s Facebook page.