With San Diego Startup Week around the corner, we asked a few local female entrepreneurs to tell the story of how their business got started.

Female entrepreneurship is skyrocketing in the U.S.—with female owned businesses launching at twice the rate of businesses owned by men. If you’ve been involved in San Diego’s startup community during the past few years, chances are you’ve crossed paths with Felena Hanson. On June 15, she is moderating a panel on Female Founders at the San Diego Startup Week.

The busy 42-year-old is the founder and CEO of Hera Hub, a shared work and meeting space for female entrepreneurs. It’s no secret that the entrepreneur space historically has been overwhelmingly male. “This is part of the reason I created Hera Hub, to give women the support they need to launch and grow their business,” says Hanson.

She recently published her first book, Flight Club: Rebel, Reinvent, and Thrive: How to Launch Your Dream Business, which features stories and advice from female entrepreneurs, including Hanson’s own.

“The book is part my journey and path to entrepreneurship, stories of over a dozen inspiring women, tools to help the reader discover their dream business, and finally, a step-by-step process to get that business off the ground,“ she says.

Like so many other entrepreneurs, she noticed a gap in the market, and decided to fill it herself:  “Hera Hub grew out of my personal need for a flexible work, meeting, and event space.”

In 2003, Hanson was laid off from a marketing director position at a high-tech company—her third layoff before the age of 30—and found herself pushed into entrepreneurship. “I launched a marketing strategy consulting firm, Perspective Marketing, and found it convenient and cost effective to work from home.“

But after a few years of working from home, she began to feel isolated, and in 2008 she was turned on to the idea of “coworking.” The concept, which provides a professional work environment to people not traditionally employed—independent contractors, freelancers, or those working from home—had already become popular in larger cities.

“I began to really study the model, visiting coworking spaces in New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco,” she says. “It took me approximately 12 months from the time I decided to move forward with the launch of Hera Hub to the point where I completed my business plan, secured financing—which came from personal savings and a loan from a close family member—and solidified my first location.”

But Hera Hub is much more than just a shared workspace. According to Hanson, “It’s a community of entrepreneurial women who find the additional resources, such as special classes, workshops, and one-on-one support essential for their business growth.”

Today Hera Hub has three San Diego locations and one in Washington, D.C., with 6 more cities in the works. The goal, Hanson says, is “to support over 20,000 women in the launch and growth of their businesses by 2020.”

Felena Hanson believes in mentoring women in the community on a daily basis—in fact, it’s part of her business model. And so is her number one advice for new female entrepreneurs: “Find a community of like-minded people to support you.”

San Diego Startup Week is June 13-17. Catch the panel on Female Founders on June 15.

Tags: Blogs, Hatch Blog