The Founding Females® Heartbeat February 2025 Recap
Hi friend! Hope you’ve had a meaningful Black History Month.
If you’ve been following along, you know that January 2025 showed out! I’m happy to share, February followed suit.
Here’s the latest you need to know about Founding Females®, including:
✨ The SEO Glow Up ✨ Training is coming back April 29th!
Where we spent time in February
March Meet Details
New article for women seeking mentorship
Mastermind Updates - What it was like inside
Let’s dive in!
#1 ✨ The SEO Glow Up ✨ Training is back April 29th!
The ✨ SEO Glow Up ✨ Training is back!
Mark your calendar for April 29, 2025. The training teaches female entrepreneurs a proven process for driving qualified traffic to your website and converting those visitors into paying customers.
Tap the button below to be notified when details become available.
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Share your best email for occasional tips, tricks, and free downloads about our female entrepreneurship resources.
#2 Where we spent time in February
At Founding Females®, we know you can’t build a successful business solely sitting behind a computer. Showing up and building community is so important!
Here’s where we spent time in February:
Founding Females® Meet Ups - Our community was buzzing inside free Founding Females® Meet Ups. With five thriving chapters and more on the way, Meet Ups are becoming the way female entrepreneurs connect and uplift one another. Join a chapter near you with dates listed below!
NAWBO Peoria - The National Association of Women Business Owners is another great female-entrepreneur organization. Last month, my daughter, Myla, and I attended a NAWBO meeting to hear our Mastermind member, Kayla Miller of KM Jewelry Design, speak. Twice now I’ve seen audiences completely captivated by Kayla’s expertise, so if your group is looking for a speaker who delights, she’s your best choice! Click to email a speaking inquiry to Kayla.
Women in Leadership Luncheon- Another one of our members, Stacy Brooks, co-founder of SKB Cyber, was the keynote and presented on using AI in small business and she also crushed it!
Founding Females® Mastermind - Of course we spent lots of time inside the Mastermind getting to know new members with excitement and support from our January Membership Week.
#3 March Founding Females® Meet Up Details
Dates and Locations for March Meet Ups:
Champaign-Urbana Founding Females® Meet Up Chapter
Peoria Area Founding Females® Meet Up Chapter
Champaign/Urbana, IL - March 4th at 8:30a at The CU Flower House (new location and time for 2025) hosted by Heidi Esther, Joyologist and Andrea Hunt, owner of The CU Flower House.
CU Flower House Address: 2006 S Neil St, Champaign, IL 61820. Champaign/Urbana Meet Ups are always the first Tuesday of the month.
Peoria Area, IL - March 11th at 10a at Cafe Santa Rosa (new location for 2025). Hosted by Hannah Knight of Always Flourishing Photography and Studio on Samson and Francie Hinrichsen, founder of Founding Females®
Cafe Santa Rosa Address: 1327 E Kelly Ave, Peoria Heights. Please note - No outside drinks allowed. Plan to arrive a little early if you'd like to order a drink from the cafe. Peoria Meet Ups are always the second Tuesday of the month.
Danville, IL - March 20th at 12p CT at First Place Coworking Space hosted by Jessica Nemecz of Two Roads Wellness Clinic and Ashton Greer of Westwood Equity Group and Partner, Fred & Ma, LLC. Feel free to bring your lunch. Danville Meet Ups are always the third Thursday of the month.
Decatur, IL - March 27th at 10a at Cass Concepts in Decatur, hosted by Lindsey Kirk of Lindsay the Ladysmith. Decatur Meet Ups are always the last Thursday of the month.
Carmel, IN - March 28th at 12pm ET at The Link Office Suites in Carmel in the "Straightaway Conference Room" (10255 Commerce Drive, Carmel, IN). Carmel Meet Ups are hosted by Amanda Galloway of Country Financial and Crystal Rightor, founder of Indy Brow Boss. Feel free to bring your lunch. Carmel Meet Ups are always hosted on the last Friday of the month.
New Illinois chapter coming soon! Stay on the lookout for our newest Founding Females® chapter coming in May!
#4 New Post: 10 Tips for Females Seeking Mentorship
Sometime in my 20’s, I made it a habit to ask mentor figures in my life, “How’d you do that?”
Whether it was building a business, building a marriage, becoming a mom, or starting a real estate portfolio, mentorship was a key element in my journey.
This shift toward apprenticing under others was a game-changer for fast-tracking habit formation and adopting a refined perspective from people who were already finding success in an area I wanted to polish in my own life.
Looking back, I’ve found mentors who have poured into me both in big ways and in small ways, each making a distinct mark on my journey.
Find Your Mentor
In this article, I uncover:
What a mentor is
Why having a mentor as a female entrepreneur is so important,
Examples of mentors in my own life, and
10 practical tips tailored for women seeking mentorship in entrepreneurship.
Tap the button below to read the article.
#5 Women’s Business Mastermind Updates
Our Women’s Business Mastermind is a safe space for women business owners to connect, support, and grow. Here’s what last month was like inside:
Theme: Our February theme was “Cashflow and Finances” - that means anything money-related was on the table! We talked about money mindset, changing the family tree, target ratio for operational costs:labor:profit, debt, budgets, and more.
Real Estate AMA: Owning real estate is one way many entrepreneurs are building wealth and becoming financially independent. We hosted a Real Estate AMA for women who currently own real estate or are interested in learning how to start a real estate portfolio.
Prep Sheet: Every month, members gain access to a Mastermind Call Prep Sheet to help dive deep into the month’s topic and apply the tips and best practices from the Mastermind dialogue.
March Theme: Our March theme inside the mastermind is “All-Things Marketing”!
2025 Scheduling
If you didn’t know, we have a marketing division under the Founding Females® brand. Since we launched Founding Females® in 2021, we’ve helped over 1000 women grow their businesses and take the next best step in entrepreneurship.
If you anticipate needing any of the following services this year, please let us know so we hold space for you on our calendar:
Website refresh or website management (monthly and quarterly options available - Taking Squarespace clients only starting in 2025.)
Audits for SEO and CRO - SEO stands for search engine optimization and CRO stands for conversion rate optimization
Business and marketing strategy support, including brainstorming strategy sessions
Speaking engagements (topics: ‘The Fundamentals of Marketing,’ SEO, and business strategy)
Let’s chat about your business!
Have a personal business struggle or win you want someone to get excited about with? I’d love to talk through it with you! Comment below or click to email me.
Cheering for you!
Francie, Founder
Recent Blog Posts About Female Entrepreneurship
Past Founding Females® Heartbeat Newsletters
Founding Females® Heartbeat November 2024
Founding Females® Heartbeat December 2024
Founding Females® Heartbeat January 2024
P.S. Here are some of my top favorite female small business resources:
Dream, Build, Grow: A Female’s Step-by-Step Guide for How to Start a Business available on Amazon- a guided handbook including everything you need to know from business idea to launch to profiting and scaling your business.
Dream, Build, Grow Free Resource Suite - free business templates for your business plan, marketing plan, ideal client persona, financial statements, and more!
Founding Females Community - an online female mastermind space for entrepreneurs to connect, support, and get inspired
Free Downloads for Female Entrepreneurs
Free PDF Download: 25 Ways to Market Your Business (Aside from Social Media)
Free PDF Download: 33 keys to Business Success
Free PDF Download: SEO Tips for Entrepreneurs
Related Articles for Female Entrepreneurs
Hi, I’m Francie!
Nice to meet you. I’m the founder of Founding Females®. Some call me a business sage because I love to empower female entrepreneurs to breathe life into the business dreams God called them to.
After feeling like a misfit in the corporate world, I discovered a life I loved waking up to through business ownership.
I’m the author of Dream, Build, Grow: A Female’s Step-by-Step Guide for How to Start a Business, a guided journal helping hundreds of women start and grow their businesses.
I’m also a passionate entrepreneurship hype girl, female leader, public speaker, and community enthusiast.
My MBA and 10 years in a corporate career and in business ownership positioned me as an entrepreneurship educator with forward-thinking strategies for starting and growing successful businesses.
As a community leader, I realized other women could thrive with the right guidance and support. I created the Founding Females® Mastermind Community that provides a safe space for women to build better businesses.
I believe that anyone with a dream on their heart can pull up a seat to change the world through entrepreneurship. Looking to grow your own business? Click for info about how to work with me.
About Founding Females®
The mission of Founding Females® is to help women build thriving businesses. We create safe spaces for women to share business challenges and receive peer support.
In addition, Founding Females® offers an online female business mastermind, a how-to guidebook for female entrepreneurs called Dream, Build, Grow: A Female’s Step-by-Step Guide for How to Start a Business, and in-person events, like an annual women’s business conference and local Founding Females® Meet Ups.
Founding Females® was founded by small business educator, Francie Hinrichsen. She believes anyone with a dream on their heart can pull up a seat to change the world through entrepreneurship. Click to learn more about working with Francie.
The latest Founding Females® news on the next ✨ SEO Glow Up ✨ Training, events we attended last month, a new post on mentorship, and more! Click to view…