The Founding Females® Heartbeat February 2026
Credit: Hannah Knight of Always Flourishing Photography
February 2026 Heartbeat
The Founding Females® space has felt like one big reunion.
Our mothership Founding Females® Meet Up hosted it’s largest problem-solving session to date with 30 women in attendance in February with discussion about starting new chapters in Central New Jersey, South Florida, and Las Vegas! Our women’s business mastermind grew by 80 members in January! We have a new collab on the books in March to celebrate International Women’s Day in Central Illinois!
There’s so much going on in our female entrepreneur space, and I can’t wait to tell you about all of it.
Here’s what’s been happening inside our community in the last month:
#1 Membership Week Update: 80 New Founders Inside
We welcomed 80 new members into our women’s business mastermind during Membership Week from January 26 - 30, and what a cohort they are!
These women walked in bright, encouraging, empathetic, and already thinking about how they could pour into the center of the room.
Now, they’re asking questions, participating wholeheartedly, signing up to speak, stepping forward into our founder spotlight, attending events, and beginning to leverage members-only discounts and resources immediately.
And perhaps most importantly, they took our Founding Females® Culture Code to heart and transitioned seamlessly to vibe to the well-established frequency.
To our newest members: we see you. We’re so glad you’re here.
To our existing members: you have widened the circle and welcomed new members in with open arms and you are exactly what makes this community so special!
Didn’t join this round, but wish you did? Complete our interest form to be notified if we ever run Membership Week again!
#2 Announcing Our First 2026 Collaboration: A Woman’s Voice
We are thrilled to announce our first collaboration of 2026:
A Woman’s Voice
In partnership with:
📅 March 5th
⏰ 6:00–8:00 PM
📍 In-person event
This gathering is one of the many ways we’ll celebrate Women’s History Month and honor International Women’s Day (March 8th) a little early.
Our goal? To link arms with local women’s organizations. To encourage and support one another. To connect women to the resources that amplify our voices.
This event well-aligns with our ethos at Founding Females® because when women collaborate instead of compete, entire communities benefit.
Cost: $30 in advance, $40 at the door
Registration is live:
👉 peoriawomensclub.com/a-womans-voice
Space is limited. Registration includes a meal and incredible community. We would love to see you there.
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#3 What Female Founders Are Talking About
Thought Leadership: How to Go From Entrepreneur to Thought Leader
All month inside the mastermind, we’ve been exploring how women:
Communicate and actually walk out their ideas as thought leaders
Trust lived experience instead of waiting for permission
Step into authority before they “feel ready”
Embrace the discomfort of feeling like an imposter again, knowing that’s where growth happens and opportunities flow
The women who thrive are the ones willing to outgrow their previous identity.
We also recently published our newest blog hack series post:
👉 Own Your Authority: 13 Ways to Go from Entrepreneur to Thought Leader
#4 March Meet Ups
Mark your calendar and plan to meet us at any one of our local Founding Females® Meet Ups.
Founding Females® Meet Ups are your favorite kind of business hang-out, minus awkward networking vibes.
Come join a group of real, passionate women entrepreneurs for a free monthly in-person Meet Up where we chat, laugh, share wins, and crowdsource solutions together. Think of it like grabbing coffee with a circle of supportive founder friends who actually get what you’re juggling: business ideas, challenges, breakthroughs, and all.
Free + Open to All Women Entrepreneurs - Bring your business challenges, your goals, an open mind, and a friend!
✨ Champaign/Urbana, IL - 1st Tuesday at 8:45a CT at The CU Flower House (@thecuflowerhouse).
March 3rd. Hosted by Holly Birch (@hollybirchphoto), Ali Kreider (@thisisalikfitness) and Andrea Hunt, owner of The CU Flower House (2006 S Neil St, Champaign, IL 61820).
✨ Peoria Area, IL - 2nd Tuesday at 10a CT @cafesantarosa_co (1327 E Kelly Ave, Peoria Heights, IL).
March 10th hosted by Hannah Knight of @AlwaysFlourishingPhotography and @thestudioonsampson and Francie Hinrichsen, founder of Founding Females®.
*Please note - No outside drinks allowed. Please support your locally owned coffee shops.
✨ Livingston County - 2nd Thursday at 10a CT. March 12th hosted by @ChristineBrownPhotography at Christine Brown Photography (117 S Main Street, Suite 3, Flanagan, IL 61740).
✨ Danville, IL - *New time and place* Third Thursday at 10:30a CT
March 19th hosted by Jessica Nemecz of @two.roads.wellness at Mad Goat Coffee North (@MadGoatCoffee)
✨ Decatur, IL - Stay tuned for more details.
All Founding Females® events and details are listed on our website at the link below
#5 A Special Shoutout
We want to send a huge wave of encouragement to our dear friend and mentor, Kathryn Spitznagle, as she takes the TEDx stage at the University of South Florida on March 7th.
What a powerful way to celebrate International Women’s Day by amplifying a woman who has persevered through mountainous challenges and used them to pour so much wisdom into others.
We’re cheering you on, Kathryn. Always.
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
The Founding Females® Heartbeat January 2026
The Founding Females® Heartbeat December 2025
Founding Females® Heartbeat November 2025
Founding Females® Heartbeat October 2025
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 Mastermind- 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.
Meet Sylvia Correa, Founder of Quillworx, a career clarity platform designed to help job seekers navigate the hiring process. Click to view…