The Founding Females® Heartbeat May 2025
A Month Full of Magic (and Major Moves!)
Whew — May came in hot!
This month has been absolutely packed with girl power, good vibes, and big moments for Founding Females®.
From inspiring Meet Ups to mastering Reels, celebrating women authors, and unveiling our brand-new membership badge (!!!), we’ve been busy showing up, standing tall, and making space for women to shine.
Whether you were there with us IRL or cheering us on from your inbox, we can’t wait to give you a peek at all the magic we’ve been creating — and what’s coming next. Spoiler: Membership Week is almost here.
Let’s recap May’s glow-up, shall we?
Here’s the latest you need to know from Founding Females®, including:
Membership Week announced!
Celebrating 10 years of business ownership - “10 Days of Giveaways” coming soon!
Impactful places where we’ve spent time in May
What we’re loving, can’t stop reading, and can’t stop thinking about. Plus, what YOU are loving rn.
Mark your calendar for June Founding Females® Meet Up details
Let’s dive in!
#1 Membership Week announced!
Our most highly anticipated week of the year is just around the corner!!
🔥 Mastermind Membership Week 🔥
The Founding Females® Mastermind Membership Week is coming up June 23 - 27!
Membership week is one week only where we offer monthly membership into our women’s business mastermind for $34/month instead of $109/month.
Put yourself in a room where women don’t gossip or compete because they’re too busy empowering.
This is a mastermind for women entrepreneurs in early to mid-stages of business seeking clarity, confidence, community support, and revenue growth.
If you’ve been craving a warm, supportive group of women business owners to grow with, this is your opportunity. Tap the button below. Then complete the form to stay up to date on Membership Week details and for early access.
By the way, we officially unveiled our brand new membership badge with a big surprise coming in June for members. 🤫 Stay tuned!
Inbox Love
Share your best email for occasional tips, tricks, and free downloads about our female entrepreneurship resources.
#2 Celebrating 10 Years of Business Ownership
Cue the confetti... On June 1st, I'm (Francie) celebrating 10 whole years in business — a full decade of building, evolving, and cheering women on every step of the way.
To mark the milestone, Founding Females® is throwing a little (okay, big) party in your inbox and on Instagram with 10 Days of Giveaways from May 23–June 1! Make sure you're on the email list so you don’t miss a thing.
Think: business-boosting resources, exclusive access, and gifts from our favorite female-owned brands.
Let's take a peek at what's to come...
Day 1 - 1 winner will receive a $100 credit toward a Personal Branding Shoot with our incredibly talented friend, Hannah Knight, over at Always Flourishing Photography.
Day 2 - 5 winners will receive their fave drink from a woman-owned or woman co-owned coffee shop on us
Day 3 - 1 winner will receive a recently launched subscription box from our friends at The Wink House
Day 4 - 3 winners receive a copy of Dream, Build, Grow: A Female’s Step-by-Step Guide for How to Start a Business
Day 5 - 1 winner will receive a Mini SEO Audit + 1 Hour of Expert Implementation brought to you by the powerhouse duo of Founding Females® and Bre Henderson
Day 6 - 2 Winners will receive one 30-minute strategy session with Francie, the founder of Founding Females®, to help you start, grow, or scale your business with intention
Day 7 - 2 winners will receive the replay of our fan-favorite training: The ✨ SEO Glow Up ✨
Day 8 - 5 Winners will receive our signature ‘Networking that Works Roadmap’
Day 9 - 1 winner will receive a One-Year Membership to our Founding Females® Women's Business Mastermind. We *can't wait* to welcome you inside!!
Day 10 - 1 winner will receive The Dream Business Bundle - One Year of Founding Females® Mastermind Membership, A fresh copy of Dream, Build, Grow, and Coffee to fuel your business dreams
That's 22 winners and over $2000 in prizes.
My founder’s journey isn’t about success—it’s about staying in the game, doing business differently, and proving that women-led companies can be sustainable, joyful, and wildly impactful.
I hope this celebration reminds you:
✔️ You don’t need to have it all figured out.
✔️ You just need to keep showing up.
#3 Impactful places where we’ve spent time in May
May has been for hugging IRL. Think encouraging Meet Ups, celebration luncheons, and upleveling workshops. Here’s where we’ve spent time this month:
Founding Females® Meet Ups
Our Meet Up chapters are bringing the heat! From Illinois to Indiana, women are showing up, linking arms, and lifting each other higher at our monthly gatherings. Take a peek at the magic happening when community meets connection
Women’s Fund Luncheon
Two of our members, Sara Skolaski and Kisha Woods, were nominated and honored at the Women’s Fund Luncheon hosted by the Community Foundation of Central Illinois.
Women in Leadership Book Signing
A group of female authors gathered to present the inspiration for our books. I especially loved purchasing and supporting mastermind member, Dr. Kristen Strom, an author, speaker, and coach. Pictured below are authors Dr. Kristen Strom (Empowered Ascent), Kathryn Spitznagle (Rock Star Millennials), Layla Slater (Saving Abigail Grace).
Peer-Style Group Coaching: Hot Seat with Bre Henderson
This month, our mastermind crew showed UP for one of our own — the amazing Bre Henderson — as she preps to launch something brand new this August!
Bre brought her idea to the group, and our powerhouse members came through with smart, strategic, and seriously valuable feedback to help shape her offer and brainstorm potential revenue streams. Talk about business besties in action!
Huge shoutout to Dr. Kristen Strom, Stacy Brooks, Kimberly Hartman, and Janelle Reeb for pouring into Bre with insight, encouragement, and big energy. How cool is it that your ideas are helping shape the future of her biz?!
Support like this is what our Founding Females® mastermind is all about — real-time, peer-style coaching that uplifts, empowers, and helps women win together
#4 What We’re Loving Right Now
Some of the BEST resources come from our circles. Here are favorites we’re all loving right now!
Something Making a Positive Impact
Current obsession: Daily Lemon Tea Total game-changer.
I can’t quite remember where I got this recipe, but it’s been comfort fuel for long days recently. Here’s the recipe:
8oz hot water
Juice of one lemon
A shake shake of turmeric
A shake shake of cayenne pepper
A tiny shake of pepper
1 tbs of collagen peptides (I love the Truvani brand by The Food Babe)
Books I Can’t Put Down
You’ll notice a theme in our Founding Females® community…many of us are avid readers because books open up so much opportunity for growth.
Here’s what’s playing on my daily walks:
The Working Genius by Patrick Lencioni
Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself by Dr. Joe Dispenza
Mantra That’s Been in My Head Lately
“Put yourself in a room where women don’t gossip or compete because they’re too busy empowering.”
Upskilling: ‘Reels That Sell and Scale’ Workshop
The Reels that Sell and Scale Workshop I told you about last month..it happened.
And it was 🔥🔥.
I mean, Hannah from Always Flourishing Photography and Abbe from Maverick Marketing crushed it. I can’t say I’ve mastered the art of Reels yet, but I’m so glad I was in that room! The feedback from the workshop was so good that Hannah and Abbe are planning to make the workshop accessible online. I’ll keep you updated when that happens.
Here are some pics…
What' You’re Loving Right Now
This sisterhood! Our Founding Females® women’s business mastermind is getting so much love right now! We’re hearing consistently about how Founding Females® has been pivotal to members in our community raising the bar and building profitable businesses on your terms.
#5 June Meet Up Deets!
We are loving the strategic magic happening at our Founding Females® Meet Ups! From new collabs to fresh biz ideas, when women show up and pour into each other, amazing things happen — and we are 👏 all 👏 about 👏 it!
Our Meet Ups are totally free and open to any female entrepreneur ready to connect, collaborate, and crowdsource solutions to real business challenges. With six chapters across Illinois and Indiana, there’s likely one near you — and if not, let’s chat about starting one!
Champaign-Urbana Founding Females® Meet Up Chapter
Champaign/Urbana, IL Founding Females® Meet Up
June 3 at 8:30a at The CU Flower House hosted by Heidi Esther, Joyologist and Andrea Hunt, owner of The CU Flower House (2006 S Neil St, Champaign, IL 61820). Champaign/Urbana Meet Ups are always the first Tuesday of the month.
Peoria Area, IL Founding Females® Meet Up
June 10th at 10a at Cafe Santa Rosa (1327 E Kelly Ave, Peoria Heights, IL). Hosted by Hannah Knight of Always Flourishing Photography and Studio on Sampson and Francie Hinrichsen, founder of Founding Females®. oh heyyy!
*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.
* Brand New * Livingston County Founding Females® Meet Up
June 12 at 10a. We are so excited to announce the launch of our newest Founding Females® Meet Up Chapter in Flanagan, Illinois! We call it our “Livingston County Meet Up Chapter”!
This incredible female entrepreneur event will be hosted by Christine Brown at Christine Brown Photography (117 S Main Street, Suite 3, Flanagan, IL 61740) on the second Thursday of the month at 10a CT!
Danville, IL Founding Females® Meet Up
June 19th at 12p CT Location to be announced 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 Founding Females® Meet Up
June 26th at 10a at @CassConcepts (100 E Main St, Decatur, IL) in Decatur, hosted by Lindsey Kirk of Lindsey the Ladysmith and Cassie Yoder, founder of Cass Concepts. Decatur Meet Ups are the last Thursday of the month.
Carmel, IN Founding Females® Meet Up
June 27th 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.
Start a Founding Females® Meet Up Chapter
Founding Females® is growing! If you don’t live near an existing Meet Up chapter and you’d like to start one of your own, pop into our inbox! We’ll teach you how to create a supportive, inclusive squad of female entrepreneurs to link arms and level up with.
Plus, we’ll travel to help you launch your first Founding Females® Meet Up in your area!
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 their next best step in entrepreneurship.
If you anticipate needing any of the following services this year, please let us know so we can 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 December 2024
Founding Females® Heartbeat January 2025
Founding Females® Heartbeat February 2025
Founding Females® Heartbeat March 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.
Whew — May came in hot! This month has been absolutely packed with girl power, good vibes, and big moments for Founding Females®. From inspiring Meet Ups to mastering Reels, celebrating women authors, and unveiling our brand-new membership badge (!!!), we’ve been busy showing up, standing tall, and making space for women to shine. Let’s begin…