Starting a business can be a lonely place. Especially if you don’t have the full support of your family and friends. Going from a career where you have office space provided along with a built in team and all the items needed to do your daily tasks including phones, copiers, desks and more can be overwhelming and break the budget you might not have as a startup. So how do you get those things without maxing out your credit cards?
Enter Felena Hanson, founder of Hera Hub. She saw a need for a welcoming space for women entrepreneurs who need flexible space outside their homes to conduct business. A space that not only fills a physical need for a desk and space but also meets the intellectual and business needs of a startup. Being surrounded by like-minded women who want to prosper and grow can make the difference between success and failure.
With the success of the first two locations, Felena realized she was on to something. Felena will share with us how she made the leap into franchising. Both the pitfalls and the successes. She will also share with us what co-working is, how it makes an impact and how you can get started creating your own co-working space.
Join us on Wednesday, November 12, 2014 at 5 PM Eastern/2 PM Pacific/22 GMT on the All Business Radio Network. If you can’t catch us live, tune in on iTunes and Stitcher to listen when you want and as often as you want.
Felena is a long-time entrepreneur and marketing maven. Her latest venture, Hera Hub, is a spa-inspired shared workspace for female entrepreneurs. This as-needed, flexible work and meeting space provides a productive environment for women who primarily work from home. Hera Hub members have access to a professional space to meet with clients and to connect and collaborate with like-minded business owners, thus giving them the support they need to be prosperous. Cost-effective monthly membership options are suited for freelancers, independent consultants, entrepreneurs, nonprofits, and authors.
Hera Hub is much more than just a shared workspace; it’s a community of like-minded entrepreneurial women who find the additional resources, such as special classes, workshops, and one-on-one support essential for their business growth.
After building three successful locations in San Diego County, her next goal is to support over 20,000 women in the launch and growth of their business via 200 Hera Hub locations over the next 5 years. She is expanding via a franchise model, thus is seeking well-connected women who might be interested in learning more about how they can launch a Hera Hub for their community.
Felena is passionate about education, earning her Bachelor’s degree in Marketing from the University of San Diego and her MBA from California State University Dominguez Hills. She taught Marketing and Entrepreneurship at the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising and at California State University Dominguez Hills for the MBA online program for eight years.
Felena has been nominated for numerous small business awards and was rewarded for her community efforts by winning the 2012 “Women Business Owner of the Year” award and the 2014 “Women Advocate of the Year” award from the San Diego chapter of the National Organization of Women Business Owners. In 2014 she also won the “Small Business Champion of the Year” award from the San Diego Small Business Administration.