Why Every Woman in Business Needs a Female Founders Community
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Running a business as a woman can feel really lonely. Even when you have a supportive family and great clients, there is something specific about ambition that nobody around you quite gets.
That changed for me when I joined two female founders communities. One is local. One is virtual. Both have shifted how I run my business and how I feel about being in business.
In this post, I am walking you through both communities, what actually happens inside them, and why I think every woman in business needs to find her own version of this.
Why I Joined Two Female Founders Communities
For most of my adolescence, I did not feel like I fit in anywhere. So when I started my business, I expected that feeling to follow me. Spoiler: it did. Until I found these communities.
I belong to Female Founders Twin Cities here in Minnesota, and CEO Besties, a virtual community based out of Manhattan Beach, California. Each one fills a different need. Together, they have changed how I show up as a business owner.
Here is a real look at both.
Inside Female Founders Twin Cities
Female Founders Twin Cities is a Minnesota-based female entrepreneurship community founded by Brittany Heyboer of Unlock Her Co and Nikki, who is now the CEO. They run monthly meetups (capped at 24 people), an online community called FFTC Connect, a smaller weekly coaching group called the Legacy Room, and a yearly retreat.
The monthly meetups are perfect if you just want to dip your toe in. You show up, meet other women in business, and have real conversations. I make about once a quarter because of my schedule. But the real meat is the retreat.
What Actually Happened at the Retreat
The FFTC retreat I went on was at Nature Link in Nisswa, Minnesota. We arrived Tuesday night and stayed until Friday morning. About 10 women, mostly small business owners and founders.
The first full day was all subconscious reprogramming. We worked on vision, parts integration, and limiting beliefs. Brittany has multiple certifications in subconscious reprogramming, somatics, and mindset work, and the entire day was structured around it.
I am going to be honest. Going in, I am not the woo woo type. I am the skeptic in the room. I like strategy, math problems, and clean spreadsheets. But there was something powerful about sitting in that room with other women working through their stuff.
The second day was strategy day. Lunch did not agree with me, so I ended up skipping the afternoon session and going back to my cabin sick. Long story short (listen to the podcast), it wasn’t the food, it was my emotions trying to process. Brittany came over and talked me through what came up for me that morning. In about 45 minutes, I went from feeling like I had the stomach flu to feeling 100 percent better. Just from letting the emotions out.
This was way more than business. It exceeded every expectation I had.
The Legacy Room
The Legacy Room is the higher tier inside Female Founders Twin Cities. It is a weekly small group that meets every Tuesday at noon. The whole point is live coaching with no homework.
Example: instead of a generic “how to build a sales funnel” workshop, you pitch your actual sales process and get coached on it in real time. Instead of “here is what human design is, go take the quiz,” they walk you through your specific human design report and how to use it in your business.
It is actionable in the hour. That is the difference.
I am not in the Legacy Room right now because of a scheduling conflict, but if you are in Minnesota and looking for a serious women in business community, that is where I would point you. You can check out the full setup at Female Founders Twin Cities.
How the CEO Besties Virtual Community Works
CEO Besties is the second community I belong to. Founded by Natalie and Emily, both certified in subconscious reprogramming and coaching, this one is based in Manhattan Beach. The community is virtual, which is how someone like me in Minnesota gets to be a part of it.
I actually found them through a tag on Threads, which is wild. I have been working with them for about a year, redesigning parts of their websites and helping them with SEO and being found on AI search. When their virtual community launched, I joined as their SEO and Pinterest strategist.
The virtual membership meets weekly on Tuesdays at noon. Every call we do intros, share what is going on in our businesses, and run hot seat coaching where one person brings a real problem and the room helps work through it.
What I love about the virtual setup is the consistency. Because everyone is paying to be in it, you actually get to know people over time. With drop-in meetups, the faces change every month, which makes deep business friendships harder to build.
You can check out CEO Besties if you are not in Minnesota. The virtual membership is open to founders from all over the world (and there are some international members in it!).
What Makes a Female Entrepreneurship Community Different from Regular Networking?
Networking events are great for handshakes and business cards. A female entrepreneurship community is for the real work.
A real community gives you:
• People who get what it actually feels like to run a business
• Real coaching on your real problems, not generic advice
• Friendships that last beyond a single coffee meeting
• Both mindset support and tactical strategy in the same room
If you are going to monthly mixers and wondering why nothing seems to stick, that is why. Connection takes consistency.
How to Know If a Women in Business Community Is Worth the Investment
Not every community is going to be your community. Here is how I evaluate it:
- Founders matter. Look at who is running it. Are they doing real work, or just collecting members?
- Consistency matters more than size. A small group that meets weekly will move your business further than a big group you see twice a year.
- Strategy plus mindset. The best communities address both. Strategy without mindset hits a wall. Mindset without strategy spins forever.
- You should feel seen. Not performatively. Actually seen.
If you walk away from a meetup feeling like nobody got what you do, it is the wrong room.
If you are a woman in business and you have never found your people, this is your nudge.
It does not have to be one of the two communities I am in. Just find one. Pay attention to how you feel in the room. Notice if you feel more or less like yourself when you leave.
For more on the strategy side of growing your business, you can check out my SEO tips and resources or come hang out with me on Instagram @julie.pwdesigns. And you can listen to the full episode below.
