Women-centric workspace to open in NewBo

CEDAR RAPIDS - A shared office space catered specifically to women business owners will officially open its doors in the New Bohemia district next month.

Meegan Hofmeister, a local businesswoman, has started the Dostal House, 1000 Third St. SE, as a mix of retail and salon space with co-working space for entrepreneurs. Business owners will be able to sell their products on the first floor while they work on their companies on the second.

Unlike other co-working spaces around Iowa, though, the Dostal House is tailored to serve women founders. The public will be able to shop in the retail space, but the upstairs offices are solely for the women members.

'From personal experience, being an entrepreneur in a non-tech related business can be extremely lonely,” Hofmeister said. 'Everyone thinks of entrepreneurs as being very tech focused right now and there's a lot of support for those kinds of businesses. There's very little out there for more of a lifestyle, consumer-based business.”

Similar women-only co-working spaces have opened across the country - in New York, Washington, D.C., Phoenix, Ariz. and St. Louis, Mo.

Hofmeister said the co-working space has enough room for between eight and 12 members. So far, there are two tenants, including Written Apparel and Dollup Beauty.

'We're looking to bring in different kinds of business so we can all learn from each other,” Hofmeister said.

Thirty-three percent of Iowa's businesses are female-owned, compared to 54 percent that are male-owned, according to a 2016 report from the Iowa Small Business Development Center. Another 13 percent are equally owned by males and females.

The idea for the Dostal House, Hofmeister said, came from her own experience running a business and working with other woman business owners. She was a co-founder of the Blonde and the Brunette, a clothing boutique once located right next door to the Dostal House. Hofmeister shuttered the clothing shop last year.

'I think I would have had a better chance of success if I would have had someone there to help me learn how to run that sort of business,” she said. 'And I think it's always important to have people who are there for you, to help support you and guide you because it can be a roller coaster of a ride.”

After closing the business, Hofmeister began working from home but decided it wasn't for her.

'I needed a space to go to where I could surround myself with positive women, specifically with a good energy and determination to make something happen for themselves,” she said.

Hofmeister said she also wants to create networking events and a mentorship pool of women business leaders in the Corridor.

The Dostal House's location puts it just blocks away from the Vault, a co-working space run by the New Bohemian Innovation Collaborative, Hofmeister said, though, she did not create her space to compete with other collaborative work spaces.

'This is a space that I know I needed. This is a space that I know other business owners need,” she said. 'I think there's space for all of us because we all offer something a little bit different.”

The co-working and retail space will hold a grand opening 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Saturday, July 8.

l Comments: (319) 398-8366; matthew.patane@thegazette.com