When owner Kayla Pendleton first moved back to Fresno after a four month stint in San Diego, she missed the women-oriented workspace she had discovered down south.

After two years of hoping that someone else would open a similar space in Fresno, she decided to do it on her own. Now, she's opened up Fresno's first coworking space focused on female entrepreneurs, Her Space at 7543 N. Ingram Ave in Palm Bluffs. 

Members at Her Space can access a community coworking area, a quiet coworking area, coffee and snacks. For larger groups, there are also meeting rooms, a large conference room that can fit 16, and an event space for evenings and weekends. 

Pendleton came to appreciate coworking spaces after she realized that working from home wasn't a good option for her. Nor was a private office. 

"I ended up pretty isolated," she told us, "and that was hard." 

As someone who was the sole member of her marketing team, she also didn't have many resources available if she wanted to "up her game," she said.

Hera Hub, a coworking space and business accelerator in San Diego, was a game changer for her. "I became more productive," she explained, "[while] making new friends and learning more about the industry that I was in."

She also enjoyed networking and collaborating with other women, many of whom became close friends. 

Once back in Fresno, Pendleton started reaching out to other women and testing the idea of a women-centered coworking space. She held pop-up coworking spaces in coffee shops around the city, including at the 1920 Tea Club and Frappe House. The pop-ups built the community and customer base for Her Space before the space was even finished.

On evenings and weekends, Pendleton said that she hopes to hold community events in the new spot, including coffee tastings and mobile boutiques. 

She's also hoping to use Her Space as a springboard for a nonprofit that will help the local economy; it could shape up as quickly as 2018. 

"We have problems with human trafficking and homelessness, economic depression," she explained. "Fresno is making a huge effort to change that, and I'm hoping to be part of that effort helping women to transition." 

Her Space is open Mondays to Fridays, 9am-5pm.