LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — More women are finding themselves being able to juggle it all — taking care of a household and being their own boss — and one Las Vegas woman is creating a new pathway for the next generation.
Marissa Hawkins carries many titles daily. She is a mom, wife, entrepreneur and author.
“Showing the younger generation that regular women just like us are contributing to the world that we can be proud of,” Hawkins said.
She gets to show her passion and leadership skills in a new book set to be released this week called “Women Who Boss Up in Las Vegas.”
“We have been doing a lot of philanthropic work to show how women boss up,” Hawkins said.
She finds herself giving back to charity, and healthcare workers and spending time with the younger generation. Hawkins told 8 News Now her Filipino heritage helped shape her mindset when it came to hard work and achieving her goals.
She watched her parents settle into the United States which encouraged her to take a leap of faith. Hawkins left the corporate world to focus on health and wellness. She opened a massage parlor called Massage Envy, currently with 7 locations in the valley.
“Overnight I became an HR person, a marketing person, and everything else that comes with running a business and still be a wife and a mom after you are done with that,” she said.
However, Hawkins said despite her becoming a successful business owner, she finds herself still facing adversity as a woman.
“When people ask, can I speak to the owner and they were speaking right at me and I’m like I am the owner, oh they think it couldn’t honestly be that person it was honestly disappointing,” Hawkins said.
She hopes that as more women and minority women become business owners, there will be a shift in the mindset of how they are looked at.
In a recent study conducted by Nerd Wallet, Southern Nevada came in second in the country for women entrepreneurs. Women business owners also earn nearly twice as much as men business owners in the valley.
