Power Women: Maggie Wood and Katie Brown

Sisters Maggie Wood and Katie Brown grew up wandering the aisles of Hansen’s Pool & Spa long before they ever imagined running the family business. Their parents launched Hansen’s over four decades ago, and the sisters spent their childhood summers stocking shelves, helping customers and absorbing the rhythms of retail. Even then, neither was certain the business was their future. But years later, both discovered the company offered something they hadn’t found anywhere else.

Maggie tried a range of careers from accounting to marketing, and even signed up for cosmetology school, but nothing felt like the right fit. “I just couldn’t say, ‘Yes, I can commit to this for the rest of my life,’ ” she says. 

What she did know was that she always enjoyed the variety at Hansen’s, and as she gained more responsibility, she realized she didn’t have to choose one path. “I get to be a part of the financials,” Maggie says. “I get to be a part of the marketing. I can do sales. I can do all these things I enjoy, but it’s not like I have to do them every day, all day long.” That breadth, she says, made the business feel like a place she could stay, grow and shape into something that worked for her.

Katie’s path was just as winding. She earned a degree in interior design and used it briefly before feeling the pull of the family business, and like Maggie, she found clarity when a leadership position opened. “I realized that I really enjoyed touching all the points of all those little things,” Katie says. More importantly, she discovered she loved helping guide the company. “I really enjoyed shaping leadership and realizing that I could be in a position that molds something in a different direction,” she says.

Today, the sisters are at the helm while their parents remain semiretired and supportive. Their father still shares his opinions, Maggie laughs, but ultimately trusts them to run the business. That trust has given them space to modernize the company, create a strong internal culture and lead with openness.

For Katie, precision has become a core value. “Structure and clarity are important, from our small goals to our big goals, our mission, who we are and who we’d like to be as a company,” she says. Empowering their staff with knowledge and confidence is just as essential.

Maggie agrees and has learned firsthand how important it is to trust herself as a leader. Several years ago, she says, she let someone she believed “knew more than me” sway a decision she felt uneasy about. The experience reminded her that her instincts are worth listening to. “I know what I’m doing; I have to listen to my gut feeling,” she says, a lesson that helped her confidence.

Running a family business brings its share of challenges, but the dynamic between the sisters is a source of strength. Their values naturally align, and their working styles complement each other. They talk all day — literally, on speakerphone between their offices — and frequently finish each other’s sentences. “We’re very similar, but we’re different enough that we really balance each other out,” Maggie says.

Their closeness also creates a foundation of trust, something both recognize not every business owner gets. They can disagree, realign and move forward quickly — just like they did as kids, which helps them navigate decisions with confidence and honesty.

Beyond their partnership, they’ve learned the value of finding support outside the business, too. Rather than seeking formal mentors, both women lean on a circle of industry friends, people who understand the unique pressures of family business and small retail and offer insight without asking them to be anyone but themselves.

The Hansen’s team feels that support as well. The sisters hire for the person, not just the role, and have a history of moving employees into positions where they naturally thrive. “Our team has seen us do that over time,” Katie says. “They’ve seen other employees successfully switch to a different position and [see] this isn’t a negative thing.”

After so many years in the industry, both women remain energized by what the business represents. They love the variety, the relationships formed with customers over generations and the joy brought to families.

To women entering the industry, Maggie encourages openness and curiosity: learn everything, try new roles and don’t be afraid to shift. “Just trust in yourself,” Katie adds. “Trust your own experience and confidence and knowledge.”

Maggie’s Tool kit

• A must-have desk item: AirPods — for the phone, listening to a book, logging onto a meeting — they come in handy 
• Favorite tech tool or organizational system: I’m a pen and paper kind of gal. I love Google Calendar, but nothing beats a fresh notebook and head full of dreams. 
• A wellness habit that keeps you grounded: Three things I really love — my hot tub, my sauna and walking. 
• Go-to coffee order: hazelnut and honey iced latte with oat milk
• A song that amps you up, calms you down or motivates you: “Knights of Cydonia” by Muse 
• A book that inspires you: “Traction: Get A Grip On Your Business” by Gino Wickman (favorite read of 2025)
• A favorite piece of advice: What comes to mind is the photo of the dog with everything burning around it and the talk bubble above it that says, “Everything’s fine.” I don’t know if that’s my actual answer — but that’s a lot of days running your own business.

Katie’s Tool Kit

• A must-have desk item: a visual timer and a notebook with a really good pen. I can easily get pulled into deep work, and setting a timer helps me stay on track.
• Favorite tech tool or organizational system: day-theming. I group similar tasks by day to maximize my brain power and keep my momentum up. For example, Mondays are for admin and meetings, while Tuesdays are dedicated to marketing.
• A wellness habit that keeps you grounded: going to bed at a reasonable hour (and without my phone)
• Go-to coffee order: an iced white chocolate mocha 
• A song that amps you up, calms you down or motivates you: I have curated playlists that change throughout the day to match my energy. Before work, it’s a nostalgic playlist to get hyped. Deep focus requires classical, and to beat the afternoon slump, I switch to instrumental funk.
• A book that inspires you: I am almost done with “Traction: Get A Grip On Your Business” by Gino Wickman, and this book has been a game changer.
• A favorite piece of advice: “We are what we repeatedly do.” It reminds me that consistency beats intensity.