Connect
To Top

Meet Trailblazer Tiffany Jensen

Avatar photo

Today we’d like to introduce you to Tiffany Jensen.

Tiffany, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I am a dog mom of eight, an International Federation of BodyBuilding (IFBB) Professional Athlete, Full-time HR Manager, Forbes Expert Panel contributor, DIY-er, and a bath & body junkie.

Growing up, I was super crafty. You can say I was a DIY-er before it became a popular buzzword. In grade school, I spent the summers making anything and everything; from molding my own soap to building doll furniture. I was particularly intrigued with the scented crafts, especially the body lotion kits. As I grew, so did my obsession. However, my time for crafts was limited when I decided to pursue my graduate degree. so I started buying the products I wished I had time to make. I eventually had cabinets full of lotions, body scrubs, bath bombs, and candles. Ask my husband, you would think I was running a bath & body shop out of my master bathroom.

My main focus was to get through my Master’s degree then jump back into the hobbies I know and love. It wasn’t long after I graduated with my Masters that I decided to start competing in bodybuilding competitions. My crafty side was left behind and I went full steam into the fitness industry where I met my husband, Chad. My husband wanted to help me turn into an IFBB Pro and I wanted to help him build his empire. It was only six months after we started dating that we opened up our private personal training facility, Elite Aesthetics.

As the saying goes, “Find three hobbies you love: One to make you money, one to keep you in shape, and one to be creative.”

I had found the first two with my full-time HR career and Bodybuilding, but the creative spark was missing.

Fast forward three years later and it was finally time for me to build my own empire. Being involved in the health & fitness industry, I became more aware of what goes on and into my body. What good is a healthy routine if it doesn’t include the products you apply externally too? It wasn’t until I started researching my favorite bath & body products did I realize the plethora of harsh ingredients. What I found was eye-opening; some served no purpose other than a cheap filler and some products contain hormone-manipulating ingredients, chemicals, or carcinogens… YIKES! I wanted a recipe that I could trust, would be healthier for my skin, align with my personal values, and fill the crafty void I missed so much.

And that is how Herbal Lotions was born.

What first started out as a hobby, quickly gained attention from our friends, family, and followers. We couldn’t launch fast enough! We use pure, high quality, cruelty-free ingredients, certified organic butters, and certified organic therapeutic grade essential oils. We hand make everything in small batches so we can provide a quality artisan product we know our customers will love.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
It has never been a smooth road. If it was, everyone would do it.

Starting up was almost too exciting and I became EXTREMELY overwhelmed. I wanted to make all my products and launch ASAP, but that wasn’t feasible with my available time or budget. I spent hours researching recipes and trying different ingredients. I found myself so immersed in my new business that during every vacation I was on my laptop reading and researching instead of enjoying my time off. It felt like a necessary dedication but could have been balanced a lot better. I failed over and over again and considered giving up on multiple occasions. I kept asking myself “why don’t other companies have these issues!?” The answer is, they do. They just don’t show that step in their journey.

My advice: Don’t compare your Chapter 1 to someone’s Chapter 20. No one gets it right the first time. Behind every successful woman is plenty of failures. Use your failures as opportunities to begin again. You will learn more about yourself, your values, and your business as it matures.

We’d love to hear more about Herbal Lotions.
I am a full-time Human Resource Manager for two companies. I have been in the HR field for eight years and wear many hats; benefits, compensation, employee relations, recruiting, payroll, onboarding/offboarding, culture, employment law, and the list goes on. I am also an HR Expert Panel contributor to Forbes.com, an accomplishment I take great pride in.

I am also a part-time trainer/prep coach for our company Elite Aesthetics. I currently compete as an IFBB Bikini Pro and help other bikini division athletes prepare for the stage. Obtaining my IFBB Pro card was no walk in the park. It took years of building muscle and dieting to reach the status of a professional athlete. Now, I take what I have learned and pass it on to others so they can be just as successful. My husband is the head trainer at our facility and has been my mentor and coach over the last four years.

Last but certainly not least, I am the owner and artisan of Herbal Lotions. I do everything for my business – the website, marketing, design, purchasing, branding, and making the products. What sets me apart from others is my uncanny ability to focus on four different companies at the same time without losing the quality of my work or driving myself insane. I commonly hear from other people that I am “doing too much.” While it might be too much for them, it’s never enough for me. I thrive off a busy schedule; the busier I am, the better I do. I manage to make time for everything, every day.

Do you feel like there was something about the experiences you had growing up that played an outsized role in setting you up for success later in life?
Absolutely. My parents are entrepreneurs, they have owned their video production company for over 25 years.

Growing up, nothing was handed to me. I remember I wanted to go on a trip to Washington, D.C. with my class one year and the cost was a couple of hundred dollars. I was far too young to get a job so my parents made me earn it through extra chores. I spent weekends mowing the lawn, pulling weeds, cleaning pool filters and scrubbing bathtubs to earn the money I needed for the trip. As I got older, I loved going to their office and helping out where I could. Sometimes that meant hanging out in the “whisper room” to do voice work and sometimes it was simply to help clean the office. I even learned how to do subtitles for their videos. I was so eager to start working and build my resume, I applied and secured my first job three months before I turned 16. I counted down the days until I could start. I wanted a head start and I sure got it.

I strongly believe that is how my entrepreneurial spirit came to be. I watched my parents grow their business and take great pride in their accomplishments. I saw how hard they worked and knew that was what I needed to do to be successful too.

Contact Info:

Getting in touch: VoyagePhoenix is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.

Related Items

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

More in