Meet Jansen O. Young

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Jansen O. Young. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Jansen O. below.

Jansen O. , thanks so much for taking the time to share your insights and lessons with us today. We’re particularly interested in hearing about how you became such a resilient person. Where do you get your resilience from?

I think from childhood, really. I grew up the youngest of 7 children, That comes with a lot of teasing from siblings but it also has a lot of perks in that your parents are a lot more relaxed about the youngest kids. I was always running around the neighborhood and actually felt like I had many different parental influences teaching me many different things. I also had many nannies growing up that helped to create a lot of different perspectives for me. I think that is probably where it started. I will say that though it probably takes a bit more heat before I start to feel the burn, that is not to say I’ve never been burned. If there is anything I have learned about resilience, its as simple as not giving up. I am resilient because I had to be. As an adult I have been through some very traumatic experiences, experiences that thanks to my upbringing I had better coping mechanisms for, but it was not easy. I just had to continue on. However, I believe the best thing I have done to continue to fuel my resilience is never be afraid to recognize when I need help. This skill has not only been important in life, and for my mental health, but has proven to be important in business. For example one of the traumatic experiences I am still dealing with the lasting effects of is in July of 2012 I survived a shooting when my boyfriend (Jonathan Blunk) and I went on a date to the midnight showing of The Dark Knight Rises. Jonathan was killed saving my life that night. For two years following the shooting I was convinced I was just strong enough to deal with these feelings alone, and for the first year I was keeping it together ok… In the fall of 2014, someone very wise and special to me urged me to get help, and it was the smartest thing I did for myself. I began seeing a therapist and was able to work through so much. The same holds true in business. There are going to be walls, hard days, and failures. However, the best thing I can do for my business is think outside the box for resources and get help when I need it.

Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?

I think I always knew I wanted to be an Entrepreneur, but knowing where to start is tough. After the shooting I spent a lot of time working to re-find myself, and what brought me joy. I knew at that time I wanted to pursue a path that could promote others finding joy as well! When the shooting happened I was pursuing a career with animals in the veterinary field, and though I loved working with animals, I no longer wanted to work on the medical side. I changed gears and began working in exotic training and zookeeping. I am passionate about conservation and saving wildlife and my heart is with animals but I knew I wanted more. Fast forward to the world of E-commerce! With the world of technology today, opportunity is everywhere! Not only opportunity but a wealth of knowledge and data about that opportunity! That is when Authentic JOY was born! When I started I in E-commerce I kind of wanted to be in a spooky niche, I was looking into a lot of bat or coffin shaped products but the numbers just didn’t make sense with the data. It was a bigger risk to go after a seasonal product. I was avoiding animal products like the plague, because my whole life is animals as I still work part time at a non-profit conservation organization, and I have 18 animals living at my house. So naturally, the data worked for two animal products. My first product was a tarantula enclosure, which I actually felt there was a need in the market for. Working with wildlife and taking in many different species I felt there was a need for a more diverse kind of enclosure on the market. But I as a brand, I was not in love with it. But then it hit me, my brand, is my kind of people. I don’t want a business based around products, I want a business based around people. I want people to Find Authentic JOY. I serve animal lovers who love a good goth look, binge horror movies, and usually present with a unique style making each person a unicorn in their own way. The branding encourages people to embrace their weird and celebrate their authentic selves. Authentic JOY has grown into a gothic pet brand, The product line includes a Ferret Bed, Tarantula Enclosure, Skull Reptile Hide, AND coming next month two more enclosure sizes! This brand transition has taken a little time to settle into but I’m so excited for what the future holds!

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

Mindset, for sure. If you don’t believe you can do it, you cant. So you better start believing in yourself and your business!
Research! DO SO MUCH RESEARCH! Like, don’t let researching hold you back from starting, but know your stuff, what business are you going into and what are the in’s and outs of that business. Find someone to talk to about it.
Just keep moving! Its soo hard! Like so hard, you will have bad days for sure, but just don’t stop. If you want it, and the numbers make sense just keep working on it. Make a to do list, and just keep working through it!

What would you advise – going all in on your strengths or investing on areas where you aren’t as strong to be more well-rounded?

Well, like with everything, it depends. are you boot strapping everything, and have a limited budget, then you should do whatever is in your means. However, I have learned two very important lessons:

Number 1. its a waste of time for me to learn something in its entirety to only make mistakes because I’m not practiced.
Number 2. I need to have a good overall sense of everything going on in my company even if I do hire it out so I can ensure we are not losing money or wasting time on efforts that aren’t serving us.

So if these are your only two options, I say neither, learn something/understand it enough to keep your head above water when you talk to your team or the people running the thing you hired out so you do not waste time.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://Authenticjoy.net
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/AuthenticJOYShop
• Facebook: https://facebook.com/authenticjoyshop