It Girl | TIFFANY GRIFFIN, PhD
I was connected to Tiffany through a project I worked on with some friends at UNC’s Eship center and Trista Sanford (who I hope to introduce you to soon!). Tiffany is multifaceted and has a beautiful company whose candles were featured on Beyoncé’s Black Parade. Her candles are known to sell out and are currently in-stock so run don’t walk to get a whiff of the magic.
General Information
Name: Tiffany Griffin, PhD
Age: 40
Pronouns: she/her
Job Title/Company: Founder/Owner Bright Black
Education Background: Social Psychologist
1. Tell us a little about who you are.
An incredibly big dreamer with the work ethic to match. A lover of love, deep connection, justice, and equity. An empath, a creator, a giver, an HSP. Intuitive, brave, and a sucker for the 3 Cs (chocolate, cake, and champagne).
2. What sparked your interest in starting your business(es)?
A love of Black people, culture, and history. A desire for autonomy.
3. Who are you most influenced by?
Hmmmm, I’d say I’m most inspired by the matriarchs in my family--my greatnana, both of my nanas, my auntie Karen.
4. What was your first job and how long did you hold that position?
Ha! Loaded question. My first official job was an admin assistant at Springfield College (Springfield, MA) in the Occupational Therapy Dept. I was 12, but I had forged my birth certificate. I held that job for the summer before 8th grade. At 13 I started working at a non-profit after school and worked there until I went to college.
5. Can you share one of your proudest achievements with us?
Getting out of the hood. Becoming a mom. Working in the Senate. Working in the Obama Administration. Designing a candle for Michelle Obama’s organization. I’ve had so many proud moments!
6. What were your initial goals with your work? How have they evolved?
I left Springfield, MA wanting to be a documentary filmmaker. I wanted to tell the stories of ghetto life that I hadn’t seen told growing up. From there, I embraced being a psychologist/researcher, and then public policy, and now social entrepreneurship/scent design. Throughout all of my professional endeavors, I’ve been motivated by the aspiration to improve the human condition and to provide a platform for voices that are all too often overlooked.
7. What do you think is the most important life skill you learned through your work?
Maintaining the delicate balance of humility and confidence, especially in novel domains.
8. Where do you hope to be in five years?
Logistics/operations stabilized within Bright Black.
More public facing activities like speaking/writing.
Deeper meditation practice!
9. What is a typical day like for you?
1. My 3 year old (Elena) usually climbs into my bed to wake me up.
2. Get her ready for the day. Breakfast. WATER. Coffee or tea.
3. Production/shipping/calls/planning/all the things.
4. Midday Meditation.
5. Elena dance/email/dinner/all the things.
6. Unwind with youtube documentary on something historical.
7. Sleep.
8. Middle of the night work session (for 1-2 hours).
9. Sleep.
10. What was the biggest obstacle you’ve faced so far in the process of pursuing your goals?
So many! Social capital is huge--having access to networks that can facilitate goals can be tough. I’d also say the ways in which risk and risk assessment is racialized has also been pretty tough. I really want to write a book on this latter topic!
11. When do you get your best ideas?
Middle of the night. Hands down. It’s in the moments of stillness from about 3am-4:30am that I do my best thinking and have the most peace!
12. Can you share with us one time that you failed and what you learned from that failure?
It might sound cheesy, but I don’t tend to frame things in terms of failure very often. LOTS of lessons learned, but failure per se???? Hmmmmm…. Let’s see. I tried to start a business back in 2013 that didn’t quite take off. I think a lot had to do with a) not spending enough time doing the upfront research work before launching and b) starting the business while keeping my day job, rather than jumping in. With Bright Black, I did things much differently, planning for almost two years before launching and saving $$$ so that I could fully leave my job and work on Bright Black full time from the beginning.
13. How do you unwind?
I love sitting by my fireplace, meditation, documentaries, walking alone, indulging in decadent foods. I need A LOT of solitude to stay grounded (I’m an introvert and a HSP, and maybe even a bit of an empath), which is super tough with a toddler, but I’m trying!
14. Can you share a sacrifice you have made to pursue your dream?
The biggest sacrifices were a) stability (I worked in the government before this) and b) status (I was pretty established/high ranking in my last job). But what I gained has been invaluable! Autonomy, voice, influence, creativity, agility. I’m really loving this Bright Black journey so far!
15. What would you tell someone else who is interested in entering your field?
Do your research. Know your why. Flow.
16. What do you hope people take away from your story?
I’m always hoping that by being honest and open, folks will find points of connection and maybe even inspiration.
17. Anything we missed that you would like to share?
I don’t think so! :)
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