How Overcoming Postpartum Challenges Led Founder Jennifer Beck to Establish Jihi

mother, baby, child

Entrepreneurship is inherently challenging. Beginning an entrepreneurial venture as a new parent, however, makes that endeavor all the more difficult—especially for new mothers aspiring to grow their own business. Jennifer Beck is one such entrepreneur and parent.

“When I became a new mom, we had just sold Cannabase and I was dealing with that change in identity and physical priorities,” said Beck.

Beck had founded her cannabis-technology company, Cannabase, in 2013. It was the first and largest online wholesale marketplace connecting the legal cannabis market. She also served for two years as the Vice-Chair of the Colorado Cannabis Chamber of Commerce and was involved with advocacy for responsible cannabis legalization.

These roles required her to stand her ground in a traditionally male-dominated industry. “I had been working 14-hour days trying to be a woman in a man’s world,” she stated.

In 2016, she sold Cannabase to Helix Technologies. Around this same time, she became a new mother. However, with motherhood came an entirely new set of challenges.

When you become a mom, you can’t do that to yourself, It’s a huge deal. I had to eat a bunch because I was breastfeeding. My daughter became agitated easily, had digestive issues, and couldn’t sleep. I knew something wasn’t right, but everyone told me I was crazy. Then I got shingles when my daughter was seven months old. That’s when she was finally diagnosed with dairy and soy intolerance, and I was diagnosed with postpartum hypothyroidism. I had been running on virtually no thyroid. I felt like a physically broken at-home mom. I had a severe flare up in my lifelong battle with perfectionism and anxiety.

Knowing that something—or someone—would eventually have to give, Beck began exploring meditation, incorporating CBD into her wellness practices. It was only after beginning her own journey that Beck realized she was not proud of how she had treated herself as a new mother. Determined to break society’s mold for women, she prioritized her own self-care.

This new philosophy of “self-centered wellness,” as Beck calls it, helped push her out of a place of burnout, exhaustion, extreme diets, and martyrdom. She realized she had paralyzed herself out of her desire to be a good mom. In fact, exploring this concept changed everything for Beck. It affected how she fed and mothered her daughter, how she acted, and what she prioritized.

In 2016, Beck set out to found a new company based on self-centered wellness, emphasizing relaxation, rejuvenation, and nourishment in mind, body, and soul. She named her business Jihi (pronounced “gee-hee”), a Japanese word for compassion. Ji means to offer joy to others, and hi means to ease their pain.

Jihi’s mission is to help us “turn within to find our authenticity, our joy and our power, and compassion for ourselves and the earth,” as Beck herself explains. Since the company’s founding, she and her team have poured this philosophy into each of Jihi’s proprietary, clean, and highly functional CBD skin and body care products.

The company spent nearly two years in research and development before launching its debut line in January 2021. This includes: Reverie Evening Herbal Supplement, which is designed to promote relaxation and deepen sleep; Petal Milk Face Serum, which nourishes skin and erases the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles; and Merrimint Soothing Balm, which relieves body aches and improves recovery. Each of Jihi’s spa-grade, botanical-rich, CBD-infused products is vegan-friendly and filler-free.

“CBD helps us find ourselves,” Beck explained. “It’s not a coverup drug. It’s a balancing ingredient.”

Since its inception, Jihi has helped high-performing entrepreneurs, leaders, and other people sleep better, recover faster, and rejuvenate from the inside out.

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