Meet Tabitha Arellano | Mom | Wife | U.S. Navy Chief | Tiger Lily Soaps Owner

We had the good fortune of connecting with Tabitha Arellano and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Tabitha, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking.
I think risk has a bad rep. The definition alone means to expose someone or something to danger or loss. I believe some people take it for granted and miss opportunities, while some of us see risk for what it really is, a necessary component of progress and success. Risk taking has played a major role in my life. Before I joined the Navy, I was at a low place in my life due to poor decisions I made. I was naïve in relationships and had low self-esteem so I often did what others wanted me to do and I became what others needed me to be. The only thing is, they didn’t have my best interests in mind, so I found myself, homeless, living out of my car at the age of 20. No one in my family had been to college and as far as military goes, my older brother joined the Marine Corps, and it didn’t pan out well for him. I was terrified to join the military, but one day I woke up and looked around at my life and knew that I was meant for something more. I knew I was better than this, so I took a risk and joined the Navy and though it’s had it’s challenges and sacrifices for sure, its given me and my family so much. I’ve taken many risks in my Naval career thus far and fast forward to last year I took another risk and started Tiger Lily Soaps. Of course, I was scared of the how am I going to do this, the what if it’s too hard, and the what if I fail, but for me I’m more scared of what if I regret not doing this. I’m a very pensive person, so I think the regret would’ve been harder to live with than the contrary.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
For starters, I am active duty in the Navy. You’ll find most businesses affiliated with the military are male veteran owned, however, Tiger Lily Soaps is woman owned and I’m still serving. With a background in the military, our approach to business is infused with discipline, precision, and a commitment to excellence. These qualities ensure that each product we create is crafted with meticulous attention to detail and a dedication to delivering only the highest quality. Additionally, what sets Tiger Lily Soaps apart from others is our products are a direct reflection of my family, friends, and me. Our products are centered towards family. Meaning we have something for everyone in the fam. From the working parents who deserve to indulge in luxury skincare at an affordable price, to a teenager struggling with acne, to boys who don’t care about hygiene as much as we wish they did, but if it’s something fun, they’re more inclined to use it, to little girls into princesses, flowers, and bubbly bath time adventures. Many of our products have been inspired by family and friends. For example, both of my boys struggle with eczema so I’ve created soaps and lotions designed with them in mind, I’ve created soaps in honor of friends, face masks to help my best friend’s daughter with her preteen skin care, and my daughter was the inspiration behind our poppy (popsicle style) bar soaps. Lastly, our products are anything but ordinary. We offer a range of fun, fresh, and fierce products designed to excite, nourish, and have you purring with delight. Each item is carefully formulated to provide effective skincare while embracing a spirit of creativity and innovation. Our products are not just about skincare; they are about empowering individuals to express their unique beauty with confidence and flair.

I’m most proud of creating products that my family, friends and customers love. When someone buys something and they tell you how much they love it or that it’s helped them in someway is one of the best feelings in the world.

First and foremost, I am in no way close to where I plan to be in one or five years from now. However, considering the fact that 10 months ago, I didn’t have a business and I wasn’t even on social media, I would say I’m on the right path. I got here on dreams, goals, risk, discipline, and consistency. Of course it wasn’t easy; If it was, everybody would do it. Challenges and lessons I’ve learned thus far is to be realistic with my goals meaning to keep in mind the finances available to put towards my business and to be realistic with my time. I’ve learned it’s ok to not have it all together all the time and growing my business will take time. In the military I’ve learned to not compare myself to others and only compete with myself and I’m realizing it’s the same with having a small business. I can’t look at others’ success in envy or set them as the standard to measure myself to. People are praised in public for what they practice in private for years, so I remind myself this is no different and I will get there.

To give y’all some context on the birth of Tiger Lily Soaps, it started with my desire to create a life where I could financially provide for my family, while also having the ability to be present more. I know it can take years for a business to become reliable, and I will retire from the Navy in a few years, so I thought what better time to start than now. The name Tiger Lily Soaps stems from my admiration and love of tigers and tiger lilies. The tiger lily is more than just a beautiful bloom; it embodies several profound qualities such as strength, resilience, passion, creativity, confidence, and pride. The tiger is similar symbolizing strength, confidence, charisma, passion, adventure, courage, and pride. Strength and resilience mirrors the journey of Tiger Lily Soaps, which has grown from an idea into a brand growing more and more each day, despite challenges. At Tiger Lily Soaps we embody an enthusiastic and innovative spirit behind every product we make and strive to inspire our customers to embrace their natural beauty and make choices that reflect self-confidence and pride in one’s individuality. By choosing the name Tiger Lily Soaps, we have embraced these powerful meanings to reflect our brand’s values and the transformative impact we aim to have in this world.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
If my best friend was visiting, our long weekend itinerary would consist of grabbing coffee from Better Buzz, going on an early morning hike at Torrey Pines where we watch the sunrise, then we eat brunch at Snooze A.M. Eatery where they have the best habanero pork belly fried rice, pancake flights, and drinks. We can head to Coronado Island for a peaceful ocean/bay view walk, and then window shop to our hearts’ content Afterwards, we can relax on the beach until we’re ready for more walking and window shopping at Seaport Village. For dinner, we’ll pick up some Papi’s Teppanyaki and have fun hanging out at home the rest of the night.

For our second day since I’m a kid at heart we’ll check out Legoland to enjoy the sites, rides, and most importantly their waterpark. On our way back home, we’ll swing through the Carlsbad Strawberry Company to pick fresh beautiful strawberries, and end our day in Old Town San Diego because you can’t leave San Diego, without eating bomb Mexican food. The adorable small shops are a bonus too.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Absolutely! I’m nothing without my family. My husband and our kids are always my biggest motivators, supporters, inspiration, and sanctuary. They motivate me to be more and do more, always. They’ve also made a lot of sacrifices throughout my Naval career and even now as we venture into uncharted entrepreneurship territory.

Additionally, I’ve had multiple mentors in the Navy. Those mentors challenged me, taught me, and helped me grow. Those mentors are Keleigh Anderson, Malachy Soller, Rosa Thibodeaux, Bryan Fox, and Dave Fuller. Aside from my family there is someone else who inspired me to pursue my Tiger Lily Soaps dream. I started watching her because of her easy to follow and informative bath bomb making videos and then I started following her on YouTube because I love who she is, what she represents, and of course her bomb soap, lotion, and scrub making videos. She is Jerika Zimmerman. What I love about her is how authentic, genuine and honest she is. I know this industry is over saturated, can be tough, and of course there’s competition everywhere but the fact that she willingly shares her story, ups and downs, recipes, what she found works for her, and more details when it comes to running a business has meant the world to me. I’m not sure what her intentions were when she started on her path, but it really goes to show you just how much anyone can impact someone else’s life and it really is a ripple effect from there.

Website: https://tigerlilysoaps.com/

Instagram: tiger.lily.soaps

Other: TikTok: tiger.lily.soaps Email: tigerlilysoaps24@gmail.com