April 8, 2024

This week’s Up-and-Comer is Tiffany Janssen, the marketing manager at Bluestone Federal Credit Union.

Name: Tiffany Janssen

Age: 46

Hometown: Sioux City

What brought you to Sioux Falls?

In the early 2000s, we moved to Austin, Texas, for a few years and watched it double in size. The growth was awesome to watch and a bit overwhelming. Then, I got pregnant, and we knew we wanted to be close to my mom, who still lived in Sioux City. We reached out to past work contacts close to home and quickly found that Sioux Falls offered great career opportunities.

What keeps you in Sioux Falls?

Living in Sioux Falls has afforded us opportunities for growth in our careers, education and arts opportunities for our daughter and helped us build a strong economic foundation for our family.

What’s your favorite thing about your job?

I love telling the world about credit unions. I come from a family that was forever juggling which bills to pay this month. My childhood was defined by the stress that lack of financial stability took on my family. I love that now my job is to find and share new tools that help our members save money, make more money and learn more about their money.

How did you get connected to your industry?

We became members of Bluestone FCU, then Sioux Empire FCU, when we moved to Sioux Falls. I’d been working in marketing/advertising in media for years, then COVID hit. It’s almost a cliche at this point, but that brought on some soul-searching. Our family did well. Our careers were not waylaid; they just moved home for a bit. We were able to spend time together and appreciate — most of —  it. And yet, I saw the financial stress that many families were living with. I wanted to help. When I saw that our credit union was looking for a marketing manager, I jumped at the chance.

Describe your workplace in three words.

Optimistic. Inquisitive. Caring.

What is something someone might be surprised to learn about you?

I can drive everything from a dump truck to a motorcycle and once got to drive a NASCAR pace car a few miles on I-35 north of Austin.

What’s your favorite way to give back to your community?

Using my platform for good. This year, we began building a partnership with the Sioux Falls Stampede called Bluestone Cooperative Culture. Through it, we gave 15 local nonprofits a larger platform. And even more, we changed how we now approach our community involvement. This year, we will be continuing Cooperative Culture and adding at least two other programs designed to use our resources to help grow other local nonprofits.

What’s one business you’d like to see in Sioux Falls that isn’t here now?

This will out me as missing Texas: a dance hall. If you haven’t been to one, think of it as a really large restaurant with a central dance floor and a great house band. Sioux Falls could use more family-style entertainment options for the evening hours.

If you had $1 million to start a business, what kind of business would it be?

For fun, I’d love to run a shop like Rent the Runway, only local and really accessible. The goal would be to feature independent, sustainable brands and be able to introduce women to something completely different than fast fashion.