Jessica Stellwagen

“It’s a good thing you work hard because you are pretty stupid!” Someone said that to Jessica Stellwagen when she was young, and she’s used that to fuel her drive and success in her professional life. It took another nudge, though, to push Stellwagen to launch her own company.

That nudge came in the form of a business trip in a previous role she held working with attorneys to grow their practices. On the flight home, she got stuck in the middle seat, next to her boss, who wanted to talk business the entire flight back from Florida. That was enough, Stellwagen told herself. It was time to do her own thing.

A short time later, in 2015, Stellwagen and her sister, Melissa, launched Bodify, a CoolSculpting boutique that uses non-invasive fat-reduction technology.

Bodify is a CoolSculpting-only dedicated boutique with two locations in Arizona. Its mission is to help clients achieve the body changes they desire and can’t obtain through diet and exercise alone.

Bodify intends to continue to grow its locations, staff, revenue and treatments. “Our aim has never been to be the ‘biggest’ CoolSculpting provider,” Stellwagen’s staff said. “Rather, we strive to be the provider that is the most highly regarded by Allergan, competitors and clients alike.”

Within two months, Bodify was profitable, and within two years, a $400,000 loan was paid back, and debt has never been taken on again. The company did nearly $3.6 million in revenue last year. Bodify was selected as one of six providers in the U.S. to be a CoolSculpting Elite Assessment site, and it was the only practice that was not doctor-owned.

Stellwagen has been hired by Allergan in Canada, India, Australia and Norway to provide businessbuilding webinars. Allergan U.S. hired her for a series of eight webinars during the height of the pandemic to keep business moving forward.

Those webinars forced Stellwagen to continue to grow and demonstrate how far she’s come since her youth when she was afraid of public speaking. She tackled that challenge, though, forcing herself to learn to speak powerfully and be a voice for entrepreneurs.

“Never stop learning,” Stellwagen said. “It is absolutely amazing to be at the top of your game, yet remain humble, curious and eager to learn from your peers. My desire to learn, improve and enhance Bodify will never end, and this will push me to continue to keep my mind open to new things, keep expanding my perspectives on how things can be done, and be willing to take a step back in order to move forward when necessary. \