Michele Hensel of Lowcountry Beauty and Wellness Spa

Success comes from hard work, life balance and the willingness to invest in others. Michele Hensel has committed to live out these positive attributes by creating something more than just a local business.

At a young age, Hensel saw that achievement didn’t come easy. She watched her father as he struggled in the working world. He eventually took a chance and decided to open his own restaurant. Those were amazing years for Hensel. She witnessed her father build his dream, and, after many years of hard work, that dream became a financial success. This experience provided the foundation for how Hensel runs her business today.

Knowing that she wanted to pursue something in the medical field and help others, the Georgia native’s first career path was to become a registered cardiovascular invasive specialist. At the time, there were relatively few of these specialists trained to assist cardiologists. She graduated from the Georgia Heart Institute and took her first job as a newly minted RCIS in Charlotte, North Carolina. But she wanted to use her creativity as well.

“I started a gift basket business on the side. I made a few Valentine’s Day baskets, and they were a hit around the hospital; people wanted more,” she remembered.

Hensel started creating gifts for other occasions as well – holiday and thank you baskets soon followed, and eventually she found herself running a thriving gift business.

“Although I never had a background in marketing, I’ve always understood the importance of selling myself,” she mused. “You have to show people what you have to offer and believe in it.”

In 2002, while still working in the cardiac cath lab, Hensel took a travel assignment to Savannah, Georgia. Visiting a friend in Charleston, she met her future husband, Dr. Jack Hensel. For three years, the couple lived between Savannah and Charleston because they were engrossed in their separate careers.

They were married in 2006 and Hensel eventually launched Lowcountry Beauty and Wellness Spa, where she has helped transform patients from where they are to where they want to be. Because of her hard work, her use of cutting edge services and her efforts to create an atmosphere of comfort, her patients continue to rave about their experiences.

Hensel continues to be inspired by her father’s example; she is creating a lasting legacy for her community, family and children.

“I believe women can have it all – career and family,” she said. “We just have to understand how to divide our time and create a level of balance. My motto is to surround myself with those who are wise, believe wholeheartedly in what I do, love my family with every beat of my heart and work every day at creating something that will give others a new perspective in their own lives.”