Pretty Pretty Princess

“I’ll never wear them, but they are the most prized pair of shoes I own.” Having only had sons, Dale spoils her granddaughter, as every grandma should. “I treat her like a princess.” The shoes that Dale is referring to are pink and sparkly, her granddaughter bought her princess shoes so that she could be a princess too.

Opportunity: Maybe now Cinderella doesn’t need a whole happy ending, just a pair of glass slippers. Everyone needs a little spoiling.

Never a Plain Jane

We met Christi at Tennessee Performing Arts Center where she works as Director of Programming & Product Development. “I have three loves. My 4 dogs, my husband, and accessories.” After looking again, it became apparent that there wasn’t a surface that didn’t’ have some sort of sparkle, shine, or extra something, wrist, neck, ears: everything was covered. “I change my accessories everyday, it’s important. I feel bad for people who wear the same stuff everyday.” For a theatre person such as Christi, being bland and ordinary is the worst offense.

Opportunity: Challenge women to spice it up not just once, but everyday.

Who’s in Charge?

Dale has not had the easiest life, and as she opened up to us about her troubles, a husband who was killed, one that cheated on her, we were amazed at the happiness that still shone through.

“Want to hear something awful,” this time there was a smirk, “when I found out my husband was cheating on me I went straight to the store and bought the 3 most expensive dresses I could, and, made sure they weren’t returnable.” She then went home, tried them on for him, and when he asked which ones she was keeping, calmly she said, “well, all of them of course.” She had taken a little ownership, a little control when she felt out of control.


Opportunity: Even the words “spiraling economy” can make anyone feel like a little insecure and lost. Let’s give them a little control in an uncontrollable environment.

I am a man, hear me roar

There’s something about shopping that screams, woman’s domain, men, beware. We met George, a contractor in Nashville, over quite a few drinks at his local bar in town. “I mostly shop at Costcos. I buy a couple shirts at a time,” he spoke of shopping for a shirt the same way he shopped for bulk paper towels. “Although the other day I did some impulse shopping,” he grinned and paused for effect, “my butt was hanging out of my jeans, so I impulsively went and bought a new pair at Dillards!” George, sweet and lovable for trying, was lost when it comes to the world of shopping. For George, like many other men, shopping is a practical thing, so he takes a practical, logical approach. George doesn’t “hunt” for a bargain, “dig” to find that special dress, he find jeans that fit, buys 3 pairs, shirts he likes, 4 colors go in the cart. While we may not understand men, we can at least acknowledge their process the same way they accept ours.

Opportunity: Let men win.

Bragging rights

Amy was Nashville nice, just so sweet you wanted to eat her up. Blond and bubbly, she sparkled as she told us about her shopping favorites. “I shop mostly at Stein Mart-” “Mostly?” Christi, Amy’s coworker said. “Amy would be naked if there weren’t a Stein Mart” and we couldn’t help but laugh.

“I always get compliments on the stuff I get there.” As we glanced one more time at her outfit, we took it all in. “Like this,” she grabbed her striped scarf, “$7 at Stein Mart.” Interesting that the $7 came first, did it validate it? “It’s like, if I get a compliment for something, I say, ‘guess how much I paid, you’ll never guess?!”.

Amy knows about every sale and every deal, she makes it her business to call the stores and ask. “I’ve got it down, I beat the system.” For Amy it was as much about getting what she wanted, as it was about how good a deal she got. When she got a compliment, it was important that she have something extra to add, something to prove that she knew something that we didn’t.

Opportunity: Everyone wants a reason to feel good, to boast a little. Give them a reason to brag.

Always the Optimist

We met Sean and Dave at the restaurant’s bar, where they’d already ordered their first round of drinks. They’d both come straight from work and were excited to blow off some steam.

Sean is a mortgage broker and Dave works in real estate development. Needless to say, things have been pretty slow at work lately.

“Our economy is screwed,” Sean said, smiling. “But people still aren’t paying attention. It’s not what they want to hear.”

“Everyone wants to keep spending, even though they know better. The news keeps telling us that we’re in a recession. But the news always hypes everything up. Blows it out of proportion.”

Funny thing is, despite his insight, Sean also planned to keep spending. He wasn’t cutting back or changing his habits. He was sure that his finance degree will help him navigate any hard times.

Opportunity: Stay sunny. It’s what they’ll hear anyway.

Trying New Things

“I never thought I’d take the bus in Phoenix! But I’m taking it twice a week now,” Lynn told us proudly. The group had been talking about gas prices (I don’t fill my tank anymore!), grocery prices ($3.00 for eggs!), housing (We have no equity!), and everything else that’s adding up these days.

“The bus schedule is inconvenient, but I’m trying to figure out a way to not pay $800 a year in parking!”

She admitted that she wasn’t going to make a permanent leap to commuting by bus, but she was patting herself on the back for making that little change. She knew that it was more of a gesture than a true savings plan, yet the personal satisfaction she got from that small gesture was clearly a reward in itself.

Opportunity: Show them the huge return little changes can reap.

A Little Champagne

It was the first topic that came up: the state of our union. “Stress. That’s the biggest change. I’m not so much of a worrier as my husband, I know we’ll get through it. But we’re definitely more stressed.”

Gail had recently moved into what she called, “Grown-up Camp”, it’s a lifestyle community where water aerobics, mahjong games, and round robin are all in a days work, or in this case, a day’s fun.

“It was Rob who really fell in love with it, the view and the games are what sold him,” she said as we peered at the picturesque mountain in her backyard. “And once he gives me that shit eating grin of his, it’s all over. So we bought it without selling the old house first. That was about 2 years ago, and we were asking $700,000. It’s still sitting there, except now we’re asking $400,000.”

It’s true, when we drove in, there was a sea of For Sale signs, you couldn’t drive more than 10 feet without seeing one.

As we kept chatting it became apparent that Gail had made some changes to her life, little ones, but changes nonetheless.



“We don’t eat out as much. And movies aren’t a once a week trip anymore,” she said nodding her head slowly.

“A lot more meatloaf and mashed potatoes” Gail said, “no reason for fancy meals, there are a million ways I can spice up a meatloaf.” Her eyes brightened a bit as she exclaimed, “And you know what? Last time I served my mashed potatoes, I served them in a champagne glass!”

Opportunity: There’s something about tough times that let your creativity loose. Celebrate that creativity. Have fun with the basics.

Keep Moving

“I didn’t want to get stuck in rut. Everyone around me was getting married, pregnant, and I didn’t’ want that. That’s why I moved out here, to avoid the rut,” Bridgette said over a slice of pizza at their favorite Italian joint in Phoenix. Her sister Bethany recently joined her for the same reason; they didn’t want to live the life they knew back home.

We continued chatting and as the drinks got lower in the glass, Bridgette soon admitted her personal shopping addictions. “I like the extras. The toppings. I mean, a new hand lotion, necklace, I like to keep it interesting.” She continued, “you know, it’s like those girls who dye their hair after a really bad break up. Sometimes you just need to keep changing it up.”

Opportunity: No one wants to get stuck in a rut. Ease her fears of getting trapped; make sure she always has a way of changing.

Soapbox Realism

We knew from the start that Tonya was very socially-minded—and opinionated. “I love to get on my soap box and talk about causes,” Tonya admitted over lunch. “There are a lot of things I’m very concerned about right now—global warming, the war, Africa…”

So we were surprised to see her take a sheepish tone when she admitted, “I shop at Wal-Mart these days, and it kills me. I don’t like their business practices, but I can’t resist the low prices.”

As Tonya knew all too well, ideals often take a back seat to reality.

But as unhappy as she may have been with this financial reality, she willfully found a silver lining. “With the money I save, at least I can make little contributions to the causes that are important to me.”

Opportunity: She’s already aware of the necessity of bargain shopping. Help her remember what she gets in return.

Little Adventures

So yes, we are hypocrites. We preach not to go to the zoo, but that’s exactly what we did: headed straight for the Phoenix Zoo.

“I’ve never seen it this crowded!” We met Ellen standing in line with three of her friends and their little ones, all waiting patiently to be let inside. “I’ve been coming here for 20 years and I’ve never seen it this busy.”



While fighting our way to sneak a peak at the main event, baby Michael the Orangutan, we asked Laura, the local zoo expert if what Ellen had said was true. “It’s spring break, so of course it’s busy, but membership has never been higher, so maybe that has something to do with the larger than normal crowds.”

While purse strings might be tighter, and week long vacations might be a thing of the past, it doesn’t mean people are going to stop enjoying themselves. If the Wild Kingdom isn’t in the budget this year, maybe a few more trips to the zoo will help quench the adventure thirst? Because really, who doesn’t love a day at the zoo?

Opportunity: Help turn day trips into mini holidays.

Workin’ for the Weekend

Dave was a very honest guy. He had no hesitation in telling us what matters to him in life. “Going out with friends gets most of my money. I basically prioritize booze above all else. I’ll eat at Subway all week so that I can spend $60 at the bar on Saturday.”

Scottsdale, AZ is a notoriously flashy town. Our casual restaurant was filled with conspicuous designer brands and the parking lot with even more conspicuous luxury cars. But even in Scottsdale, Dave wasn’t going to be convinced that his spending priorities should change.

Dave happily reported that he shops at places like JCPenney and Ross, trying to look decent without spending a lot of money. He’s just not interested in spending money on clothing.

He needs that money for other things. As he told us, “I live my life for the weekends.”

Opportunity: His priorities are set. Facilitate the experiences our guy really lives for.

Keep up with them

“We change the store once a week, in fact, we have so much stuff coming in, there aren’t enough hangers for all the clothing.” Wendy didn’t look like the crowd that was perusing her store, but regardless, she got it. She managed Forever 21, and understood that in order to keep them coming back, you had to be one step ahead.



“Once a week, we rearrange the entire store, and once a month we get completely new stock.”

When asked why it was so important to constantly move things and stay active Wendy explained, “We have regulars who come in looking for something new. They get here on Thursdays, because they know by Sunday, it will be picked over, and they can’t get what they want.”



We’ve already proven that women shop all the time, but, in order to keep them interested and ultimately inspired, we need to keep up, we need to refresh our inspiration as often as they look for it. At this point, we offer inspiration, and although it’s reliable, it’s predicable.

Opportunity: In life, the greatest moments are unpredictable. Give her the grounds to find those moments.

Today’s the Day

“I used to think the army was bad. Against war, everything like that, but once I started talking to these guys, and my brother-in-law, he’s an officer now, I realized, its actually not so bad. Great in fact.”



Julia had one of those twinkles, you know, just one of those twinkles. That overpowering kind of optimism that just makes you believe everything is going to be alright. She’s been working as a waitress at the Sheraton for a year or so, likes her job just fine, but her favorite part is the mornings where she works the early shift and serves the marines before they start their journey to boot camp, or sometimes, straight to war.

“When my brother-in-law started I remember he said to me, you know, before this I had a $12 an hour job, but now, now I’m leaving a job and starting a career.” Uncle Sam gave him a future, “I mean, don’t get me wrong, it’s scary and not easy, but imagine what kind of a future it gives you.”

Right before they ship off the army puts them up in a hotel with a whole group of other enlistees, wakes them up with a personal phone call, feeds them breakfast, and then helps them onto the bus to start their duty.

“It’s one thing signing up, but that’s just a pen on paper. When they’re here it’s real, you know. Today’s the day. Today’s the day you ship off.”

Later that evening we returned to the hotel and saw a group of men, boys really, goofing around in the lobby. The night before they were rowdy, annoying teenagers, but now, we couldn’t help but look at them a little differently. Today was the day that they took control of their future.

Opportunity: Give them the controls. Help them find their future.

Brand Spanking New

“Thanks, I just got it” Bethany said after we complimented her little pin striped jacket. She played with it a bit, pushed up the sleeves, and smiled :”it’s always more fun when it’s new. Even if it ends up being my favorite jacket, it’s never quite exciting as the first time you wear it.”

It’s true, we’re obsessed with new. Shiny, unused, untouched. There’s something in the thrill of the first time.

Opportunity: Help her make it feel like the first time.