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.