Today we’d like to introduce you to Erin Dragoo.
Erin, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
While I was getting my BA in Journalism, I was also helping run my mother-in-law’s boutique, Judy Wear. Her name is Judy, in case you hadn’t pieced that together. She bought the clothes for her shop and I bought the jewelry. We made a great team. She taught me all the ins-and-outs of running a small business. By the time I graduated ASU, I had become so infatuated with the small business life that I decided to ditch my dream of being a web designer / social media manager and start a business of my own. So after four years at Judy Wear, that’s exactly what I did.
The idea for Lunch Money came to me in June 2021, and by February 2022, it became a reality.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
If I’m comparing myself to other business owners and the stories I hear on social media, I would say that is has been a smooth road for me. But without the comparison, I did have a couple of rough moments.
The first space I rented out was in a shopping center on Gilbert Road. Because it was my first commercial lease, and I had no prior renting history to show the landlord, my monthly rent was really high. Additionally, the only real anchor in the plaza was a breakfast place, and it was around the corner from my store, so foot traffic was pretty low. High rent with low foot traffic is certainly not a great combination. Towards the end of my three-year lease, I was paying part of my rent out of my own pocket. That was pretty humbling.
So when the lease ended, I had to have a serious conversation with myself: is Lunch Money a bad business or is it a fantastic business in the wrong location? Luckily, now that I’ve moved to San Tan Village, I believe that the latter is true. I’m really glad I didn’t give up.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I may be biased, but Lunch Money is everything a store should be. It’s welcoming, it’s colorful, it’s perfectly curated and merchandised, it’s Instagrammable, the staff is friendly, it has chairs for the husbands to sit on while they wait, and most importantly, it’s an experience. That’s what a store should be — a reason to leave the house. With everything so accessible online these days, it’s important to give customers an answer to the question: “Why should I go into a store to shop when I can just order it online?” And while we do have an online store, nothing compares to walking through those doors and being absolutely bombarded with the color pink.
Along with our color-coded, themed shelves of adorable product, Lunch Money also has a whole charm bar experience. I don’t know about everyone else, but I love a craft. I love a DIY. And that’s exactly what the charm bar offers. We have a variety of things that our customers can make; bracelets, necklaces, bag chains, earrings, phone charms, badge reels, keychains. We also have a ton of charms to choose from, and big bowls full of beads! So, customers can pick out what they want to make, design it on a little pink tray, and then bring it up to the counter for us to assemble. They get to do the fun part, and we’ll handle hard part!
Another experience we offer is hair tinsel. In a cute pink salon chair! For those of you who haven’t heard of it, hair tinsel is a lightweight, shimmering strand that’s hand-tied to individual pieces of hair to add a subtle flash of sparkle. It moves and catches the light like a tiny highlight, and it’s a fun way to add a little personality without changing your haircut or color. It can be washed, brushed, heat-styled, and worn for days or even weeks depending on your hair and routine. We charge $20 for 24 strands, or $10 for 12 strands, and we have a bunch of colors to pick from. It’s fun because people leave looking just as fun and bright as my store.
We also have a little trinket exchange box! “Take a trinket, leave a trinket.” The trinket exchange box is an interactive, in-store experience where customers bring in silly, random things to trade for something that somebody else left inside the box. It’s part nostalgia, part surprise, and part self-expression. It’s a playful way to turn little objects into something meaningful. The idea is simple: nothing has to be perfect or expensive to feel special, and every piece tells a story. One of my favorite parts about opening the store every day is peeking inside the trinket box to see what squirrely things people left in it the day before. One time, someone actually left a full blown harp in there. It’s so chaotic, I love it.
And lastly, we have a pink phone booth inside the store that customers can take pictures inside of.
So, do you see now what I mean when I say that Lunch Money is an experience?
In terms of your work and the industry, what are some of the changes you are expecting to see over the next five to ten years?
I know that online shopping is going to continue to take over. Thankfully, I’m an optimistic person.
I do recognize that online shopping has absolutely normalized speed, convenience, and endless selection. However, I optimistically think that people will be using online retail for efficiency, and turning to physical retailers like myself for experience, curation and emotional connection.
So, luckily, Lunch Money provides things that the internet can’t replicate, like the ability to actually touch the products, the real in-person help and communication, the gift wrapping, hair tinsel, the charm bar experience, the trinket exchange, the atmosphere, the perfect picture moments, and the instant gratification that comes with buying yourself a little treat in an actual store.
Pricing:
- Charm Bracelet Base: $5
- Charm Necklace Base: $10
- Charms: $5 each
- 24 Strands of Hair Tinsel: $20
- 12 Strands of Hair Tinsel: $10
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.lunchmoneyaz.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lunchmoneyaz
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lunchmoneyaz
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/lunch-money-gilbert
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@lunchmoneyaz
