We recently connected with Erin Dragoo and have shared our conversation below.

Erin, appreciate you joining us today. Let’s talk legacy – what sort of legacy do you hope to build?

I hope this question is in reference to my business, not me personally. I also hope, in that case, that I’m never gone. I think most business owners hope for that.

However, in the unfortunate event that Lunch Money is ever gone, I hope that people remember it as being one-of-a-kind. I hope they miss it, and look back at how much love went into it. I hope that when the time comes to get a gift for someone, or they’re just looking for a bright spot in their day, they say, “Dang, I wish I could go to Lunch Money. That was my favorite store.”

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

For most of my life, I never knew what I wanted to do. I found that I was good at a lot of things, but I hadn’t found what I was great at. I did hair for a while, but it didn’t fulfill me. I went back to school and graduated from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication. I will say that I absolutely loved college — I wished going to school was a career! After graduation, I started freelancing social media strategies and doing web design for small businesses. It was fun, but still I wasn’t feeling quite fulfilled. Then I started selling jewelry at my mother-in-law’s boutique, and after a short time I realized that was it. I loved everything about boutique and small business life. I was very good at putting displays together, and I loved interacting with the customers and seeing them get excited about things I picked out. Of course, I thrived on the social media and website aspect of it because of my former experience. It was a way to bring everything that I had done in the past together. It was a creative outlet. It was a social outlet. I knew that I had finally found what I wanted to do. So, after working with her for three years, I flew the coop and started a store of my own.

My store is completely different than my mother-in-law’s store is, though. My store is an extension of me. I sell all sorts of random, fun things, like bright clothing, home goodies, hair accessories, car cuties, stationery, handmade earrings and other cute jewelry, handbags, smoking accessories, planners and journals, stickers, tarot cards, and just so many other things that you never knew you needed! It’s a really fun, eccentric little place — definitely an experience. It’s very pink inside, besides the green walls. There are disco balls everywhere. I have a vintage purple couch in the back for the husbands to sit on while their wives shop. I even have a TV for them. I like to make everybody happy. Normally, that’s a toxic trait, but I think in the boutique industry, it’s okay to be a people pleaser sometimes.

With the holidays coming up, Lunch Money is definitely a great place to keep in mind! Not only do we have really unique things, but we also gift wrap them for you, too! And both my employee, Sabrina, and I are very good at making suggestions for your gifts.

Can you open up about a time when you had a really close call with the business?

We’re actually in that near death moment right now. It’s been a really brutal summer for sales, and we’re not seeing it really pick back up yet. It’s definitely a scary time. But, all I can say is that worrying doesn’t help. All I can do is keep trying and think as positively as I can. I know that in a year from now, I’ll be laughing at how scared I was.

How did you build your audience on social media?

Social media can be really daunting, especially when you see those around you doing it so flawlessly. It feels like a lot to live up to. But, social media is one of Lunch Money’s strong points so far, and the best advice I can give is to show the face behind the brand. You may not be very comfortable in front of the camera, but I promise that you’ll gain real, loyal followers just by being yourself. Don’t try to fake who you are, because the internet sniffs that stuff out so quickly. Just be you. Tell the world why you love what you do. It’s likely that just by you loving what you do or what you sell, others will fall in love with that passion.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.lunchmoneyaz.com
• Instagram: @lunchmoneyaz
• Facebook: @LunchMoneyAZ
• Other: TikTok: @lunchmoneyaz