After settling in from market in Los Angeles, I've been thinking about how far I've come in 8 years.. So I wanted to give Material Girls' fans and supporters a little background on my latest decisions and how it all started!
My family has deep roots in Hattiesburg. Starting back when my dad played football for USM and my parents lived in the married dorms. Next, growing up tailgating as a child, then my own time on campus as a student and member of Kappa Delta sorority! As an adult, I have kept my connections to Hattiesburg in tact for all these years by visiting my younger brother, Skipper, and now tailgating on my own with friends and alumni from USM!
I opened my first store during my senior year of college in 2004 in Flowood and enjoyed the first 2 years as a business owner and recent grad! After a quick 2 years in business, I decided it was time to grow my business with my business advisor/daddy by my side to guide me thru my growth. My plan was to open a Hattiesburg location in the Turtle Creek Crossing mall. Then life and God's plan happened when I least expected it and in May of 2006 my father passed away in a tragic boating accident. The lease for Hattiesburg was in my car but needless to say, my life halted at that moment and business as usual would never be the same.
I pressed on with my first location and decided to recoup and recover and put the idea Hattiesburg away for a while. Later in 2007, the itch to grow finally came back but this time I decided to stay closer to home and open in the new development, Renaissance, in Ridgeland. After 6 amazing years of business in Flowood and 3 years in Ridgeland, I decided to drive to Oxford for the day with my mom and Holland to research and learn more about the town. No surprise to anyone who knows my quick but thorough decisions, I decided to open a store in Oxford that day at the end of July 2010. We got the lease the next day and the following day after that it was signed and keys were in my hands!! A month later, on Sept 1st, the doors to my third location were open for business!
My dad always taught me to go with my heart and gut and don't question yourself too much... I strongly believe that is why I have seen the success and blessings in my business. I know I am blessed as I look back on life before Flowood opened and he told me to always stay different and never let get in a routine/change is good and know what a blessing it is that a customers walks thru my doors everyday. As the daddy in him believed in his little girl, his strong business sense was scared to death for me and my new venture. Looking back over the last 8 years, I know he is the reason I am the businesswoman I am and why I am able to take chances and go with my gut!
It was only a few months into opening Oxford that I knew where I needed to be next. As much as it scared me, my heart kept telling me where I needed to be, Hattiesburg. I kind of let those thoughts pass for a few months as we settled in with the idea of 3 stores.
That didn't last too long, just a few weeks ago, I woke up and decided to drive to Hattiesburg to scope things out. Holland, Krista, and I drove for the day and looked at available spaces and I immediately got that excitement again and knew it just had to happen! In true Whitney fashion, I insisted on a lease within days and negotiations began! Holland's dad is our contractor and was on standby to begin a complete gutting of our space and remodel from the ground up! Want to know the weirdest part, the store is in Turtle Creek Crossing... same mall I had a lease for 5 years ago!
All that said, my customers, family, and employees are my everyday blessings which allow me to live my dream and continue to grow. I wanted to share my story of how Material Girls has continued to grow over 8 years..... And don't even think I'm done yet!!!
My family has deep roots in Hattiesburg. Starting back when my dad played football for USM and my parents lived in the married dorms. Next, growing up tailgating as a child, then my own time on campus as a student and member of Kappa Delta sorority! As an adult, I have kept my connections to Hattiesburg in tact for all these years by visiting my younger brother, Skipper, and now tailgating on my own with friends and alumni from USM!
I opened my first store during my senior year of college in 2004 in Flowood and enjoyed the first 2 years as a business owner and recent grad! After a quick 2 years in business, I decided it was time to grow my business with my business advisor/daddy by my side to guide me thru my growth. My plan was to open a Hattiesburg location in the Turtle Creek Crossing mall. Then life and God's plan happened when I least expected it and in May of 2006 my father passed away in a tragic boating accident. The lease for Hattiesburg was in my car but needless to say, my life halted at that moment and business as usual would never be the same.
I pressed on with my first location and decided to recoup and recover and put the idea Hattiesburg away for a while. Later in 2007, the itch to grow finally came back but this time I decided to stay closer to home and open in the new development, Renaissance, in Ridgeland. After 6 amazing years of business in Flowood and 3 years in Ridgeland, I decided to drive to Oxford for the day with my mom and Holland to research and learn more about the town. No surprise to anyone who knows my quick but thorough decisions, I decided to open a store in Oxford that day at the end of July 2010. We got the lease the next day and the following day after that it was signed and keys were in my hands!! A month later, on Sept 1st, the doors to my third location were open for business!
My dad always taught me to go with my heart and gut and don't question yourself too much... I strongly believe that is why I have seen the success and blessings in my business. I know I am blessed as I look back on life before Flowood opened and he told me to always stay different and never let get in a routine/change is good and know what a blessing it is that a customers walks thru my doors everyday. As the daddy in him believed in his little girl, his strong business sense was scared to death for me and my new venture. Looking back over the last 8 years, I know he is the reason I am the businesswoman I am and why I am able to take chances and go with my gut!
It was only a few months into opening Oxford that I knew where I needed to be next. As much as it scared me, my heart kept telling me where I needed to be, Hattiesburg. I kind of let those thoughts pass for a few months as we settled in with the idea of 3 stores.
That didn't last too long, just a few weeks ago, I woke up and decided to drive to Hattiesburg to scope things out. Holland, Krista, and I drove for the day and looked at available spaces and I immediately got that excitement again and knew it just had to happen! In true Whitney fashion, I insisted on a lease within days and negotiations began! Holland's dad is our contractor and was on standby to begin a complete gutting of our space and remodel from the ground up! Want to know the weirdest part, the store is in Turtle Creek Crossing... same mall I had a lease for 5 years ago!
All that said, my customers, family, and employees are my everyday blessings which allow me to live my dream and continue to grow. I wanted to share my story of how Material Girls has continued to grow over 8 years..... And don't even think I'm done yet!!!
Love,
Whitney Giordano
Here is a picture of me and my dad just a couple of weeks before he passed away... I love memories like these!
