Wish for Others What You Wish for Yourself

Xuxa 

Years ago on my mission to Brazil, there was a popstar that was very popular with children and considered "family friendly" entertainment.  Her name was Xuxa.  Any North American (and especially those of us in the more conservative LDS culture) would probably have a little chuckle at how "appropriate" she really is for kids because she was always a little scantily clad, and her back up dancers were a little provocative.  That is a discussion for another time.  The reason I bring her up is that when I was down there in 1993, she was the center of some controversy that caused a little bit of bad press.  I don't recall the details, and was most likely not privy to them anyhow because I was a missionary.  However, there was this one time when we arrived to have lunch at a member's house, and the family was watching the last 5 minutes of the show.  I remember thinking that I knew nothing of this woman, Xuxa, but was surprised at her final comments before the end.  They zoomed in on her face and she simply said, "Wish for Others What You Wish for Yourself."  I remember thinking that this was very poignant for a children's show, and those words have stuck with me.

Interestingly enough, this is part of a greater quote by the ancient Islamic leader, Muhammed.  The full quote reads, "Not one of you truly believes until you wish for others what you wish for yourself."  In the LDS faith we refer to this as the "golden rule."  The Savior Jesus Christ taught, "Do unto others as you would have others do unto you." These are words to live by.

Now, almost 20 years later, we have been in a very vibrant business for over 15 years.  The "golden rule" is one of the things we try to live by in business.  Sometimes the circumstances are difficult when we have a big decision to make, but we stive to err on the side of generosity.  This gets really hard when money is involved because the bottom line is what keeps us in business--not the fluffy, loving feelings we have towards our customers.

Through the years we have always grown, and tried to do right by our customers.  Sometimes we have made mistakes, but we always try to remedy them.  I never cease to be amazed by customers that really don't want to give us a change to fix problems.  They are few and far between, but as I have dealt with them I usually find that they have other very big things happening in their life that are causing them grief and pain.  So, I have learned to tread lightly.  Many of those customers are actually counted among my personal friends now.  The only way I have been able to sleep at night is to remember that we always try very hard to take care of our customers, and that we wish for them what we would wish for ourselves and our family.

Salt Lake City Temple

Why do I bring this up?  Well, for starters, we recognize that we are all part of one big human family.  So, even though we may not always have really kind feelings about our competitors, they are still our brothers and we always try to take the high road and not bad talk them to customers.  Secondly, we would rather focus our efforts on becoming the company that people turn to when they think about what they need to outfit a missionary.  We have made this business one of our life's pursuits, and we put quite a bit of time, energy, and resources into it.  We genuinely care.

Being in business in the LDS community is always interesting.  People assume things about us, and we assume things about our customers--usually that people will take the "high road" and be kind in their dealings with us and vice versa.  This isn't always the case, but that is because we are real people and so are our customers.  We are all here to learn and grow, and we are all trying to be the people that a loving Heavenly Father intends us to be.  So, let's work at it.

A couple of years ago, we had many customers coming in our store and regurgitating the things they had heard at a competitor.  We did nothing to retaliate, nor did we take any legal action.  This has been our policy.  We have just tried to "turn the other cheek"--especially in front of customers.  The result?  We don't hear customers coming in from those other competitors with venom on their tongues spewed from the mouths of the salespeople at that competitor.  Even better, we have a kind of "gentlemanly understanding" between us that if they have something we don't, or we can do something they can't then we will refers customers between us.  We both recognize that in the end we are both helping missionaries.

Today in the information age, we can easily give our opinions and put our rage or disgust out there without restraint, or even having to face those that we are addressing.  This gives so many people the ability to really just let loose in ways that they wouldn't if they were face to face.  So, the adage, "Wish for Others What You Wish for Yourself" is very relevant today because we need to show courtesy, respect, and restraint more than we ever have.  We also need to stop thinking that we can just put bad feelings out there, or "bear false witness about our neighbor" to get back at them and think that it doesn't affect us.  It does.  We are the sum of our thoughts.  So, I'll say it again,  "Wish for others what you wish for yourself."  If there was a little more of that going around, the world would really be a better place.

We are all in this together, and we truly do wish for you and yours what we would wish for ourselves. Thank you for your business. 

Dressed for Success

Italian suits. Usually the sound of the words brings up images of mobsters or suave, Valentino type lovers. Actually the reason we love Italian suits is because the details are everything.

Italian suit tailors perfected the art of suiting. Everything has to be deliberate and perfected from the hand stitched finish down to the tiny flap that buttons over the inner breast pocket. It must be perfect, and it must be beautiful.

Yes, I said it. Beautiful. Italian suits are just, well, beautiful! The reason that many American men don't wear them is because the slim fit of the Italia cut hasn't always jived with the American sensibility of fashion (and the good ol' boy build that most American men are sporting these days.)

For the missionaries we are outfitting right now, the suit is a winner. So many of the young men that come in to get their first suit are tall and svelte (which is a nice way to say "skinny.") That makes them a perfect candidate for our Vestitti Piu Italian style suit. You can even purchase the optional vest--which will give a thinner build a little bit of shape and bulk.


We were able to secure a lot of these suits from our manufacturer, and they are ready to go. They are lined with a very posh red, tonal paisley taffeta, and the finishing touches on this suit are amazing.

They are priced to move at $115 with the vest, and come as small as a 34R up to a 46R. We do also have some shorts and longs still. Come and try one on today!

Suit Up!

In a day and age when men are dressing down more than up, there is one constant symbol of power--the Suit. That is one thing that Barney Stinson does have right. It matters what you look like when making a first impression and men have been wearing suits for decades. Young men were encouraged to wear them to impress future employers, father-in-laws, or dates, and women have always swooned over a well-dressed man.

A man not in a suit was considered less educated, or successful. We may think we have cast off this stereotype, but it is still there especially in LDS culture. It is a rite of passage to get a first suit when a young man turns 8 and is going to be baptized, or turns 12 and is going to pass the sacrament. These are ceremonious and important times that we take seriously. There simply is no substitute for a great suit.

Current practices in many businesses now allow for "casual Fridays" where men can wear dockers and a polo to work, and often pop culture treats the suit as a symbol of corporate oppression in our lives. Regardless, if you saw two men, which one would you trust to with your money? or to defend you in court? or to date your daughter?

Say what you will, pop culture, we still see a man in a suit as a symbol of polish, manners, and good breeding. If it weren't so, we would see men in chinos and a tee shirt walking the red carpet, participating in presidential debates, and appearing in court. The reality is that a suit says something about you.

If it didn't matter, we wouldn't bother to put our missionaries in suits, wear suits on Sunday or to the temple, and the president of the United States would not wear one to his inauguration. The truth is that it does matter.

The hardest part about a suit, though, is its wearability. So often, a poorly fit suit feels like a straight jacket and inhibits movement. Suits are also very warm, especially if your work or chapel are climate controlled. So, how do you wear a suit when you just don't want to? Well, we have done our research and come up with the best suit ever. Here are the options, and you will be amazed when you see our prices!

1. Our suits start with a great fabric. We had to have this fabric specially milled. We didn't just pick fabric off of the manufacturer's fabric swatch card, and ask for 2000 suits to be cut from it. We had it milled especially for us. The factory overseas was so nervous about it, they actually had us sign all sorts of documents saying we promised to take it all because they don't make this fabric for anyone else. Our blend is very special. It is a specific poly/wool blend with a touch of lycra in the actual suit fabric. Just to make it even more special, our fabric is treated with actual Teflon. The treatment is baked into the fabric before the suit is even cut, so every nook and crannie in the suit is protected.

2. The cut of our suit is incredible, and perfectly suited for missionaries (or dads). We always carry sizes 36S-42L in this suit because that is the best fit for our missionary demographic, but we often have a few in the bigger sizes (44-48) depending on how quickly they sell out.

3. We have added a lycra panel in the sleeve construction that allows for great mobility in the arm--which is usually limited in most suits.

4. There are extra interior pockets, some that securely close to keep your wallet or money.

5. The pants are lined to the knee--with a polyester lining, not acetate or rayon--both of which are not as durable.

6. The waistband of the pants has hidden elastic expanders that allow for your waistline to change sizes a little or expand with comfort.

7. The suit pants also have a seat liner that extends the life of the suit.

We do all of this and sell our suits for around $200. (The price is lower when purchased as part of the missionary package.)

We have a suit option for just about every missionary and mission. Don't forget the shirt and tie to match! See you in the shop.

A Store is Born

Ever wonder where we came from? Here is the true story, to dispel the myths.

When we started this business over a decade ago, we originally sold water filters for missionaries. We had put them in a local missionary store, and they weren't really moving. We were also selling them online, and had hoped to add to our line gear that was specifically for missionaries. We had planned to just be online. However, in time we saw that so many missionaries were coming to Utah county to be outfitted for their missions, that we felt if we could just do it better--and easily accessed online--we would be able to have a successful business. We could also add all of the accessories, and our water filter.

We pitched the idea to another business in the valley that catered to missionaries. The owner of that franchise was interested in the idea, and a little agreement was put in the works. We would manage the web presence of that store, and fulfill online orders. As pay, we would only take a salesman's commission. He was very optimistic and encouraging. As part of the deal, we would be responsible for the advertising of the website, as it would be a separate outlet from the actual store. So, we began to put dollars towards advertising. (Remember: we were still students at this point, and money was tight.)

Our technology skills were also somewhat lacking at the time. The internet was so new, that MS Explorer didn't really exist. Netscape was the category killer at the time, and you could search with yahoo, alta-vista, or some other search engines. We tried to stay up on the latest, and learned to build and manage a website. We also began reading books and articles on how to run businesses, market, manage finances, build websites etc. Everything we didn't know, we tried to find answers in a book.

Bad news came when the franchise owner spoke to the corporate offices of his business. He was told that they felt that "there was no future in internet retail." However, we had already spent nearly $3500 on advertising. Our ad had also already come out, and he was not pleased, as we sort of mocked the establishment of shopping in an actual store. He said he would not do the deal with us. That began our foray into the world of missionary outfitting.

The whole situation terrified us, to put it plainly. It's a really good thing, though, that we were young and hungry. Nothing like sink or swim to get a startup going.

Out of the goodness of his heart, this seasoned business owner gave us a few vendor leads that he no longer used as sources and trade shows, and basically told us that we were going to be on our own. He even generously supply us for 30 days, and then it was up to us. That was one of the most generous, and kind contributions we had in the building up of our business.

So, we began to build our business, order by order. It went slowly, but grew exponentially as the year went on. We learned many things about managing inventory, handling accounting, customer service, and marketing. We always tried to "bootstrap" our business and not take any money out of it. Both of us worked outside the home too, one of us part time, and the other full time. We even moved into our parents' basement to save on housing costs. Our orders were handled from start to finish from that location. We received shipments, and fulfilled shipments from that basement, and Jon even did all of the alterations. Jenni taught school while we were growing the business, and Jon would care for Aaron, the toddler at the time.

Two years into our business venture, we had received enough requests from customers to have a physical place where they could try on our clothing or see our items for sale in person that we decided to open a store. Once again, we began to hit the books. We didn't know it then, but we were priming ourselves for our business a few years down the road.

We signed our first lease in 2001. We then took 6 months to remodel it, and to get it going. We had family that generously co-signed on loans for us and aided us in the remodel. When we finally opened, we saw a little increase in our sales--but the funny part was that we had no inventory for sale. Our "store" was really just a "showroom." We had only inventory that you could look at and examine, and then you ordered your product online and we got it to you in weeks. Looking back, it makes us laugh to think we thought that was a new and better way to do retail! We sit back and laugh at ourselves and remember the strange discussions we would have with customers about whether or not they could take a purchase directly from our store. The only thing we actually sold that you could take with you were ties. And we didn't sell shoes.

Some funny things that happened in that store also keep us laughing. We had very honest employees (incidentally, all 3 of the sales guys of that era left us to go work at the MTC where they could make a little more money). We would take credit cards through our website, and occasionally people would pay with cash. We would just keep the cash in a small pile up on the desk in the alterations area. We didn't have regular deposits that we made in cash, we would wait until it was a couple thousand dollars before we deposited it. We would just count it regularly, and we must have had incredibly honest employees--because nothing ever went missing. One day, one of the employees came to us and very sheepishly asked, "Um, so we took some cash upstairs and put it on the table. However, the window was open, and when a little breeze picked up, it blew the money all over the room. We are pretty sure that we got it all, but maybe we should get something to keep our money in." The very next day, Jon went to Costco and purchased a...wait for it...wait for it...wait for it...

...a jar of chocolate covered peanuts!

He thought it would be perfect because the lid screwed on. So, he gave the jar to the employees, and told them to eat the peanuts so we could use it for a money jar. They did, and we continued to use that jar up until the time in which we were doing so many cash sales, that the money we received every couple of days wouldn't fit anymore. That was when it was decided that we would get a nifty little device called "a cash drawer."

We almost bit the dust in the fall that year because of 9/11. We had just had our second baby who was a month old, and the retail location was just getting going. We didn't see any customers for 2 weeks, and had vendors to pay. It wasn't a lot of money, only about $4000, but it was still scary. We had a family member that showed up unannounced at our door with a $5000 check saying, "We believe in you. Put this to good use."

We ended up letting all of our sales staff and half of our alterations staff go. While Jon worked from home handling website issues and orders, Jenni would go and work at the store during the afternoons while our toddler slept, and keep the baby in the little office upstairs. He was only 6 weeks old, so he slept most of the time, and she did freelance writing for some extra cash when there weren't customers in the store. Eventually we did hire a few sales guys to work there, and Jenni could focus her time back at home again. As we still plodded along, things began to get more stable.

It wasn't until we had two children, and had been in business for 4 years did we finally take a small paycheck. It was less than 1/3 of our total income, but it was a great help. That was also the point at which we began socking away money to buy our first home. We ended up finding a place and were able to get into based on our credit score and a stated income loan (a.k.a "liar loan" as they are now known) We were one of the families that really benefitted from the housing market boom. Ironically, as soon as our family moved from Orem to Springville, we decided to move our store (that we had outgrown) from Provo, up to Orem. There was a new strip mall that was being overhauled and Deseret Book was rumored to be going in. We jumped on the chance, and signed a lease to get there. We moved up there in 2003. At that time, we started carrying shoes for the very first time.

We also started trying to innovate even more, and decided that one thing that missionaries faced that was hard is the replacement of their gear. Many other companies would sell missionary gear that didn't make it through the whole mission. We decided that we could build a guarantee into the price of an item, and then replace it for free if it didn't make it through the mission. That has been a great part of the MissionaryMall experience ever since.

2005 brought some interesting changes. We began to bring in women's clothing that summer. What an eye opening experience! Female shoppers do not shop like male shoppers! By then, we had outgrown our space once again, and decided to lease a pad site across the parking lot. We signed the new lease, and began to prepare to move across the way. We completed the remodel during Christmas break 2005, and moved in the new place January 2006. We tried to lease the old store location, but we had built some "missionary outfitter" specifics in the lease and could only lease to another missionary business. So, an executive decision was made to leave the women's clothing in that store and separate them out.

We had "MissionaryMall" signs up for a while at both places. It was actually very entertaining to watch missionaries come bounding into the women's store and then stop short, like a deer in headlights, and timidly ask if we "still sold men's clothing." We would just refer them to the other store. We finally settled on calling the women's store "SisterMissionaryMall" and the new concept was born.

The adventures in business have been many, and they never seem to cease, but we have been blessed to have great customers and support the whole way. One of the best things about our business is that at the end of the day, we are helping missionaries. It is what gets us out of bed in the morning, and gives us purpose. We hope to be outfitting missionaries for years to come.