Debbie Gaby
Co-founder & President, Sleep America
www.sleepamerica.com
You wouldn’t dream of buying your bedroom décor in a store that lacked good service and style. So why do some of us buy mattresses in places with dingy bathrooms and sleazy sales tactics?
Debbie Gaby, co-founder and president of Sleep America, is changing that shopping experience. Her stores have decorated beds, soft music, flowers and scented candles. Employees greet customers with cool bottles of water. The company emphasizes service and giving back to the community.
Here’s the story of how Debbie overcame childhood hardship, built a successful career in real estate, and then with her husband, Len, grew Sleep America into the largest mattress retailer in Arizona…
Crisis at 13 Years Old
Debbie: “I was born and raised in Texas. I can recall when my parents’ business burned to the ground … it made front-page news that the Nash’s Little Red Barn, which was an antique store, burned to the ground. My parents didn’t have insurance, so they couldn’t afford to rebuild and as we say in Texas, were flat broke. At 13, I went off to an all-girls school and had to go to work.”
Crisis at 18 Years Old
“I believe anyone with the right motivation and attitude can be successful. My motivation was just to put food on the table, because I had a daughter at the age of 18. I found myself single, divorced, with a baby and no child support. I didn’t let it get me down. I just kept going. I had a positive attitude and believed in me. We were left with only a survival instinct, a wonderful attitude and a strong work ethic.”
Controlling Her Own Destiny
“Being so down at one time, I think I have always been afraid to not have a little nest egg. I’ve been ambitious enough to want to try different things. In my first career… I decided to go out on my own and become a decorator. I built on that and went into real estate and was successful because I controlled my own destiny. I had what it took to get up and keep trying every day and I had big dreams to fulfill.”
‘I Wasn’t Going to Hire You Because…’
“The real estate broker didn’t even want to hire me. I went in for an interview and the broker said she’d get back to me, but she never did. After my third call to her, she said, ‘To tell you the truth, I wasn’t going to hire you because I felt you were too fragile. But because of your persistence, I’m going to give you a chance.’”
“Two or three months later, I became the top listing agent in the company, and stayed there throughout my entire career. I learned to see everything in a positive light. Everyone who was saying, ‘no’ they didn’t need my services as a Realtor, would get me that much closer to selling a home. It was a numbers game and I loved helping people!”
Why She Gave Up Her Lucrative Real Estate Career
“I had met a wonderful man who’s now my husband. He was semi-retired and I was still working very hard and full-time in real estate. We were dating and I asked him to help me with my open houses and other responsibilities. He said, ‘This is the hardest job I’ve ever had … let’s do something that’s not so hard.’ He had been the president of Simmons mattress company and a large furniture retailer in Houston. It seemed natural that we would open up retail mattress stores. Since I was in real estate, I could find the great locations.”
And Challenged the Status Quo in Mattress Stores
“I didn’t like what I saw in the industry … typical mattress stores appeared to be managed and manned by bachelors. The toilet seats were up and the salesmen didn’t mind waiting on you while eating pizza. The stores were dirty and cluttered, the sales information was technical and boring, and the salespeople were seedy. I told Len this is why I don’t want to have a mattress store, and he said, ‘That’s it! That’s what we’ll change. You design the perfect store for women like yourself.’”
Secret to Success
“We started with three stores in 1997 and now have 38 stores throughout Arizona. Our sales that first year were about $3 million and we exceeded $40 million in 2006. We have six more stores opening in 2007 and 140 employees.
“The growth was achieved by focusing on our customers and by selling sleep rather than mattresses. I do all the advertising, which is only on radio and TV, and act as the company spokeswoman. A female entrepreneur talking to female customers. We stimulate all the five senses to make our stores more appealing. This gives our customers a complete and relaxing shopping experience. Our stores are comfortable and beautiful.”
Best Practices in Marketing
“We tried unique things … our first 100 customers received a basket titled ‘Enjoy Breakfast in Bed.’ It was doing unexpected things. People would talk. They received a basket with free bagels, coffee a nightshirt and a mug.
“We focused on taking care of our customers… we take extremely good care of employees too. If they’re happy, it reflects to the customer. We still have some of first employees we ever hired and they are very loyal.”
Winning Top-of-Mind Awareness
“Repetition, repetition, repetition … as I learned in real estate, keeps you top of mind. If someone’s in the market for a mattress, they’ll usually buy a mattress within eight days. Our goal is to be at the top of our customer’s mind so we do a lot of consistent advertising.”
Serving Customers and the Community
“One of the things we did that I am very proud of is before we ever signed our first lease, we visited St. Vincent de Paul. We told them we would help them set up a mattress recycling program where they could give away or sell used mattresses we picked up from our customers to someone who would otherwise be sleeping on the floor. They give tax-deductible receipts to our customers and we keep these older mattresses out of the land fills.
“To this date we’ve given over 100,000 beds to St. Vincent de Paul. We also donate a lot of new mattresses to non-profit organizations. Giving someone the dignity of a good night’s rest is about as good a gift as anyone could give.”
Greatest Challenge
“Of course that was 9/11. When that happened, we were just seeing excellent growth. Then 9/11 hit, and business became stagnant. Businesses were closing, but we still had to open stores just as we committed to, because our word was on the line. We had to tighten our belts. About a year after that, it was all back to normal, once the world regained its confidence.”
Words of Advice
“What you have to do is develop your culture, because if you don’t, it will develop itself. You must develop core values and stick to them. The core values that have helped to build our culture… number one - total honesty; number two - you must have mutual respect for everyone, customers and employees; and three - you must be having fun. You must love what you’re doing.”
Favorite Quote
“A woman is like a tea bag. You never know strong she is until she gets into hot water.” by Eleanor Roosevelt.
Favorite Ways to Relax and Re-energize
“I play with my dogs and have long conversations with them. They are always supportive and honest with me. I have two dogs - a chocolate lab, Ziggy, and a black poodle, Merlot.”
Two Pick-Me-Ups for You
“I have found that Oprah Winfrey’s magazine is full of interesting, informative and spiritually uplifting material every month. I look forward to receiving it and usually read it from cover to cover.
“I also just saw the Will Smith movie ‘Pursuit of Happyness’ and thoroughly enjoyed it. It would be an inspiration to anyone trying to make it in this tough competitive world on their own.”
