Whoa, Wait. Walmart? with Bethany and Amanda

Meet Bethany and Amanda, style soulmates and the brains behind Whoa, Wait. Walmart? With backgrounds in fashion and interiors, these besties are passionate about hunting down surprisingly cool items from the aisles of Walmart. Each time the gals pop into a Walmart, they become your personal shoppers, on a budget. Amanda shops at the Nashville, TN stores. Bethany shops at the NW Arkansas stores. Nearly eight years later, Bethany and Amanda share their high-end looks on a low-end budget with over 334,000 of their very best (virtual) friends and they’re helping make Walmart (!) cool. Check out their Whoa, Wait. Live a Lovely Life for Less magazine, now available at ALL Walmart locations.

Can you tell our readers about your background?

We both were raised to hunt for a good deal on everything we wanted to buy.

What inspired you to start your business?

Whoa, wait. Walmart? began out of the genuine love for sharing on-trend, value-priced items with friends and family.

Where is your business based?

In Bentonville, AR and Nashville, TN.

How did you start your business? What were the first steps you took?

We literally grabbed an Instagram handle and headed to Walmart to shoot our favorite in-store items. We had no idea what this would grow into, but we ran with it and worked hard.

What has been the most effective way of raising awareness for your business?

Word of mouth!  When people constantly tag their friends in our posts, that's the sweet spot for growth.  

What have been your biggest challenges and how did you overcome them?

We have struggled with various aspects of the influencer world, like championing a retailer that isn't as trendy as some. But doing this work together, not alone, has been priceless. We have each other's backs, always. 

How do you stay focused?

We don't always, ha! But, we do try to take time to refocus our efforts and direction every so often. We love a good work retreat!

How do you differentiate your business from the competition?

From the beginning, we've tried to stick to our vision of sharing the best products that Walmart has to offer. We can't always differentiate our posts from other accounts, but we can consistently show up for our audience and be competent and reliable for our brand partners. It sounds so basic, but we often hear how appreciated that small effort is. 

What has been your most effective marketing strategy to grow your business? So many of our favorite ventures have come from partnering with businesses that see the value of our vision and appreciate our work ethic. Then, they come to us with new opportunities for exposure and growth.

What's your best piece of advice for aspiring and new entrepreneurs?

Show up every day and ask questions. We still learn something new every week!

What's your favorite app, blog, and book? Why?

 App: Instagram. It's still a source of inspiration for us and without it, we wouldn't be here! Blog: We aren't reading blogs quite like we used to but we still love “A Beautiful Mess” and “Style by Emily Henderson.” Book: We both just read Beach Read by Emily Henry and LOVED it!

What's your favorite business tool or resource? Why?

After years of doing everything ourselves we recently hired a team to manage back of house tech stuff and it has been the biggest blessing.

Who is your business role model? Why?

Sara Blakely. She is innovative, bold and kind.  

How do you balance work and life?

There is no true balance, but our workload ebbs and flows so we make sure that when work is slower, we are spending the extra time on important things like our families.  

What’s your favorite way to decompress?

Baths, face masks, bingeing shows, or a good book - we could go on!

What do you have planned for the next six months?

In addition to creating content for our social channels, we also have a Walmart exclusive lifestyle magazine, Whoa, Wait. Live a Lovely Life for Less! We'll be hard at work on the upcoming issues!

How can our readers connect with you?

Find us on Instagram @whoawaitwalmart, our website WhoaWaitWalmart.com where you can sign up for our Insider's Club email, and in the pages of our magazine, Whoa, Wait. Live a Lovely Life For Less, sold at all Walmart stores in the United States and Canada.