This past Christmas my husband and I spent a much anticipated holiday season with our family. We currently live in Bangkok and two years is wayyy too long to be separated from the people that you love.

As fate would have it, an opportunity to provide retail training in my hometown of Philadelphia came my way. Despite the cold weather (which I hate) I decided to stay on longer with my parents while my husband returned to Asia.

Like a lot of retired seniors my parents are active and opinionated. They love MSNBC, The View, CSI Miami and Judge Judy. As I huddle by the fireplace watching these shows with them, I am reminded and amazed at the plethora of commercials. They advertise everything from plaque psoriasis crème to buy-one-get-one-free non-stick cooking pans. The contrast of watching television in Thailand where marketing is at best lukewarm makes me more aware than ever that we are truly a nation of consumers and we love to buy.

We have a leg up compared to other countries because it is part of our culture. We are the nation that unapologetically spends 5.5 million on a 30 second Super Bowl ad.

In my mind we should be dominating retail in the spa, wellness and salon industry. We should be kicking butt big time.

As global markets compete for spa and wellness revenue it is important for the U.S. to recognize what we do well and build upon it. This is my focus for 2017.

Sometimes it takes a view from the outside to have a broader perspective.