Is Your Scarcity Mindset Restricting Your Indoor Playground Businesses' Revenue Potential?

A few weeks back I interviewed the amazing Amanda Bybel on my podcast and on YouTube, and we talked about money mindset and we also discussed the different insecure attachment styles we may have with our business, and she also gave us some tips for moving towards a place of more confidence and a more secure attachment style so we can start charging what we’re worth, prioritizing and valuing our time, and really growing and scaling our businesses.

I loved the conversation so much that I asked Amanda to do an additional 1-hour training just for Play Maker Society members, since every month they get their own advanced training that remains exclusive for members, and she generously agreed.

And again while the full training is just for Play Maker Society members, there was ONE little nugget of knowledge that I have just not been able to stop thinking about. In just a few short weeks it’s flipped my cost-benefit analysis process and decision making process on it’s head.

Because I can definitely admit that, at times, I have an insecure attachment style with my own business, and that’s something I’m working on.

Especially as we head into a potential recession and there is so much craziness going on in the world, it’s easy to let those insecure thoughts pop up.

Like, “what if someone begins to copy me and takes all my customers?”, or “wow, I have no idea what’s going to happen over the next several months I need to cut hours and start really hoarding money”.

But this ONE thing Amanda said has already helped me so much.

She said, when you have an opportunity to make an investment in your business, whether that’s a new tool or investing in a new skill or something similar, you should ask yourself,

“Is this EXPENSIVE, or is it actually EXPANSIVE”?

So often those of us that get those insecure thought popping up will look at an investment opportunity, even if its a simple tool that will make our lives WAY easier for only like $20 per month, and we think…

“Nope. Don’t need that. I can live without it.”

And we are ONLY looking at the cost part of the equation. Even if we DO decide to do a full cost-benefit analysis, we are often forgetting 2 critical factors.

1. We forget to value our time. So if something is going to save us 5 hours per month, we think, “well, I don’t NEED to pay myself, so this is an unnecessary expense”.
2. We forget about opportunity cost. And simply put, in this situation, the opportunity cost is what we are giving up if we choose to NOT make this investment. If we are saying NO to a tool that is going to save us 5 hours per month, we need to remember that time is finite. What ELSE could you be doing with that 5 hours per month? You could be learning a new skill, you could be launching a new revenue stream, you could be documenting your systems so you can potentially set your business up for a nice profitable sale someday, OR you could be spending time with your family and RESTING. Something we really underestimate of that can make us better leaders and better business owners, not to mention better romantic partners and parents. There is SO much potential upside in getting 5 hours per week back. We can ALWAYS  make more money, we cannot create more time. We are given 24 hours per day, every day. So the more we can delegate to make that time more purposeful and the more we can operate within our genius zones, the more successful we will be.

And as I was writing this episode it came to me that this mindset about time versus money is one of my biggest key indicators that I use to determine whether an indoor playground business is going to succeed or fail.

If a prospective owner goes into this process with a scarcity mindset and is willing to cut any corners necessary just because they are afraid of going all in and accepting the risk that their business might fail– they likely WILL fail.

So many prospective owners will listen to all my free content, and they won’t invest in my courses or consulting or anything like that, but they’ll open and come to me AFTERWARD and say, well, “why is my business not generating nearly enough revenue as business X?” or, “why am I not able to book $1,000+ premium parties in MY space?”

And what a lot of people forget is that, if we expect customer to not only invest their hard earned money in our business by booking these high-ticket, premium events, we need to have invested that same premium money INTO our business.

If you sign the cheapest lease you can find, do a minimal DIY style build out, don’t add a cafe since it will be too expensive, and decorate with a few things from target and fill your space with toys people can find at their homes– what did you expect?

This is a situation where you really GET what you GIVE. And so many people don’t really see that as a cause and effect scenario, but I have a unique perspective here. Since I get to be behind the scenes of HUNDREDS of indoor playground owners and I get a front-row seat very often TO the launching and build out process. 

And if there is a lot of money hoarding going on, if there are a lot of corners being cut, if there is a lot of FEAR around spending money, I can easily see that this mindset isn’t just going away after the buildout is done. 

That’s how this person is going to operate their business every single day and every single month. And while it may not be obvious to that particular owner, it’s quite obvious to the people who are NOT booking with them or signing up as members or frequenting their facilities.

And that’s why I encourage my students to save up by doing things like soft play rentals or mobile events or party planning or mobile classes for YEARS if necessary to save up the amount needed or obtain the true amount needed via funding for a proper build out.

Because the worst part of working in this industry is seeing someone whose heart is filled with kindness and passion and truly honorable intentions– FAIL simply because they rushed to get to opening day and they did not go through the proper process or they did a minimum build out or they could not invest in a premium play experience or structure.

Just to give you an example, I had a woman named Nelly join my course– literally one of the first people to EVER go through my program– back in 2018.  She was extremely active in the group, she was working really hard to go through every single step that I had laid out for her properly, and she allowed the process to be as slow as it needed to be to do it RIGHT. And to be honest she kind of dropped off the map for a while. 

That’s until she popped back in and all of a sudden shared that her DREAM space had finally opened and let me tell you– all of our jaws were on the FLOOR.

Her space is called Layla’s Little Neighborhood– and when you see her website, you’ll see what I mean. She truly brought her DREAM to life.

I posted some pictures on Facebook and the post almost instantly had hundreds of comments and shares.

And immediately, I noticed people comparing their success to hers. Asking what her secrets were because they had been open for 6+ months longer and they just weren’t able to break through to make what they wanted to make as owners. And what a lot of people weren’t seeing or were forgetting to look at was the YEARS of work she had done behind the scenes to sow what she was now able to reap. 

OR, they were simply admiring the end result and thought to themselves, I could do that. But what they don’t see in that finished product, is the years of work and persistence and planning that made that result possible.

Another example is Gloria from Looma space in LA. She also joined my course right in that first year and she was up against a TOUGH real-estate market in LA. Rent prices were crazy high and openings were far and few between. But she was patient and she worked really hard and she did NOT compromise or rush to sign the first lease that kinda sorta fit her vision. And I will also link to Gloria’s amazing space because you’ll see– that patience paid off.

Everyone wants the magic pill or the secret formula for success, but I am here to tell you that sometimes, the only magic formula is that, if you’re going to be rushed and stingy and cheap when opening up your business, you are going to attract customers that are stingy and cheap.

If you don’t value your business enough to give it the time and attention that’s needed, your customers will not be doing so either--they will NOT be valuing your business.

Your expectations in terms of what revenue you will bring in and what you will make as an owner need to be aligned with what you are investing, both time and effort-wise.

If you are expecting to charge $100 a month for a membership and command $500+ for each party, you better be delivering a premium experience that matches that price point.

If you’re expecting to charge $50 for an event ticket, you can’t just go to the dollar store and throw together some lackluster goodie bags and decorations and print out some coloring pages. 

And just to reiterate, I am NOT saying that there is not a market out there for price-conscious customers. There are plenty of people who can’t or won’t spend $500 on a birthday party or $50 for a unique event experience. You CAN spend less and operate really leanly and be successful.

But your expectations have to be adjusted.

In terms of who you’ll be working with, what you’re able to charge, how many people you’ll be able to hire and therefore how much you’ll be able to delegate, and that brings me to the 2 most important things that define many owners version of success:

1. How they spend their days
2. How much income they take home

If you are not willing to invest in the tools and knowledge that will take your business to the next level, you are sending out the subconscious signal that you do not expect to make money.

If you approach your business with that attitude you will manifest it and you will prove yourself right.

If you allow yourself to think of these expenditures and purchases as EXPANSIVE and lead with that attitude in your day to day, you will also manifest that, and prove yourself right. 

So ext time you get the opportunity to invest or NOT invest in your business, ask yourself if doing to is EXPENSIVE or EXPANSIVE. And next time you are expecting your customers to do something, make sure your expectations are aligned with the effort, energy, and level of investment YOU are bringing to the table.