Business, Marketing, and Life Advice for Play-Based Business Owners

This week I’m taking a little diversion from my normal business-related posts because I want to acknowledge my youngest son’s third birthday and share all he has taught me. I love writing letters to both of my boys for them to read when they are older and I wanted to share a small bit of it here with you.

I was hesitant to share this at first, but I know that many other parents are on a very similar path. If you can take one thing away from this letter to my sweet son Silas-- let...

Another one of the most common questions I get from prospective indoor playground business owners is around WHY I chose my specific indoor play concept for Climbing Vines Cafe & Play. As you likely know, our space is cozy & intimate and focuses on imaginative play for babies, toddlers, and preschoolers.

Many people looking to break into the indoor-play industry struggle around refining their own concept and wonder what they should focus on. For example, should there be a large play...

Here in Western New York, our “busy” indoor playground season typically starts in November and stretches through May.

That means that we are handling an increased volume of open-play customers but also an increase in birthday parties, events, classes, etc.. With the frigid weather, parents of small children are usually looking for as many indoor recreation options as possible.

While your business will naturally get busier during whatever your area’s typical “indoor...

Owning any business can be difficult as an introvert, but it can be especially challenging when the business is a local brick-and-mortar retail venture.

Even if the owner is not physically present at the store much, the thousands of interactions with customers each week can still require a great deal of intervention and therefore energy from the business owner.

For example, even though I only physically work at my cafe a few times a month-- I am still constantly interacting with customers...

As small business owners it can often feel like we are being pulled in a million different directions. It can also feel like someone ALWAYS needs something, whether it be a team member or a customer or a vendor.

It’s easy to allow yourself to be stretched too thinly and need to rely on a support system for strength when it gets to be too much.

However, what happens when we are being asked for favors from within our own support system as well?

Now, I’d like to preface this by...

Have you ever heard the phrase, “kill your darlings”? I hadn’t until this year.

To me, as a business owner, my “darlings” are the business-related things that I love the most-- and hold onto selfishly or against logic because of my emotional attachment to them

On paper, it can seem black-and-white. This service is profitable, so we will keep doing it. And if this other offering is much less profitable-- then we should cut it.

However, in the real world, it rarely...

AN ALTERNATIVE TITLE, “DO YOU EVER SLEEP??”
SECOND ALTERNATIVE TITLE, “HOW DO YOU DO IT ALL?”

As I have mentioned in previous blogs, life as a business owner looks significantly different from when we first opened our doors four years ago. While I still retain some responsibilities, like communicating with party clients, there are many tasks I used to keep on my “plate” that I have since outsourced, like working parties and events, and things I gave up...

So you want to open an indoor playground business. Or, maybe you just have a pinterest board called “play cafe inspo”, or “business ideas”. Wherever you are in your journey, I’d venture to guess that you’ve pictured what life might be like if you actually moved forward with your plan and chased your dream.

However, you’re also probably overwhelmed with the idea of getting started and you’re probably nervous about not getting the funding you...

If you are considering opening an indoor playground or if you own one already, it is your job as the visionary and the owner of the business to think about the big picture ideas and initiatives and really perfect the revenue streams in your business.

But what happens when you make a decision that doesn’t pan out?

Let’s say you had a great idea for a service offering, or a class, or an event that you were REALLY excited about. You spent tons of time creating it, promoting it, and...