We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Vanessa Alvarado a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Vanessa, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.

After 10 years of trying to start a family naturally, we realized we needed the help of science and technology and embarked on the in vitro fertilization (IVF) journey. We were excited to finally see our family becoming a reality. Our first two embryo transfers were unsuccessful, and now we have two little boys in Heaven. By the grace of God, our third transfer was a success, and that’s how our daughter Laleena came into this world. For her first birthday, I wanted to make it extra special. Inspired by other mom influencers in larger cities, I discovered soft play rentals for little ones. I immediately searched for this service in Albuquerque, but unfortunately, the date we needed was booked, and I learned they were the only business in the area offering this.

Suddenly, inspiration struck, and I knew in my heart that I wanted to start a soft play business for other families wanting to make their little one’s day memorable. I was incredibly excited and began to think about how we could differentiate ourselves. I immediately started researching and finding vendors to ensure we procured the best quality equipment that was safe and aesthetically pleasing for parents who want both fun and beauty. My favorite part of this business is seeing parents’ themes come to life; they are so creative. We pride ourselves on personalizing each and every setup.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

My name is Vanessa Alvarado, and I am 37 years old. As a first-time mom who suffered from fertility issues, I was finally blessed with our first baby in 2022. I work for a national laboratory and hold two master’s degrees: one in Business Administration and another in Engineering. I’ve been married to my amazing, talented husband for 11 years. Although we hoped to start our family earlier in our marriage, that wasn’t our journey. Looking back, I’m grateful for the foundation we were able to establish while our dream of having a family came true.

I’ve always had an entrepreneurial spirit but never had an idea I was passionate enough about to pursue. Once my daughter came into this world, she opened my eyes to so many possibilities. Toddler Town was created because of her, with the goal of making her first birthday incredibly special. There are limited options for entertainment for one to two-year-olds at birthday parties. As she began to walk around before her first birthday, I knew that creating her own toddler wonderland with soft play and a toddler-sized bounce house would make her day special.

We provide a safe and fun environment for little ones to feel secure and have fun on their special day. Our soft play equipment, including foam blocks, foam flooring, rockers, ball pits, and toddler-sized bounce houses, is perfect for toddlers’ birthdays. Children not only love our play spaces, but we also receive the most praise from parents. Parents get to enjoy the party, socialize, and create memories for their little ones in a safe, secure play environment. We ensure that your theme is executed perfectly, from the colors to the decals, and whatever characters you choose. Each setup is completely unique!

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

Resilience involves mental toughness and emotional strength. At my core, I am an empath and a very emotional person. I strive to ensure those around me are happy, even at the detriment of my own mental health. When we started this business, there was only one other company in Albuquerque. As our launch date approached, I noticed several other soft play businesses starting in the area as well. I was devastated; why, I’m not sure. Immediately, I thought we were going to fail. The market would be too saturated. All my creativity and investment would be for nothing.

I had to reflect and realize that there is room for everyone. Not every customer is your customer. You cannot do every event. You are not the right fit for everyone. I had to be resilient and overcome my fears even before we started. I could have easily abandoned this idea and let fear hold me back. My amazing husband encouraged me, and we continued with our launch. I am grateful that I came to the realization that we can all coexist in the market and that we should focus on ourselves—how we are different and how we can provide the best service to our wonderful customers

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

Social media is a whole new ball game for us. From understanding the algorithm to keeping up with new trends, I am pretty tech-savvy, but social media marketing and advertising are skills I gain each and every day. Initially, I thought Facebook would be our market and easier to handle, but I quickly learned that Instagram is where we see the most engagement. I highly recommend creating social accounts on multiple platforms because the potential clientele is very different, something we learned early on. Understanding your demographics is crucial.

I believe we built our audience by being very consistent in our posting. It can be very discouraging when you don’t have high engagement, but you just have to stay consistent. We are also really transparent with our business and show a lot of behind-the-scenes, which I think our customers appreciate. Giveaways were also a critical part of growing our audience. It helped get our business out to people we could not reach on our own.

Utilizing ads on social media platforms has also been great for us. I recommend experimenting with different forms of ads to see what performs best. Lastly, connecting with other social media accounts in the entertainment and party planning space has been amazing! Not only have we met some amazing business owners, but we are all a tight-knit community just trying to achieve amazing things as small businesses. Don’t underestimate the value of a network.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://toddler-town-nm.square.site/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/toddlertownNM
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ToddlerTownNM/

Image Credits

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