We were lucky to catch up with Ronni Rice recently and have shared our conversation below.

Ronni, appreciate you joining us today. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?

My story of taking a risk is for all of those “older” readers who feel either stuck in a rut, or in need of a life change. I have had many careers in my life, and have done many different things, having not one career path. I was never the type who sat around doing nothing, but having been fortunate enough that when I had my children, I did not have to work, as my husband makes a good living. And then Covid hit, my youngest went off to college, and I found myself without a job (I was managing the student store at my kids’ high school) and didn’t know what to do with myself, as we started coming out of lockdown. I was talking to one of my very successful friends, and she asked me “What are you passionate about? Do something with that!” This was something I had heard many times in my life, but this really ignited a spark in me.

What was I passionate about, besides my family, and what skills did I have to bring to the table? These were all questions I had to ask myself, answer honestly, and bring myself into focus. I love animals, and rescuing pets is a passion, but I didn’t think I could also take the heartache that goes hand-in-hand (or paw-in-paw) from actively working in rescue. I also knew that I had no interest in going back to an office job, or working for someone else. I wanted to be my own boss, and do things my way and on my own terms. I started asking all my friends for their advice, or inquiring about what they were doing, as many of us were now in similar situations.

A few years before Covid, one of my dear friends and I had formed a group, to teach and play American Mahjong. This was our hobby, and we were doing this just for fun – our sole goal was to play more Mahj because we loved it so much. We started with 16 friends from our kids’ school, but through word of mouth, within a year we grew to having over 170 people on our “Mahj list”, and we would host huge monthly events. The Covid shut down happened, and when we came back to in-person, we decided to just keep “Mahj Friends” to our smaller, more immediate group of friends. Then, right after New Year’s last year, a friend asked me if I would teach some of her friends how to play Mahjong. I did, and that’s when I realized how much I enjoyed (and missed) teaching Mahjong, and they all encouraged me to make this an actual business. And, Marvelous Mrs. Mahj was born, and there is (almost) nothing I love more than sharing my passion for this complex, yet very fun and addicting game!!!

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?

I was raised surrounded by Mahjong playing women – my mother, grandmother, aunts and all their friends – and fell asleep countless nights to the sound of clinking Mahjong tiles and the women calling out their bams, craks and dots. It wasn’t “cool” back then for a young person to learn how to play, and so it wasn’t until my own kids were in elementary school when a few of us Moms decided to learn how to play. It was so much fun, but then our kids went on to different middle schools, and our games fell apart. Then, when my daughter started high school, I went to a school fundraiser event, which was an evening of Mahjong playing at another parent’s home. My good friend and I decided we really wanted to play more, so we tried to recruit other parents to continue playing with us. We started a group, and called ourselves “Mahjong for Beginners and More”, really with the sole intent of being able to play more Mahjong, but also to spread our love for this exciting game. What started with 16 players, soon quickly grew through word of mouth, to just before the Covid shut down, we had over 170 players on our list, and would host massive monthly Mahj events. After the shut down, we cut that list way down to just our core group of friends, and we still do monthly Mahj events, and play tournaments together.

When life started getting more back to normal post-Covid shutdown, I realized that I missed the teaching of Mahjong, and with the encouragement of some special friends, I decided to make this my new career. I have always been a teacher, manager, group leader, and in listening to others’ advice to follow my passion, this seemed like the perfect next chapter in my life. Thus, Marvelous Mrs. Mahj was born.

I teach with humor, patience and clarity. American Mahjong is a complex game, yet is great for our brains and our social lives! I love knowing that I am bringing a lifetime of joy and fun into peoples’ lives!! I love knowing that there are groups of Mahjong players now – all over the greater Los Angeles area (and beyond) – who I have taught, who are all now enjoying this game, too. And, I absolutely love introducing people to each other to help them form new, lifelong friendships made across a Mahj table!!!

I believe that Mahjong is not “just” a game, but is exercise for our brains, and there is no greater community, filled with compassionate, kind, loving people, than the Mahjong community. I am so honored to be a part of this amazing group of people, and to encourage others to be a part of it, too. I have met so many truly lovely people,. and have made so many great new friends.

Any thoughts, advice, or strategies you can share for fostering brand loyalty?

I chose this question, because this is one of the hardest aspects for me about running my own business. I have had to learn marketing by sending out newsletter emails, posting on social media (I know I don’t do this enough!) and find creative ways to get my name and brand out there in the community. This takes a lot of work behind the actual “work” of teaching! Word of mouth is how I get most of my new clients, so it is important for me to send thank yous for referrals, and to constantly remind people about me and my classes. This is a tough business because I am constantly in need of new clients – those who don’t yet know how to play. It can be frustrating having months where no one signs up for my new, Intro classes. So, the marketing, and directly reaching out via email to old clients (and new) is vitally important.

Can you talk to us about how your side-hustle turned into something more.

“Follow your passion” is a piece of advice that I have long heard. It wasn’t until I was searching for my “what’s next” in my life, now being an empty nester and not have a job since Covid, that I took this advice to heart. Turning my passion for playing and sharing my love for the game Mahjong into a business has been so fun, and such a huge learning curve. My “AHA” moment came while teaching friends of a friend how to play this exciting game. And from there, I hired my daughter to help me create my logo, design my website, set up social media pages, etc. I constantly have to send out newsletter emails, do social media posts, advertise on local sites, and do everything I can to keep my name and business out there in the public eye. I am still learning how to navigate, and anticipate, the ebbs and flows of getting people to sign up for classes (e.g. August is a very slow month with everyone on vacation!), and push myself to do more (more emails, more social media posts, more outreach). It has taken me a full year to really begin to understand and appreciate the nuances of running a successful business. I am so grateful to my family and friends who have all offered help and advice.

Contact Info:

• Website: marvelousmrsmahj.com
• Instagram: @marvelousmrsmahj
• Facebook: Marvelous Mrs. Mahj