We were lucky to catch up with Avianca Manning recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Avianca, thanks for joining us today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

Cosmic Play & Party Rentals was created due to several circumstances. Originally I (Avianca) was an educator in transition and was looking for an additional stream of income. My good friend and partner from my previous job, Erica Murray, had just thrown a small birthday party for her kids, where they used a bounce house for entertainment. While exchanging our woes about mom-life, we began to ‘bounce’ ideas off each other, regarding the market, costs, etc., and within 2 days we came up with the name. From there, I created the LLC, logo, website and Cosmic was on its way! We knew we wanted ‘cosmic’ in the name, as we are lovers of astrology, universe and galaxy. However, we didn’t want ‘typical’ bounce houses! We wanted pastel options, oversized games and things that were ‘out of this world’ and carried their own aesthetic.

Shortly after the soft launch, I found out that Erica (my intended partner) was jet-setting to another state for better opportunities, which led me to call another mompreneur, friend and party-lover: Danielle Gray. I asked her if she was willing to collaborate and create with me and she said yes! #LetTheGamesBegin #TheSagaContinues #SupportiveFriends

I have to add, that our efficiency in launching couldn’t have been possible without another long-time friend, S’Nisha Lacy and her husband EJ, who live in Cocoa and are the owners and operators of (@JumpAndPlay321.) They too, specialize in toddler soft play and bounce house rentals and they were very supportive of my adventure. They are basically my mentors throughout the entire process; even today!

So, when I think about how this all happened, it truly started with SUPPORTIVE FRIENDS! When Erica and I first met, she immediately told me ‘You should be your own boss. WHY are you settling to be in education? You have so much creativity when it comes to event planning, marketing and design,’ now — fast forward to October 2022 and we have only been open 30 days and have bookings going through 2023!

Great, can you share what problem does your company solve for people in your community?

I think the problem(s) we solve are the ones that most people didn’t know they were missing until they find us. For instance, the oversized games, in addition to the bounce houses. Not only does it add an extra element to the party or event, but its also another attraction. Therefore, if your party has 10 kids and the bounce house can only hold 5; that additional game (especially because it is oversized) keeps the other 5 kids entertained until it’s their turn. Another problem we (the owner and co-owner) have found is that there is NO VARIETY in bounce houses! They all look the same, have the same color schemes and sometimes they just don’t fit the vibe or theme! By us offering a few of those ‘non-traditional’ colors, like pastel blue, mint green or light pink and purple, we can target the more unique customers who don’t want the typical commercial bouncers for smaller children (between 1-8 years old).

What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?

Definitely word of mouth and simplistic marketing! Simplistic marketing (to us) is posting in our community pages on FaceBook, leaving our business cards where we know they will be seen and just posting as consistently as possible! If there is one thing we’ve learned, it’s that you can’t base your metrics, or ‘how well your business is doing’ solely on LIKES because people don’t always like or share your posts. Just know that 99% of the world has social media, so people see you, they are watching and the more you put your business in front of them, the more likely they are to book you!

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

Join as many groups (of value) on Facebook! Try following similar businesses on Instagram; learn from those around you already doing it. I’m going to be honest, the FIRST thing you should do is google the niche you’re trying to enter and at the end of the search bar put ‘NEAR ME.” Example: ‘Toddler Party Planning Near Me’

This will help you zone in on people in your area currently doing it and you can use their websites to compare prices, packages, and so forth. All of this information can be found on: Youtube, Instagram and Facebook. Just be sure you remain ethical and creative! Be original and add your own twist and flare to your branding and the products offered!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.cosmicplayrentals.com
• Instagram: @CosmicPlayRentals
• Facebook: Cosmic Play Rentals

Image Credits
The second headshot is of my partner, Danielle Gray!