We recently connected with Ebony Bailey and have shared our conversation below.
Ebony, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Talk to us about building your team? What was it like? What were some of the key challenges and what was your process like?
Happy Feet Plus bounce houses did have employees from day one. We hired youths from friends and family children. I also have a teenage son who is currently 14 years old but started working at 11 years old. My friends and family have children age ranging 10-15 years old whom most are employees..Therefore it was not difficult to find employees. All youths did go through a 2 day hands on training to determine their strengths, weaknesses and to place the children accordingly. We only hire youth workers to mentor and keep them engaged within the community all while earning money, meeting new people and having fun.
We provide each youth a designated responsibility to get them prepared for the entrepreneurial world. Each youth worker is required to come to work in a clean uniform (happy feet plus shirt and black or blue pants/shorts), a water bottle and ready to work. Lunch is provided by me as a courtesy each shift. Also each employee receives a free bounce house setup for their birthday as a thank you.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
Happy Feet is an unimaginable family-owned commercial inflatable bounce house business established in 2020. The Company is owned and operated by lovely Ebony Bailey. Happy Feet provides incredible high-quality inflatables at a safe, clean, friendly, fun indoor and or outdoor entertainment. We aim to provide superior customer service in all of services. Those services range from renting our bounce houses in the community to churches, schools, daycares, private events, birthday parties, family reunions and/or residential.
Our inventory of inflatables is constantly checked for customer safety, and we are licensed and insured. Our business will provide return customers year after year including the people, they recommend us to or people that are at their party that want a bounce house and entertainment for their upcoming party/event. We offer amazing adult game days for lounging and play. We also offer indoor game days for our kids and kids at heart.
We is a major contribution to mental healing for our community because we offer a safe, engaging and fun atmosphere. We help keep children safe and make sure they have a great time. We plan to expand to other types of party supplies such as a game room, adult lounge area, selfie room and many other types of party supplies and events. We also want to ensure maximum profit and provide a fun enjoyable work environment for our employees and customers. I am proud to say we is a wonderful family-owned business has professional, loving and caring staff that helps make our customer events a breathtaking dream come true.
How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?
Happy feet plus was established during the pandemic July 2020. The business was funded by using our government stimulus checks wisely. Each time we received a stimulus check it was invested for new inventory such as a new commercial bounce house and or machine for the concessions. We purchased four wet/dry with a double 6 feet slide bounce houses and three different concession machines such as popcorn, snow cone and cotton candy machines within the first two years in Business.
The third year in business I took an entrepreneurial class at better family life nonprofit to further my education in business. I was informed about a micro loan in which I qualified for after completing the course. I applied and was approved then invested the funds into a new obstacle course inflatable.
Year four we own four wet/dry bounce house, one obstacle course, snow cone, popcorn and cotton candy commercial units from government stimulus checks and a micro loan from better family life nonprofit.
We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?
We built audience on social by finding our target audiences, remaining consistent, being engaged, superior customer service and providing quality products. Identify your target audience by the age group, interest and demographics of your potential customers. Tailor your content to appeal/attract this specific audience. Choose relevant social media platforms to align with your audience. Create engaging visuals/videos to highlight the unique features of your product. Use a mix of professional entertaining and informative content to keep your audience engaged. Research and use popular hashtags to increase discoverability.
Host giveaways and contest to encourage user participation. Collaborate with like minded influencers in your niche to reach broader audience. Share positive feedback and testimonials from satisfied customers. This builds trust and encourages others to try your products or services. Maintain a regular posting schedule consistency is key. Announce special promotions, discounts to attract new customers. Share your post in all relevant groups. Air drop your flyer in public places or events. Respond to comment or messages as quickly as possible. Be ready at all times. Remember, building a social media presence takes time, so be patient and stay consistent with your efforts.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: Happy_feet_plus
- Facebook: Happy Feet Plus
- Other: Word of mouth