We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Elissa Onda. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Elissa below.
Elissa, appreciate you joining us today. Crazy stuff happening is almost as certain as death and taxes – it’s technically “unexpected” but something unexpected happening is to be expected and so can you share a crazy story with our readers
One of my craziest stories is a ‘fake it until you make it’ kind of story. Good Morning America called and asked if we could do a full set design, for a segment featuring The Rock and Emily Blunt. I jumped at the opportunity, but I didn’t know if I could pull this off. I have never done set design before and I had to have it all ready within 2 weeks! The art director sent me the trailer of the movie they were promoting to use an inspiration and sent me on my way. Needless to say I got to work, I frantically sourced plants, rugs, decorative accessories, seating, end tables, trunks the list went on. I then went on site visits to meet with the producers, all the while shaking a little my boots but acting as if I had done this a million times. Somehow the stars aligned and my team and I were able to pull it all together and it went off with out a hitch. The big lesson is sometimes you just need to cross your fingers and… jump.
Elissa, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I got started in the rental industry back in 2013 when I started a company called Tot Traveler, which is dedicated to baby equipment rentals. Wanting to expand and stretch my creative legs, a few years later, I took a leap of faith and started Sweet Dream Sleepovers. We specialize in Slumber Parties, Glamping, Tea Parties, Picnics and Movie Nights. As well as our newest expansion into film production. We have successfully worked with ABC, MTV, and VH1 and now offer custom-designed glamping and camping film props.
Do you have any insights you can share related to maintaining high team morale?
Keeping high moral is of the utmost priority. I try to factor in as many perks including things like; bonuses and schedule flexibility. My team members have very full lives and I don’t want Sweet Dream to complicate their lives even more with hard ridged rules and schedules. I always want to seek out the unique talents of my employees and foster an environment that builds on those attributes. This helps our business remain agile during challenging times. Over the years, I have noticed the most effective managers don’t just push for high performance, they value helping people discover their natural talents and seek out opportunities to utilize those strengths
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
Creating a new business is as much challenging as it is rewarding. The biggest struggle I had to unlearn was “doing it all.” At the beginning of Sweet Dream Sleepovers, I was tackling all of it: disinfecting, prepping the parties, answering the emails, invoicing, marketing, bookkeeping, delivering, and setting up all the parties, on top of being a wife and mother, running a household. Every day, I was in the weeds, always playing catch up, trying not to let a ball drop, and I was burning out quickly.
When you are treading water personally or professionally, you are in survival mode, not able to slow down, take a breath, and think clearly. I could feel the water rising above my head, and at that moment, I knew “doing it all” was not serving me. I began to outsource laundry and began to hire on more and more staff to prep and set up the parties on their own. Of course, in the beginning, it was hard to trust other people with “my baby,” but that has come back to me tenfold. The only way to grow is to trust the processes you have set up let go of control.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.sweetdreamsleepovers.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sweetdreamsleepover/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sweetdreamsleepover/
