We recently connected with Larilyn and Isaiah Clemons and have shared our conversation below.
Larilyn and Isaiah, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. To kick things off, we’d love to hear about things you or your brand do that diverge from the industry standard
I grew up loving fairytales and princesses. Despite my love for fairytales, I was always aware that none of the princesses looked like me. Though I was older when Princess Tiana debuted, it was still a big moment for myself and most black girls. Flash forward to joining this industry, and I still see a bit of the impact in the lack of diversity most of our fairytale characters portray. This isn’t a business I could just up and start like most ladies who love fairytales because I don’t look like most princesses and can’t run this company without women who do look like those princesses. I decided to follow a dream of my own and create a princess. I named her Princess Mila and started writing a story of her own. She’s now available exclusively through our company an adds a new face to fairytales. In addition to that, our company has started casting a group of talented black women to portray the well known princesses with a different look for our Dreams Come True collection because it is important for girls to see that princesses can look like them.
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 started as the Bayou Princess performer with this company. I enjoyed doing meet and greets and performing around the Dallas/Ft. Worth area. A couple years after starting the company, the owner decided she wanted to focus on travel and informed us that she would be shutting down the company. I loved what she’d built so far and had many ideas and a vision of where it could go. I talked to my husband about buying the company from her, and we bought it a few weeks before we had our first child.
We bring fairytale characters right to your doorstep and specialize in making a personalized experience that makes dreams come true. From singing to art and crafts and personalized cards, we offer a number of party packages that takes the stress out of the entertainment portion of our clients’ party or event. Our top quality performers and presentation sets us apart from others. Your little royal knows without a doubt that their favorite princess has come all the way from a magical kingdom to celebrate their special day. We also participate in company hosted events where our princesses do meet and greets and sign autographs and take pictures. We also stand out with our signature princess named Princess Mila as well as our Dreams Come True collection.
We are most proud of not compromising on the details such as the dress and the accessories our princesses wear. We’ve even updated some pieces to make us stand out among our competitors. Also, we work diligently with the parents and grandparents who book with us to guarantee the most personalized experience possible. We want our clients to know that all you have to do is wish, and we take care of the rest
Can you talk to us about your experience with buying businesses?
We bought Wish For a Princess from the Founder. We bought it because I wanted to find something that allowed to really follow and grow my passions. I love the joy children show when they see their favorite princesses suddenly in their homes or at a party they’re attending, and I really believed it will grow into a full enterntainment business that partners with other small businesses and is a one stop shop for all of your party or event planning needs. We initially met with her to get an understanding of the profit since she started as well all previous costs. We agreed on a cost and what we would receive upon acquiring the business. We also had to register the business with the state of Texas. Another factor we had to consider were the performers. Half of them left when the founder closed down the business which meant we had to work overtime to replace them and maintain the business.
Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?
The previous owner left a good foundation for us to rebuild from. Social media marketing has been a new learning curve for me, but it has brought in some great opportunities. It does require daily interaction, but it has allowed us to build a relationship with potential clients as well as maintain a relationship with previous clients. It’s also helped build confidence with outreach as we try to attain our goal of partnering with the community. Since taking over, our social media outreach is up 86%. We also use a website called GigSalad, and we’ve learned the most important aspect of that platform is speedy response and willingness to adjust and be flexible.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.wishforaprincess.com
- Instagram: WishForAPrincessParties
- Facebook: WishForaPrincessParties