Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Mikaela Walker. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Mikaela, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

When I had my daughter 13 years ago, I was clueless about family activities and things to do with kids. I was doing a ton of research, going to all these individual sites to find out what they were offering each week; it took up so much time. Then we took a trip to New York to visit her grandparents. I went to look for what there was to do in NYC with kids and a site popped up that collated all the information from the disparate sites into location. It was amazing! I only had to look in one place to get all the information that I needed. Instead of spending hours, I could spend minutes finding fun family activities.

When we decided to move to Orlando 6 years ago I decided I wanted to start a similar site to fill what I saw as a hole in the Orlando market. Like me, many other families were moving to the area and didn’t know what there was to do really beyond the theme parks.

I know that many parents would like to do things with their kids, have family time, and create memories on the weekends, but it can seem overwhelming to have to research and plan activities; I have been there myself. I knew by taking away the hard part, the research, and leaving the fun part, the actual activity itself, that I would not only encourage more parents to get out with their kids but also drive interest in the resource that I was providing.

Mikaela, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I have a background in marketing and I worked in marketing for over 15 years before starting Orlando Family Fun. The goal of the business is to help parents create memories with their kids by providing easily accessible information on things to do in the Orlando area for families.

I think what sets me apart from others, is that I just don’t provide lists of information. I also go to many places with my kids to try them out, see what it’s like from an elementary and teen perspective, and discover whether or not it will be a great place for other families.

I want people to know that I am a parent, just like they are, and I am looking to build memories with my kids, just like they are. I want to help them not feel overwhelmed when the kids are off and they have nothing planned. They know that they can go to my site and find a fun activity that the entire family will love. I also want them to know that I provide information on free activities as well and also a way to get discounts on different area activities.

We aim to be a “one-stop shop” for parents looking for family fun in the Orlando area.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

While I have had my business for 6 years, I really started focusing on it in December of 2019, right before the pandemic started. My business is mainly focused on getting families out of the house to explore the Orlando area, so the pandemic could have been a death knell.

I immediately pivoted to start providing information on things that parents could do at home with the kids. Because I am also a parent, and I now had two kids at home with barely anything to do, I knew that other parents were going to be looking for things to keep their kids occupied during the school day just like I was.

I held online events such as an art class, music class, and more for kids. I also researched online activities that kids could do during the day. Because so many activities were now online, we weren’t just limited to Orlando area activities. I was able to share information on classes from artists at Lincoln Center in New York, the San Francisco Aquarium, the Joffrey Ballet in Chicago, and even some overseas companies. I was providing much-needed information for parents and that helped to drive more traffic to my site.

Once people started going out again, they wanted to be mainly outdoors or at outside events. To fill this need, I provided information on outdoor places that families could go, such as walking trails, parks, gardens, etc., and different outdoor activities they could do such as drive-in movies, outdoor immersive experiences, and more.

I firmly believe that if I hadn’t pivoted when I did, I would be in a much different place than where I am currently with the business.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

I was working hard to build my business and family time was becoming less and less, because I was constantly working. All the gurus that I was following at the time talked about hustling and putting in the work to succeed. I had to unlearn that “hustle culture” is a good thing. Constantly working and “being on that grind” wasn’t what I wanted for my life. I never had time for friends and family and I definitely wasn’t taking time for myself. 

While I may have thought this was a good thing in the past, I no longer do. What the constant hustling and being busy all the time really meant was that my priorities were askew and I didn’t know how to manage my time efficiently. One of the best quotes that I have ever heard is you make time for everything important, and by being so wrapped up in my business, I was saying that my family and I were not important to me; so I had to make a change.

I had to learn how to prioritize everything in my life, including my business, and also learn that it is okay to step away from the business and not work (I am still working on this). Hustling all the time is going to lead to burnout which will have a more dramatic effect on my business than if I take the kids to an activity or if I take a couple of days off for a vacation.

Contact Info:

• Website: orlandofamilyfunmag.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/familyfunorlando
• Facebook: facebook.com/familyfunorlando
• Twitter: twitter.com/orlandofamfun
• Other: TikTok – tiktok.com/orlandofamilyfun