Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Toni Jackson. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Hi Toni, thanks for joining us today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?
We’ve been a family band for over 24 years now, and I was a single mom with 5 children. It was pretty easy to pack up, travel and perform all over the world (something like the Partridge Family, only we didn’t have a bus!). Sometimes we’d be out on the road for 3-4 months at a time, performing up to 350 shows a year. And when the children were young, they loved going new places, sleeping in hotels (so they didn’t have to clean their rooms), and always eating out. As they grew up, they started longing for a more normal lifestyle where they’d be home to date, go to prom, hang out with their friends, etc. While touring, we made a point to visit any “chuck wagon dinner shows” we learned about, and took notes – what we liked and what we didn’t care for. It became our dream to open our own someday.
In 2015, we finally opened our little dinner theater, the Firelight Barn, in a little 900 sq. ft. space in a little strip mall in an old part of downtown Henderson (often referred to as Hendertucky). We were still performing a lot out of state to bring in the money while trying to grow the business locally. It was a great way to advertise, as in all our shows, we’d invite anyone traveling to the Vegas area to stop in and see us. Our business was growing, and we needed to expand to a larger location. Over the next 3 years, we moved from spot to spot, waiting to find the perfect location.
At the end of 2019, we were finally able to purchase a building! It was an old bank (vault and safety deposit boxes still intact), and we renovated it – built our little wild west town inside, built a stage, installed lights and sound system, painted the outside red like a big ol’ barn, parked an old hay wagon out front with bales of hay to add to the ambience, etc. We were thrilled to open and immediately sales began to climb! We had record breaking sales in November and December of 2019 (December is usually a big month for us because of customers wanting to do something special for the holiday), but then January & February usually drop off. However we found that 2020 was even better than expected and sales continued to climb…until March, 2020, when COVID shut the world down….
Yes, we offer a unique, family-friendly experience for people of all ages, just southeast of the Las Vegas strip. We’re a hidden gem in “sin city” and serve up mouthwatering BBQ and award winning entertainment.
Whenever the “kids” (now all grown up and married) were asked what they love most about being in a family band, they would always say, “I love making people happy!”
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
My mom was a piano teacher, and she taught piano lessons all the years I was growing up. So, not only did she teach me lessons from a very young age, but I was also exposed to a lot of music, all the time. My dad played a little guitar too, and we loved singing along with him.
When I graduated college with 2 associate degrees (one in Business Management and one in Advertising), I landed a very nice job in the corporate world, and quickly began climbing the corporate ladder. I loved the rat race, and the thrill of working hard (and making money)!
About 2 years after working and getting married, I had a beautiful little baby girl. I secured a spot in one of the top day cares with highly recommended caretakers. After several weeks of leaving my child in someone else’s care, I realized that wasn’t for me…I wanted to be the one to raise my baby. So I quit my job and stayed home to raise my baby. I opened a piano studio and began teaching lessons to supplement my husband’s income. As my child grew, and I had additional babies, I began to teach them all lessons and realized their musical potential. So, we began a band…
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
In the beginning, our band was called “Kid Fiddlers” because all the children only knew how to play the fiddle. It was perfect, but as they grew, they also learned many more things – how to sing in amazing 4-part harmony, how to play many instruments including guitars, banjo, they started dance lessons, etc. So, we had to change our band’s name.
In addition to the band evolving, we also needed to adapt to what was going on in the personal lives of the band members. They were growing up and getting married, and we needed to be at home more. So, we needed to either find a place to perform locally, or create our own place to perform…
Can you talk to us about how you funded your business?
Primarily music lessons were the big expense…then when we began touring, we needed transportation. Fortunately, we already had a large vehicle, so it wasn’t a big expense to just maintain the vehicle. However, there was a big expense to purchase the sound system, which came from my piano teaching.
When we found the building to purchase, we sent out invitations to “fans” and asked for their help to fund our “building a barn”. We asked for help while touring, from audiences large and small. We began a social media campaign. We continued to raise money and it still wasn’t enough…even after several years of saving.
It was a miracle, but we found to patrons who believed in us and in our mission and they helped us out to finish the building purchase!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.FirelightBarn.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/firelight_barn/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100041586258379
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/toni-jackson-b5626329/
- Twitter: https://x.com/firelightbarn?lang=en
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeIXx8nF8_ZVee-8Zu8lZ5A
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/firelight-barn-dinner-theater-henderson-2
