Today we’d like to introduce you to Monica Pena.
Hi Monica, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today.
My name is Monica Peña, I am a single mom of a two-year-old baby girl named Sophia on her first birthday I was looking for a soft play rental company in my area that had a pink theme soft play that would match her birthday theme as a girl mom you want all the pinks for your parties but I also wanted something to be able to entrain her, her cousins & friends that were around the same age her birthday was mid-February exactly a year after the freeze so had no idea what to expect in terms of whether it so I really needed an indoors alternative.
After a lot of research and I simply couldn’t find anything in the area, Most soft play rental companies were located in the Houston area which rightfully would charge an extremely expensive fee to deliver since at that time I was living in the outskirts of Willis and at that time I simply couldn’t afford it. And that’s when the idea came to my head why don’t buy the equipment? Use it for your daughter’s birthday & then just rent it out a couple of times just to make your money back! Felt like god had put this in my heart for a reason but I was scared so many thoughts going thru my head while adding things to my cart and going over them over and over wondering if it was the right decision or not!
Well, I finally clicked check out and that’s where it all began! fast forward to my daughter’s party, it was a hit everyone loved it, especially my daughter she had so much fun and at that moment I realized I needed to share this with other moms so other kids could also have fun and enjoy this on their birthdays, it was something safe & perfect for their age. I began starting my business instagram and creating a name, toddler paradise! I took some mock pictures and began to post them on the Facebook marketplace not thinking too much of it! People began to ask and I got my first booking!
Well sure enough a few days later I got fired from my job. It was extremely heartbreaking I had been in that company for 4 years and out of nowhere I was laid off it was an extremely difficult time since I was in the process of buying a house so I kept posting and kept getting bookings that first official month of April we were fully booked every Saturday. Which was such a blessing, this was able to help us get thru with paying our bills until I found another job. I will say it was not easy I did a lot of mistakes because I had literally no idea what I was doing but I was willing to make it work so just kept going booking after booking getting better each time.
Fast forward end of the month I was able to get a new job, close to our beautiful house but at that time I also became a single mom. Till that point, I had depended a lot on my daughter’s dad for the labor part of the business at well that was no longer an option. So I had to make a tough decision to either sell everything or take this on by myself, and all I kept thinking is all the joy and happiness soft play brings to babies and toddlers and so grateful parents are at the end for how much fun their little ones had.
So I took this on, on my weekends, my late nights after the baby was asleep there I was cleaning all the equipment, packing everything in the vehicle, sending contracts, making videos, posting pictures. Slowly I was able to add more equipment and more color soft play options. Started with 1 and now a year later I have over 7 options soft play options & 4 bounce houses & adding more and more any of our sets can be customized which can go a million ways.
A year later I was able to work only part-time at my corporate America job & run this business full-time alongside my daughter I will say this has not been an easy journey so far, there have been so many ups and downs so many mistakes made, late nights, early mornings, tears, blood, sweat poured into this business but I love what I get to do! I get so excited bringing my client’s vision to life, and seeing the birthday boy’s or girl’s faces when they see the soft play or bounce house all put together and get to play inside makes it all worth it.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
No, it definitely has not been an easy road I’ve had many things thrown my way, but it has only made me stronger, one of the hardest things has been jeopardizing my weekends and afternoons with my daughter, but I know that what I do is to give her a better future.
So when I do have time with her I try to enjoy it and embrace it as much as I can.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Toddler Paradise Soft Play?
Toddler Paradise is a Soft play & bounce house rental company our rentals are designed to be safe and fun for little ones Perfect for ages 1-4 years old Our Soft Play areas are perfect for birthday parties, baby showers, baptisms, play dates, and other events! We service The Woodlands/Conroe & surrounding areas.
What were you like growing up?
I am the youngest of 3 I grew up with 2 older sisters 13 & 11 years apart so I was very spoiled being the baby of the family, For the majority of my childhood I lived in Mexico but when I was 10 we moved to the USA with my aunt. My parents had to sell their business in Mexico due to fraud so they sold everything and came here to work it was completely life-changing leaving everything behind but beyond grateful for it.
I came here not knowing the language and to a stranger’s house because I only knew my aunt when we came to visit.
It was not an easy transition especially because I didn’t see my parents. They would work nights and sleep while I was in school. We moved out about 6 months later to an apartment but again my parent was around much. But they worked really hard, especially my mom she always said if you want something you have to work hard no one is going to come and handed to you. And she is so right. And she works alongside me in my business
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.honeybook.com/widget/toddlerparadisesoftplay_231631/
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/toddlerparadisesoftplay
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/toddlerparadisesoftplay
