#awinewith Shira Ghyoot
MEET Shira Ghyoot, Founder of My Wonderland
You can find them here:
Transcript
Danielle Lewis (00:00):
You are listening to Spark TV where we bring you daily interviews with real women in business at all stages. I'm your host, Danielle Lewis, and I am so grateful to have you here. Amazing. Shera, welcome to Spark tv. I'm so excited to have you on the podcast.
Shira Ghyoot (00:16):
Excited to be here. Hi.
Danielle Lewis (00:20):
We were just chatting prerecord about the busyness of this time of year and kids finally getting back to school, so I'm so excited that we are the first cab off the rank. You're spending your time with us, so very appreciative of that. Let's start out by telling everyone who you are and what you do.
Shira Ghyoot (00:40):
Yeah, so like I said, my name's Shera. I own an indoor playground and cafe and party venue in Auckland, New Zealand. I'm also a mom to three kids. They're two, four and six years old. So busy but love it. Yeah, I don't know our playground really, it's also adas for children ages zero to 12 years old and we tried really hard to create a space that's just great for kids where they're safe and parents can really come and relax and enjoy. We really important for us to make sure everything's really clean and tidy. I mean mom of three myself. So if I'm not okay with my kids playing there, then I don't expect my customers to be okay with their kids playing there. And if you ask anyone that knows where, my standards are pretty high. So it's kind of where we're at with the playground.
(01:31):
Before doing all of this and before Mummy, I actually worked in healthcare and worked alongside families whose kids would have different developmental needs, a lot of children with autism or some chromosome or hiccups and stuff here and there, a lot of kids with different needs and I spent a lot of time with them and just realizing that these kids know that they're different but they don't want to feel that way. And there wasn't really a playground space that existed for these kids that was exactly the same as where their peers would go and they would just want to be their friends. They want to be able to go to the same places. So in between me working in healthcare and then having the kids and then my husband and I looking for a business to purchase, when we realized playground's where we're going to go, I got really excited.
(02:14):
I was like, we can create a cool space for these kids too, which was brilliant. So we did that and we have a playground that runs low sensory sessions so these children can come and say, Hey, we went to my Wonderland too, which is the same place the friends would go. And that was really important for us them to be like, it's not my own special playground, it's not my own place that's custom made for me. It's exactly where you guys go to. And then our kids have food allergies, so it's the exact same experience as a parent of children with all three of my kids have food allergies, like a list of them. It's quite a lot and we can't take them anywhere for them to eat. And I was like, man, I love my kids, but they're not unique and we're not the only family with a struggle.
(02:53):
So I'm like, how cool if this indoor playground can also cater to the allergy community in a safe, healthy and still kind of mainstream kind of way. So we flipped our cafe completely on its head with that and we do that. So celiac safe, your kid can order their gluten-free chicken nuggets that's also dairy free and whatever. And it looks the same as the other guys' chicken nuggets. So while it's still chicken nuggets, at least it looks like they're friends. And what was really important for us was catering to these families that miss out and it kind of evolved into what we call now our No Child Missing Out ethos. So everything we do is about bad these kids. So we want everyone to have the same experiences their friends would have where they normally can't. And it just breaks my heart when I hear about families who are like, oh, we can't take our kids there. Or my child was invited to whatever this thing was and they weren't catered for or they didn't feel included or how do you tell a 6-year-old that yeah, your friend wants to play with you but you can't have their birthday cake or you can't have the food bring your own food. And they learn and it's just tough and they shouldn't have to be that tough at such a little age.
Danielle Lewis (04:06):
And I think that no, this is so good. It's interesting because we have solutions and you have proven it by the fact that you've created this space, created the cafe. We do have solutions for these life challenges that not just kids go through, everyone goes through. So how amazing that you have taken things that you've experienced in your own family and turned that into a business. I think that that's incredible. Congratulations.
Shira Ghyoot (04:39):
It's been fun. And then just seeing the result of that, those families who are like, thank you. My kid can play safely. I don't have to worry about them getting sick or they can come with their friends here and it's all the same. And I'm like, that's why we do it. And that's what important to us. It's been a lot of fun. And then seeing the buy-in from my team as well and them really getting behind that why, behind why we're doing what we're doing and then them realizing how important this has been also really great. We employ a lot of high schoolers and university students, basically our whole team and they're like 10 out of 10 amazing with the whole thing. So then I'm like, man, you're invested in me. I'm invested in you and I love it. We've got a team of 14 at the moment, which is awesome. Yeah, super great.
Danielle Lewis (05:29):
Okay, hold up, let's talk about that because when you said that you hire teenagers, I was like, this sounds like a nightmare, but I am hearing that because I guess they're almost of a similar age. They really probably viscerally understand the problem that you're solving. Talk to me about what it's like hiring teenagers and managing a team of 14. This sounds like hard work.
Shira Ghyoot (05:56):
I don't know. I mean I love my team. I really do. And we hire for attitude mainly. So with the interview process, it's very casual. We're just chatting with 'em about who they are, what are they like, seeing what kind of sparks their interest and then me figuring out will their personality fit into how my team are
(06:15):
Because
(06:15):
I can teach anyone to make a cup of coffee, but I can't teach you to be a good human or laugh at a joke or be able to make a joke. So that's kind of how we hire people based on that. I do a personality profiling as well once they kind on onboard just to kind of get a feel for how their brain sort of innately works so that I know how am I going to train you, how much detail does your brain need or are you kind of like, if this is the big picture, that's all I need. And then if you're having a bad day, how do we relate to you on that? Do you need a cuddle or do you need me to give you a task you can rock at? And that would blow up your confidence again, what do you need? And then we train them. In New Zealand we have the 90 day trial period that we can use, which means that if they're not working out, if it's not working for us or for them either way, you just need one week notice. And then that's the end of that. And I make it very clear to them that 90 days is still part of your interview process. Now I need to make sure that while we're training you, you're actually learning how to do it and you can do it.
(07:13):
And the job's not easy. I don't pretend that it is easy. And I explain again and I'm like, look, if you are working here in the 90 days and you think, man, this is not my jam, I'm not cool with this. I don't want to be making copies with people or I don't want to go into the playground and clean up we accidents or whatever,
(07:29):
That's
(07:30):
Fine. I'm not going to make you stay, but let's have that conversation and that sort of, so at the end of the 90 days, I know they're in it, I know that I'm in it with them and then I'm like, what do you need? Let's make this a fun place for you to work. I invest a lot in them. So we upskill them. I send them on all sorts of different trainings. We do fun stuff all the time just to keep them engaged while they're with me. I know they're in high school, they're not going to be with me forever. And they're not. Eventually they do move on and that's fine, but my retention is really good. My turnover is very low in stuff and I think it's as much as the work is really hard and full on, they enjoy being there. So we've got a very strong why and they understand that.
(08:07):
And then I take care of them. They get super spoiled all the time. And we did a pizza competition with them a couple of years ago where they got to design their own pizza and try and sell it. And then there was this huge competition to see whose pizza was the most successful and there was prizes and it was this big thing with them and they love it. Last year they were like, Hey, we were real keen on indoor nipple. So they put an indoor nipple team together and I think as long as for us, we create a really nice working environment that as much as it's a hard job full on and kids are noisy and we're busy, so it's a lot. They love where they work and I love having them work for me. So it all kind of works really nicely. My manager who runs the shop, it sucks me and her, but it really, it's her. She's just turned 20.
Danielle Lewis (08:59):
Oh wow.
Shira Ghyoot (09:00):
She's young and we put her through leadership training, like formal studies and she's just risen to the occasion. And I'm like, you are 20. What are you going to be like when you're 25 or 30? This girl's going to conquer the world. But it was another thing where she was full-time, fresh out of high school, I'm, you seem like the kind of person who would've gone to university and pursued that kind of career path. And she was like, yeah, situations happened that she kind of missed the application. And I'm like, okay, well I got you. I'm keeping you,
(09:30):
So
(09:30):
We're going to make this work because your potential is amazing. So let's do this. And she's just blown us out of the water in her young 20 years. And I'm like, cool, we'll keep you.
Danielle Lewis (09:43):
That is incredible. I mean it's so interesting. I love the radical transparency through the interview process. I mean, I just reflect on when I used to have a job and how many people would try and sell you the job. It's a great place to, it's all the things. And I think to myself of when I was in the early days of hiring, I would do that too. It was almost be like, who would want to come and work for me so I better make it sound amazing? And then it's a bit of a rude shock when people, so I was running a marketing agency, so it's like clients highly annoying, too much work. You've always got too much on there's deadlines, but you make it sound like this fun, exciting place. And then they get there and they're like, oh, this kind of sucks. Especially if they're brand new to the workforce and you're teaching them like, yes, you have to arrive at 9:00 AM in the morning and all of the things. I just love the idea of just telling it like it is and just it is hard. It is difficult, but we are here to support you and if you rise to the occasion, we'll not only make it a great place to work, but we'll invest back into you as well.
Shira Ghyoot (10:53):
Yeah, exactly. Because I'm not into the bait and switch, and even if it's not that, I'm just like, you're going to figure out on day one that this is a lot. So if it's not for you, that's cool. Not for everybody. Some of my best friends wouldn't hack it, and that's totally fine, and I wouldn't be able to do what they're doing because I need the busy and the fast and the sprinting and the noise and the chaos, how my brain works, and that's fine. And that's fine. And not everybody, we've had people come in and I'm like, they're awesome, but I'm like, this is just too fast paced for where they're at and that's cool. I was like, I'll write you a recommendation letter, whatever you need because you're capable. This is not the right environment that suits you and that's okay.
Danielle Lewis (11:33):
Wow, I love that so much. And I mean it's obviously working because you've obviously got great retention and the business is growing. So I think if we can steal these tips from you, this is so good.
Shira Ghyoot (11:46):
Thanks.
Danielle Lewis (11:47):
Oh, I love it. I love it. So how has the business grown? So obviously being a physical space, oftentimes I think a lot of people when they start businesses, we always talk about online strategies, but you had to grow a business that was physical and local. How did you go about growing the business?
Shira Ghyoot (12:08):
Well, so we bought the business almost two years ago. In a week it would be two years, and it was very much in a state of decline. It had a reasonable okay reputation, but it was definitely not in a growth phase. That was also part of the appeal. I was like, oh, we can really turn this around. This would be cool. But I think the step one for us was just really like, okay, reputation is everything and I am my own target market. What do I want to see? So we made sure that our customers were very aware that what you want, we want and we're going to give it to you. So you want a clean playground, it's clean and we're going to show you we clean it and we're going to clean it, and it's going to be obviously clean. We repainted, we made the menu healthier, we got rid of all the deep fryers and we made sure everybody knew.
(12:53):
We had a look at what all our competition were doing. And I was like, why do it like that? Just because everyone's doing it, we'll do it better. So we do birthday parties and I get the ease of just having a mural that's always on the wall and then using some themed plates. But I was like, but if that was my kid's party, that's not okay with me. I want a deck out table and I want awesome decorations. I want it to be over the top because when my 6-year-old walks into that room, I want her to go like, oh yeah, I want her to have the freak out over how beautiful this room looks. And I said that to, I was like, we're changing the way we do birthday parties. It's going to be amazing. And then we made sure everybody knew. So then it's that online marketing, it's the social media, and that was the first year of business was, and then we put everything in that first year of us owning a backend, so fortune on just maintenance and just getting it back up to scratch. And then the marketing people knew and it snowballed. So between that first year that we owned it, what the previous owners had done, and our last financial year, we doubled turnover. Wow, that's huge. Yeah.
Danielle Lewis (13:58):
Oh my God, amazing.
Shira Ghyoot (13:59):
So yeah, in that under two year timeframe we did that I, I'd set these five-year goals that I wanted to hit. And then my husband and I were chatting about some stuff a few months ago and I was like, well, where are we tracking? And I'm like, holy, we've hit them. We've hit almost every single one of my five-year goals in less than two years. And it's because, I mean, if you're a parent, you're find an awesome place that your kids love and that it tick your boxes too. And that's where you become loyal to. The challenge that we've got in our industry is that our client base eventually ages out.
(14:31):
Of
(14:31):
Course, it's always keep them coming, but we do things differently. We do things with our staff with the way we are constantly giving stuff away. So we partnered with a variety of different charities because of our no child missing out ethos. We don't want customers out. So we donate, I don't even know, into $40,000 worth of entries a year because these families can't afford to come to somewhere like us because you can go to a free playground outside, that's fine, but it's not an indoor playground. It's not that environment. But if you've got a free center, you can at least bring your kid there once and they can say they've been there too and had that once awesome experience. So we do a lot of that and I think people can feel the heart behind what we're doing. And it's been profitable, it's been great, but it's also been hugely rewarding for us to know that so many families are having this awesome experience and we are providing that opening for them. So I don't know, we did a one week, we did it twice last year where we dropped our entry pricing to $5 and that whole week a hundred percent of all the money that came in from entries we donated to a charity.
(15:39):
Oh wow.
(15:40):
So it was win-win. So the charity got the support that they needed and people could come and play for five bucks for the whole day. It was great. That's incredible.
Danielle Lewis (15:49):
And I just love the logic behind your decision making as well. So how would I want my child to feel, therefore I'm not doing it the same as everybody else. I'll change this up. Or how do I want to come in as a parent and see the space looking or know that it's clean or know that this is happening. You're really putting yourself in the customer's shoes and that is doing the sound. I mean obviously you're telling everyone about it as well, but obviously the decision making and that why behind it is really what people are resonating with.
Shira Ghyoot (16:24):
Yeah, I think so. And I'm lucky, like I said, I am my own target market. I've got three young kids, so I'm like, do they like it guys? And I asked them and they're like, yeah, mom, that's cool. No, it's not. I'm like, well, maybe let's ask your friends what do they think should be able to play date with all your friends and just chat to the moms what's going on? But generally, how does it feel? How does it look? How does it's a playground, how does it smell? And again, if it ticks my boxes, if I don't want my kids playing there, it doesn't look safe or it's not clean, then I can't expect someone else to spend money there. I
Danielle Lewis (17:01):
Love that so much. Now you mentioned one of the challenges are the kids aging out, which makes total sense. What have been some of the other challenges over the last couple of years? I mean, even buying a business is super fascinating as well. I think a lot of people start something, but that's a real interesting way to start a business, is to buy someone. What was that process like and what have been the hard things that have happened over the last two years?
Shira Ghyoot (17:30):
Buying a business is if you've not done it, it's a process. It was years in the making. We had our various specific buying rules of what we were looking for. And depending on who you are, your brawl would be different. Ours were, we didn't want anything to do with alcohol or anything unsavory in those regards that didn't fit with our values. We didn't want anything that would require skilled labor just because my husband and I would, if something ever happened and we needed to step in, I can't, you need to be able to do it. Not a dentist,
(18:05):
I
(18:05):
Can't step in. And then just something that could very easily be managed. And then that was sort of the process. It was just for us when it was an indoor playground that popped up and fit our criteria that we got very excited. We were like, we could do something really awesome. And then that passion in us was like, that's why it's a playground. Versus before the playground, we had looked at, I can't even a mechanic, a petrol station, loads of stuff, but I was like, yeah, it makes money, but it's not lighting a fire. You don't
Danielle Lewis (18:37):
Get excited about pumping gas.
Shira Ghyoot (18:40):
Not my jam, really not my thing. And my husband was just like, I could do it. I'm like, yeah, but it's not your thing either, really. And this has just kind of really snowballed into this thing that we love so much. Our challenges. I mean, when you've got a big commercial space, we do just the maintenance things just break all the time constantly. I'm just like, oh, another thing I can't even a block drain or a fridge malfunctioning or when you're dealing with food, then everything's got to constantly be right. I mean, in our first year we replaced all the fridges and freezers because they broke. So we purchased them with the purchase and then within a year they were finished. Those had to be replaced. And then just constantly having to replace things, we're now just upgrading all our air conditioning systems because Auckland suddenly got really hot, probably not by Australian standards, but by Auckland standards. It got hot. And just dealing with that constant maintenance and then having a big learning curve for us was having a pool of cash set aside for when these things break.
(19:40):
Because
(19:41):
If you're in hospital and your fridges break, that's like you need to be able to replace them right now.
Danielle Lewis (19:48):
Yeah, that's it. You can't be like, I'll just save up for that
Shira Ghyoot (19:51):
And we'll make it
Danielle Lewis (19:52):
Happen.
Shira Ghyoot (19:53):
And it's just that constant, that turnover thing. And then I spent that 2023 at the end of 23 really pushing how awesome my birthday parties are. And then like I said, 24 just went mad and I was just like, we're fully booked.
(20:09):
We need stuff. And then just not considering what fully booked on parties would then look like for our playground in terms of the flow of customers and being like, ah, I hit these goals, but I didn't actually look a step forward about what the customer experience would be like if we actually ended up being that busy. So then we had a problem of we need to dial it back a little bit in our busy months and how do we do that and what does that look like and how would somebody feel if they are turned away? We don't want anybody missing out. So navigating, you've got these awesome goals, but if you were to hit them, what would that actually look and feel like? And it was just not a consideration. Also, I thought I had five years to get there and didn't realize it would be faster. Yeah. We started running a shift a day with five staff members and very quickly had to go to six. And then before I knew it, we were up at seven. And I reckon if I said my manager and Do you think eight? You'll be like, yeah, let's do, let's definitely make it happen. Yeah.
(21:08):
And I was like, what? Oh my goodness. So it was a funny problem we had where we were literally, we need a bigger premises, but for the dental playground because of how fixed it all is, the cost of moving your playground is almost the same as starting a brand new one. So we were like, it doesn't make sense to move actually financially, it's not a good financial decision, but it's an interesting problem to have. So we're like, what do we do? So the answer is we're going to open up another one,
(21:36):
And then hopefully some of the people that are coming to our first store would go to the second one instead because people drive, people come from far for us, which is crazy. I'm still blown away because I'm like, you know how many indoor backgrounds you've passed on your way to get to us? And we get buses that show up. I dunno if you know the geography of New Zealand or North Island at all, but it's like not at all. I can't even give a good analogy. I dunno Australia well enough, but they would drive an hour and a half from the north island down on a bus to come to an indoor playground because there's not much up where they are. I'm like, but there was some stuff along the way and other things that I know are closer and that's incredible. So I was like, cool, okay, we're doing something really right, but maybe we could open up another one a little bit closer to you guys.
(22:28):
It'll take pressure off our existing store and we'll save an hour and a half drive. But then they're coming from both ends of the on either north and south of Auckland. So I'm like, okay, multiple stores. So that ended up as rolling and we were getting lots of people phoning us saying that they want to start their own indoor playground. Are we franchising? So we were like, we're getting enough people asking that maybe, and we need to open up more stores and it's an extensive business to start. So we were like, yeah. So that is kind of our 2025. Oh, this is the first announcement. Oh my God,
Danielle Lewis (23:01):
Allowed. Are we allowed to share this?
Shira Ghyoot (23:03):
Yeah, you can share it. It'll be okay. Yes,
Danielle Lewis (23:07):
It be coming out till March, so we'll buy you some time. Okay. So exciting. Oh my gosh.
Shira Ghyoot (23:16):
So that's also, we're selling our house and should get one or two more stores opened that we own, and then hopefully a couple more franchises. We've had quite a few people that have been contacting us that we're now in conversation with. So all going well by the end of 2025, we'll have, I don't know, upwards of three Marwan lands, New Zealand wide, and then maybe Australia in the future. Who knows?
Danielle Lewis (23:43):
Oh, this is so cool. I just love as well. So you're making the decisions based on what customers want across the board, even when it comes to new stores, where are customers coming from? Where are people calling saying, I want to open my own? I just love that so many people I think feel stuck in their businesses because they dunno what next step to take, but the best next step to take is the one that the customer will pay for. So I just love that all of your decision making is based on your values, what you know want as the ideal customer and what your customers are telling you and what potential businesses are telling you. I think this is such a bloody good business
Shira Ghyoot (24:26):
Lesson. Thank you. It's funny, when I first graduated in healthcare, I was working in a private practice and it wasn't going the way I thought it was going to go, and I was just suffering in silence. And it wasn't then until one day I then just started talking to all the people that I graduated with and asking them questions about how their practices are going and what's going on. And I was like, why am I suffering in silence? Some of them are having the same struggle. Some of them made these big changes, but I was like, no one's talking about it.
(24:51):
And I was always this kind of person before who would just try and figure it out on my own or maybe ask one or two close friends and you leave it at that or just vent my problems but not want the answers or listen. And ever since then I'm like, no, you know what? If I don't know, I'm not sure. Or even if I think I know, I'm just going to ask and see what people come back with. So I'm going to tell you what's going on with me. I'm pretty much an open book sometimes to my own judgment.
(25:17):
I don't know what, I don't even know what questions sometimes to ask, so let me ramble and see what people throw back at me. And I just ask. We've got a question on my Instagram at the moment. We're renaming one of our smoothies. It's not selling, but it tastes incredible. So I'm like, we've named it wrong. It's got a naming problem and I dunno what to ask. So I asked chat GPT for some ideas, and then I just put them on my Instagram and I'm like, what should we call it? And then would you buy it like, well, something's wrong with the naming obviously. And I'm like, I'm just going to ask, tell me what you want to call it. Do you want me to add this to the menu? Let me ask. I'm love it.
Danielle Lewis (25:53):
And I think then people feel invested, right? They're like, oh, I voted on that and now it's up there on the board. It's like they actually feel like they're part of your business and part of the process.
Shira Ghyoot (26:04):
Well, they are. You're my customers without you. I don't have a business, so do you want me to sell this or not? Do you want to? And also because of our allergies, our cafe is allergy friendly and the whole facility is allergy friendly. And most indoor playgrounds, we've got a no lunchbox rule. You can't bring any outside food for us. It's because people come to us because they need the kids to be safe.
(26:26):
So
(26:26):
Our whole facility is not free, for example. But I'm like, but if I'm not been selling you the food that you want to eat and then I'm telling you can't bring anything, it doesn't make sense. But what do you want? And tell me, and I'm not being rude about it. What do you want? I'm like, what do you want? Just tell me. And if I can do it, I'll do it. Well, I'll find something similar, but if you don't tell me, I dunno, do I ask?
Danielle Lewis (26:47):
Oh my God. It's just the best business lesson. Seriously. I think people do get a little bit scared of asking, but it's like that's what people want. People want to be invested, they want to be involved and they buy from the businesses and they come back to the businesses that listen to them and provide a product or service that they actually want. It's not rocket science, is it?
Shira Ghyoot (27:08):
It really not. Business is a relationship, whether you realize it or not, people buy from you, whether it's business to business or customer to be like, it doesn't matter. There's a relationship. They're invested in your company for some reason. They're choosing you over another one. Why? It's probably you. Whether they know your face. I'm not on my socials really. So no one knows that I'm the owner and I don't really work in the stores, but the heart behind everything is my husband and myself. And then they feel that and then they feel that through our team. So I don't think it matters what your business is. I think your customers have a relationship with you in one way or another and whether you realize it or not, and if you ask them, they'd probably give you feedback. And the best thing my accountant ever said to me was, let them be the ones to say no.
(27:54):
Yes, yes,
(27:56):
Whatever. I'm like, is it going to kill you if you ask this question? What's the worst that can happen? They say No, ask if you don't ask the answer's. No. Anyway, so we ask all the time. I'm like, what do you want?
Danielle Lewis (28:10):
Oh, it is so good. Shira, you are absolutely incredible. Now, I always love to wrap up these podcasts with one last piece of advice. So reflecting on your time in business, what would be a piece of advice that you would give to another woman on her business journey?
Shira Ghyoot (28:29):
If you're waiting for the right time, you'll be waiting always. Because life is busy as a woman, as a mom, as in anything. And it does not ever slow down. So find a way to make it work today, even if your life is chaos because a little bit more chaos to chaos, it's still chaos. Makes no difference.
Danielle Lewis (28:51):
I totally agree. You are so amazing. Thank you so much for sharing your journey and your wisdom and your insights with the Spark community. That was absolutely incredible. Thank you. That wraps another episode of Spark tv. Shout out to Spark TV sponsor IP Australia for their amazing support of the Spark Podcast and women in business. And if no one tells you today you've got this.
✨ Thank you to IP Australia for supporting the SPARK podcast and women in business ✨
