Meet Hannah Cutts

We were lucky to catch up with Hannah Cutts recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Hannah, appreciate you sitting with us today to share your wisdom with our readers. So, let’s start with resilience – where do you get your resilience from?

Adapt and Overcome – words small business owners have to live by. Just like our Heroes and Herionins in our favorite fairytales, we face unexpected twists in our small businesses but we must adapt and make the best of our situations. Find those few words that are the heart of your inspiration, and repeat those words over and over to yourself every time you face a challenge, face a slow day, or face a failure. Repeat them in your mind, repeat them in the mirror, repeat them in the car and remember. What comes out of your mouth your brain believes. Remember why you started and remember how you started.
Be flexible. Be open to change and change again.
Being a business based on the gathering of people, based on giving little one hugs, cuddles, and intimate experiences, COVID certainly taught us a tough lesson in overcoming. We were given the ultimate challenge when we were given 30 days, at Christmas, in 2020, after 5 months of forced closures, to either pay double our rent with new, not ideal, owners, in a space we had already outgrown or move. After 24/7 searching, hours in the car, and countless breakdowns, we found a space with the walls already perfectly configured. I repeated the words of “I didn’t come this far to quit” over and over and without that determination and my family, we would absolutely not have survived that time. Right now, we are going through another trial, we just open in a new dream location (with not so dream rent) and it has been a slow start, but “I didn’t come this far to quit” and I’m a true believer in “If you build a great thing, they will come”- and they will! Just keep working and repeating your words to yourself.
Remember, just like in Fairytale stories, resilience is about believing in yourself, your team, and finding the magic in everyday life. Don’t forget to Celebrate Every Step!

Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?

Happiness is seeing grown-ups believe (even just for a second) in the magic they once remember. Even if it’s just for an hour, we have seen the powerful impact a princess’ smiling face can make on a child’s and family’s life. Our company was started with a passion for children’s entertainment; I wanted to bring a bit of theme park magic and storytelling to my community. Offering imaginative play with the highest quality character interactions in the state and events that now draw in weekly visitors from multiple cities and even states over. It’s an indescribable feeling when you watch a sea of little faces light up when our characters enter the room. Pure childhood magic- a moment- a core memory made. Happiness is seeing our regular clients grow up (and even grow “too old”), knowing you helped make their childhood just a little more playful and fun. Every child and family deserves the opportunity to be treated like royalty and believe in fairytales. Reserving Royalty just moved and expanded into a 6000+ sq ft Fairytale Paradise. We have partnered with “Dress Your Fairytale” to offer a full shop of whimsical princess delight. Beyond amazing birthdays, we have delightful programs every Thursday with our new Preschool Princess PlayGroup. We offer a Pop Up Palace Playgroup for school-age children and special character events each and every month!

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

Fairytales are not always an easy sell; sometimes, grown-ups need to be reminded how important imagination and suspended belief can be! It’s healing, which is something we certainly had to remind ourselves of during covid shutdowns. Youtube is amazing, but people are more amazing. Don’t be afraid to seek feedback from your clients. Follow up and ask how the experience went right and how it could be improved. Ask them their options on new selections. Invest time in understanding your cleints, their needs, and preferences. Use surveys, focus groups, and Facebook groups and analyze competitors. Finally, Hire Carefully!!! Work only with individuals and businesses who align with your business and personal values and have the skills necessary to contribute to your personal and professional goals.
We are one of the only in the state (if not the only) character companies with a brick-and-mortar location. During the shutdowns, personal magic was needed more than ever. In order to remain in the magic, we had to really work to come up with creative and safe ways to interact with our clients and keep the magic going. Virtual magic mirrors, interactive online storytimes, outdoor “mask-queries”-anything we could to keep our castle lights on. Many tears were shed, but we did as Tiana taught us and “dig a little deeper,” and it truly revealed to us that this company is our mission, family is so important, and we must “never stop dreaming” even when times get tricky because magic still remains in those toughest of moments.

Is there a particular challenge you are currently facing?

Owning a venue comes with a unique set of challenges. Owning a KIDS venue specializing in PRINCESS PARTIES comes with even more sets of challenges. One significant obstacle is fluctuating demand. We can be highly seasonal or influenced by economic conditions and school schedules. During the summer, clients often choose vacations over lavish parties and the pool over things like tea parties. We try to overcome this by offering multiple services, such as intimate group party experiences for those looking for a smaller way to celebrate, and stressing our “weather proof” fun of choosing an indoor party experience over say a park or pool. We offer different types of events to attract diverse clientele at different times (weekday/night/ weekend), price points and value. We ultimately stress how short childhood is and highlight how families should try to squeeze every bit of magic of their time with their children as they are “only little once” and “the pure magic of childhood is very brief”.

Contact Info:

Image Credits

Scheib Creative, Patty K Photography

Suggest a Story: BoldJourney is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems,
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
Leadership Development
Empathy Unlocked: Understanding how to Develop Emotional Intelligence

“Empathy is the starting point for creating a community and taking action. It’s the impetus

Productivity
Where do you get your work ethic from?

We’ve all heard the phrase “work hard, play hard,” but where does our work ethic

Productivity
Boosting Productivity Through Self-Care

When you have a never-ending to-do list it can feel irresponsible to engage in self-care,