We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Sophia Hall. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Sophia below.
Sophia, we’ve been so fortunate to work with so many incredible folks and one common thread we have seen is that those who have built amazing lives for themselves are also often the folks who are most generous. Where do you think your generosity comes from?
Being generous is one of the most important things you can do for yourself and others around you. It makes me happy to help others, it improves my relationship with God by helping others. Exhibiting generosity doesn’t cost you a lot but can profoundly impact another person. I get this trait from my dad. He is the most giving person I have ever met. That man will give you his last dollar.
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?
First, I am a wife to an incredible man, Kenneth and a mom to a beautiful smart little girl named Kennedy. We started this indoor playground with her in mind. I’m a homeschool mom and work our business full time. We wanted to have a place where she could play and party at that was safe, clean and fun. We try our best to maintain the status of a clean and safe environment for kids. We have been operating for almost five years and we’re steadily growing. We have lots of fun events for kids throughout the year and continue to add characters for magical experiences.
We plan to add an afterschool program in August. We will provide families with an alternative afterschool care, that will stay open later and designed a little differently from a daycare facility. Helping parents navigate homework, helping in subject areas, participating in unit studies, and arts/crafts.
Parties are the focus of our business, but when covid hit, daily foot traffic was slow and four years later, we’re still slow during the week. We have added many events and character appearances to help make up the difference and that helps. We believe by adding the afterschool program this is help us out tremendously.
I love how Kids Party Planet has provided many families with a place to party, a place to bring the kids when the weather is bad or just too hot. I am always amazed and thankful how many people recommend us to other families just from their experiences at our location.
I am always finding ways to improve and host events that parents and kids love. We offer day camps, during spring break and summer. We love to support other small businesses in our area. At the end of the day, I’m just a mom that wanted a cool place to take my kid and this has turned into something that I can never give up.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
I am a people person for sure. I love serving people. Owning a small business is hard work, no doubt about that. You have to put on a smile and greet people, even when your world is so chaotic. I am very creative and that helps with planning events. I have a lot of patience, that comes in handy with managing employees. Any advice, would be to make sure you are 100% in. Like you’re ready to risk it all for your business. Make sure you want to serve the public and ready to handle criticism and acknowledgment.
Before we go, maybe you can tell us a bit about your parents and what you feel was the most impactful thing they did for you?
My parents taught me how to work hard for the things I want. They raised me to love people and to be compassionate. They showed me to treat others how I would want to be treated. To respect everyone, even if someone is disrespectful to me, two wrongs never make a right. They showed me to always stay humble, to be thankful for everything I have. We didn’t grow up with a lot of money. I had two parents who worked really hard to provide my siblings and me. We may have not had everything, but we had what we needed. I remember, in fourth grade, we were having a luau, and I was supposed to bring grapes for the entire grade. My dad was laid off work, and I didn’t understand why I was bringing a watermelon. I was clearly supposed to bring grapes. I told my teacher I wasn’t able to bring grapes and that I was going to bring a watermelon. I remember her getting a little mad about it and made me feel bad, because my family wasn’t able to afford to bring grapes. I went home and told my parents that I didn’t want to go to school that day because of the situation. My dad told me that watermelons were better than grapes and tried to make me feel better by telling me that these watermelons were picked by my family back home and that was what made them so special. The luau day came, and my dad dropped me off at school with two watermelons. He had the biggest smile on his face. He gave my teacher the watermelons and she had a smirk on her face, he was so nice to her. My dad proudly gave her the watermelons, he turned and told me to have a great day, he promised that it would be the best watermelon they had ever had. This taught me always be grateful for the things we have. Our situations can change when we least expect it and we should always be grateful. Years later, who would have thought the same man that wasn’t able to provide his daughters school with grapes is a proud owner of our great establishment, and a huge part of how we were able to open. Thanks to my parents for always providing and teaching us the importance of living a great life.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.kidspartyplanet.org
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/kidspartyplanetlakejackson
