Michele Caruana

The Profitable Play Podcast

Business EN ↓ 376 episodes

If you own or manage an indoor play center, play cafe, indoor playground, family entertainment center, mobile soft play rental business or really any business that serves local children and families, and you want to operate with more EASE and JOY, all while making the living you dreamed of– I created the profitable play podcast just for you. Join me, your host, Michele Caruana, for small but mighty tips every single weekday that will all add up to a BIG impact on your mindset, your business, and your bottom line. Stick with me to keep the PASSION and GROW the profit in YOUR play-based business

Author

Michele Caruana

Category

Business

Podcast website

www.michelecaruana.com

Latest episode

Jun 22, 2026

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Episodes

290: 6 Ways You Can Apply Disney’s Magic TODAY To Elevate Your Indoor Playground Business 10.06.2024

In this episode, host Michele Caruana brings a refreshing and fun perspective to the Profitable Play Podcast, after a series of heavier topics featured on the podcast feed like managing stress, handling conflict, and navigating divorce as a business owner. Michele shares insights from her recent family trip to Disney, focusing on how indoor playground owners can incorporate Disney’s magic into the...

289: How To Successfully Navigate DIVORCE If You Own A Business 03.06.2024

Today we are going to be talking about something on the more difficult side, but it’s a topic that has proved itself, unfortunately, 100% necessary in our industry. DIVORCE. Because divorce is something that you may never THINK will happen to you, until it does. And luckily, whether you ever find yourself in that position or not, there are really simple things you can do starting TODAY to prevent...

288: How To Save Money On Your Facebook And Instagram Ads (Part 2/2) 27.05.2024

Book More Birthdays with Ads Course: https://bit.ly/3N7bPAI BLOG For This Episode: https://www.michelecaruana.com/blog/save-money-on-ads Today we're diving into PART 2 of one of my favorite topics: marketing your indoor playground or play cafe business while saving money. Facebook and Instagram Ads can be powerful tools for scaling your indoor playground business, but they often feel confusing and...

287: Handling Conflict and Mastering Tough Conversations With Customers and Employees with Elisabeth Robinson 20.05.2024

THIS is one of those episodes that make me wish I could hop in a time machine back to 2015 when I was opening my business with what I know after this conversation. Knowing how to handle conflict and how to master difficult conversations with confidence would have saved me SO much anxiety, stress, and ALL the negative consequences that came from NOT having this perfected. Our guest on the show toda...

286: How To Save Money On Your Facebook And Instagram Ads (Part 1/2) 13.05.2024

Book More Birthdays with Ads Course: https://bit.ly/3N7bPAI BLOG For This Episode: https://www.michelecaruana.com/blog/save-money-on-ads Today we're diving into one of my favorite topics: marketing your indoor playground or play cafe business while saving money. Facebook and Instagram Ads can be powerful tools for scaling your indoor playground business, but they often feel confusing and costly fo...

285: Stress Reduction, Nervous System Regulation, and Burnout Prevention For Indoor Playground Owners With Kelly Hale 06.05.2024

Normally on the Profitable Play Podcast we talk about how to take care of your marketing, your team members, your sales and your customers, your business partners and vendors,- all that. But today, I want to talk about how we can take care of YOU, the business owner.  Because while most of us have amazing support systems and teams that help us make our missions possible– we still remain at th...

284: 5 Questions To Ask Yourself To Reclaim Your Focus and Purpose as a Business Owner BEFORE Q2 is Over 29.04.2024

Since we are ALREADY nearing the halfway point of the year, today I want you to ask yourself a couple of questions (5 to be exact!) that I have gotten in the habit of asking MYSELF if I’m feeling a little distracted or unmoored in my work or personal life, because it always brings my goals and perspective back into focus. If you prefer to read this content: https://www.michelecaruana.com/blog/ques...

283: Successfully Launching a Physical Product For Parents With Pluie Founder Addie Gundry 22.04.2024

How to successfully launch a physical product with Female Founder of the Year and TIME Best Invention winner, Pluie Founder Addie Gundry! In this episode, I welcome Addie Gundry, the visionary founder and CEO of Pluie, a revolutionary commercial changing table featured on Shark Tank and recognized by TIME as a best invention. Addie shares her journey from a culinary career on The Food Network to c...

282: Recorded Coaching Call With Indoor Playground Owners Kaylinn and Jeremy From Monkey Around Play Cafe 15.04.2024

In today's episode of the Profitable Play Podcast, you get to listen in on a recorded coaching call with indoor playground owners Kaylinn and Jeremy who own Monkey Around play space in Billings, Montana. This conversation is unique for a few reasons. First, Kaylinn and Jeremy purchased their business from it's existing owners (two locations) and are currently navigating the process of revitalizing...

281: Timed Open-Play Sessions Vs. Drop-In Play: Which Is Right For YOUR Indoor Playground Business? 08.04.2024

In today's episode of the Profitable Play Podcast, we'll explore the pros and cons of timed play sessions and open all-day access for indoor playgrounds and play cafe businesses. While timed play sessions offer a structured environment and (sometimes!) more predictable revenue, they may limit flexibility and customer satisfaction. Open all-day access provides increased flexibility and continuous r...

280: From Quiz to Conversion: How Quizzes Can Drive Sales for Indoor Playground Businesses With Lindsay Roberts 01.04.2024

In this episode, Lindsay Roberts of Fem Frontier dives into the strategy of using fun and simple quizzes to build and segment email lists (and entire customer bases!) specifcally for indoor playground owners. She highlights the importance of creating engaging quizzes, promoting participation, and segmenting lists for highly-personalized, targeted marketing. Lindsay shares practical tips and best p...

279: Texting Trends: Modern SMS Marketing Techniques for Indoor Playgrounds 25.03.2024

14-Day SMS Marketing Trial: https://www.salesmessage.com/?fp_ref=nzfbw OTHER RESOURCES: Play Cafe Academy & Play Makers Socity: http://bit.ly/3HES7fD What's Working 2024 Guide: http://bit.ly/3GwXQAS Play Cafe Academy & Play Makers Socity: http://bit.ly/3HES7fD Fund Your Indoor Play Business: http://bit.ly/38KbYbz Courses & Consulting: http://bit.ly/3N7bPAI Indoor Playground Business Co...

278: Hosting A Successful (And Profitable!) Mother's Day Vendor Event At Your Brick and Mortar 18.03.2024

Hosting vendor shopping events at your indoor play space can be a great way for a quick cash boost AND to begin building a relationship with other local businesses owners and makers. However, the success of your first event is CRITICAL when it comes to enticing shoppers and booking vendors for any future subsequent events. So ensure you don't make these very common mistakes (many of which I have l...

277: Your Perfect Pre-Launch Marketing Plan For Your Indoor Playground Business (From Daydream to Opening Day!) 11.03.2024

Here's your pre-marketing checklist PDF: https://www.michelecaruana.com/marketingchecklist Even if your business is already open, this episode of the Profitable Play Podcast hosted by Michele Caruana will discuss pre-launch marketing strategies that will help you... -launch a new service or revenue stream -open a second location with success -announce new opportunities like licensing or franchisin...

276: Recorded Coaching Call With Indoor Playground Owner Leena From The Little Play Avenue 04.03.2024

I was asked recently to bring back recorded one-on-one coaching calls with Play Maker Society members, so today I am VERY excited to be doing exactly that! A few weeks back I reached out inside of my Play Maker Society group and asked for volunteers who agreed to be recorded for the podcast and YouTube channel, and I am SO excited to bring you the first of those today! Other recorded coaching call...

275: How To Create a Compelling Brand Story That Works As A Lead Machine For Your Business 26.02.2024

How to tell your brand story on social media and on your website with Mariana Henninger from Brand Magnetic! Oftentimes when I am researching other indoor playground businesses, I find that ONE thing is sorely lacking from many websites and social media channels-- And that is a captivating and intentional BRAND story. Now I know you may be watching and thinking, I don’t want to put my personal bus...

274: Interviewing Indoor Playground Owner COUPLES! 19.02.2024

Watch On YouTube: https://youtu.be/iFtbdMJ09Cw Interviewing play cafe owner couples and asking the tough questions for Valentines Day!   In this video, I am interviewing the owners of Natural Nest Play Cafe and Busy Bee Play Cafe and asking them questions like...   What is it like to own a business with your spouse?  What has been most challenging thus far?  What have you learn...

273: Adding A Play-Based Discovery School To Your Indoor Playground With Project Play Owner Alera Owens! 14.02.2024

Join host Michele Caruana as she welcomes Project Play Museum owner Alera Ownens! In this conversation, Alera is going to pull back the curtain on her amazingly successful business by sharing insights into things like How she launched her business and where she found design inspiration and what that process looked like Why she decided from the jump to have a discovery school as one of her revenue...

272: 8 Steps To A Successful Founding Member Launch (Even If You ALREADY Sell Memberships) 12.02.2024

Play Cafe Academy & Play Makers Socity: http://bit.ly/3HES7fD The Time We Had To Ban A Customer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPtJtRaHyEE&t=558s Mini Course Library: https://www.michelecaruana.com/mini-course-library-play-cafe-academy RESOURCES: Play Cafe Academy & Play Makers Socity: http://bit.ly/3HES7fD Getting Started YouTube Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HfYkEnvPJdo...

271: How Former Teacher Heather O'Donnell Creates Impact and INCOME Beyond The Classroom With Digital Products 07.02.2024

Want to add digital products to your indoor playground business OR use them to fund your brick and mortar location? This is the episode for you! Heather O'Donnell is the owner & founder of Kindergarten Ready Skills, where she helps preschool moms prepare their kids for kindergarten and the owner & founder of Teacher Biz, where she helps teachers build profitable, enjoyable online businesse...

270: 6 Key Things To Remember If You're Running Your Own Facebook and Instagram Ads 05.02.2024

RESOURCES MENTIONED: Book More Birthdays With Ads Course for Indoor Playgrounds: https://bit.ly/3N7bPAI Evergreen Ads Episode: https://bit.ly/45fO8PP Ads Tutorials on YouTube: https://bit.ly/3UiUZFy OTHER RESOURCES: Play Cafe Academy & Play Makers Socity: http://bit.ly/3HES7fD Current Owners Membership Application: http://bit.ly/3kQsNtQ Fund Your Indoor Play Business: http://bit.ly/38KbYbz Cou...

269: Practical Meal Planning Tips For Busy Owners To Save Time While Still Eating Healthy with Verona Angol 31.01.2024

Meal prep and planning tips for busy entrepreneurs and business owners!  In this episode, we have special guest Verona Angol, the host of the "Lose Weight with Meal Planning" podcast.  Verona is joining us to share expert insights on meal prep strategies tailored specifically for busy entrepreneurs and indoor playground owners.   Are you constantly on the go, juggling work, family,...

268: Should Indoor Playgrounds Open EARLIER? My Take On The Subject And The SECRET To Affording It 26.01.2024

Web Design Services: https://www.michelecaruana.com/play-cafe-business-web-design-services Why Memberships are Crucial: https://bit.ly/44nGkKV Interview With Heather From Play Date LLC: https://bit.ly/3S81GYm Play Cafe Academy & Play Makers Socity: http://bit.ly/3HES7fD OTHER RESOURCES: Getting Started YouTube Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HfYkEnvPJdo&list=PLKNxpFOU7ITc6BrH_EHl...

267: Refresh Your Indoor Playground And Enhance Your Branding This New Year With An Impactful Mural 24.01.2024

About Mural / Adrienne Scanlan's Links: Website: www.aboutmurals.ca Coupon Code: playcafeacademy (40% Off In-Stock Murals) Blog Post:  https://aboutmurals.ca/blog/indoor-playground-wallpaper-murals/ YouTube (@aboutmurals):  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJ-9dlAULFa8nXLrjK2n8_Q Pinterest:  https://www.pinterest.ca/aboutmurals/ Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/aboutmurals I...

266: 7 Ways Indoor Playgrounds Can Effectively Communicate Closures to Customers 22.01.2024

ETSY Template Shop: https://bit.ly/40RF5D4 RESOURCES: Play Cafe Academy & Play Makers Socity: http://bit.ly/3HES7fD Getting Started YouTube Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HfYkEnvPJdo&list=PLKNxpFOU7ITc6BrH_EHl4DuHqWqdUoTZU What's Working 2023 Guide: http://bit.ly/3GwXQAS Fund Your Indoor Play Business: http://bit.ly/38KbYbz Courses & Consulting: http://bit.ly/3N7bPAI Indoor...

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