Meet Emoni Yates | Founder of Yard Fairies Savannah

We had the good fortune of connecting with Emoni Yates and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Emoni, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
Yard Fairies is actually A joint business with my mom Shelly Jenkins. As much as I would love to take the credit, this was all her. She had A vision and I helped to bring it to life. I was extremely nervous because I always think about what could go wrong but with A mom like mine, she’s going to help me see the positive and talk me off of the ledge of nervousness. After about 2 weeks of discussing; we sat down together, made A plan, and executed it.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
We call ourselves the Yard Fairies because like the tooth fairy; we safely sneak into the recipients yard the night before to install so they will wake up to the yard sign the next day. We always say “What you could put in A card we’ll place in your yard,” because our signs are noticeable and its custom to you from your loved one. You feel the love and a lot of times the recipient automatically knows who it may be from. I think that what sets us aside from others is we give back to the community and those who support us. Another thing that sets us apart from others is, we don’t have clients, we have family. My mom is the first point of contact and she leaves a lasting impression on everyone she encounters. I have seen her build relationships where they keep in touch far after the services have been rendered. Our business is where it is today because in the beginning we did a lot of footwork with advertising on social media, passing out flyers, and even buying ads. We are also here because of our family and friends we’ve gained along the way, Word of mouth has opened doors we didn’t even know we were going to walk into. It has not been easy but consistency is always key. The lesson we’ve learned along the way is, everyone deserves A reason to smile and it doesn’t take alot to tell or show someone you love them. We want the world to know that you can do anything you put your mind to if you simply try. We are currently based out of Savannah and although we ship our printable items, we hope that you get to one day feel the love of Yard Fairies because we have so much to give.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
If my friend was visiting and I had to show them around, the first place we’d go to eat is my mom house, as she’d call it “Shelly’s Kitchen.” if you know my mom, you know she isn’t having it any other way. Before heading out, We would contact MixoloChix Bartending Co. for her famous fruity adult pouches. Being that Savannah has A open container policy; we would most definitely walk around downtown with our pouches while enjoying the beautiful daytime views the city has to offer. While downtown we would visit the Good Jaz bar and Restaurant located on W Broughton Street. Depending on when my friend is visiting, we would also go to Eclipse and listen to some old school R&B at the new hot event titled Rhythm and Brunch. Something I think the city should check out is Smithereens; the new smash room located in downtown savannah.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I would like to first give thanks to God because he has always been the head of our household. I secondly would like to thank my mom; without her, there would be no Yard Fairies. A huge thank you to our first few customers who allowed us to only give A idea and they jumped right in to purchase, advertise, and constantly support. Thank you to our friends and family who has helped us become who we are by telling everyone they can about us. Rather its tagging and mentioning us on social media, booking A sign, or just bringing us up in general conversation; it has never gone unnoticed. Final thank you to our local churches, City officials, Savannah Chatham County Public School system, ILA Local 1414, the corporate companies, and the entire city of Savannah who notices, supports, and are always encouraging us. The smile we have put on faces and the tears of joy we have placed in eyes is exactly why we love what we do.

Instagram: YardFairiesSavannah

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/YardfairiesSavannah

Other: We can also be found on tiktok at YardFairies912