Meet Shayla Maddox | Event Services and Party Rentals Owner

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

Hi Shayla, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking

Hey! Thanks for having me! Well, if it wasn’t for me ‘taking a risk”, I definitely wouldn’t be where I am today. For a matter of fact taking on several risks. I had to finally let go of a lot of things that were holding me back from my vision. Things that kept telling me no, giving me self doubt or just to hold off for another year. It all began with my first risk which was letting go (divorcing) a marriage of 5 years with three young children involved. I knew this man for over 10 years. We had our first of everything together. We bought a home and started a family. We even spoke on making business moves in the future. Should this be enough to make me stay and to keep the kids happy in a two parent home. Live that “marriage goals life” that others thought of us as the “perfect family” but behind closed doors constantly dealing with things in my marriage that were breaking me down, making me look foolish and it just seem like it wasn’t going to ever change. Or should I finally break free, take that risk and leave to find peace and happiness for myself and children? My only worries were failing my kids.

In 2020, during the pandemic with a newborn son (my third child), I decided to finally take that risk in leaving everything that was built to start my life over as a single mother of three. One of the best decisions I’ve made because it gave me that push to step it up more, to boss up more and to provide more for my children. After 2 years of holding off a business venture, God said now it’s time to launch it to the world! Now it’s time to show others your gifts and talents! There are no chains holding you back. This is on you now!  It’s a reason that I couldn’t move forward in my life because that person, those things I’ve experienced in the past, wasn’t meant to go into the next chapter in my life. It wasn’t meant for that person and those things to enter into something that God is going to bless me tremendously with. And I know God has so much better for me. I had to finally listen! So after that this introvert finally stepped out on faith and said, ‘Hey World! Meet your new owner of a company called The Party Popperz. Book me! But the risks just didn’t stop there.

Towards the end of 2020, I decided to leave a high paying job that I was with for over 5 years. I was super stressed with my work life balance and trying to adjust with being a single mother of 3 now. But yet I still have bills to pay from a mortgage, car note and everything else in between. After leaving that job, I took my 401k out and took a mental break for a while to figure things out, get myself in order and to also spend more time with my children. I wanted to be a full time business owner, but success doesn’t come overnight. I wasn’t making enough to be fully self employed. So I decided to take a lower paying job that had a better work life schedule for me during the week while I work my business on the weekends. The new job was way different from what I was used to but thank God I was finally off those phones (call center lol). I have a more open schedule now. I can take some load off my parents from helping with babysitting and taking my kids to school everyday. I was able to focus more on my business and have time to think of new ideas and planning.

Another risk I’ve taken is going broke just to invest more into my company. As far as spending my last, getting alerts that my account has reached below $100.00 just to take risks, chances and to see things flip. I started investing in more party rentals from bounce houses, equipment, branding, and finally buying my company’s first cargo van (paid off). I’ve made many sacrifices so my company can grow and to be able to provide more for customers requesting my services. I wanted to make more rentals and services available. I wanted more revenue to flow in the future so I can one day be self-employed. After months and months of spending on advertising, and creating content, things started rolling. I started getting booked more with weekend dates filling in fast for the party rentals. People are starting to recognize my work and rentals when they are driving by or around the area and saying “Hey, I thought I saw that KJ’s Playworld soft play rental or that bounce house in my neighborhood, I’m interested in booking”.

All of the risks above that I’ve taken have been very worth it. I’m glad I decided to finally go for what I want because it made me grow as a woman and as a mother. I want to also inspire others that may be afraid with similar experiences as me to finally go for what you want and what makes you happy, even if it involves you taking on risks. But let it be smart risks! I hope by the end of this year that I will be a successful fully self-employed business owner. If not, I just know that I will one day. And this will not be the last you hear from “Shayla Nicole”. My work is not done and God is not done with me yet. I definitely plan to take on more risks to see my company prosper in the future.

What should our readers know about your business?

The services my company provides are event staffing services from hosts, setup/decorators, food servers and after event cleaners. Whether you want one service, two services, or maybe the whole package for your event. We can do it! We also provide party rental attractions from bounce houses, toddler soft play rentals, inflatable movies, popcorn machines, cotton candy machines and more!

What sets us apart from others is that we provide professional event staff to help with your weddings, receptions, child birthday parties, adult birthday parties, and more! We make you feel like family! My company services are not offered as much in my area and I want to help those looking for extra help with their events. All of this started from when I used to help my friends and family with their weddings, birthday parties, showers, etc. It used to be so hard finding others to be dedicated and on time to help. I wanted to solve this issue by providing professional event staff services to others needing help with their events. I wanted to have staff available to work your events while you are enjoying your own event! I also wanted to have party rentals available for those that do not like paying full price for something that would only be used once or later given away for no use such as a bounce house, speaker, cotton candy machine, etc. Why buy when you can rent your party equipment/attractions from The Party Popperz?

The party rental attractions that I have are one of a kind because they are uniquely made to bring the fun to you! Whether your child’s birthday party needs a bounce house and cotton candy machine, or a soft play set rental for a toddler’s 1st birthday or daycare event. Or maybe you are wanting to watch movies with popcorn on a 17ft inflatable screen in your backyard, we got it all for you! We also provide hosts to help work your parties with setting up, serving food to guests and cleaning up afterwards if needed. Some of the party rental attractions are named after my children and the things they like. KJ’s playworld is a toddler soft play rental that is only for ages 5 and under. Most popular for 1st birthdays. It’s always so hard finding things for the younger ones to enjoy and do without the bigger kids being in the way. This soft play rental includes a toddler bounce house, slide with ball pit and balls, mini roller coaster, foam play blocks, bouncers and it is also gated to keep the little ones inside and safely playing. The other attractions are Skylar’s Playworld, and Kay’s Safari which are coming soon.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
If my best friend was visiting my city, I would definitely be taking her to all of the best food joints in town because we both love food and I like to travel for food myself lol. So Monday, we are going to Tupelo honey for brunch and mimosas. Taco Tuesday, we are going to Agave & Rye. Wednesday, we are going to pull up to the Crab Trap food truck and grab some of the best seafood plates in town. Thursday night, we will be at Volcano Bar for more seafood and music. Friday night, the new spot downtown called Six18 has a whole vibe and we can eat and listen to live jazz music all night. Saturday, let’s have some fun at Top Golf, drinking and golfing, then go to the new sports bar downtown called “Walk-Ons Sports Bistreaux “. Sunday is usually the travel day back home day so we will go get some early brunch at State of Confusion.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I surely have a lot of people to thank! These people have given me an extra push in following my dreams and to always keep going, from my parents Donnell and Sonya Reynolds. I love yall both! Thanks for everything and raising me to be the woman I am today. Not judging me and for the things that happened in my marriage that were out of my hands but I was so embarrassed to tell. You both wrapped your arms around me when I broke down and told me that everything was going to be alright and that y’all had my back! And yall have been everything me and to my three! Thank you!  My brother Jr, my best friend Joyre, and many other close family members and friends that have given me so much support, love, mentorship and encouragement. They know exactly who they are and I really appreciate yall!

But there is one person in particular that I would like to recognize which may catch him off guard on this lol. But I want to give a special shoutout to Kelvin. He’s been a very good friend over the two years that I’ve known him. He’s been my listening ear (knows everything about me lol), helped on giving advice and encouragement from all of the risks I’ve taken that I’ve mentioned previously. From my divorce, we both pitching our future business ideas and talking all about our future investments. He used to say, “Hey I’ma do this, I’ma own that, I’ma have this and I was like man me too.. It’s going to come!. One day…generational wealth…financial freedom! We spoke life, we manifested until it came to light! Even when I went away to focus more on myself and growth, he was always there! He does something similar to what I do but more with bigger inflatables. I watched him go from 0 to over 12 inflatables in under a year. He’s creating an all purpose company to serve the community from landscaping, handyman services, sports training and more. I want to say how proud I am of him, despite the many disagreements we have lol, our friendship always remained the same. I can’t wait to see him reach the top! From something that started off as “talk and ideas”, to us one day having our own successful businesses with everything we hoped for. I want to just say keep going for what you want and what makes YOU happy! You got this and never give up on your dreams! Everything you hope for will come! So keep being great and keep being you!

Website: www.ThePartyPopperzCo.com

Instagram: @ThePartyPopperzCo

Facebook: @ThePartyPopperzCo

Other: Email: thepartypopperzco@gmail.com