Calling all Miami moms. If you don’t already know State of Kid, you’re in for a treat. Founders Alana and Cheryl wanted a place that had it all when it came to kids — art, music, dance, science, and cooking classes, the most on-trend clothes, and party planning everything. It’s a place where you’ll find your tribe in other moms. A place you can trust, and a place where you’ll find an answer to any kid-related question.
We caught up with the stylish mom-preneurs to talk about business, the pandemic, and non-negotiables.
We met through our husbands and immediately clicked. We bonded over being busy moms who shared many of the same interests and struggles, specifically the difficulty of finding resources for our kids. And, just like that, the concept for State of Kid was born. We felt confident that our complementary skill sets, along with our innovative and unique concept, was a winning formula.
We opened our first location in September 2019 with the goal of making parenting easier by providing multiple resources under one roof. We now have three locations in South Florida, and are not stopping there. We love being able to provide parents with the best of the best for their kids.
We’ve created a new elevated concept that combines play-based classes, parties, and curated retail in one space. Children can experience a multitude of enrichment offerings from music and dance to art, cooking, science and more. At the same time, parents can shop the most sought-after clothing, accessories, and toys from niche brands. We also offer hassle-free birthdays, removing the burden of party planning from families. In general, we strive to cater to parents as much as we do children.
Just six months after opening, the pandemic hit and we, like practically every other business on earth, were forced to close our doors. When things did start to open again (in Florida that was in June 2020), we were able to pivot to smaller, pod-based classes. Drop-in classes were out, and families had to commit to a series to stay within the bubble. It was not what we envisioned when we opened, but it created this strong, close-knit community among our families and kids, much of which is still intact today. From the pods, we went to a hybrid model, and, finally back to our regularly scheduled mix of semester-based programming and drop-in classes.
It’s very hard to pick favorites — if we didn’t love something we wouldn’t offer it at State of Kid! On the class side, Alana’s son enjoys Jiu-Jitsu and Robotics, while Cheryl’s children are big fans of Karate and Petit Chefs.
What we hear from parents all the time — and what we believe makes us different — is trust. Trust us to curate amazing, unique classes that both parents and children love. Trust us to have best-in-class, curated selection of children’s product. Trust us to execute the perfectly planned party. Ultimately, it is this trust that keeps customers coming back. We are in the business of making parenting easier, and to get the reinforcement that we are doing just that is so fulfilling and makes it all worth it.
We always say, “Mom first, then business.” From the beginning we established that there will not be a recital or kindergarten graduation (really, any big moment) that we will ever miss. We plan our days around prioritizing our children and encourage others to establish their own “non-negotiables” when it comes to the mom-versus-work balance. To us, having our children know they come first is most important.
We are lucky to live in a climate where it is warm year-round, and we try to get outside and move daily. It doesn’t have to be anything formal — it could be a bike around the neighborhood, playing soccer in the yard, or hopping in the pool — but getting that time outdoors always helps us (and them!) feel more energized and balanced.
As busy moms and business owners, we believe one of the most important things you need to do is learn to delegate. We both love to be in control, but that doesn’t mean that we can do it all — as much as we’ve tried! Bring in people that complement your style and genuinely have passion for what you are building. We learned early on that hiring the right people and delegating to them through trust and transparency builds a better team culture.
In terms of connecting with other moms, if you are in Miami, come to State of Kid! It’s a great place to find your tribe. We also find Facebook groups, apps like Peanut, and working mom groups to be extremely helpful.
