They're also Mighty members. We sat down with them to talk about how Club Joyful came to be, the patience it took to get the doors open, and what it's like running a business built entirely on community. Their answers have been lightly edited for length and clarity.
Scott: The more we thought about it, the more we looked around, there just really weren't any places that provided the types of things we would have loved to have had. A place where you could have a class and grab a coffee and have some Wi-Fi. A place where you could just have a good high vibe experience for a family. Not a place that was just for the kids while the parents stand around, but where content and entertainment was really geared for everybody.
Erika here has been an incredible family photographer for the past 15 or 18 years. I spent most of my professional time in digital media and ad tech and live streaming, and we both got to a point in our lives and our careers where we were ready for something new. We started thinking about our own lives and what was missing, especially as we raised our daughter. What kind of services did we want when we were going through our experience? What kind of community were we able to build?
So we just said, why don't we open a place that does all of those things and provides community for families here on the West Side? That's how the concept for Club Joyful was born.
Scott: Be patient and keep the emotions in check. Opening a business can be very challenging, especially when you're doing lots of construction and it requires permitting. Just a lot of dealing, and a lot of cost. As you go through that, sometimes it's hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel. But that light was very much there.
I would advise my younger self to just be cool. It's going to work out. It will all be okay. Keep your cool, keep that joyful attitude, and everything is going to be fine.
Erika: One of the things we love to do here is create really fun experiences for whole families to do together. We have this amazing event called Lil Burn, which was a play off of Burning Man. An all-day music festival with bands, character performers, bubble shows. At Burning Man they do temple building, so we did Lego temple building. Everyone who came was saying, this is so incredible that this is for a whole family to enjoy. It wasn't just for kids, it wasn't just for adults. That's my proudest moment: creating an event that was so amazing for every member of the family.
Scott: I remember us with a full packed house, close to 200 people on property. The most people we ever had here, and everyone was smiling and high fiving and having fun. And I remember us standing right against that wall, looking at everybody, going: we did it.
Scott: Our customers are families, first and foremost. During the days it's typically stay-at-home parents bringing their kids for classes. We have kids' classes in the mornings, then our afternoons transition to older kids and people coming after school to hang out. And our weekends are pure family fun. We do big family events every Friday night and every Saturday morning. Our customers are people who just want to relax, have fun with their families, do something cool and be entertained.
Scott: We're doing things people don't necessarily see, which is communicating with partners, communicating with entertainers. We talk with music programmers, dance instructors, people who want to put on shows for our community, and we have to do our best to curate the right kind of experiences. People just come to an event or a music class, and that's great. But what went on behind that was probably meeting with six different music instructors. Understanding schedules, understanding business models, and doing that at scale. Trying to program basically every day of the week is a lot of what Erika and I are doing behind the scenes.
Scott: The most important mission behind Club Joyful is community. At the end of the day, people getting together, connecting, kids being able to socialize and play together. Parents, especially new young parents that have kids for the first time, ages zero to two, being able to really see themselves in other people, build relationships, and find a really safe, fun, comfortable place to hang out. That's the core mission we pursue every day at Club Joyful.
Scott: There's two main things we're planning to grow into in the year ahead, and a lot of it focuses more on the adults. It seems we've nailed it for the kids, but we want parents to know we opened Club Joyful for you too. I'm a musician, and I have a lot of musician friends who want to perform here, build an audience, and play music at seven in the evening instead of late at night, so their kids can actually see them play. So we're going to focus a lot on music, and adult-oriented experiences that are really built for mom and dad.
Erika: And in addition to that, we're growing our wellness side. One of our core values here is helping parents find their own self-care, because it's really tricky. As a parent you're taking care of the kids, you're working, you're running around, and you're always the last one on the list. So we're building out our offerings for after school: a kid can go into a class, they're happy, and then mom and dad can go into a massage or an energy tune-up. It's this together-but-separate idea. Why am I sitting on my phone when my kid is in a class? Why can't I get my self-care?
Scott: Working with Mighty has been really valuable for Club Joyful. Fortunately, Nick is my sales rep, and we're friends in the neighborhood, so he knew the business we were developing. We have to order so many things, whether it's a birthday party or running the cafe, and the small business deals and relationships that Mighty has have been very helpful for us.
Beyond that, it's just knowing there's someone who understands the challenges of small businesses. Someone who can share what other people are going through and resources that have worked for them, be it social media help or insurance help. It feels like we have a partner, someone outside of ourselves who can really look out for us and provide advice and deals and opportunities.
Erika: Oh, it's a rainbow latte all the way. We make an incredible rainbow latte, warm, with sprinkles on top. Nice and foamy hot. That is my morning coffee order.
Scott: One of the most popular orders around here is the strawberry matcha, but that's typically iced, for the nice hot summer. When it's cold out, my order is Erika's seasonal, what we call the coconut snowfall. A little hint of coconut, a little hint of toasted marshmallow, with cinnamon and brown sugar.
Club Joyful is a family social club, cafe and event space in Venice Beach, California, and one of the many small businesses Mighty helps. Every Mighty member gets an Authorized Mighty Rep, a real person who comes to your business in person. Find out more at joinmighty.com.
