Today we’d like to introduce you to Mandy Roth.
Hi Mandy, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
My story begins when I was a little girl. I would always tell my parents I was going to be Cinderella when I grew up. I loved all of the princesses and characters, and the magic that I felt from them. When I was 15 years old I made my dream a reality, and got my first job at a character company here in Florence, SC. I fell completely in love with it! I loved dressing up, and bringing magic to kids for the 10 years that I worked there. I worked at that company until I was 25, and was a manager there for the last 8 years they were open. I was crushed when they closed their doors, and honestly didn’t know what to do with my life. I thought of starting a character company of my own, but at 25 I didn’t have the funds to invest in it.
I started my own housekeeping business just to pay the bills. It grew quickly, so I just continued with it, even though starting my own character company always lingered in the back of my mind. I fell in love at 27, and got married at 29 in 2010. Business was going good for both of us, so we were able to put a lot into savings as we planned to start a family. Our Daughter was born in 2015, and our Son in 2017. I absolutely love being a mom, and all of that magic started coming back, as I watched our children start to fall in love with Characters.
When our Daughter was about to turn 3, and I was planning her party, I was chatting with a lady who I cleaned for and I mentioned that I really wished there was a character company in Florence, because our Daughter was in love with Belle, and I would love to have Belle come to her party. She said “There’s a lady that I work with at the hospital who does that on the side!” I was so excited to hear that! I got her number, and called immediately to get Belle booked for our Daughters party.
Through the booking process I told the owner how I use to be a Party Princess, Mascot Character, and a Clown, and how much I loved it, and missed it. Our Daughter was over the moon when her favorite Princess walked into her party, and all of those old magical feelings started rushing back to me stronger than ever. About 4 months after our Daughter’s party, I got a call from the owner of Glass Slipper Solutions. She told me that she had decided to sell the company, and that she could see my passion for it when I had booked with her, so she wanted to offer the company to me first before making it public that she was selling.
It was my dream falling into my lap. I knew if I didn’t jump on this opportunity that I would regret it for the rest of my life. I took that jump, and have loved every minute of it! It truly is my passion! From interacting with customers while booking parties, to staying up late doing contracts and sending invoices, mending, washing, and making costumes, cleaning face paints, and teaching staff how to make balloon animals, and training them to become the characters. I love all of it.
When I purchased Glass Slipper Solutions in January of 2019 it was strictly a Princess company. I have upgraded all of the Princesses, and added Mascot Characters and Superheroes. I needed it to be for every child, not just for little girls. I am so proud of what I have built, and continue to build. I am thankful for the support from my wonderful husband, my children, my family, my friends, and my incredible staff. I wouldn’t be where I am today if it weren’t for them.
Now that I am a mom, and have my own kids, I don’t just see the magic on the children’s faces. I see the magic on the parent’s faces too. When they see their child light up, they light up, and it makes my heart happy.
Making people happy, and helping to make dreams come true, is what I was born to do. I am living proof that dreams do come true!
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
All businesses have their struggles, but growing up in this type of business taught me so much that it has been pretty smooth. The biggest challenge was Covid hitting just a year after I purchased the business. I really had to get creative to keep the business alive when people couldn’t have birthday parties. We did a couple of drive by birthday parades where the character jumped out of the car and placed a gift in the yard for the Birthday Child, but my heart couldn’t handle it. Instead of seeing a happy child full of magic, I saw a crying child reaching for the character, and so upset that they couldn’t hug them. I had to stop offering that option. It just broke my heart. I decided to go a different route, and had my staff come over, get in costumes, and I recorded them reading different children’s books. We posted a different character reading a story every Saturday on our Facebook page for a little over a year. This kept people engaged with the business, and brought some magic to the kids through that difficult time. It drained my bank account since I was still paying staff and had no income, but it paid off when things started returning to normal, and people started to book parties again. This is one reason I still run my cleaning business as well as Glass Slipper Solutions. It’s tough juggling a family and 2 businesses, but if I didn’t have my cleaning business through Covid, I would have had to sell Glass Slipper Solutions and give up on my dream.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
We specialize in Princesses, Superheroes, and Mascot Characters to entertain at parties and events. We also offer balloon animals and face painting as well as singing Princesses, a coronation ceremony, balloon arrangements, professional photo backdrops, photo props, and games to rent as party add-ons. We have lots of other add-ons that are exclusive to certain characters.
I am the most proud of the quality of our costumes and the high level of performance we bring with my highly trained staff.
I think what sets us apart from others is the attention to detail in our costumes and performance. I am also huge on customer service. Every customer, and their child, gets treated as an individual. Parties are tailored to be exactly what the birthday child will enjoy most. Every child is different, so every child’s character experience should be different.
Do you have recommendations for books, apps, blogs, etc?
No, not at all. I just use my creative mind and listen to customer feedback. I do often ask my own children and their friends their opinion on things.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.glassslippersolutions.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/glassslippersolutions
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/glassslippersolutionsparty
