Business Spotlight: Jumping into the Void

Suzanne Esch saw an opportunity in 2007 as a new Springfield resident to fill an identified void in children’s entertainment. And while competitors have come on the scene, she says her bounce-house business has yet to fall flat.

Esch is co-owner of Jump Mania LLC, which operates in Kansas Plaza, 2745 S. Kansas Expressway, Ste. B-120. Founded in June 2008 with college sorority sister Susan Gilreath – who followed Esch from the Lone Star State after a divorce to help run and grow the business – Esch has owned the company with her husband since February 2012. She says the buyout for $25,000 was prompted when Gilreath – now Susan Currey – moved to Kansas City to attend dentistry school.

“We were busy right out of the gate. It was something new,” Esch says. “We had both come from Texas and decided there wasn’t anything like this here. You could always go to the Chuck E. Cheese and drop about $50 easily.

“We just wanted something affordable for families.”

Open play costs $6 per child Monday through Thursday and on Friday before 4 p.m. On weekends, the cost is $9 per child.

Esch says Jump Mania’s nearly 9,000-square-foot leased space, filled with six towering inflatable play areas, is a place for elementary-aged children and younger – and by extension, their parents.

Birthday parties comprise a majority of revenue, and range from $150 to $300. She says Jump Mania hosts up to 15 parties per week during its busier months.

Esch, the wife of local banker Jamie Esch – who moved the family to Springfield for a job as Bank of America’s market president – says the business generates between $25,000 and $30,000 a month, with winter on the high end. Declining to estimate 2014 earnings, Esch says Jump Mania produces a modest profit and has been in the black every year.

“We really skyrocketed the first two years, and then we’ve (leveled) off and have been consistent,” she says.

Neighborly competition
The day after Christmas, Sky Zone trampoline park opened next door, at 2765 S. Kansas Expressway. Operating in the shadow of the 19,000-square-foot building presents a possible revenue threat, she says.

Esch predicts Sky Zone will largely appeal to older children and adults, but it could be too soon to estimate its competitive impact. Jump Mania revenue the first couple of months this year was flat compared to 2014, but the first three days of spring break, she says, were less busy.

“It’s brought some people over who hadn’t realized we were here, so that’s nice. But it’s also taken some away, just like I think any competitor would have,” Esch says. “I’m optimistic that it will get our age group right where we want it, but I’m also cautious about it.”

Jump Mania has dealt with competitors before.

After opening in June 2008, Jumpin’ Joey’s, Wacky World, Ozark Entertainment LLC and Airtime Entertainment LLC followed suit with inflatable offerings. Wacky World has since closed, Esch says.

Esch competes with recently merged Ozark Entertainment and Airtime Entertainment in the inflatable-rental space, though she notes that’s not an area of growth potential for Jump Mania. Rentals cost $150 to $250 for a three-hour period, including setup, and Esch says Jump Mania has regular customers at David Harrison Elementary, Bingham Elementary and Pershing K-8.

Juggling businesses
Jump Mania’s overhead includes $1,200 a month for general liability and workers’ compensation insurance and $8,750 a month to Wehr Properties to rent her facility.

One of her regular, if not minor, expenses is inflatable repair. For that, she turns to Springfield Special Products, a tarp repair and trailer-cover producer.

John Green, a service manager with Springfield Special Products, says inflatable repairs cost between $100 and $400, and he visits Jump Mania every other month. He also handles Party Station’s inflatables in Nixa, he says.

Green says he’s not worried about Jump Mania’s new competitor in Sky Zone because, from what he’s seen, Esch’s business has a loyal following.

The last time I was over at Jump Mania, (Sky Zone) had just opened, and her place was packed still,” Green says. “Like anything else, I think it’ll be running fast for a little while, then it will start slowing up.”

Looking forward, Esch has no plans for a second location. The busy mother of three also co-owns the CrossFit Provision gym in south Springfield, which includes space for her budding screen printing and promotional-items business, Honor Him Gear LLC.

“A second location? No, thank you,” Esch says.

Co-founder Currey says her friend always had the entrepreneurial bug, even in school at West Texas A&M University.

“She had several little businesses in college,” Currey says. “She’s just kind of a force of nature. Once she decides to do something, it happens.”