A Mom's Tale
Once upon a time, an enterprising mom saved a struggling franchise . . .
Three-year-old Brittany has a constant supply of playmates.
That's because every day she comes to work with her mother,
Lisa Pascavis, who operates a Once Upon a Child franchise in
Chandler, Arizona.
Pascavis worked as an assistant manager at a Gymboree and as
co-manager of a Limited Too before answering an ad seeking a
manager for Once Upon a Child, a children's resale store.
Within a year, her experience helped raise the then-struggling
store's sales. Pascavis, 33, and husband, Mark, 38, saw its
potential and bought the shop in December 1999.
Another reason Pascavis jumped on the opportunity was because of
Brittany, with whom she was pregnant at the time. "It was
important to be with my child during her younger years," she
says. With its play area that makes kids excited to shop with their
parents, Once Upon a Child was perfect. "I could be a
full-time mom and a full-time business owner." Even her older
children, Amanda, 12, and Austin, 10, come in occasionally to help
out.
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The arrangement works well for Pascavis, whose store is so
popular she had to double its size. Sales, which have tripled since
she bought the store, were more than $500,000 in 2001.
Children aren't the only ones enjoying themselves in the
store. Pascavis credits much of its success to her team of
employees, who work hard at having fun. As Pascavis puts it,
"You don't want to get so serious that coming to work is
no fun."
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