After more than a decade in the indoor playground industry, I've developed a little bit of a sixth sense for decisions that look great on opening day but can become expensive, inefficient or incredibly frustrating later.BLOG for this episodeIn this episode, I'm sharing 12 things that make me think yikes when I see a new indoor playground or play café — and, more importantly, the business reason behind each one.I'm talking about:The beautiful design choices that can become cleaning nightmaresWhy more toys can actually make your play space worseThe play feature I think WAY more indoor playgrounds needWhy your age range could be creating problems you didn't anticipateThe hidden cost of choosing residential products for a commercial spaceWhy I don't automatically love dedicated baby areasThe revenue stream too many owners leave on the tableWhy closing on Sundays could cost you more than you thinkThe problem with building your staffing plan around YOUHow a bad booking process can waste great marketingWhy I don't let Facebook groups decide pricing, hours or offersThe question I wish every owner would ask BEFORE spending money on their spaceBecause I'm not just looking at the play space. I'm looking at the business model hiding underneath it — and whether the decisions you're making today are still going to work after thousands of kids, hundreds of parties and years of actual operations.RESOURCES:Play Cafe Academy & Play Makers SocietyGetting Started With Your Play Cafe [YouTube Video Playlist]What's Working In The Indoor Play Industry 2026 GuideFund Your Indoor Play Business [Free Training]Indoor Play Courses & 1:1 Consulting WaitlistMichele’s InstagramMichele’s WebsitePlay Cafe Academy YouTube ChannelETSY Template ShopPrepare Your Indoor Playground For a RecessionPlay Cafe Academy & Play Makers SocietyQuestions and Support: [email protected] TOOLS & OTHER LINKS:Play Cafe Academy & Play Makers Society: http://bit.ly/3HES7fDQuestions and Support: [email protected] TOOLS:Wellness Living POS and Branded App Software Play Space Brain (Mention This Podcast For Special Pricing!)Simplify and Scale with 50% OFF WellnessLivingActive Campaign Free TrialFree Demo of Aluvii All-In-One POS