February 17, 2025 • 24 mins
Are you ready to dive into the unknown and explore the world of impactful conversations? Welcome to Episode 147 of "Carlsbad: People, Purpose and Impact," where we unravel stories that matter. This week, we have a special guest, Stephanie Issa, joining us to illuminate her journey and share her insights.
What happens when passion meets purpose? How does one navigate the challenges of making a real difference in their community? Stephanie brings a wealth of experience and a heart full of stories that will inspire and challenge you to look at your own impact in a new light.
In this episode, we explore the intersections of personal growth, community engagement, and the drive to leave a lasting legacy. Stephanie's journey is a testament to the power of resilience and the importance of staying true to one's values.
So, plug in your headphones and get ready for a conversation that promises to be both enlightening and motivating. Whether you're seeking inspiration or just a great story, this episode is sure to deliver. Join us as we uncover the purpose and impact that define Carlsbad and beyond.
Stephanie Issa's Bio:
Stephanie Issa is an owner of The Lullabar, an elegant and modern café in Carlsbad, California, offering a unique blend of services, including a coffee shop, nail salon, temporary childcare, and event space. With over 12 years of experience in marketing and operations—both with previous businesses she has opened and for other companies—and a degree from Fordham University in New York City, Stephanie has created a thriving community hub where parents, remote workers, and families can connect and recharge.
Living in Carlsbad with her husband, two kids, and their dog, Stephanie enjoys meeting friends for coffee, hosting dinner parties, and taking fun weekend trips with her family.
Special Offer:
Free one-hour parent and child open play!
Connect with Stephanie:
Website: thelullabar.com
Instagram: @thelullabar
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Sponsor: This show is sponsored and produced by DifMix Productions. To learn more about starting your own podcast, visit www.DifMix.com/podcasting
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Intro (00:02):
Carlsbad. People, purpose, and impact. An
essential podcast for those wholive, work, visit, and play in
Carlsbad.
Bret (00:14):
Good morning, and welcome, everyone. My name is Brett
Schanzenbach. I am the presidentand CEO of the Carlsbad Chamber
of Commerce, and I am once againyour host today. I am excited to
have with me Stephanie Issa. Sheis the cofounder and co CEO at
the Lullabar.
Good morning, Stephanie.
Stephanie Issa (00:31):
Good morning. Thank you for having me.
Bret (00:33):
Yeah. Thanks for joining me today. It's great to have
you. I was doing a little bit ofbackground information, learning
a little bit about you, and Ididn't realize you're from
Brazil.
Stephanie Issa (00:43):
I am. I was born in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Bret (00:46):
Yeah. And then when did you come over here?
Stephanie Issa (00:49):
I moved to The United States when I was six
years old.
Bret (00:53):
Okay. So just a youngster.
Stephanie Issa (00:55):
A youngster, yeah.
Bret (00:56):
And when you came to The US, where did did you come to
California right away or did youcome somewhere else?
Stephanie Issa (01:01):
We actually went to Augusta, Maine.
Bret (01:04):
Augusta, Maine. I've never even heard of Augusta, Maine.
Heard of Augusta, Georgia. But
Stephanie Issa (01:10):
Yeah. Augusta, Maine. Okay. Lived there for
about less than a year, and thenI primarily grew up in the
Boston area.
Bret (01:18):
Okay. Very nice. And then I saw that you went to, Fordham
University in political science.Yes. That's fun.
Yeah. And that led to you havehad quite an interesting,
background. I I saw stuff fromyou worked for the the UN
undersecretary, Global VisionCNN, White House press advance.
(01:40):
Yeah. Talk about that journey.
Stephanie Issa (01:43):
So, you know, as an immigrant, I just I felt very
strongly about just getting intopolitics.
Bret (01:49):
Yeah.
Stephanie Issa (01:50):
And, yeah, when I was in Fordham, I really
wanted to work at the UN. Thatwas, like, my dream. Mhmm. For
my nineteenth birthday, Iactually spent it at the United
Nations doing a tour. Wow.
And yeah. So I did press advancefor one day. I had a friend who,
was working on the press teamfor Obama.
Bret (02:11):
Yeah.
Stephanie Issa (02:12):
And so he gave a speech on Wall Street, and I
went in and helped that day.And, I worked for, like,
documentaries, and I was justtrying to find my in and find my
footing in the political space.But it went it crossed over
into, like, media and news.Yeah. So I did internships at
(02:33):
CNN Money and, yeah.
But in that way, I kinda foundmarketing.
Bret (02:39):
Yeah. So Through all of that?
Stephanie Issa (02:41):
Through all of that. Yeah.
Bret (02:42):
Led you to the the world of marketing Yes.
Stephanie Issa (02:45):
Which is funny. Yeah.
Bret (02:46):
From polycydical marketing. I love it. Yeah. And,
you've been in marketing in oneformat or another pretty much
since then, it looks like. Youstarted your own Studio ISA in
San Diego.
So how did you get from all thatEast Coast stuff to San Diego?
Stephanie Issa (03:02):
I moved here well, it started in it started
in Providence, Rhode Island. Soafter the recession ended or
during the recession, I shouldsay, in 02/9. That's when I
graduated. I couldn't find ajob.
Bret (03:16):
Oh, sure.
Stephanie Issa (03:16):
Yeah. It was really tough. And my mom moved
to Providence from Boston Mhmm.At that time. So I said, okay.
You know what? It's not workingfor me here in New York City. I
just just could not find a job.Yeah. I interned at Time
Magazine and the PR department,and it was just they were just
laying everybody off.
Bret (03:33):
Yeah.
Stephanie Issa (03:33):
And so I went back to live with her.
Bret (03:36):
Yep.
Stephanie Issa (03:37):
And, you know, a few years later, that's when I
met my husband, and I startedjust doing marketing and taking
on clients because it was justeasier to find part time gigs
than a full time job. Yep. Sothat's what I did to kinda get
by is just trying to accumulateas many clients as possible.
Bret (03:56):
Yeah. The the gig economy. Right?
Stephanie Issa (03:58):
Exactly. And then I kind of just learned how
to work for myself and Googleeverything. And Yep. And then my
husband, we were actually, likeI would employ him to help me
with my clients, so I'd writehim checks.
Bret (04:11):
Nice.
Stephanie Issa (04:12):
Yeah. And, yeah. And then we just started working
on websites together, and, westarted doing, like, websites
for the city of Providence forfestivals
Bret (04:25):
Nice.
Stephanie Issa (04:26):
For colleges in the area, startups. You know,
there's a startup scene inProvidence.
Bret (04:31):
Oh, nice. Okay.
Stephanie Issa (04:33):
And a lot of creatives there because of RISD.
So we we use their talent tokind of build our portfolio. And
then when we moved here, we wekept it going, but it was just
extremely tough to start with anetwork all over again, the
buzz. And we moved herespecifically for the sunshine.
Bret (04:51):
So so not because of a job or anything like that? You just
Stephanie Issa (04:54):
like No. We needed to get out of the
blizzards.
Bret (04:56):
Get gotta get to that sunshine, some vitamin d.
Stephanie Issa (04:59):
Yes. Yeah. No regrets.
Bret (05:01):
No. That's awesome. And that was in what year?
Stephanie Issa (05:05):
2015.
Bret (05:07):
Okay. And right to this North County area or some other
part of California?
Stephanie Issa (05:11):
Well, we moved downtown, lived in,
Bret (05:15):
Downtown San Diego?
Stephanie Issa (05:16):
Yeah. East Village. And then moved up we
did the kind of naturaltrajectory of, you know, you're
getting older, starting afamily, and and doing our way up
to North County.
Bret (05:24):
Yeah. Yeah. Right to the suburb.
Stephanie Issa (05:26):
Yeah. We did East Village and then Mission
Valley and then Carlsbad.
Bret (05:30):
Nice. That's wild. And it looked like you spent some time
in your marketing career also inthe real estate space.
Stephanie Issa (05:37):
Yes. Yeah. So, one of the jobs that I got in
Providence right away was doingreal estate marketing for for a
real estate firm. Mhmm. And, itwas a really fun little office,
and they gave me a lot offreedom.
But then, you know, financialconstraints again. Yeah. And, so
(05:59):
then they they actually, toldme, like, you really should
become a consultant becausethat'll just you know, you're a
little bit more in control.
Bret (06:09):
Interesting.
Stephanie Issa (06:10):
So that's I became a marketing consultant.
Bret (06:14):
That's awesome. And and so you've been in that space. I
even saw something about I don'tknow how to pronounce it. O H U
Interactive. What's O H U?
Stephanie Issa (06:21):
Oh, Obu. Oh, Obu Interactive.
Bret (06:24):
Oh, or maybe I wrote it wrong. Sorry. Obu Interactive
Yeah. Which is also a a digitalmarketing agency?
Stephanie Issa (06:31):
Yes. So they're actually based in, San Diego.
Bret (06:35):
Oh, okay.
Stephanie Issa (06:36):
And I went in as, you know this was my first
time working for someone else.
Bret (06:44):
Like, completely?
Stephanie Issa (06:44):
Like, as a with a salary Oh. And health
insurance and the whole thing.
Bret (06:49):
Like a real employee.
Stephanie Issa (06:50):
Yeah. I felt very behind, delayed. Just like
if I felt like that's whateveryone did when they
graduated. I don't know how theywere able to get jobs. But,
yeah, it was legal marketing,and I started as a project
manager.
And then I just went up intooperations very quickly, and
it's mostly because I ran my ownbusiness before. Yep. And I've
(07:11):
hired before. I've sentinvoices. I've met deadlines.
I know the creative process, thedevelopment process, what to
look for. So it was really easyfor me to move up very, very
quickly.
Bret (07:22):
Nice. Yeah. So all that, gig experience and consulting
stuff, it paid off when you gotto In a
Stephanie Issa (07:29):
in a big way.
Bret (07:29):
Yeah. In a very big way. Yeah. And then, it sounds like
that's what led all the way upto your most important job of
being a mom and and taking sometime off to raise kiddos.
Stephanie Issa (07:41):
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. We we we started thinking
about the lullaby during COVID.Yeah.
And when things opened up and,you know, I was supposed to go
back to work in the office thesame week we got lock the
lockdown started. So Icompletely When
Bret (07:58):
you say you were scheduled to go back to work, like, after
having been off on, like,maternity?
Stephanie Issa (08:02):
Yes.
Bret (08:02):
Yes. Okay. Yeah. So how old was your is it I forget. Is
it a daughter or a son?
Stephanie Issa (08:08):
Owen.
Bret (08:08):
Owen.
Stephanie Issa (08:09):
He's five, and it was, I think, five or six
months.
Bret (08:13):
Okay. And so it's time to go back to work. Oh,
everything's shut down,lockdown, psych. You're not
coming in this office.
Stephanie Issa (08:20):
Yeah. Yeah.
Bret (08:21):
And so were you still working for them from home at
that point then?
Stephanie Issa (08:25):
I was for about, I think, like, seven, eight
months. Okay. And, I made itwork.
Bret (08:33):
Yeah.
Stephanie Issa (08:33):
But, I think during that time, you know, with
everyone's mental health Yeah.And as one of the as the
operations leader, a lot of, youknow, addressing the mental
health or HR issues came up tome. And as a new mom, it was
very hard to just digest whatthe team is going through on an
(08:56):
individual basis. Like, they'reliving at home with someone
who's immunocompromised, andthey're afraid. And so it became
an emotional roller coaster.
So I decided to kind of juststep away. Yeah. Yeah.
Bret (09:08):
For your own well-being. Yep. Yeah.
Stephanie Issa (09:11):
Yeah.
Bret (09:11):
For sure. And all this time in the background is
percolating. Now this idea forthis super cool space called the
Lullabar.
Stephanie Issa (09:20):
Yeah.
Bret (09:20):
And what we're gonna do, we're gonna take a brief pause
right now, and then we're gonnaunpack because this Lullabar is
such a cool, unique space. Andfor our listeners who are
hearing about it for the firsttime, they're gonna really enjoy
this. So stick with us. We'll beright back. We're talking to
Stephanie Issa, the cofounderand co CEO at the Lullaby bar.
We'll be right back. So,Stephanie, before we took a
(10:42):
break, we we kinda were coveringyour background and all your,
your journey that got you to tofounding the Lullabar. And so
here you are, you know, a firsttime mom. Right? And this whole
working experience as a mom, youknow, which is also tainted by
(11:04):
the COVID experience, is leadingyou in some ways to something
different.
So tell us about that thoughtprocess and how you were
inspired to start what is nowthe lullabar.
Stephanie Issa (11:18):
It really it really started from me not
feeling like myself. So I didn'tfeel like I could go to adult
spaces. So once things opened upand, you know, my son is, you
know, I don't know, about a yearmaybe.
Bret (11:37):
Sure.
Stephanie Issa (11:38):
I would take him places and, you know, it was
just really hard for me to wantto get out of the house because
of just being stuck inside forso long. But once things opened
up, I just felt very excited tofinally, like, okay. Let's see
let's see what I can do with mychild. Let's go live our lives.
And, it was extremely difficult.
(11:59):
I found like there were a lot ofparks, outdoor parks, but a lot
of them aren't really gated.It's an issue. There's not
enough shade.
Bret (12:07):
Mhmm.
Stephanie Issa (12:08):
It's you know, in the mom or parent circle,
it's a common complaint.
Bret (12:13):
Sure.
Stephanie Issa (12:15):
You know, sometimes you'll find Band Aids
on the floor and
Bret (12:17):
Oh, yeah. Right.
Stephanie Issa (12:18):
Stuff like that. There's no shade.
Bret (12:20):
Right after COVID, and we're all extra sensitive to
that kind of
Stephanie Issa (12:23):
stuff. Right? Exactly. And then even just
going to coffee shops, you know,he would like if I'm sitting
inside, it there wasn't enoughroom for him. And sometimes
you'll get some glares or,
Bret (12:35):
you
Stephanie Issa (12:36):
know, like, how dare you leave the house with a
small child.
Bret (12:38):
Right.
Stephanie Issa (12:39):
You know, especially if he's overtired or
something.
Bret (12:42):
Right.
Stephanie Issa (12:42):
Or he's running out into the street because just
it's everything is open.
Bret (12:46):
Right.
Stephanie Issa (12:47):
So it was just increasingly difficult to feel
like, where can I go? What can Ido? And so I would go to play
gyms, and I felt like that wasthe only real option inside.
But, you know, it's a kind of anoutdated business model. Sure.
Just lots of in other countries,they're a lot more modern and
clean. But here, it's just likea lot of really old plastic and,
(13:10):
you know, your kid will get sickYeah. To be honest.
Bret (13:12):
You you
Stephanie Issa (13:13):
have to be prepared for Yeah. Right.
Sickness. So I didn't reallyfeel like there was a place that
was adult kid friendly in anadult atmosphere.
Bret (13:22):
Interesting. So this is, obviously spinning in your brain
and and percolating. And so youcreate this very unique space.
So let's tell everybody all thedifferent things. We'll start
with the basics, with the coffeeshop, and then keep going
because there's so much atLullabar.
Stephanie Issa (13:39):
Yeah. So the thought behind it was to create
a space where you can bring yourlittle one, but still, feel like
you can spend time with yourwith yourself or with your
friends
Bret (13:51):
Yeah.
Stephanie Issa (13:51):
While still being in the same vicinity. So
you don't have to have the guiltof leaving your child at home or
court or coordinating childcare.Yeah. And so we have a play
space for kids six and under.It's in a separate room.
It's about 900 square feet. It'sMontessori inspired. And then we
also have a studio room thatfunctions as, like, a mixed use
(14:12):
space. You know, we do mommy andme yoga. We do CPR classes.
We do dance and music classes.
Bret (14:19):
Yep.
Stephanie Issa (14:21):
We're doing massages now. And then, we have
a nail salon. Mhmm. Reallygorgeous nail salon, vegan
nontoxic products just because,you know, our primary audience
was and still is. There aremoms, but we're getting a
variety of people coming in now.
Sure. And then we have thisbeautiful indoor, outdoor cafe
space.
Bret (14:42):
Ah, love it. And it's very, very mom centric. What was
the oh my goodness. Now I'mforgetting it. The the funny
thing about, lack what is it?
Lactation latte or something?What is it?
Stephanie Issa (15:02):
That's funny, the lactation latte.
Bret (15:03):
Yeah. That was hilarious. Never seen that in a coffee shop
before, so that was very cool.
Stephanie Issa (15:08):
Why not? Why not?
Bret (15:09):
Why not?
Stephanie Issa (15:09):
I know.
Bret (15:11):
And,
Stephanie Issa (15:11):
you know men buy it too.
Bret (15:13):
Oh, I'm sure.
Stephanie Issa (15:14):
Yeah. It's hilarious. They're like, this is
interesting. Let me let me giveit a shot. Like, they're
intrigued.
Bret (15:19):
Yeah. Yeah. But, every time I've been, which is now
probably half a dozen times ishor more.
Stephanie Issa (15:26):
Yeah. I see you. Yeah. That's cool.
Bret (15:29):
There's always, you know, so many babies, which is I love
it. You know? As a as a parentof six, I love seeing the, you
know, the the vibe.
Stephanie Issa (15:39):
Society that they're part of, like, the
space. You know? It's
Bret (15:43):
a great it's a great vibe. And then but you also had on on
your website, it talks abouthow, let's see, you guys refer
to yourself as a wellness cafefor mothers and caregivers.
Yeah. Explain that.
Stephanie Issa (16:00):
So we we wanted to create, like, an upscale cafe
or upscale environment where wefelt like at this point, any
parent, any caregiver can comein and feel welcomed. And so we
wanted we wanted to beinclusive, and I felt like a lot
(16:23):
of public spaces now are notinclusive to families Yeah.
Especially small children. Youcan tell by bathrooms. You know?
Every a lot of people have kids,and they're just there's no
stools, the toilet. You know, wehave double seating. We have
toddler seating. We have adiaper pail and changing table
(16:43):
in all the bathrooms. And, butjust even recognizing the child
too, making and that that makesthe parent feel welcomed.
So we have stickers at the frontdesk anytime a kid walks in and,
even at the cafe. And the therule or the motto at the
Lullabar is, you know, if a kidis having a tantrum, it's no big
(17:04):
deal.
Bret (17:04):
Yeah. Love that.
Stephanie Issa (17:05):
Not draw any attention to it. If the parent
is distressed, what can we do?Sometimes we'll offer free latte
just to kinda make them feellike, okay. You're it's okay.
You know?
And you'll see some of theparents, their immediate
response is like, oh my god. I'mso sorry. And they did just pick
the kid up and run out the door.And I'm like, no. You don't have
to do that here.
Bret (17:25):
Yeah. Yeah. That's awesome. Because the reality is
we've all been there.
Stephanie Issa (17:29):
Yes.
Bret (17:29):
You know, and as you pointed out
Stephanie Issa (17:30):
And I think we forget.
Bret (17:31):
Yeah. And and as you pointed out, your kid might just
be a little bit tired or, youknow, maybe they need to eat
right now or, you know, whoknows? Whatever whatever the
dealio is, but it's not it'slike we've all been there. It's
okay.
Stephanie Issa (17:43):
Yeah. You know?
Bret (17:43):
It's just this you've created a safe space to just be
real Yes. As a mom, as a family,you know, as a parent, you know,
that whole thing. And it's notwe're we've been talking moms,
but there's plenty of dads thereworking on their computer in
your coffee shop.
Stephanie Issa (17:58):
Lots of dads. Yeah. Lots of dads,
grandparents.
Bret (18:01):
Awesome.
Stephanie Issa (18:01):
Because, you know, they help take care of the
if the, you know, mom and dadare working. We also just get a
lot of everybody else, like alot of remote workers, high
school students, a lot of, youknow, older people who really
love the nail salon because it'snontoxic. Sure. So we're we're
(18:24):
essentially expanding beyondjust moms and caregivers. We're
really serving a huge variety ofpeople Yeah.
Who love the atmosphere. Andit's hilarious because you'll
see, like, just people with nokids. And there'll be, like,
fifteen, twenty kids, you know,in a play space. And I think if
they all know that you have tobe okay with kids being here,
(18:47):
everybody enjoys the space.Yeah.
Bret (18:49):
Yeah. I agree. I agree. That's great. I even saw on your
calendar of events, you guyshave you're doing, like, ballet
classes now for kiddos?
Stephanie Issa (18:56):
Yeah. We're doing ballet and music classes.
That's in the studio room.
Bret (19:00):
Studio room. That's great.
Stephanie Issa (19:01):
Fun.
Bret (19:02):
Yeah. Super fun. It's just I feel like it's very holistic
in all the different things thatyou guys do. And some of the
stuff on your calendar, I don'tI don't know what it is. Okay.
What what's a sound bath?There's a
Stephanie Issa (19:14):
So that's part of, like, the self care.
Honestly, we were really I wasinspired by just being in North
County. I feel like there's justa lot of, like, you know, just
energy healing and Sure. Soundbaths. So it's like these these
bowls, these crystal bowls.
Bret (19:32):
Okay.
Stephanie Issa (19:33):
And, it's just do you know the sound bath?
Yeah. It's just extremelycalming.
Bret (19:38):
Yeah.
Stephanie Issa (19:39):
And, you know, you turn the lights down and you
lie down on the mat and, youknow, the the sound bath,
facilitator will play with thesound bowls and then use other
instruments. And it's justextremely calming. And then we
also have sound baths forbabies.
Bret (19:53):
Oh, nice.
Stephanie Issa (19:54):
So it'll just get into a trance and, you know,
just sleep. And it's a goodbonding time with your child.
Bret (20:00):
How wild. Yeah. And then, of course, I saw some other cool
things like date night.
Stephanie Issa (20:05):
Yeah. Parents' date night drop in. That's
pretty cool. And they can leaveand come back in, like, three
hours. Yeah.
And the kids will just have funand play. They will have a dance
party, and it's fun.
Bret (20:18):
Oh, that's really cool. Now some people might be
listening to this and have notyet heard of the lullabar. So we
should probably kinda explain tothem where you are, you know, in
Carlsbad. So go ahead and telleverybody where exactly you guys
are located.
Stephanie Issa (20:33):
We are on El Camino Real at the Beacon La
Costa. So it's the same complexas, Shake Shack and, Jenny's Ice
Cream and Equinox.
Bret (20:43):
Yep. Yeah. There's a what is it? Pitfire?
Stephanie Issa (20:46):
Pitfire Pizza. I love Wiseaux.
Bret (20:49):
Wiseaux. I don't know that.
Stephanie Issa (20:51):
The Butchery they have, that'd be great.
Bret (20:54):
You're really close to the wine, the, La Costa wine.
Stephanie Issa (20:57):
La Costa wine. She's our neighbor.
Bret (20:59):
Yeah. She's like you're practically your next door
neighbor.
Stephanie Issa (21:01):
Yes. Yeah. She sometimes she'll she'll help
host an event.
Bret (21:05):
Nice. Nice. Yeah. Yeah. She's a good member of ours too.
So that's good. You're right. Soif anybody knows any of those
businesses, now you got aframework for where the Lullabar
is. But, and that's great. Andpeople could stop by if they
wanted to kinda check out yourchildcare area.
Stephanie Issa (21:20):
Yeah. So we offer childcare starting at 8AM
Mhmm. Until twelve. And Mondaythrough Friday, it's drop in
childcare. We do one hour andtwo hour slots.
We have crawlers and walkersessions. And
Bret (21:36):
I love it.
Stephanie Issa (21:37):
Yeah. And parents must stay on-site. So,
you know, you're welcome to geta nail treatment or take a mommy
and me yoga class with yournewborn or even just work at the
cafe. We have a lot of peoplejust that we've been told to
keep the music very, very low inthe cafe. So we'll be like, you
(21:57):
know, all the seats are taken,and it's just completely quiet.
And it's it's fantastic. It'slike you just walk in, you're
like, woah. Everybody's in focusmode. Yeah. Yeah.
So it's
Bret (22:09):
a great vibe. And, if somebody just wanted to jump
online and learn more about you,I believe your website is the
lullabar.com
Stephanie Issa (22:19):
Yes.
Bret (22:19):
Which is lullabar Yes. Thelullabar.com. And they can
learn more and find out thewell, that's where your calendar
is with the different classesand the different activities.
And then, of course, the coffeeshop is open daily and nail
salons open daily and all thatkind of stuff. Did we miss
(22:41):
anything?
I mean, you guys, you haveyou're so eclectic. I don't
wanna miss anything.
Stephanie Issa (22:44):
So we are we're we're transitioning more into
beauty services.
Bret (22:49):
Okay.
Stephanie Issa (22:49):
Yeah. So we're expanding into full body
massages.
Bret (22:52):
Nice.
Stephanie Issa (22:53):
We slowly started selling massages just to
kinda test the waters, andSwedish massages are, a top
seller.
Bret (23:00):
Those are the thing.
Stephanie Issa (23:01):
Yeah. And then, we are also moving into
additional spa services andbeauty services like, eyebrow
lamination, waxing, just reallyadding on the beauty portion of
it because that's very indemand.
Bret (23:16):
That's in demand. That's what you do. Yeah. Very cool.
And, again, if they jump on yourwebsite, they can learn more
about that stuff.
Stephanie Issa (23:22):
Absolutely. And they can also follow us on
Instagram at the lullabar, andthat's where we promote a lot of
the, you know, some new servicescoming up and
Bret (23:32):
Awesome.
Stephanie Issa (23:33):
Yeah. All the events.
Bret (23:34):
So follow them on Instagram. Check them out. And
then so you said your yourlittle guy, Owen, is five years
old now?
Stephanie Issa (23:41):
Yeah. Five. And I have a eight month old. Her
name is Emmeline. Oh, my gosh.
She's adorable.
Bret (23:47):
Very nice. And so wait, five years old, is he in pre k
or k or
Stephanie Issa (23:53):
he is in TK.
Bret (23:55):
I mean, yeah. TK. Sorry. Yeah. TK.
I forget what they call it. Butyeah. My youngest is 16, so they
didn't we didn't have thoseexact distinctions back then.
Stephanie Issa (24:06):
I I think it's a new thing. Yes. Adding on so
many different layers ofkindergarten. Yeah.
Bret (24:11):
Very cool. Well, thank you so much for taking the time to
come and share with everybodyabout your amazing facility
you've created and theexperience that's there. I'm I'm
hoping that lots of new peoplewill come and check it out.
Stephanie Issa (24:23):
Thank you so much for having me. This was so
fun.
Bret (24:25):
It was our pleasure. Thank you. Thank you. Thanks for
joining us today on our CarlsbadPeople, Purpose, and Impact
podcast. If you got value out ofour episode today, please hit
the follow button on yourfavorite podcast app, and please
tell a friend.
Can't wait to see you next timeon Carlsbad People, Purpose, and
Impact.
Carlsbad. People, purpose, and impact. An
essential podcast for those wholive, work, visit, and play in
Carlsbad.
Bret (00:14):
Good morning, and welcome, everyone. My name is Brett
Schanzenbach. I am the presidentand CEO of the Carlsbad Chamber
of Commerce, and I am once againyour host today. I am excited to
have with me Stephanie Issa. Sheis the cofounder and co CEO at
the Lullabar.
Good morning, Stephanie.
Stephanie Issa (00:31):
Good morning. Thank you for having me.
Bret (00:33):
Yeah. Thanks for joining me today. It's great to have
you. I was doing a little bit ofbackground information, learning
a little bit about you, and Ididn't realize you're from
Brazil.
Stephanie Issa (00:43):
I am. I was born in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Bret (00:46):
Yeah. And then when did you come over here?
Stephanie Issa (00:49):
I moved to The United States when I was six
years old.
Bret (00:53):
Okay. So just a youngster.
Stephanie Issa (00:55):
A youngster, yeah.
Bret (00:56):
And when you came to The US, where did did you come to
California right away or did youcome somewhere else?
Stephanie Issa (01:01):
We actually went to Augusta, Maine.
Bret (01:04):
Augusta, Maine. I've never even heard of Augusta, Maine.
Heard of Augusta, Georgia. But
Stephanie Issa (01:10):
Yeah. Augusta, Maine. Okay. Lived there for
about less than a year, and thenI primarily grew up in the
Boston area.
Bret (01:18):
Okay. Very nice. And then I saw that you went to, Fordham
University in political science.Yes. That's fun.
Yeah. And that led to you havehad quite an interesting,
background. I I saw stuff fromyou worked for the the UN
undersecretary, Global VisionCNN, White House press advance.
(01:40):
Yeah. Talk about that journey.
Stephanie Issa (01:43):
So, you know, as an immigrant, I just I felt very
strongly about just getting intopolitics.
Bret (01:49):
Yeah.
Stephanie Issa (01:50):
And, yeah, when I was in Fordham, I really
wanted to work at the UN. Thatwas, like, my dream. Mhmm. For
my nineteenth birthday, Iactually spent it at the United
Nations doing a tour. Wow.
And yeah. So I did press advancefor one day. I had a friend who,
was working on the press teamfor Obama.
Bret (02:11):
Yeah.
Stephanie Issa (02:12):
And so he gave a speech on Wall Street, and I
went in and helped that day.And, I worked for, like,
documentaries, and I was justtrying to find my in and find my
footing in the political space.But it went it crossed over
into, like, media and news.Yeah. So I did internships at
(02:33):
CNN Money and, yeah.
But in that way, I kinda foundmarketing.
Bret (02:39):
Yeah. So Through all of that?
Stephanie Issa (02:41):
Through all of that. Yeah.
Bret (02:42):
Led you to the the world of marketing Yes.
Stephanie Issa (02:45):
Which is funny. Yeah.
Bret (02:46):
From polycydical marketing. I love it. Yeah. And,
you've been in marketing in oneformat or another pretty much
since then, it looks like. Youstarted your own Studio ISA in
San Diego.
So how did you get from all thatEast Coast stuff to San Diego?
Stephanie Issa (03:02):
I moved here well, it started in it started
in Providence, Rhode Island. Soafter the recession ended or
during the recession, I shouldsay, in 02/9. That's when I
graduated. I couldn't find ajob.
Bret (03:16):
Oh, sure.
Stephanie Issa (03:16):
Yeah. It was really tough. And my mom moved
to Providence from Boston Mhmm.At that time. So I said, okay.
You know what? It's not workingfor me here in New York City. I
just just could not find a job.Yeah. I interned at Time
Magazine and the PR department,and it was just they were just
laying everybody off.
Bret (03:33):
Yeah.
Stephanie Issa (03:33):
And so I went back to live with her.
Bret (03:36):
Yep.
Stephanie Issa (03:37):
And, you know, a few years later, that's when I
met my husband, and I startedjust doing marketing and taking
on clients because it was justeasier to find part time gigs
than a full time job. Yep. Sothat's what I did to kinda get
by is just trying to accumulateas many clients as possible.
Bret (03:56):
Yeah. The the gig economy. Right?
Stephanie Issa (03:58):
Exactly. And then I kind of just learned how
to work for myself and Googleeverything. And Yep. And then my
husband, we were actually, likeI would employ him to help me
with my clients, so I'd writehim checks.
Bret (04:11):
Nice.
Stephanie Issa (04:12):
Yeah. And, yeah. And then we just started working
on websites together, and, westarted doing, like, websites
for the city of Providence forfestivals
Bret (04:25):
Nice.
Stephanie Issa (04:26):
For colleges in the area, startups. You know,
there's a startup scene inProvidence.
Bret (04:31):
Oh, nice. Okay.
Stephanie Issa (04:33):
And a lot of creatives there because of RISD.
So we we use their talent tokind of build our portfolio. And
then when we moved here, we wekept it going, but it was just
extremely tough to start with anetwork all over again, the
buzz. And we moved herespecifically for the sunshine.
Bret (04:51):
So so not because of a job or anything like that? You just
Stephanie Issa (04:54):
like No. We needed to get out of the
blizzards.
Bret (04:56):
Get gotta get to that sunshine, some vitamin d.
Stephanie Issa (04:59):
Yes. Yeah. No regrets.
Bret (05:01):
No. That's awesome. And that was in what year?
Stephanie Issa (05:05):
2015.
Bret (05:07):
Okay. And right to this North County area or some other
part of California?
Stephanie Issa (05:11):
Well, we moved downtown, lived in,
Bret (05:15):
Downtown San Diego?
Stephanie Issa (05:16):
Yeah. East Village. And then moved up we
did the kind of naturaltrajectory of, you know, you're
getting older, starting afamily, and and doing our way up
to North County.
Bret (05:24):
Yeah. Yeah. Right to the suburb.
Stephanie Issa (05:26):
Yeah. We did East Village and then Mission
Valley and then Carlsbad.
Bret (05:30):
Nice. That's wild. And it looked like you spent some time
in your marketing career also inthe real estate space.
Stephanie Issa (05:37):
Yes. Yeah. So, one of the jobs that I got in
Providence right away was doingreal estate marketing for for a
real estate firm. Mhmm. And, itwas a really fun little office,
and they gave me a lot offreedom.
But then, you know, financialconstraints again. Yeah. And, so
(05:59):
then they they actually, toldme, like, you really should
become a consultant becausethat'll just you know, you're a
little bit more in control.
Bret (06:09):
Interesting.
Stephanie Issa (06:10):
So that's I became a marketing consultant.
Bret (06:14):
That's awesome. And and so you've been in that space. I
even saw something about I don'tknow how to pronounce it. O H U
Interactive. What's O H U?
Stephanie Issa (06:21):
Oh, Obu. Oh, Obu Interactive.
Bret (06:24):
Oh, or maybe I wrote it wrong. Sorry. Obu Interactive
Yeah. Which is also a a digitalmarketing agency?
Stephanie Issa (06:31):
Yes. So they're actually based in, San Diego.
Bret (06:35):
Oh, okay.
Stephanie Issa (06:36):
And I went in as, you know this was my first
time working for someone else.
Bret (06:44):
Like, completely?
Stephanie Issa (06:44):
Like, as a with a salary Oh. And health
insurance and the whole thing.
Bret (06:49):
Like a real employee.
Stephanie Issa (06:50):
Yeah. I felt very behind, delayed. Just like
if I felt like that's whateveryone did when they
graduated. I don't know how theywere able to get jobs. But,
yeah, it was legal marketing,and I started as a project
manager.
And then I just went up intooperations very quickly, and
it's mostly because I ran my ownbusiness before. Yep. And I've
(07:11):
hired before. I've sentinvoices. I've met deadlines.
I know the creative process, thedevelopment process, what to
look for. So it was really easyfor me to move up very, very
quickly.
Bret (07:22):
Nice. Yeah. So all that, gig experience and consulting
stuff, it paid off when you gotto In a
Stephanie Issa (07:29):
in a big way.
Bret (07:29):
Yeah. In a very big way. Yeah. And then, it sounds like
that's what led all the way upto your most important job of
being a mom and and taking sometime off to raise kiddos.
Stephanie Issa (07:41):
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. We we we started thinking
about the lullaby during COVID.Yeah.
And when things opened up and,you know, I was supposed to go
back to work in the office thesame week we got lock the
lockdown started. So Icompletely When
Bret (07:58):
you say you were scheduled to go back to work, like, after
having been off on, like,maternity?
Stephanie Issa (08:02):
Yes.
Bret (08:02):
Yes. Okay. Yeah. So how old was your is it I forget. Is
it a daughter or a son?
Stephanie Issa (08:08):
Owen.
Bret (08:08):
Owen.
Stephanie Issa (08:09):
He's five, and it was, I think, five or six
months.
Bret (08:13):
Okay. And so it's time to go back to work. Oh,
everything's shut down,lockdown, psych. You're not
coming in this office.
Stephanie Issa (08:20):
Yeah. Yeah.
Bret (08:21):
And so were you still working for them from home at
that point then?
Stephanie Issa (08:25):
I was for about, I think, like, seven, eight
months. Okay. And, I made itwork.
Bret (08:33):
Yeah.
Stephanie Issa (08:33):
But, I think during that time, you know, with
everyone's mental health Yeah.And as one of the as the
operations leader, a lot of, youknow, addressing the mental
health or HR issues came up tome. And as a new mom, it was
very hard to just digest whatthe team is going through on an
(08:56):
individual basis. Like, they'reliving at home with someone
who's immunocompromised, andthey're afraid. And so it became
an emotional roller coaster.
So I decided to kind of juststep away. Yeah. Yeah.
Bret (09:08):
For your own well-being. Yep. Yeah.
Stephanie Issa (09:11):
Yeah.
Bret (09:11):
For sure. And all this time in the background is
percolating. Now this idea forthis super cool space called the
Lullabar.
Stephanie Issa (09:20):
Yeah.
Bret (09:20):
And what we're gonna do, we're gonna take a brief pause
right now, and then we're gonnaunpack because this Lullabar is
such a cool, unique space. Andfor our listeners who are
hearing about it for the firsttime, they're gonna really enjoy
this. So stick with us. We'll beright back. We're talking to
Stephanie Issa, the cofounderand co CEO at the Lullaby bar.
We'll be right back. So,Stephanie, before we took a
(10:42):
break, we we kinda were coveringyour background and all your,
your journey that got you to tofounding the Lullabar. And so
here you are, you know, a firsttime mom. Right? And this whole
working experience as a mom, youknow, which is also tainted by
(11:04):
the COVID experience, is leadingyou in some ways to something
different.
So tell us about that thoughtprocess and how you were
inspired to start what is nowthe lullabar.
Stephanie Issa (11:18):
It really it really started from me not
feeling like myself. So I didn'tfeel like I could go to adult
spaces. So once things opened upand, you know, my son is, you
know, I don't know, about a yearmaybe.
Bret (11:37):
Sure.
Stephanie Issa (11:38):
I would take him places and, you know, it was
just really hard for me to wantto get out of the house because
of just being stuck inside forso long. But once things opened
up, I just felt very excited tofinally, like, okay. Let's see
let's see what I can do with mychild. Let's go live our lives.
And, it was extremely difficult.
(11:59):
I found like there were a lot ofparks, outdoor parks, but a lot
of them aren't really gated.It's an issue. There's not
enough shade.
Bret (12:07):
Mhmm.
Stephanie Issa (12:08):
It's you know, in the mom or parent circle,
it's a common complaint.
Bret (12:13):
Sure.
Stephanie Issa (12:15):
You know, sometimes you'll find Band Aids
on the floor and
Bret (12:17):
Oh, yeah. Right.
Stephanie Issa (12:18):
Stuff like that. There's no shade.
Bret (12:20):
Right after COVID, and we're all extra sensitive to
that kind of
Stephanie Issa (12:23):
stuff. Right? Exactly. And then even just
going to coffee shops, you know,he would like if I'm sitting
inside, it there wasn't enoughroom for him. And sometimes
you'll get some glares or,
Bret (12:35):
you
Stephanie Issa (12:36):
know, like, how dare you leave the house with a
small child.
Bret (12:38):
Right.
Stephanie Issa (12:39):
You know, especially if he's overtired or
something.
Bret (12:42):
Right.
Stephanie Issa (12:42):
Or he's running out into the street because just
it's everything is open.
Bret (12:46):
Right.
Stephanie Issa (12:47):
So it was just increasingly difficult to feel
like, where can I go? What can Ido? And so I would go to play
gyms, and I felt like that wasthe only real option inside.
But, you know, it's a kind of anoutdated business model. Sure.
Just lots of in other countries,they're a lot more modern and
clean. But here, it's just likea lot of really old plastic and,
(13:10):
you know, your kid will get sickYeah. To be honest.
Bret (13:12):
You you
Stephanie Issa (13:13):
have to be prepared for Yeah. Right.
Sickness. So I didn't reallyfeel like there was a place that
was adult kid friendly in anadult atmosphere.
Bret (13:22):
Interesting. So this is, obviously spinning in your brain
and and percolating. And so youcreate this very unique space.
So let's tell everybody all thedifferent things. We'll start
with the basics, with the coffeeshop, and then keep going
because there's so much atLullabar.
Stephanie Issa (13:39):
Yeah. So the thought behind it was to create
a space where you can bring yourlittle one, but still, feel like
you can spend time with yourwith yourself or with your
friends
Bret (13:51):
Yeah.
Stephanie Issa (13:51):
While still being in the same vicinity. So
you don't have to have the guiltof leaving your child at home or
court or coordinating childcare.Yeah. And so we have a play
space for kids six and under.It's in a separate room.
It's about 900 square feet. It'sMontessori inspired. And then we
also have a studio room thatfunctions as, like, a mixed use
(14:12):
space. You know, we do mommy andme yoga. We do CPR classes.
We do dance and music classes.
Bret (14:19):
Yep.
Stephanie Issa (14:21):
We're doing massages now. And then, we have
a nail salon. Mhmm. Reallygorgeous nail salon, vegan
nontoxic products just because,you know, our primary audience
was and still is. There aremoms, but we're getting a
variety of people coming in now.
Sure. And then we have thisbeautiful indoor, outdoor cafe
space.
Bret (14:42):
Ah, love it. And it's very, very mom centric. What was
the oh my goodness. Now I'mforgetting it. The the funny
thing about, lack what is it?
Lactation latte or something?What is it?
Stephanie Issa (15:02):
That's funny, the lactation latte.
Bret (15:03):
Yeah. That was hilarious. Never seen that in a coffee shop
before, so that was very cool.
Stephanie Issa (15:08):
Why not? Why not?
Bret (15:09):
Why not?
Stephanie Issa (15:09):
I know.
Bret (15:11):
And,
Stephanie Issa (15:11):
you know men buy it too.
Bret (15:13):
Oh, I'm sure.
Stephanie Issa (15:14):
Yeah. It's hilarious. They're like, this is
interesting. Let me let me giveit a shot. Like, they're
intrigued.
Bret (15:19):
Yeah. Yeah. But, every time I've been, which is now
probably half a dozen times ishor more.
Stephanie Issa (15:26):
Yeah. I see you. Yeah. That's cool.
Bret (15:29):
There's always, you know, so many babies, which is I love
it. You know? As a as a parentof six, I love seeing the, you
know, the the vibe.
Stephanie Issa (15:39):
Society that they're part of, like, the
space. You know? It's
Bret (15:43):
a great it's a great vibe. And then but you also had on on
your website, it talks abouthow, let's see, you guys refer
to yourself as a wellness cafefor mothers and caregivers.
Yeah. Explain that.
Stephanie Issa (16:00):
So we we wanted to create, like, an upscale cafe
or upscale environment where wefelt like at this point, any
parent, any caregiver can comein and feel welcomed. And so we
wanted we wanted to beinclusive, and I felt like a lot
(16:23):
of public spaces now are notinclusive to families Yeah.
Especially small children. Youcan tell by bathrooms. You know?
Every a lot of people have kids,and they're just there's no
stools, the toilet. You know, wehave double seating. We have
toddler seating. We have adiaper pail and changing table
(16:43):
in all the bathrooms. And, butjust even recognizing the child
too, making and that that makesthe parent feel welcomed.
So we have stickers at the frontdesk anytime a kid walks in and,
even at the cafe. And the therule or the motto at the
Lullabar is, you know, if a kidis having a tantrum, it's no big
(17:04):
deal.
Bret (17:04):
Yeah. Love that.
Stephanie Issa (17:05):
Not draw any attention to it. If the parent
is distressed, what can we do?Sometimes we'll offer free latte
just to kinda make them feellike, okay. You're it's okay.
You know?
And you'll see some of theparents, their immediate
response is like, oh my god. I'mso sorry. And they did just pick
the kid up and run out the door.And I'm like, no. You don't have
to do that here.
Bret (17:25):
Yeah. Yeah. That's awesome. Because the reality is
we've all been there.
Stephanie Issa (17:29):
Yes.
Bret (17:29):
You know, and as you pointed out
Stephanie Issa (17:30):
And I think we forget.
Bret (17:31):
Yeah. And and as you pointed out, your kid might just
be a little bit tired or, youknow, maybe they need to eat
right now or, you know, whoknows? Whatever whatever the
dealio is, but it's not it'slike we've all been there. It's
okay.
Stephanie Issa (17:43):
Yeah. You know?
Bret (17:43):
It's just this you've created a safe space to just be
real Yes. As a mom, as a family,you know, as a parent, you know,
that whole thing. And it's notwe're we've been talking moms,
but there's plenty of dads thereworking on their computer in
your coffee shop.
Stephanie Issa (17:58):
Lots of dads. Yeah. Lots of dads,
grandparents.
Bret (18:01):
Awesome.
Stephanie Issa (18:01):
Because, you know, they help take care of the
if the, you know, mom and dadare working. We also just get a
lot of everybody else, like alot of remote workers, high
school students, a lot of, youknow, older people who really
love the nail salon because it'snontoxic. Sure. So we're we're
(18:24):
essentially expanding beyondjust moms and caregivers. We're
really serving a huge variety ofpeople Yeah.
Who love the atmosphere. Andit's hilarious because you'll
see, like, just people with nokids. And there'll be, like,
fifteen, twenty kids, you know,in a play space. And I think if
they all know that you have tobe okay with kids being here,
(18:47):
everybody enjoys the space.Yeah.
Bret (18:49):
Yeah. I agree. I agree. That's great. I even saw on your
calendar of events, you guyshave you're doing, like, ballet
classes now for kiddos?
Stephanie Issa (18:56):
Yeah. We're doing ballet and music classes.
That's in the studio room.
Bret (19:00):
Studio room. That's great.
Stephanie Issa (19:01):
Fun.
Bret (19:02):
Yeah. Super fun. It's just I feel like it's very holistic
in all the different things thatyou guys do. And some of the
stuff on your calendar, I don'tI don't know what it is. Okay.
What what's a sound bath?There's a
Stephanie Issa (19:14):
So that's part of, like, the self care.
Honestly, we were really I wasinspired by just being in North
County. I feel like there's justa lot of, like, you know, just
energy healing and Sure. Soundbaths. So it's like these these
bowls, these crystal bowls.
Bret (19:32):
Okay.
Stephanie Issa (19:33):
And, it's just do you know the sound bath?
Yeah. It's just extremelycalming.
Bret (19:38):
Yeah.
Stephanie Issa (19:39):
And, you know, you turn the lights down and you
lie down on the mat and, youknow, the the sound bath,
facilitator will play with thesound bowls and then use other
instruments. And it's justextremely calming. And then we
also have sound baths forbabies.
Bret (19:53):
Oh, nice.
Stephanie Issa (19:54):
So it'll just get into a trance and, you know,
just sleep. And it's a goodbonding time with your child.
Bret (20:00):
How wild. Yeah. And then, of course, I saw some other cool
things like date night.
Stephanie Issa (20:05):
Yeah. Parents' date night drop in. That's
pretty cool. And they can leaveand come back in, like, three
hours. Yeah.
And the kids will just have funand play. They will have a dance
party, and it's fun.
Bret (20:18):
Oh, that's really cool. Now some people might be
listening to this and have notyet heard of the lullabar. So we
should probably kinda explain tothem where you are, you know, in
Carlsbad. So go ahead and telleverybody where exactly you guys
are located.
Stephanie Issa (20:33):
We are on El Camino Real at the Beacon La
Costa. So it's the same complexas, Shake Shack and, Jenny's Ice
Cream and Equinox.
Bret (20:43):
Yep. Yeah. There's a what is it? Pitfire?
Stephanie Issa (20:46):
Pitfire Pizza. I love Wiseaux.
Bret (20:49):
Wiseaux. I don't know that.
Stephanie Issa (20:51):
The Butchery they have, that'd be great.
Bret (20:54):
You're really close to the wine, the, La Costa wine.
Stephanie Issa (20:57):
La Costa wine. She's our neighbor.
Bret (20:59):
Yeah. She's like you're practically your next door
neighbor.
Stephanie Issa (21:01):
Yes. Yeah. She sometimes she'll she'll help
host an event.
Bret (21:05):
Nice. Nice. Yeah. Yeah. She's a good member of ours too.
So that's good. You're right. Soif anybody knows any of those
businesses, now you got aframework for where the Lullabar
is. But, and that's great. Andpeople could stop by if they
wanted to kinda check out yourchildcare area.
Stephanie Issa (21:20):
Yeah. So we offer childcare starting at 8AM
Mhmm. Until twelve. And Mondaythrough Friday, it's drop in
childcare. We do one hour andtwo hour slots.
We have crawlers and walkersessions. And
Bret (21:36):
I love it.
Stephanie Issa (21:37):
Yeah. And parents must stay on-site. So,
you know, you're welcome to geta nail treatment or take a mommy
and me yoga class with yournewborn or even just work at the
cafe. We have a lot of peoplejust that we've been told to
keep the music very, very low inthe cafe. So we'll be like, you
(21:57):
know, all the seats are taken,and it's just completely quiet.
And it's it's fantastic. It'slike you just walk in, you're
like, woah. Everybody's in focusmode. Yeah. Yeah.
So it's
Bret (22:09):
a great vibe. And, if somebody just wanted to jump
online and learn more about you,I believe your website is the
lullabar.com
Stephanie Issa (22:19):
Yes.
Bret (22:19):
Which is lullabar Yes. Thelullabar.com. And they can
learn more and find out thewell, that's where your calendar
is with the different classesand the different activities.
And then, of course, the coffeeshop is open daily and nail
salons open daily and all thatkind of stuff. Did we miss
(22:41):
anything?
I mean, you guys, you haveyou're so eclectic. I don't
wanna miss anything.
Stephanie Issa (22:44):
So we are we're we're transitioning more into
beauty services.
Bret (22:49):
Okay.
Stephanie Issa (22:49):
Yeah. So we're expanding into full body
massages.
Bret (22:52):
Nice.
Stephanie Issa (22:53):
We slowly started selling massages just to
kinda test the waters, andSwedish massages are, a top
seller.
Bret (23:00):
Those are the thing.
Stephanie Issa (23:01):
Yeah. And then, we are also moving into
additional spa services andbeauty services like, eyebrow
lamination, waxing, just reallyadding on the beauty portion of
it because that's very indemand.
Bret (23:16):
That's in demand. That's what you do. Yeah. Very cool.
And, again, if they jump on yourwebsite, they can learn more
about that stuff.
Stephanie Issa (23:22):
Absolutely. And they can also follow us on
Instagram at the lullabar, andthat's where we promote a lot of
the, you know, some new servicescoming up and
Bret (23:32):
Awesome.
Stephanie Issa (23:33):
Yeah. All the events.
Bret (23:34):
So follow them on Instagram. Check them out. And
then so you said your yourlittle guy, Owen, is five years
old now?
Stephanie Issa (23:41):
Yeah. Five. And I have a eight month old. Her
name is Emmeline. Oh, my gosh.
She's adorable.
Bret (23:47):
Very nice. And so wait, five years old, is he in pre k
or k or
Stephanie Issa (23:53):
he is in TK.
Bret (23:55):
I mean, yeah. TK. Sorry. Yeah. TK.
I forget what they call it. Butyeah. My youngest is 16, so they
didn't we didn't have thoseexact distinctions back then.
Stephanie Issa (24:06):
I I think it's a new thing. Yes. Adding on so
many different layers ofkindergarten. Yeah.
Bret (24:11):
Very cool. Well, thank you so much for taking the time to
come and share with everybodyabout your amazing facility
you've created and theexperience that's there. I'm I'm
hoping that lots of new peoplewill come and check it out.
Stephanie Issa (24:23):
Thank you so much for having me. This was so
fun.
Bret (24:25):
It was our pleasure. Thank you. Thank you. Thanks for
joining us today on our CarlsbadPeople, Purpose, and Impact
podcast. If you got value out ofour episode today, please hit
the follow button on yourfavorite podcast app, and please
tell a friend.
Can't wait to see you next timeon Carlsbad People, Purpose, and
Impact.
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