Murder n’ Mayhem, A Lot Of Fun With A Side Of Mystery
Photo provided by Rae Walaska
In a niche that is generally limited to Halloween, Rae has taken the world of mystery and turned it upside down. You are no longer required to wait until the 31st, this kind of fun is now easily accessible and unlimited. The possibilities are endless, so endless in fact that I won’t try to list them all. Instead, you should stop in for yourself and see what parties might be in your future.
If a party is not enough and you would rather launch your own scream-tastic business, the Partner in Crime opportunity might be just what you need.
Tell us a little about your business, Murder n’ Mayhem.
Murder n’ Mayhem is a full service Murder Mystery Party company! By full service we mean we can take care of everything for you! We offer our packages Murder A la Carte so you can choose which services best fit your needs. We offer parties for all kinds of venues: restaurants, fundraisers, bed & breakfasts, hotels, corporations, communities, organizations, clubs, non-profits, personal parties, you name it we can do it!
Not local? No problem. Our parties can go anywhere! We provide a facilitators guide and will do an event consultation with you via phone shortly after you receive your party package. We will walk you through the steps of the party and answer any questions you have. We’re just a phone call or email away if any questions arise before or even the day of your party. If you have a local Partner In Crime in your area you can choose to add Event Facilitation to your party. One of our facilitators will set up your party and be there throughout the event to make sure everything runs smoothly. This allows you to enjoy yourself and not have to worry about the little details.
At Murder n’ Mayhem we feature the Mix n’ Mingle Murder Mystery Party. There are several different types of Murder Mystery Parties. They range from watching an acting troupe to reading a script over dinner with friends.
The Mix n’ Mingle is the best of all worlds! You have total participation by becoming a character, suspect, and maybe even the killer! You don’t get bored watching someone else have the fun or get stuck reading from a sheet of paper. Instead, you are given a character description, some mayhem money, secrets about your character, and a little dirt on the other characters in the mystery!
We also recently launched a line of children’s parties and our Partner In Crime Program. The children’s parties are under our Hints n’ Hunts site. They are themed mystery or scavenger hunt parties for children of all ages. I haven’t had a chance to put together very many titles for these parties because we are so busy. What I am doing right now is writing on demand. If a parent lets me know what kind of party they are looking for I will put it together for them. Afterwards I add it to our parties on the website.
What inspired it?
My business essentially was inspired by my son. I had become a stay at home mom which was very different from what I was used to before we had a child. I had been a professional woman with an office job who worked in the Insurance Field. I had always worked in sales and was our lead Life Insurance producer. (We joke that I went from selling life insurance to killing people!) As a housewife I was a bit stir-crazy and wanted to feel like I was contributing to our family, but I cherished being able to stay home with my son. I longed for a job where he could either go to work with me or I could work from home. One day I was cooking in the kitchen reminiscing over the “good ol’ days.” The century ride I trained for in St. Louis, how much I loved being an Event Planner/Sales Manager at a hotel, playing volleyball, traveling, roller derby, and the murder mystery dinners I started at a hotel when I was in college. I got to thinking I should put together a dinner and host it for my friends. What fun we would have! Somehow from there I ended up thinking, “I could do this as a business!” After a lot of planning and discussing it over with my husband and a good friend I decided to go for it. There wasn’t much to lose.
How long had you been writing before you started coming up with your fun party themes?
I enjoyed creative writing as a child and all through school. When I “grew up” it didn’t fit into my life at that time so I really didn’t do much of it. I almost felt like there was a side of me that was being repressed. Now I enjoy the creativity, plotting, and planning that goes into writing a mystery. I also love to read and do research. I try to keep my stories as realistic as possible. I have become a wealth of useless knowledge regarding weapons, drugs, the chocolate industry, mardi gras, pirates, wild west outlaws, and of course, killing people… It is so fun! (My husband is in the military and we joke that Uncle Sam better not check out our internet history or someone is going to show up with a straight jacket for me!)
How long did it take for you to turn it into a business?
It all happened very fast. I came up with the idea on November 8, 2008. I applied for my business license January 2009 and had my first commercial party sold in February 2009. I was shocked everything happened so quickly. I had no idea the business would take off like it did. It has become a hit locally and beyond. Within my first 4 months I had been covered in two newspapers and featured on the Seattle news. I had long term goals to start a children’s line and re-sellers program within 3 to 5 years. I am still in my first year and have achieved both of those already. My next advancement will probably be hiring a personal assistant who can help me with the little stuff in the business and my son. I would love to hire a mom! It would be the perfect job. There are so few mom friendly, flexible jobs out there.
What is the most exciting part of handling a mystery party? Do you have any fun stories of parties from the past that you would be willing to share?
I would say the most exciting part of my business is the interaction with my customers. I love to see them having fun and enjoying themselves from something I wrote. When I write the mysteries I have a picture of the character I am creating. It is so interesting to see how the guests will interpret the characters and make them fit their personality. I can go to the same party over and over, but it is never the same because the people who participate put their own spin on things. There have been so many exciting moments with my business. When I was contacted by the first newspaper, the news called and gave me two hours notice that we were going to be featured, I signed my first Partner in Crime, and when I saw over 350 people milling about the downtown involved in a community mystery I helped put together with the downtown merchants. I thought, “Wow, these people are all having so much fun because of something I did!” The businesses loved it and many had record sales. It was amazing to know I had had such a positive effect on a small community. I had created a fun experience for the residents and visitors. Plus, increased business for the local merchants during a hard economic time.
Fun Stories: A character was murdered at the beginning of the party. One of the gentlemen who helped “remove” the body managed to pick-pocket the “dead” man’s mayhem money, clues and character description. We had to make an announcement to locate the items so the “dead” man could come back as his secondary character. Then the Who Dunnit? Solution envelope disappeared. Guess who took it? The same man. He was ruthless and determined to win. It was pretty hilarious.
On top of it all, you are also a mom. What are some of the tips or tricks that have helped you balance your time between Murder n’ Mayhem and your family?
I have integrated my son into my business. He attends almost all of my meetings with me. I was really surprised at how open people were to having him tag along. (He is almost two.) When he was little he would just sit in his stroller. Now he plays with his cars and colors while we take care of business. He has become part of my “team.” When my clients see me without him they always ask about him. I do the majority of my work in the evenings after my son and husband have gone to bed. My husband is my webmaster so this is pretty much a family business. My son you could say is the prop master, he loves to play with all of the toys and props I have for my parties!
As you will soon be leaving the Washington area, what are your hopes for the piece of your business that is to stay behind? What goals do you hope to accomplish with your business as you look to the future?
I currently have 2 fellow mom’s who have joined my Partner In Crime program and two prospects who are considering the opportunity. They will be taking over the customer’s I have established and they also plan to grow the business in Washington. I just signed a mom in Texas last week who plans to develop Murder n’ Mayhem there and I myself am headed to DC to start growing the business on the East coast. I would love to have multiple Partners In Crime in each state that way we could always offer the facilitation option to our customer’s.
What is your Partner In Crime program?
The Partner In Crime Program is an opportunity for other people to have their own business as an independent re-seller. Similar to Mary Kay, Pampered Chef, Creative Memories people can join my business and make a commission for the parties they sell or purchase for themselves. Personally, I have done almost every home based business out there. When creating my program I tried to take the things I liked from these other companies and incorporate them. I also took the things I didn’t like and found a way to stay away from them. I got burned from having an inventory, hated going to parties and not knowing if I was wasting my time or was going to come home with money. Essentially, with our company you work at your own pace and earn what you want. There is no inventory required, no certain number of recruits, when you attend a party you know you are making money because they paid you up front, and the best part you get to have fun! You make what you want out of the business and it is pretty easy money. The Partners In Crime are marketers and account managers. I do all of the writing, they just sell the parties, facilitate when that service is purchased, and maintain their accounts (restaurants, hotels, bed & breakfasts, etc…)
What are your requirements for an Independent Partner in Crime and what are the costs?
My requirements for an Independent Partner In Crime (PIC) is an interview with me and if possible attend an event before signing up. I want them to know what they are getting into. This business is a very new and different concept so not everyone has a grasp on what we do. The cost is $75 and that includes everything they need to start their business; business cards, rack cards, invoices, marketing portfolio, mystery selection, training, custom marketing plan ( I work one on one with them to develop their business plan), press releases, company email address, 40% discount or commission on their first party, and more. We also have a lot of promotions where they can make back the $75 very quickly. All it takes is to sell one facilitated party and you would earn back your startup expenses plus some. The PIC program is only a few months old and the gals who have already signed up are working with me on perfecting it. Until we have some time with the PIC program in action it will be a work in progress, but I am really looking forward to my PIC’s input and feedback for developing it into a program that they will love.
Before we end it here, tell us something about you that is unique or we might not know about you from reading this interview.
I play women’s flat track roller derby. My derby name is Roller Rage Rosie. But contrary to my exciting career and hobby I am really just the “Mom-next-door.” My family comes first. Catch me on the streets and you would never guess I am the local hit lady, killing people off weekly in the community!
Any advice that you would like to offer other mompreneurs on running a business?
I love that my family is involved in my business. I think it helps them be as excited as I am, when we hit a milestone or accomplish something great because everyone helped achieve it. Try to incorporate your kids into your business. I am hoping that as more mom’s involve their children it will not be so taboo to show up to an appointment with a toddler. My son is very respectful and well behaved when we go to appointments. I think it is because he hasn’t known any differently and is accustomed to attending meetings with me. (Just a note: I usually don’t take him to a first appointment unless I know the person I am meeting with. When we schedule follow-up appointments I will ask if it is okay that I bring my son. I can usually get a pretty good feel from the first meeting if the client will be open to this or not. I had one company actually offer to pay for a sitter and hotel room for my son while I facilitate their holiday party. I was floored, I did not expect such generosity!)
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