Exploring Life & Business with Sharnel Young of Busy Bee Play Cafe

Today we’d like to introduce you to Sharnel Young.

Hi Sharnel, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My story starts right here in Conyers, Georgia, born and raised. I’m a proud Bethune-Cookman University alumna, and my HBCU roots shaped everything about how I see business, community, and purpose. I went on to earn my Master’s in Business Analytics from Mercer University, because I knew that being creative wasn’t enough. I needed to back it up with data.
My corporate career spans over 10 years across insurance, consumer goods, and financial services, managing multi-million dollar accounts, launching digital platforms, and building brand communities from the ground up. In insurance, I managed a portfolio of 40+ enterprise accounts representing over $100 million in premium. Then in the consumer goods space, I had the incredible opportunity to launch a digital platform for an iconic Black culture brand and build a subscriber community of 30,000+ people in under a year. That role taught me that marketing, at its core, is about making people feel seen.
But while I was climbing the corporate ladder, God kept stirring something entrepreneurial in me. In 2023 I founded EmergeNow Solutions, a strategic business consulting firm based in Atlanta, where I help entrepreneurs and growing businesses build the infrastructure behind their brand: strategy, marketing, systems, all of it.
Then in March 2026, I opened Busy Bee Play Cafe in Stonecrest, GA, an indoor playground for children ages 0 to 6. It was born out of my own experience as a mom of two young boys. I wanted a space that was safe, intentional, and welcoming for families like mine.
Today I’m still in corporate, serving as a Senior Marketing Consultant, while running two businesses, writing children’s books, and creating content that connects with other moms and entrepreneurs. I am also a recent inductee into the 2026 Atlanta Hawks She Leads Women’s Empowerment Program, which has been an incredible addition to this season of my life.
I know that sounds like a lot, and it is. But I don’t see them as separate things. They’re all chapters of the same story: a woman who believes deeply that purpose-driven work changes lives, and who refuses to let fear be the reason she doesn’t try.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Smooth? Not even close. And I think that’s actually the part of my story I’m most proud to tell.
One of the hardest moments came when I was laid off while on maternity leave. I had just welcomed a new baby, I was in one of the most vulnerable seasons of my life, and I had to navigate losing my job at the same time. That experience shook me, but it also lit a fire under me that I don’t think anything else could have.
Then came the eye surgery. What was supposed to be a medical procedure turned into one of the most terrifying seasons of my life. I lost my vision and had to sit in the uncertainty of not knowing what my future would look like. When you can’t see, everything you’ve built, everything you’ve planned, suddenly feels very fragile. Business ideas that were in motion had to pause. Busy Bee Play Cafe, a vision I had been nurturing for a long time, got pushed back because I simply could not execute. That was hard to accept as someone who is always moving and always building.
But God. My husband Dontell, my family, and my faith carried me through in ways I still can’t fully put into words. And therapy. I will shout out therapy every single time because healing is not a sign of weakness, it is a requirement for growth.
Those moments could have stopped me completely. Instead, they clarified my purpose. Busy Bee finally opened in March 2026, and every family that walks through those doors has no idea how much that moment meant to me. I didn’t just open a business. I kept a promise to myself that I made during one of the darkest seasons of my life.

We’ve been impressed with Busy Bee Play Cafe, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Busy Bee Play Cafe is an indoor play cafe located in Stonecrest, Georgia, designed specifically for children ages 0 to 6. But it is so much more than a play space.
The heart of Busy Bee is intentional, imaginative play. We are not a drop-off spot or a babysitting service. We are a space where children can engage in pretend play and explore their creativity in a safe environment, while parents and caregivers are right there with them, present and connected.
Here is what I kept asking myself before opening: why do families on Atlanta’s east side have to jump on I-20 and drive to find a quality space for their kids? Stonecrest, Conyers, Lithonia, Covington these communities deserve something close to home. Something built with them in mind. That is exactly what Busy Bee is.
We serve the full family experience. Beyond the play area, we host events for parents and caregivers because community does not stop at the kids. We offer day passes, monthly memberships, annual memberships, and private birthday party packages ranging from our Busy Bee Bash to our Deluxe Bee Celebration. There is a price point and an experience for every family.
What I am most proud of brand-wise is the warmth. When you walk in, it feels intentional. It feels like someone who is actually a mom built this, because she did. I am a mother of two young boys, and every decision made in that space was made through that lens first.
Busy Bee is for the families who just want somewhere safe, close, and special to make memories. That is what we are here for.

What matters most to you? Why?
My family. Full stop.
Everything I build, every early morning, every late night, every business decision comes back to them. My husband Dontell has been my rock through every season, the hard ones and the good ones. And my two boys? They are my entire why. They are the reason I opened Busy Bee. They are the reason I push through when things get hard. They are the reason I refuse to settle.
I think a lot of people in entrepreneurship talk about legacy in a very grand way. For me, legacy looks like my sons watching their mom show up, work hard, walk in faith, and never quit. I want them to see that you can build something meaningful without losing yourself in the process.
Faith also sits at the center of everything for me. It has carried me through job loss, health challenges, and every moment where I could not see the next step clearly. My relationship with God is not separate from my work. It is woven into all of it.
So when people ask what matters most, it is not the businesses or the titles. Those are fruit. The root is my family, my faith, and the people I am called to serve. Get that right, and everything else has a foundation to stand on.

Pricing:

• https://www.busybeeplaycafe.com/play

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.busybeeplaycafe.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/busybee_playcafe
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/busybeeplaycafe
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/busy-bee-play-cafe-stonecrest?osq=busy+bee+play+cafe