Who's Who in Albany: Stephanie Sala

Name: Stephanie Sala

Age: 32

Occupation: Toy store owner (Five Little Monkeys)

You recently won the Albany 2010 Woman Entrepreneur of the Year award. Congratulations! Thank you. I found out a couple of days ago. I was blown away – it's a huge honor.

Where did you get the idea for Five Little Monkeys? I was planning on going to graduate school and was applying to schools all over the country; then 9/11 happened. I had a brother living in Manhattan; I am the oldest of five little monkeys. I decided that being close to home and to my siblings was really important to me.

My mom owns Sweet Potatoes, so I had grown up in the shadow of a female entrepreneur. My dad is a toy designer; I was used to looking for exceptional value that can be applied to the way kids play. I've lived in Albany all my life; I have really good memories of stores that have come and gone.

My grandmother, Ruth Ganong, has always been very influential in Albany. She was mayor a few times, and she served on the school board and on the AC Transit board. I'm the coming-together of a lot of things in my family, in trying to support a different kind of business within the community.

How did you come up with the name? We wanted something that would stick in people's heads and that had meaning. We started singing songs, and then we realized that "Five Little Monkeys" applied to our family.

Did it take long to get your business started? We did it really quickly, in a month's time. It was actually my mom's idea, but I was really unsure that this was what I wanted. I was planning on teaching. At first I said, "No way, I'm not interested in being in business." I thought corporate America had too much evil in it. But my mother told me, "You can do things your way," based on your values. We decided in October 2001 to go forward with it, and we opened our doors on November 16, 2001.

I had no formal business training. I remember working all night long before we opened, and then thinking, "Now I can get some rest"; then I realized, "No, I've got a store to run." It was just like having a baby – no rest afterward!

How does your major, in sociology and religion, come into what you do? I want to create good people by putting good toys in kids' hands. I try to represent a variety of ethnicities; I try not to carry guns or any other weapons. The toys have educational components as well as play value. We select toys carefully; we try to avoid toys that need batteries. We look for toys with minimal packaging and toys made from renewable resources.