Joe Mays

Laya Center expands with ‘Herban’ product line; earns top 50 honors from Square

Toyia Mays’ customers feel “like a weight has been lifted off their shoulders,” the co-owner of Crossroads-based The Laya Center said, noting the brand’s physical space and its new Herban product line leave people feeling welcome and at home. “Most people when they walk in the door, they verbally express it but you can just…

IXKC: Racial bias conversation puts white faces in an awkward spot — the minority

Editor’s note: Check out photos from this event below the story. White people have to understand that they’ll never understand, said Lora McDonald. “White people only have to be ‘white’ when they’re in a room with other races. When they aren’t, they get to be individuals, not just a monolithic group,” she told a diverse…

The Laya Center coworking spa

April Boyd-Noronha: Coworking spa stretches expertise from growth hacking to crystal therapy

Editor’s note: The opinions expressed in this commentary are the author’s alone. My columns this month feature four minority-owned STEM businesses in the Kansas City metro. The cool thing about each of these businesses? They include at least one (if not more) aspect of the STEM concept — science, technology, engineering, and math. For the…

Joe and Toyia Mays, The Laya Center coworking spa

Ex-KC Chiefs player opens coworking spa space to boost creativity, holistic wellness (Photos)

With long hours and potent job stresses, entrepreneurs often are more mindful of their business’s health than their own, said Joe Mays. The former Kansas City Chiefs linebacker teamed with his wife, Toyia, to open a coworking spa space within their holistic wellness venture, The Laya Center. Targeting individual and small-team innovators, the duo hopes…