Sue Bowler: The Balloon Expert

Pricing can be quite a sensitive subject for many business owners. There are many who do not want to display their prices for a number of reasons: Fear of competitors seeing it - the truth however, is that your competitors probably already know your prices. It's very easy to get a friend or a relative to call, and to be honest, you should also know your competitors pricing as well! If you're afraid that competitor will undercut you, don't be. Stop focusing on your competitors, as that takes up way too much energy. Instead concentrate on your own business and create the best product/service that you can. Nothing we make is standard, everything is custom designed for our clients -     Y es, clients are all different, but you should have an idea of the average cost of a design, and therefore you should be able to have a DESIGNS FROM price that you can show. You can still give your clients flexibility - for example, by swapping balloons and access...

O ne of the most difficult things about being a balloon retailer is that a lmost anyone can inflate a balloon and attach it to a weight.  Unfortunately,  our biggest competitors do this very well, and even worse, they usually sell them for less than you ever can due to greater buying power, higher turnover, and lower profit margins. However, many of us, including our competitors, are currently experiencing difficulty obtaining helium, and those who can find it will experience significant price increases.  This is where we can gain an edge on competitors. We should take this opportunity to be the balloon specialist, and not just the balloon seller. It's important to understand how to take a balloon or two, add value, and make them into something really special - with or without helium!  Balloon Arrangements and deliveries are a big part of  any balloon business and will ensure the long-term  success of your business - better perhaps t...

So you've started posting on Facebook and Instagram on a regular basis - that's a great start! But are you making your posts engaging and memorable?  I don't know about you, but when I scroll through my Facebook and Instagram feeds, I realise that gone are the days when I like every other post. It takes something a little bit more unique to make me stop and look. So how are we going to get our potential customers to stop, look, and hopefully like and follow our posts? Making Our Posts Engaging and Memorable For example, when we are looking for someone to decorate a forthcoming event, which would you prefer: Working with an event organiser who you can relate to and make a personal connection with or with a faceless company that simply shows endless photographs on their Instagram account? This is a tough call, as stunning decor photographs on Instagram can be arresting and a great attention grabber. But we also have to remember that what we see is not always what we ge...

Ballerina Design By Sue Bowler, CBA. S o maybe you're a balloon artist and twisting is just not your thing. Maybe you are scared to work with entertainer balloons, as they always seem to pop or go down quickly? It personally took me a while before I really gained confidence working with the Q's. Even then, I know that I will never be at the same level as those who enter the incredible Colour Quest competitions, which produce fabulous creations like this wonderful Flying Dragon by Li Tao, Huangshi, China, which won 3rd Place (tie) 2019 ColorQuest Chrome™ Blue category.  But what I do know is that by learning to use them, I have been able to add value to my designs, and make them much more appealing! It might be as simple as adding a string of precision bubbles around an 18" balloon, then finishing it with a twisted bow, like the design on the left. If you would like to learn how to make this design or be inspired by other designs fe...