Part 1. Starting a Balloon Business

This may seem like an odd topic to talk about, as I expect many of my readers already have established balloon businesses. However, it has been proven that during difficult times, and particularly during recessions, the balloon industry thrives and grows. Even if the party is smaller, people still want to celebrate! This is also a time when people are looking for new business opportunities; so I felt that this would be a good topic to discuss for anyone new to the world of balloons! 

Why Balloons?

There are so many reasons why someone might start a balloon business. I started my balloon business when my eldest daughter (now 30) was 6 months old! I wanted to be able to grow my business at a pace that worked for my family and I. I also needed to ensure that I worked with a product that was non-perishable, and balloons ticked all those boxes perfectly! I am not going to pretend that it was easy; it was a very steep learning curve, and 30 years ago support and resources where extremely limited. 

The biggest challenge in running a balloon business is having the ability and obligation of being the "creative artist" versus being the "business person". This industry is what you could term as an easy access industry, set up costs can be relatively low - and anyone can inflate a balloon... can't they?

There are those who "do balloons" as a weekend hobby to supplement their full-time incomes, and those who set up a full-time "ballooning" career (running  businesses from shops, warehouses, and even from home.)

Often balloons are added to established business, such as florists, greetings card retailers, and event planners.

There are many highly successful, and profitable balloon businesses around the world, and on the other hand there are those who come, play around for a short while and then disappear just as quickly as they came.

Setting up your own business

Setting up your own business and becoming self-employed can be one of the biggest and most exciting adventures of your life! Being your own boss will be in the best interest of you and your business.

You will need to decide if you are going to trade as Self Employed or as a Limited Company. 

When you are self-employed you literally work for yourself (sole trader or sole proprietor is just another name for a self-employed person.)

Being a limited company is completely different. A limited company is a separate legal entity; if you have your very own limited company you are generally not regarded as self-employed.

To learn more about setting up a business and the legal requirements that are needed in the UK, visit https://www.gov.uk/set-up-business. Outside of the UK, just do a Google search - setting up a business in ******* (type the country/state name) and this should direct you to the relevant page and information that you will require.

Choosing a Business Name

This is one of the most important things that you will need to do. There are so many things that you will need to do when setting up a new business, but without a business name it will be impossible! 

• Open a business bank account 
• Invoice customers
• Write terms & conditions
• Set up a website and social media business accounts
• Order business cards
• Open trade accounts

In the world of social media and SEO (search engine optimisation), choosing a name that people are more likely to search for, this will give you a much greater chance of you coming up in search results. So start by thinking about what your customers are likely to be seeking out.

Obviously, having the word balloon somewhere in your business name is important, and if you can include your location too, that would be even better! 

Here are a few examples of business names that fit into this criteria:

• The Brighton Balloon Company
• Brighton Balloon Delights
• Creative Balloons Brighton

Choose a functional name

It can be easy to get carried away with being a little too creative with a business name. Ideally you should choose a business name that instantly describes what your business does. Think long term; how will you feel about the name in a few years time when your business is more established? 

Use your own name

The great thing about using your own name is that you are very unlikely to find another balloon company with the same name and therefore you will be easier to find on Google search. The downside of using your own name is that it will be very difficult to sell your business in the future, so take that into consideration.

My business name is Balloon Art by Sue Bowler, but my business is mainly directed to the balloon industry and therefore using my name, which is also my brand is very important.

Make up a word!

If you want to be a little more creative with your company name, why not morph two words together to create your own unique name!

 

Balloontopia

Balloontastic

Ideally, you should come up with a shortlist of around 5-10 business names

before you make your final decision.

Make sure that the business name is not already taken, you can usually check this by doing a simple Google search, or by searching with Companies House, or do a Trademark search.

Check that the domain is available and that you can get your business name as a .com or .co.uk - for UK businesses, and also if it’s available to use for your social media accounts.

Legal stuff

Start by registering your business - in the UK visit https://www.gov.uk/set-up-business

Insurance Cover - You may not realise that having insurance cover is important, but in reality all businesses should have it, including home based businesses. There are a number of different insurances that a business should have: Public Liability – insures your business against third party claims for personal injury or property damage. Professional Indemnity – covers your professional advice. Employer's Liability – provides cover for your employees (this is legally required). If you are operating your business from a shop or store you will also require Building and Contents Insurance.

Inform HMRC or your government revenues and customs department - In the UK you need to register with the UK government (HMRC) to tell them that you’re self-employed. Check to see what your legal requirements are in your country.

Find an Accountant - It might be advisable to find an accountant who will tell you what you will need to do to ensure that you fulfil your tax requirements. 

Comply with data laws - It’s not just big companies that need to know about General Data Protection Regulation - GDPR. Small businesses also have a legal responsibility to keep personal data safe and provide a clear policy on how that data will be used and why.

Employing Staff - If you are employing staff, there are so many other legal requirements that you will need to abide by. I strongly recommend that you look into all of those too! 

How Much Should You Charge?

To know how much to charge for your balloons and decor, you need to know how much you are going to charge for your time, and how much you should allow to cover your overheads (business running costs)... and believe me, even when you work from home, you have overheads. Added to that will be your material costs, helium and delivery charges if applicable. 

So the first thing you should do is work out how much you are worth! Deciding on what to charge for your time is not easy, but if you do not charge enough, you will honestly struggle to make enough money to live on.

As great as it is being your own boss, you need to consider all the benefits you won't get when self-employed.

As a self-employed person:

• You don’t get paid for holidays
• You don’t get paid when you’re off sick
• You don’t get paid when you’re having your lunch
• You don’t get paid when you’re doing your accounts
• You don’t get paid when you’re looking for new work
• You don’t get paid when you’re updating your web site
• You don’t get paid when there’s no work to do
• You need to pay for premises
• You need to pay for business equipment (e.g. computers)
• You need to pay for insurances (e.g. public liability)
• You need to sort your own pension
• You need to pay all the bills
• You need to do your own marketing
• You need to do your own sales
• You need to pay accountancy fees
• You need to pay legal fees 

I am not going to tell you what you should be charging for your time, but I strongly recommend that you read an article How Much Should I Charge an article from the Small Business Toolbox.


I have found the Small Business Toolbox to be an amazing reference whilst writing this post. Andy MacLellan goes into a great deal of detail about how much you should be charging to survive, and it makes for a very interesting read!
I am also going to point you in the direction of a couple of blogs that I wrote regarding pricing your work. You will often hear people talking about Job Cost Forms. This is a pricing system that Pioneer Balloon Company used as part of the Qualatex Balloon Network (QBN) program. I learned to price using this form and will still refer to it today to ensure that I am earning a fair price for my work and that I make a profit!

How Much Should I Charge For That

How Much Would You Charge For This Design 

I am also including this BMTV video, which features Mark Drury of Qualatex. Mark has helped countless balloon businesses work out the correct costings for their decorations and has given a lot of people the confidence to price correctly.


This video has some great reviews and I am sure that it will help you too!

In Part 2 of Starting a Balloon Business, we will look at the following:

• Tools of the Trade
• Helium
• Marketing 
• Training 
• Balloons and the Environment

Happy Ballooning!

Sue

www.suebowler.com

Follow me on Instagram @suebowler

*To assist my writing of this post, I have referenced Small Business Toolbox that is packed with some great information for anyone starting up their own business.