Can You Create a Full-time Income From Balloons? by Guest Blogger Sonia Payne

Can You Create a Full-time Income From Balloons? by Guest Blogger Sonia Payne

This question is something I frequently get asked by people growing their balloon businesses. It is also a question all balloon business owners ask themselves at some point. For some it is before they start their business, and for others it comes a little further down the line. In this blog I am going to look at whether it’s really possible and what you need to do in order to create a full-time income from your balloons business.

Full-time Income Means Different Things To DifferentPeople

Before we get into whether it is possible… I guess we need to understand that full-time income means different things to different people. Your personal circumstances, household income, expenditure and number of dependents will obviously have a big impact on this. The hours you have available to dedicate to growing your business and the experience you have at running a business also have a bearing on the success of a business.

If They Did It… So Can You!

I ran my balloons and venue decor business full-time, as the sole-earner for my family, for nearly a decade, and totally believe it is possible but as the market is shifting constantly, I like to keep abreast as to what is happening outside of my local area.

Every year around this time I ask the question “Is it possible to create a full-time business from balloons only?” on The Qualatex Balloon Facebook Group.

It is my personal thermometer of how the industry is performing as a whole. I am astounded every year by the response and the positivity within the industry! When I asked this week, I had 77 comments responding to the question! Of all the responses, only 5 felt it was not possible at this time. Many of the full-time balloon business owners had been running their full-time businesses for decades, as well as employed lots of staff and earned hundreds of thousands of pounds annually. Two companies reported earning over a million dollars per year just from balloon sales. Now if that is not inspiring, then I don’t know what is!

You can read their responses and thoughts on taking your balloon business full-time to the question here:
You will need to be a member of the group to view it!

https://www.facebook.com/groups/17261393033/permalink/10158661130098034/

And, if you are interested the 2021 responses during Covid they are here:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/17261393033/permalink/10157906601568034/

I decided to dig a little deeper by searching Companies House here in the UK, and found numerous companies accounting 5 or 6 figures, reinforcing my belief that it absolutely IS possible to grow a full-time profitable balloon business!

What Does it Take to Create a Full-time Profitable Balloon Business?

Okay so now we have established it is possible, the next question I usually get is can anybody do it? 

I firmly believe that with the right mindset and business skills anybody can build a successful business from balloon decoration that delivers a full-time income. What do I mean by right mindset and business skills? There are some key elements to becoming successful, and these elements were repeated in the facebook posts above by all the truly successful balloon business owners:

You need to believe you can do it…
Sure there will be days every business owner wonders if it is actually possible but you need to get up every single day with the belief it will happen and that you are capable of achieving what you want. Mindset is key to running a full-time profitable business!

You need to have a clear vision and destination for where you are taking your business.
You also need to work out what it will take to get you there in terms of investment and growth, how much sales you need to bring in and the profit you need to make to grow your business. Set end goals and stepping stones along the way to reach those goals. Check in with your destination daily and make sure everything you are doing is moving you towards your end goals.

You need to CONSISTENTLY price for profit.
The key to any successful balloon business, including one that delivers you a full-time income, is that you need to price for profit and growth in your business. You also need to be constantly watching the cash flowing in and out of your business and making sure you are generating the profit you need. The biggest reason people don’t achieve a full-time income often comes down to poor pricing and poor control of finances.

You need to consistently market your business to the type of customers you want
and need to grow a full-time business. 

You need to actively get out there and find them. It’s not enough to hope or pray the right people find your business… you need to work out who they are, where they are and then get in front of them! It takes more work than you think to find the right customers who will grow your business full-time, but once you do the magic really starts to happen!

You need to put systems in place so that you can become super productive
and ensure the time spent in your business generates the right level of profit to create a full-time income. Time is the most valuable asset any balloon business has, and you need to maximise and spend it wisely!

Today’s business world is fast paced and constantly evolving… You need to constantly adapt to the marketplace. You need to spend time working ON your business as well as in your business to ensure your business is capitalising on opportunities, and you are ready for any challenges that lie ahead.

But What About Balloon Skill?

It may surprise you that nowhere in the list above have I mentioned balloon skills… Whilst undoubtedly being an amazing balloon artist will help, unfortunately there are many hugely creative and talented individuals within the industry who are struggling to make a full-time income out of balloons. Maybe you are one of them and that’s why you are reading this blog post? It may surprise you but I promise it is actually more than possible to make a successful profitable full-time balloon business doing only the more basic balloon decor. Unfortunately, it is more difficult to build a profitable and successful balloon business if you are highly skilled in balloons but don’t understand how to run a business…

The Good News Is Anyone Can Learn to Run a Business!

Before you throw your arms up in despair at that last sentence… I just want to leave you with a final thought… anyone can learn to run a business. That includes you! All the skills you need to run a full-time profitable business can be learnt. It’s no different to learning any skill set. Some of it you will learn by trial and error as you progress, but I would encourage you to consider that in order to run a full-time profitable business you need to spend as much time, energy, passion and money on learning to run a business as you do on learning new balloon skills and equipment. If you look across the industry at those who are carving amazing businesses across the world, it’s clear that they invest in themselves, their knowledge and their business!

🎈Until next time… Stay amazing!🎈

Sonia x

About the author: Sonia Payne is the founder of the Balloon Business Academy. She has spent over ten years growing her own balloon and decor business. She now works with creative entrepreneurs to show them how to start and grow a balloon business the quick and easy way! Having previously spent 10 years coaching in sales and marketing, she can show them how they can create an amazing profitable and sustainable business by showing what really works to get quick results without the stress!

To find out more about Balloon Biz Academy and read more of Sonia's great articles visit https://www.balloonbizacademy.co.uk

What a great post, and thank you to everyone who responded to Sonia's question on the Qualatex Facebook page.

Happy Ballooning! 

Sue

www.suebowler.com

Follow me @suebowler

Ballooning Decorating Formula's

When calculating the number of balloons that you will need to create decor, knowing which formula's to use can be a hugely beneficial. 

Let me give you an example: I want to create a garland of balloons to cover a hoop, see example below. How can you calculate the number of balloons you will need?

Photo courtesy of AeröPole System

There are several formulas that you can use to give you an accurate answer.

Let's start by determining the size of a hoop.To work out the circumference of the hoop your first need to measure the diameter. 

• The circumference is the measurement of a circle around the edge of the hoop or any circular frame.
• The diameter is the measurement straight across a circle or hoop from one side to the other.

To get started you will need to measure your hoop or circular frame from edge to edge to find the diameter.

For this example let us say that our hoops diameter measures 6ft or 1.82m.

To calculate the circumference of our hoop we multiply 6 (the diameter of the hoop in feet) by 3.14 (the value of π) which equals 18.84ft. For the circumference in meters, the equation is 1.82 (the diameter of the hoop in meters) multiplied by 3.14 (the value of π) which equals 5.71m.

Now we know what the circumference of our hoop is we can calculate the number of balloons that we are going to need to cover it. 

If we are using balloons inflated to the same size, then this should be pretty straightforward. You will need the Spiral Garland Chart. To be honest, I have no idea why it is called a Spiral Garland Chart? Personally, for me it is just a Garland Chart, and it only becomes a spiral when different coloured balloons are used to create the spiral pattern! 

So now we need to decide how big we want to inflate our balloons. On a 6ft or 1.82m wide hoop, you don't want the balloons to be too big or too dominant on the frame, unless that is the look that you are aiming for. For this example we are going to use balloons inflated to 8" or 20cm's. We are going to make our Garland using 4-balloon clusters, aka quads, as many balloon professionals call them.

In the green section in the chart above, the balloons are measured in inches and in the peach section the balloon are measured in cm. 

The chart suggests that when you inflate balloons to 8" you will need 7.6 balloons per foot of garland, and when you inflate the balloons to 20cm's you will need 25.10 balloons per meter.

We already know that to cover our hoop we will need: 18.84ft or 5.71m of Garland

So, to calculate the total number of balloons that you will need:

Multiply 7.6 (the number of balloons per foot) x 18.84 (the total length of Garland we will need to cover the hoop) = 143.18 (which will be roughly 35 clusters or 140 balloons)

Or multiple 5.71 (the number of balloons per meter) x 25.10 (the number of balloons per meter) = 143.321 which is exactly the same as the result above - phew, thank goodness!

So to summarise: to cover a 6ft or 1.82m hoop with a garland of balloons sized to 8", I will need approximately 140 balloons. 

If you want to make your hoop in an organic style, how can you calculate the number of balloons that you will need to cover the hoop? For this equation you will need to create your own chart which will determine how many balloons that you use per foot or per meter when making an organic garland. Many decorators have an organic formula where they use 'X' as the number of 11" and 16" per foot or meter, and the sizes that they will be roughly inflated to. This is the only way that you will be able to use this formula when making your organic decor - always allow extra balloons for organic style decor for the add-on's that you will use to enhance the organic look to your design! 

How many balloons would be required to cover a ceiling? 

For this example, we will use 11" balloons inflated to 11" using helium to calculate how many balloons we will need to fill a ceiling that is 15' x 15'. 

To start,  we must first determine how much space an 11" balloon takes up? 

The first thing that we need to determine is the radius of an 11" balloon.

• The radius is the measurement from the centre to the outside of a circle or sphere.

The radius of an 11" balloon at it's widest point is 5.5"

Now we need to calculate the amount of space an 11" balloon will take up.

5.5 x 5.5 x π ( π = 3.14) = 95 square inches per 11" balloon (the volume of space an 11" balloons will take up.)

Our ceiling space is 15' x 15' which is equivalent to 180" x 180" (we have converted our equation to inches because our balloon is measured in inches.

We now need to calculate the total number in square inches we have to fill.

180 x 180 = 32,400

We know that an 11" balloon is equivalent to 95 square inches, so we need to divide the total ceiling space size size (32,400") by the size of one of the 11" balloons ( 95").

32,400 ÷ 95 = 341

Therefore, we will need approximately 341 x 11" balloons inflated to 11" to fill a 15' x 15' ceiling! 

If this all sounds overly complicated, there is an easy solution that you can use. Balloonpro.co offers custom resources made for the balloon decorating industry. With online design tools and calculators you can easily create beautiful and intricate balloon columns, arches, walls and organics. 

Included with membership, you will also have access to:

• Organic Calculator
• Balloon Column Calculator
• Loose Balloon Quantity Calculator 

I used the Loose Balloon Quantity Calculator to calculate the same example as above.

https://balloonpro.co/

The result using Balloon Pro versus the method that I showed above is very similar. My calculation suggested 341 balloons and Balloon Pro suggested 339. The great thing about the Balloon Pro tool is that you can do the same calculation working with 3 different sizes of balloons and you can select the % of space that you want each size of balloon to fill, and to be honest I really don't think that I would even want to attempt to work that out manually! 

You can try out the Design Tool for 7 days to test out this fabulous tool!

I use Balloonpro to help me design balloon walls, columns and arches, and of course to help me with those tricky calculations! For me, it is one of the most valuable tools for balloon artists!

I know that understanding math is not for everyone, and for me it is definitely a challenge! I really like to make my own calculations before I check them using the Balloonpro tool, so that I can feel satisfied that I do understand how to get the right answer.

I hope that this post has helped some of you.

Happy Ballooning! 

Sue

www.suebowler.com

Follow me: @suebowler

What Stops us Growing our Balloon Business from Little Acorns to a Mighty Oaktree!

How many of you look at Instagram and balloon-related Facebook Groups and see pictures of large scale decor, and worry that your business will never be big enough to do anything like that? 

Corporate Decor by Colin Stewart, CBA, of Stewart's Baskets & Balloons
in Toronto, Canada.

What's stopping you? 

• Confidence
• Experience 
• Contacts

When you start out in any profession, the learning curve is inevitable, and balloon artistry is no exception. We need to understand the basic techniques and master them, we also need the opportunity to grow our skills through practice, and finally we need to grow our portfolio so that we can 'wow' our customers with our work! 

Confidence

There will always be others who have more confidence and appear to have the ability to wing it through life! However, for most of us, confidence grows with experience. 

Experience

Experience can be gained in a number of ways: 

• By attending hands-on training courses and ballooning events
• By offering yourself as a volunteer to work with other balloon professionals at their events.
• And of course, practice, practice and more practice! 

Last week I taught a group of students how to make a balloon wall using QuickLinks. The end result was fabulous, and they all agreed that learning how to make the wall first hand gave them the confidence to make it themselves and promote and sell them to their customers!  

Space theme Balloon Wall made by Sue Bowler & Students on her 
'Whats Hot Right Now' course.

 

Contacts

It is often quoted "it's all about the contacts!" But how do you get those contacts?

• Attend Business Networking Events: The first step in successful networking is to go to places where you can make connections. In the UK, BAPIA, a trade organisation for the Balloon & Party Industry, are offering BAPIA Fundays to their members and non-members, where balloon artists can meet up at regional events, and network with other members, wholesalers and manufacturers. 
• Get Social in your 'Off Hours.' Business networking doesn’t just happen between the hours of 8 and 5. Networking can happen any time and day. It just requires you to step outside your comfort zone and start talking to people. Strike up a conversation with people at the gym or talk to other parents at your child’s activities. You never know when you might meet someone who can be a useful source. The most successful networkers are those who look for opportunity every place they go!
• Be Able to Articulate Your Worth: How many times are you asked "what do you do for a living?" I can assure you this is a conversation that I have had on numerous occasions, especially on flights when travelling to events and training around the world! It would be so easy to simply say "I work with balloons." However, saying something like "I design and make decor for events and parties and create spectacular results!" - is a fabulous way to open up a conversation! 
• Always Follow Up. In order to establish rapport and build lasting relationships with other people, you need to look for reasons to keep the connection going. Making the contact is only half the battle; you also have to take the necessary steps to continue the relationship. Make sure you exchange contact information and try to find at least two to three opportunities each year to reconnect with the members of your network. 

Look for opportunities

If you are waiting for "that call" it will probably never happen! If you want new opportunities you will probably need to go out and find them yourself! Once you start to establish good contacts, it will definitely become easier. But you should always be looking for new opportunities! 

There are so many opportunities that you may have never even considered... Sporting events for example! 

• Find out from your local department of parks and recreation when and where local sporting events will be held. Visit with the person in charge of the event, and offer an arch or some columns, and maybe you could even offer them an introductory deal? This will give you the opportunity to get new pictures for your portfolio that you can use to promote this type of work on your website and on social media!
• Visit youth organisation websites and search for games and tournaments that will be held in your area.
• Advertise your business in school newsletters. Remind parents that you can create sport themed decor for parties or create sport theme deliveries to celebrate their kids' athletic accomplishments.
• Build relationships with schools to provide decor for their games, dances and other events.
• Create a flier that you can use to promote sport balloons and decor to Sports Bars, Pubs and clubs!
• React to big sporting events! Every year there are high profile sporting events. Take the opportunity to create displays that will attract sports fans. A column or an arch can really stands out, and you never know what it might lead to!
• Remember, sporting events have many visitors; you may just attract the attention of a CEO of a large corporate business?

Colin & Jeannie Stewart of Stewart's Baskets & Balloons are masters when it comes to creating decor for sporting events, I strongly recommend that you take a little peak at their Facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/STEWARTs-Baskets-Balloons-189142114442664 and be inspired! 

Sporting events are just the tip of the iceberg; think about all the other opportunities that you may not already be exploring! As we know, it can take many years to grow an acorn into an oak tree, but with a little hard work and determination, we can certainly start that growing process! 

Happy Ballooning!

Sue
www.suebowler.com

Follow me @suebowler

The Queen's Platinum Jubilee 2022 - How to make the Union Jack Flag

In two weeks time Her Majesty The Queen will become the first British Monarch to celebrate a Platinum Jubilee after 70 years of service. The UK and much of the commonwealth will be celebrating over the Spring Bank holiday weekend from the 2nd to the 5th of June! 

Some years ago, I designed a Balloon Wall to represent the Union Jack flag using the Alternate Size Pack technique. Using this technique allowed me to create a very accurate copy, and I thought that I would share this design with you today! 

Alternate Size Square Pack Garland

When making balloon walls using this technique, you can guarantee that it will be robust and attractive! It is probably the most widely used method of precision wall, and is made by alternating clusters of four balloons in two different sizes packed on to 50lb Dacron line or even thicker line. This technique produces a square shape garland.

Below is a small section of the flag (from the design) to explain how the technique works:

Using this example: each column (as shown below) consists of 13 clusters of balloons. The first and the third columns start with a large balloon cluster and the second column starts with a small balloon cluster. When pushed together these columns interlock to create a strong wall. 

Be aware, the actual flag wall - as shown in example 1, 2 and 3, is a big wall. It uses 33 clusters per Garland and 9 Garlands to create the wall. To decide on the size of balloons to use, I often build a small section of garland to give me an idea on the overall sizing.

Example - small section of the flag wall

The difference in size between the two sets is relative to the size of balloon used.

When the balloons are inflated between 2" - 4½" = use a ½" differential

When the balloons are inflated between 4½" - 7½" = use a 1" differential

When the balloons are inflated between 7½" - 11" = use a 2" differential

or

5cm - 11.5cm = use a 1.5cm differential

11.5cm - 19cm = 2.5cm differential

19cm - 28cm = 5cm differential

The garlands when built are laid side by side and interlocked, then joined together 

Practice to see which sizes work best for you. I use the paper clip and elastic band method to connect the garlands together as it gives consistency with the tension. Many people use 260Q balloons to link their walls, but be aware that if the tension created when linking the garlands together is off, the end result will be noticeably affected.

Elastic Band and Paper Clip method

The Alternate Size Square Pack Garland method produces quite a smooth design with a flat surface, it allows for good diagonal lines and triangles. However, not all balloon wall types work with different patterns!

You will notice that my design is built lengthwise (using horizontal columns rather than vertical  columns.) This gives me more accuracy within the design, and once constructed it will not make any overall design.

This wall is made up of 9 Garlands, and each garland contains 33 Clusters (see example 3 below)

Example 1
Completed Flag

Example 2
Flag shown as it will be built in downwards columns

Example 3
Flag shown as individual columns

Image 4
Balloon List

This wall was designed on Balloon Pro, which is a fabulous online balloon design tool created by Chris Adamo CBA - https://balloonpro.co. If you have never used or tried this fantastic tool I recommend that you test it out with the 7 day free trial, as you can create a lot more than balloon walls! 

Wishing you a very happy Jubilee!

Happy Ballooning! 

Sue 

www.suebowler.com

Follow me @suebowler 

Father's Day Inspiration for the 'Best Dad in the World!'

When it comes to designing or buying something suitable for men, I personally find that it takes a little more thought!

Father's Day falls on different dates around the world, however, many of us celebrate it on Sunday the 19th of June, so with that in mind, now is a great time to start our marketing and preparing design ideas to promote and sell.

World's Best Dad Personalised Bubble Balloon by
Fizz and Frills Balloons in Stoke-on-Trent, England

Personalised Balloons are always a huge hit with anyone that receives them. Qualatex® Deco Bubble Balloons™️ are the perfect balloons to create magical and memorable personalised balloons. They are extremely versatile, giving you the ability to add beautiful coloured 5" balloons inside... along with many other things too! Personalised balloons are especially meaningful to the recipient. 

If you are worried about using helium due to the rising costs, a great air-filled alternative would be to use a 30" Premium Balloon Accessories Deco Stick with the Maxi Cup ll. I use two Maxi Cups in this case. I glue one to a base that has a little weight, using a small wall tile works well for this, just ensure that you use some sort of protection on the base of the tile as tiles can be rough/sharp and may scratch a surface when placed on it! 

Inflate the Bubble with air and personalise the balloon as usual. Add the Bubble to the second Maxi Cup and secure to the Deco Stick. Add a small cluster of balloons under the Bubble to hide the cup or maybe add a bow or some tassels. You can also add a cluster of balloons at the base once again to hide the cup. When gluing the Maxi Cup to the tile, make sure that you use an adhesive that is strong enough to hold the cup securely. I have used Gorilla Glue in the past and that dries rock solid, but it does take 24 hours to dry! 

For the younger generation, giving a fun design like this to their Dad would be perfect! 

Dad's The Best!

A PANDASTIC design just for his special day.

Designer name: Cam Woody, CBA, Pioneer Balloon Company, Wichita, KS, USA

This is such a fabulous design that can be used to make many different balloon characters; it's ideal for birthdays and other celebrations. Simply select the animal head balloon that you want to make and use coordinating latex to create the body of the design.

Here are step-by-step instructions:

Here is a Monkey design using the same technique that I made for a birthday. The only difference is that I used a Deco Bubble for the body rather than a QuickLink balloon.

Monkey Bubble Design by Sue Bowler, CBA

Here are some more great design ideas that are perfect for Father's Day! 

Always On Point!

A whimsical design to show dad how awesome he is!

Designer name: Eve Antonello, CBA, Pioneer Balloon Company, Wichita, KS, USA

One Ale of a Good Dad

Cheers to dad on his special day!

Designer name: Eve Antonello, CBA, Pioneer Balloon Company, Wichita, KS, USA

Let's talk a little about marketing...

It is important to get ready for Father's Day ahead of time, and any marketing that you do beforehand serves as a reminder for consumers that Father's Day is coming soon! 

One of the easiest things that you can do is to prepare a cover for your business Facebook Page!  This is a great way to kick start your marketing! 

Maybe try running a Father's Day social media contest! 

The great thing about running a contest is that you create natural customer engagement! 

For example you could compel your followers to share their “favourite dad moment”, “dad image”, or even “dad joke” in a social media contest. Remember to think of a clever #hashtag and associate it with the campaign and get them to use it in their posts (e.g. #mydadiscoolerthanyourdad). Also, encourage them to share the post with their own followers.

Inspire your customers with a gift selection guide!

As I mentioned earlier, buying for a man is definitely harder than buying for a woman! Showing a great selection of balloon designs is vital for a successful campaign. Remember, people not only buy for their dad's, they buy for granddad's, step-dad's first time dad's too! This is where personalised balloons are a winner! It is important to show all the different options that you can offer for personalisation.

One of the best way to get your message in front of a more relevant audience is through Facebook Ads. If you choose to boost a post instead, your targeting options are limited. But by utilising Facebook Ads, you have more advanced customisation solutions such as ad placements, ad objectives, opportunity to add a "call to action" button, and so much more. If you have never used Facebook Ads I can honestly testify that they work and they really don't cost a great deal... you only pay what you want to pay! 

I hope that you have a happy and successful Father's Day! Make sure to try out something new in terms of marketing, and make sure that you measure the results!

Happy Ballooning! 

Sue

www.suebowler.com

Follow me @suebowler 

Trendy Printed Balloons to add a little Pizzazz to your Decor!

When added to a balloon display, printed balloons can truly bring any decor to life! By simply adding in a few themed balloons, you can easily take an already awesome display to a whole new level! 

Sometimes we look at printed balloons and cannot see beyond what they are. For example, it would be easy to assume that we only use 'cow' prints for children's birthdays and farmyard style decor. However, looking at the decor below proves that we can take a theme and use it in more ways than meets the eye!

Here is a fantastic example: Cam Woody, CBA of Pioneer Balloon Company has used the Qualatex 11" Holstein Cow print balloon along with some 14" Contented Cow head shapes in her traditional baby crescent moon display, to create this adorable cow-theme baby design... what's not to love about this display! 💕

Over the moon with love!

Dreamy pink paired with cow-theme decor makes for a fun and lovely surprise, perfect for all kinds of occasions.

Designer name: Cam Woody, CBA, Pioneer Balloon Company, Wichita, KS, USA

If you would like to learn how to create a Crescent Moon Frame Shape, check out my blog post: 

Part 1. Baby Moon Design - Step-by-Step Tutorial - How to Make the Frame

Sam Jossie, CBA of Pioneer Balloon Company also used the Qualatex Holstein Cow print balloon in his display, this time the display is a trendy, elegant hoop display for a 30th birthday celebration! He also featured double-stuffed latex balloons to create some fabulous pastel tones that complement the Rose Gold Number 30 and the Taper balloons.

Mooove over for #30!

Celebrate your next big birthday in style with trendy Holstein cow print and customised pastel and rose gold tones!

Designer name: Sam Jossie, CBA, Pioneer® Balloon Company

Holstein Cow

Size and shape: 11" Round

Color: White

Package item #: 11633

Package Count: 50

When it comes to creating Jungle Theme decor, we are absolutely spoiled with choices! We of course can use Safari Assortment with Leopard Spots, Zebra Stripes, Tiger Stripes and Cheetah Spots. We could also use Green Rainbow or Black & White SuperAgate and the Tropical Greenery print too! 

Here is another fabulous example of printed balloons used within a display to create opulent themed decor. Anne McGovern, CBA of Elegant Balloons has added Black & White SuperAgates and Leopard Spots printed balloons to her table Arch, along with some confetti-filled balloons and greenery to create this sophisticated decor! 

Wild About You!

This arch is a natural for any occasion!

Designer name: Anne McGovern, CBA, Elegant Balloons

Here is another great example of a table arch. This Panda theme table decor was created by Cam Woody. Cam uses the Tropical Greenery printed balloon to compliment her design with the addition of the 21" Tropical Phildendron leaves! The curly 260Q balloons on the arch gives it great visual movement!

Life is Better With a Panda!

It’s a happy day made better with this lovable bear!

Designer name: Cam Woody, CBA, Pioneer Balloon Company, Wichita, KS, USA.

And finally, I wanted to conclude this post with this fabulous mash up of printed balloons! I would never have thought to do this in a million years, but I love it and I think that it works so well! It's bright, fun and very colourful! Well done Bangin Balloons in Ottawa, Canada.

I must confess, when it comes to printed balloons, I have never really experimented or used a print in a random or unexpected way. Seeing all these amazing designs makes me feel inspired to play more, which I will definitely do once I get my new studio set up and ready for some ballooning action! 

I hope that these designs have inspired you as much as they have inspired me! To read more on this topic, check out the Trends & Themes section on the Qualatex Website;

Happy Ballooning! 

Sue

www.suebowler.com

Follow me @suebowler

How to Boost your Motivation and Energy when running your Business

If you are anything like me, sometimes there are times when we have our good days and our bad days, or the ones where we feel tired, drained and deflated. As a business owner, we still have our businesses to run and customers to keep happy, so how do we increase our motivation and energy when we fall into a rut and potentially feel like throwing in the towel?

Motivation is not something that just happens spontaneously. We need to find ways to re-build it. I honestly think that the pandemic has created many long-term problems over the past two years. The closure of businesses for long periods of time, the changes in routine and the lack of opportunity to network with others have all played a major part in how we feel. One thing is for sure, doing nothing about it is not an option. 

You've probably heard this many times... get back to nature and move that body!

Exercising regularly is one of the easiest and most effective ways to improve concentration, motivation, memory, and mood. Physical activity immediately boosts the brain's dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin levels—all of which affect focus and attention. It is very easy to say that you are too busy to go for a walk or join an exercise class, but by simply giving yourself time to get some fresh air and recharge your mind and body, you will see one of the biggest boosts in motivation and energy levels. 

Getting our dog Mylo was one of the best things that we ever did, as he became our 'excuse' to go for a walk every day, come rain or shine. He is also our "office dog." Office dogs are known to help reduce employee stress, boost office morale, promote productivity, help improve communication, encourage a healthier lifestyle, improve employee retention and the workplace can appear more attractive to prospective employees.

Simplify your to-do list

When you start to feel overwhelmed, pick three things that you want to achieve that day. Write them down, then make those three tasks your top priority and dedicate your focus to those alone. Cross each of them out once you have completed the task... I can assure you that it will feel great!  List them in order of importance – which are going to make the most positive difference to your business? 

Get inspired 

Listen to an inspiring podcast. It could be about business, personal development, or something you are passionate about. This is a great way to reconnect with the ‘why’ of your business. 

I often listen to podcasts when I am walking; I like to listen to social media and Canva inspired podcasts, and this really helps me to keep up to date with the latest trends and ideas!

Check out the Qualatex Inspiration pages on Qualatex.com. These pages are really a great resource.

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Tidy your workspace and desk

You may have heard the phrase “a clean space equals a clean mind!” Having a clear workspace can really help to keep your mind focused and gives you the opportunity to focus on those things that are important, rather than being distracted by what is termed as visual pollution! Cell/mobile phones are often the biggest distraction, taking up hours of our attention each day (I am very guilty of checking my phone way too often!) Try putting your phone on silent or even Do Not Disturb mode while you’re working on a particular task - only if possible, I know that taking orders is very important too!

I am just about to move into a fantastic new studio, which will be a huge improvement from working from a home-based space. Over the past few years - yes I mean years, I have allowed my space to get very messy and disorganised. Although I know that it is going to be a huge task, I am really looking forward to getting organised and tidy once again, I am sure that it will inspire me to be creative once more.

Meet up with others whom you have something in common with

This could be other small business owners and definitely other balloon professionals!  Make friends online. Find other small business owners to connect with online. They can be from the balloon industry or within your local community. Follow them on social media (from your company’s account) to show interest in their business. Even better, mention their business or product in a tweet or Facebook post. This creates goodwill among other entrepreneurs, and they might return the gesture in your favour.

Join your local trade Chamber of Commerce. A chamber of commerce is an organisation of business owners and entrepreneurs who promote the interests of their local business community. Chambers of Commerce provide access to valuable resources, discounts, and relationships that help businesses save money and market their products.

Attend industry events and networking days

There is nothing more beneficial than attending an industry event, such as a training course or balloon convention to give you a huge boost of motivation. I know from my own experience that when I have attended events as a delegate, I return home completely recharged, motivated and ready to take on the world (well almost!)

Networking groups are also a great way to talk to other ballooning professionals on a regular basis. This is a perfect opportunity to discuss problems that you may have encountered or to ask for advice from fellow professionals. This is quite simple to do, when you go to an event and meet up with other business owners suggest that you 'meet' up on a monthly basis using one of the online video conferencing platforms such as Zoom or Microsoft Teams (there are others.)

Build in the occasional 'Play Day'

Sometimes it is fun to play for playing sake and not because you need to come up with something for a customer! Get those creative juices flowing, test out new ideas and techniques that you have seen, you never know, you might create your new best selling design! 

Be kind to yourself!

Every day, carve out some time for yourself and do something that brings you joy. I really enjoy playing with CANVA and creating new post ideas! Unless I actually need something specific, I classify this as "me time" and permit myself the time to play! 

Treat Yourself, I am not suggesting that you need to get retail therapy on a daily basis, but maybe once a week you go out for breakfast or lunch.

If you are feeling demotivated and really not enjoying what you are doing, then it is time to do something about it, and only you can do it. Make small but positive changes that will have an impact on your personal and business life. 

Whenever you feel demotivated, look at how far you’ve come. Recognise and celebrate your success so far – you’ve earned it! And remember: success isn’t about perfection, but progression. 

Seeing just how far you’ve come will give you a real confidence boost, and get you believing in yourself again.

Happy Ballooning! 

Sue

www.suebowler.com

Follow me @suebowler