MyMoney Blog recently asked me some great questions about my business.
You can use this interview (see the interview bellow this picture) as a guide on how to start your own business. We talk about balloon art entertainment. But you can apply this strategy to any event entertainment of your choice (balloon artist, face painter, magician, etc) If you have any questions, leave them in the comment bellow and I will be sure to answer.
image credit: kconnors at morguefie.com
MMB: How did you get started as the “Balloon Lady”?
Believe it or not, I have never seen balloon animals until about 4 years ago. I don’t have kids and I don’t go to the malls. I saw balloon animals for the first time at a private party and totally fell in love with the process. I love bright colors. It just made me happy. I guess it makes happy many other people too. Otherwise, how can you explain the demand for balloon art entertainment even now, when people cut down on everything.
MMB: How long did you practice making balloons before you started to earn money doing it? Did you worry about not making enough money at it?
I practiced at home for about a week. Then I went to a strip mall. Paid them $75. That was their monthly fee for allowing me to make balloon art for tips. I made that $75 in tips right back on the first day. At the time, I didn’t know better at the time. I only paid fees like that for about 2 months.
You can find places where you can make balloon animals without rental fees. You can find restaurants that will PAY you to entertain their customers. In Miami restaurants usually pay $50-100 per 3-4 hours on a weekend + most customers will usually give a tip. You can expect to make about $ 150 for about 4 hours as a restaurant balloon artist.
But the best part is this. While you are entertaining at a restaurant, you are also marketing your private party entertainment. Private parties will always give you better return on your time. In Miami, on average, a balloon artist can earn $100-200 per hour at a private event. And you are usually booked for more than one hour.
I didn’t have to worry about making money as a balloon artist. At the time I was full time employed as a PR executive. But I couldn’t believe how easy it was to make money as a balloon artist.
Now, Click Here to read Part 2.
Also, Feel free to click around and explore this web site. On the left are articles about me in the press, on the left are photo albums with some great pictures. If you have any questions, ask them in comments bellow. If you want to keep up with me follow me on twitter: http://twitter.com/mylifeandart Good luck!
