The Bright Balloon

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165. Running your business as a single parent | Shelby of Sunny Day Event Co. Oct 24, 2023

Show notes

I first connected with Shelby at the Glow Retreat I hosted this past summer and after learning about some of the extra things she needs to factor into her pricing and availability due to being a single parent, I knew I wanted to bring her on the show to elaborate on the perspective. Even if you're not a single parent, some of these thought processes will definitely still apply to anyone with young kids!

We talk about the level of scheduling detail needed to make sure everything is in order for her to get out to her jobs (or travel for conventions, etc.). Then we get to talking about her booking policies and how she's developed a way for her to know exactly what each item costs to make so that she can work up from there to set her minimums.

Shelby and I also talked about how the Profit First cash management system has helped each of us understand what's truly available to spend and how to be sure we're taking care of ourselves financially. She shares what her next big goal is and what kind of impact it would make on her situation.

Being a single parent can certainly not be an easy thing, but it seems to be a serendipitous way to actually enforce policies! In the end, this conversation re-opened my eyes to how everyone's situation is different and there just isn't any point in playing the comparison game. We're all business owners, but we're also all people with other things going on in our lives!

And from the UGlu Hotline this week, there's a question about the amount of detail to include on invoices. Just the full amount? Broken down by item? And how do I price add-ons like foils, greenery, etc.? Listen in for my approach!

RESOURCES MENTIONED:

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Call into the UGlu Hotline to ask a question or leave advice! (262) 221-8514

Profit First by Mike Michalowicz

@sunnydayeventco

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164. Making an impact with color | Allison of Tuftex Oct 17, 2023

Show notes

What an honor to have an interview with one of the major manufacturers for you this week! Allison of Tuftex comes on the show to tell us how she got into the balloon industry, how they make theirs, what's next for the company AND she answers a few of your questions submitted through Instagram!

You probably won't expect what type of career she transitioned from before owning and operating Tuftex. She tells us all about the learning curve she experienced and how they shifted from serving mainly helium, corporate needs to serving balloon decor businesses.

We recall the FLOAT convention where they introduced their first collection of natural colors, and she tells us about how they shifted their model entirely when the color game started to change. I found these business stories and decisions so fascinating!

Then when we get to the listener questions, we hear about the Tuftex Experience, a new color portfolio coming out next year, how they come up with (and actually create) colors and what she believes are their best colors.

Allison is so honorable and humble in what she and Tuftex do for our industry. Not only do they provide us with gorgeous colors for our work, but you'll hear about several other events they're supporting as well. Thanks, Allison!

And from the UGlu Hotline this week, I share a tip that was given to me about knot lamps!

RESOURCES MENTIONED:

Havin' A Party Wholesale (save 5% with code BRIGHT)

UGlu by Pro Tapes (save 5% at Havin' A Party with code BRIGHT)

Call into the UGlu Hotline to ask a question or leave advice! (262) 221-8514

@tuftexballoons | Tuftex Events

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163. Crowd-sourced policies and fees Oct 10, 2023

Show notes

Although I know that talking about policies and fees kind of sounds like a drag, I think it's so helpful to discuss them because they are important parts of our businesses that often get neglected and can sometimes even set us up to lose money if we don't put them in place. So in this episode, I'm sharing what you've all shared with me about your delivery, weather, booking and cancellation policies so that you can either find some to put in place or take comfort knowing that your policies and fees are in good order.

Policies are so top of mind for me right now as I'm incorporating a virtual assistant to help me with my bookings. I don't want to make her second-guess her work due to any wishy-washy language. I also don't want to cause any sticker-shock for my customers when they move from my website to an invoice.

So first, I cover delivery policies and fees (and my transformation from being afraid of charging them to total comfort and confidence in charging them). The feedback I got from the Instagram polls essentially showed three different structures for our industry's delivery fees: flat rate, per mile or built into the price. I have a favorite that I share, plus I touch on a cool mileage resource you may want to consider!

Next is what seemed to be the juiciest one - the installation fee. I share how I decipher between installation vs. delivery, and what the average installation fee is for those who charge it. I've also got a cool 17hats trick that helps me perfectly and easily charge my installation fee when necessary.

Then I cover outdoor fees and why I think they require a lot of confidence in your outdoor installation skills. This type of fee then spills into weather-related policies... which spills into cancellation policies. Hopefully these aren't needed often, but they're sure nice to have when you need them!

Some more policies to consider: booking policies, change policies, special installation fees and of course, strike policies and fees! I share how I handle each of them and some more input I received from you all.

What an interesting project this was! Thanks to all who participated and I'd love to hear your takeaways!

Plus in the UGlu Hotline, we've got a question about getting into big box stores and I share why you might be better off focusing on finding the headquarters instead. I also have an insight as to what corporate clients seem to love most when ordering balloons.

RESOURCES MENTIONED:

Havin' A Party Wholesale (save 5% with code BRIGHT)

UGlu by Pro Tapes (save 5% at Havin' A Party with code BRIGHT)

Call into the UGlu Hotline to ask a question or leave advice! (262) 221-8514

Ep. 159 - Precision Pricing | Emily of Utah Balloon Creations | Balloon Calculators

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Purchase a graphic Tee here

Catching up with Extra Betty Oct 05, 2023

Show notes

In our first "Throwback Thursday" epiosde I'm cating up with Extra Betty! Since our first interview, Extra Betty has moved to a new shop with four times the space, started offering a new rental option, The Betty Bubble, and launched a T-Shirt line! Elizabeth and Adam are honest and candid as we catch up on all things Extra Betty!

Listen to the first Extra Betty episode here

Thank you to PremiumConwin for sponsoring our monthly "throwback" episode!

RESOURCES MENTIONED:

Havin' A Party Wholesale (save 5% with code BRIGHT)

UGlu by Pro Tapes (save 5% at Havin' A Party with code BRIGHT)

Call into the UGlu Hotline to ask a question or leave advice! (262) 221-8514

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162. Protecting yourself and your business | Erin from Country Financial Oct 03, 2023

Show notes

In this episode I'm chatting with my insurance agent Erin about important stuff like liability, vehicle, health insurance and more. You'll even hear my gasp as I realized how underinsured I was! This interview was a total wake up call.

Contact Erin here: Erin.gabriel@countryfinancial.com

Erin walks us through some considerations for home-based, warehouse and retail businesses... and what to focus on first (hint: liability insurance!). She tells us how coverages can layer on top of one another into one policy so you're not managing several smaller policies at once.

I ask her to walk me through what it would look like if a customer ever filed a claim against my business. Who contacts whose insurance, what happens if I'm a sole proprietor, etc. and her answer was very eye-opening. Then, we move on to talk about what insurance looks like with employees vs. contractors, and how often policies should be updated.

There is SO MUCH to learn in this episode, but it is not meant to scare you! Please listen in to learn about how to protect yourself and your business, and contact Erin if you need help.

And in the UGlu Hotline, we get an awesome tip about securing your Hi-Float container!

RESOURCES MENTIONED:

Havin' A Party Wholesale (save 5% with code BRIGHT)

UGlu by Pro Tapes (save 5% at Havin' A Party with code BRIGHT)

Call into the UGlu Hotline to ask a question or leave advice! (262) 221-8514

Contact Erin from Country Financial

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161. Cracking the code of partnerships | Alissa of Party Lane Sep 26, 2023

Show notes

This interview with Alissa of Party Lane is SO exciting! I have been talking to people about this conversation since we recorded it and can't stop thinking about ways to establish more partnerships in my business. Seriously - don't miss this one, because Alissa shares how she kind of cracked the code on venue and vendor partnerships!

Before we get to that conversation, though, we also chat about business vehicle ownership, delegating tasks and how rentals have substantially changed her business. She even gives some recommendations for the best kind of rentals to consider adding to your business that factor in trends and storage space.

Then when we start talking about the venue relationships, she blows my mind with how she has venues selling balloon packages for her! She takes us through how she got to this point of trust with her venues, how it logistically works and what types of venues have been most open to these types of relationships. I am so inspired by these ideas and can almost guarantee it'll give you some ideas, too!

Also from the UGlu Hotline this week comes a question about partnerships, and Alissa's interview addresses so many of those questions. I will, however, add that you should avoid any kind of "trades'' as much as you can. These situations where money doesn't exchange hands have a tendency to get muddy quickly.

Let me know... will you be reaching out to any venues in your area after hearing this interview?!

RESOURCES MENTIONED:

Balloon Boss Mastermind & Summit

Havin' A Party Wholesale (save 5% with code BRIGHT)

UGlu by Pro Tapes (save 5% at Havin' A Party with code BRIGHT)

Call into the UGlu Hotline to ask a question or leave advice! (262) 221-8514‬

Ep. 156 - Diversifying your business | Lori of Foto Vibe

Party Lane website | @nwiparty

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Join the Pumpkin Plan Accelerator Course here

Doors close today! Pumpkin Plan Accelerator Course Sep 21, 2023

Show notes

Today is the final day to enroll.

160. The three step process to discover your sweet spot Sep 19, 2023

Show notes

Before implementing The Pumpkin Plan, I felt like I was trying to market to everybody but getting no traction. What really helped me regain my focus was finding the sweet spot within my business... and that's what this episode will help you work towards, too. (And don't miss the quiz in the show notes!)

There are three main aspects to this:

finding your best clients
identifying your unique offering
streamlining your process

You can start by listing your clients in order of amount spent. And as you look at the list, consider whether any of those top spenders are actually difficult to work with. If so, guess what? They're no longer one of your best clients.

You can continue to work with this list, assigning "grades" to each of them, according to things like how frequently you've worked with them, how forgiving they are about mistakes, whether they've referred anyone to you, etc.

Once it's whittled down to your best 20 clients, it's time to start examining what your market niche is and how you can serve them with a unique offering!

I'm especially excited about this part of the process for the Pumpkin Plan Accelerator because we all know that sometimes we're so far in the weeds with our own business that we're not able to identify things like this for ourselves. It can really help to bring in some outside perspective; and if you really want an edge on your competition... have some conversations with your clients about their wants and needs!

It's so scary, but so worth the effort because you'll know exactly how and where to spend your energy with what you offer.

Then when you know what you're offering, it's time to systemize and streamline it. This will include doing things like delegating and automating so that you can best serve those big pumpkins with ease.

Finding your sweet spot is a fascinating, humbling and eye-opening process. There are so many resources I can share with you inside the accelerator program that will help you through each step of the way! Listen in to hear about those resources, the structure of the group and who makes a great candidate for The Pumpkin Plan process. (Doors close in 2 days!)

In the UGlu Hotline, I'm answering a question about certifications... are they worth it? When should you get certified? How hard are they? What do most people get wrong about certifications? I'm dropping thoughts on it all!

RESOURCES MENTIONED:

Balloon Boss Mastermind & Summit

Havin' A Party Wholesale (save 5% with code BRIGHT)

UGlu by Pro Tapes (save 5% at Havin' A Party with code BRIGHT)

Call into the UGlu Hotline to ask a question or leave advice! (262) 221-8514‬

Business Sweet Spot Quiz

Pumpkin Plan Accelerator

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159. Precision Pricing | Emily of Utah Balloon Creations Sep 12, 2023

Show notes

Special announcement: Enrollment for the Pumpkin Plan Accelerator opens today! (9/12/23)

I have been waiting for this episode to be released! It's an interview with my friend Emily of Utah Balloon Creations, who runs a pretty large scale business. So she knows the tools and processes that we need in our business in order to succeed.

She's coming on the show to tell us all about her Delivery & Quantity Calculators, two things that she created out of necessity for her business and that are now available to us all! I've been using the delivery calculator in my business already and it's been amazing for eliminating the guesswork out of my quotes... I can't wait for you to hear about it!

Not only will you learn about the benefits of her resources, but she also walks us through how she and her husband bought Utah Balloon Creations from its previous owner and survived the pandemic shortly after... how the business ran as they had more children... and how they've since grown to a point of having multiple employees.

But back to the calculators, you'll hear how the quantity calculator allows them to know exactly how many balloons (of each color) are needed for each design, and then how that compares to their current inventory. The calculator knows how many balloons come in the bags from our top manufacturers, too! She thought of everything while building this tool - all you need to do is plug in a few numbers and it does the rest.

Then her delivery calculator is a game-changer because it will incorporate things like rush hour, how many people are going on the delivery and your desired profitability to make sure you're not selling yourself short... all especially helpful if you've got employees sending out quotes. And for those who have newer businesses, don't miss Emily's advice on pricing for the future!

I'm so excited for us all to have access to these tools; thanks for coming on the show, Emily!

And from the UGlu Hotline: we're talking about how to get noticed by area companies you're trying to connect with. I've got ideas for both Instagram and in-person networking that might help!

RESOURCES MENTIONED:

Balloon Boss Mastermind & Summit

Havin' A Party Wholesale (save 5% with code BRIGHT)

UGlu by Pro Tapes (save 5% at Havin' A Party with code BRIGHT)

Call into the UGlu Hotline to ask a question or leave advice! (262) 221-8514‬

Balloon Calculators | @myballoontoolbox | @utahballooncreations

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