Showing posts with label Business tips. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Business tips. Show all posts

Tuesday, January 4, 2022

Effective New Year's Resolutions and Goals to Give your Balloon Business a Boost!

Firstly, I would like to wish you a very happy, healthy, and of course a prosperous New Year to you and your families! I would also like to take this opportunity to say a big thank you for reading The Very Best Balloon Blog! Last month, we reached a monumental milestone with 2.5 million page views - without you, this would not be possible! 

With New Year's in mind, how many of us start each new year with a long list of things to do, or changes to make in both our personal and business lives? My list usually consists of getting fitter and healthier, losing a few pounds and doing my tax return before the deadline! 

New Year's resolutions can also stretch to our business lives too and may help to give our business the boost that it needs! 

Running any business over the past two years has certainly been both tricky and demanding for many. We have had to make changes, potentially running and operating our businesses in ways we have never had to before. The Pandemic has also shown us that the public truly loves balloons, and has made balloons and balloon deliveries even more popular, which in turn has seen an increase in the number of new balloon businesses being started, something else that may have affected your business.

So what 'resolutions' can you make that will boost your balloon business for 2022?

Learn New Skills

We are never too old to learn a new skill or two. It could be learning how to use CANVA - a free-to-use online graphical tool that combines design, photo editing, and is perfect for creating social media content. I personally love CANVA and have been known to wile away many hours creating content for my social media posts as well as learning how to use different and more exciting functions that I can share with you in a future post! There is a fantastic video tutorial by Zoe Adam-Jones that is freely available in one of my past blog posts "Good Design Matters for your Business" - Zoe Adams-Jones Shows You How to Create Fabulous Social Media Posts Using CANVA. 


All of the best business owners make it their continual goal to constantly learn new skills.

Promote Regularly & Consistently

When it comes to your business’s success, make sure to promote your products or services regularly and consistently, taking advantage of every platform that is available to you.

Do you check your insights to see how well your posts are performing? By checking these regularly, it will allow you to see what content is working (what your audience likes) and what is not. It will also help you to refine your content strategy to post about topics that your followers care about. 

Be a Better Communicator

Don’t focus on quantity of communication, instead focus on quality. Many  businesses make it a point to send out multiple social media posts a day, but are they good enough to make an impact?

The key is to put quality first, and only do things that will have a positive impact on your business’s success.

Charge a Fair Amount and Check your Pricing

When was the last time that you checked your prices? Do you undercharge for your services? It is important to review your prices, otherwise your business will suffer as a result. If you are undercharging, be brave and put your prices up! If your clients value your services enough, they will continue to use you and your company.

If you would like help with your pricing, check out this comprehensive blog post that is packed with great information and links to free online pricing tools! 




Give Back to the Community

Just because you are a business looking to make £££, it  does not mean you cannot also give back to the communities and the customers that help you grow, or to those causes that resonate with you personally. So seek out opportunities and give back in meaningful ways.

Refresh Your Website

As a small business and website owner, you need to stay on top of the trends. When was the last time you updated or refreshed your website?
Did you know? Design on the web goes through phases and fads, too. You should always keep tabs on what’s in style and what is 'so last year' to keep your site relevant, engaging, and looking fresh with a capital F!
1. Keep Website Content Fresh with a Content Calendar
2. Bring Older Content Up to Date
3. Repurpose Your Older Content
4. Keep an Eye on Keyword Data
5. Update Your Web Design
6. Upgrade Your Website Functionality

Check out this great post on HostGator - 6 Smart Tips to Keep Your Website Fresh 

Treat Your Employees Well

Make sure that you never take your team members for granted.
Employees who feel undervalued won’t work as hard or be as motivated, and they are also much more likely to jump ship. Make a conscious effort to be kind to your team members, and treat them how you would like to be treated.

And finally don’t overwhelm yourself!

If you’re the type who likes to make New Year’s resolutions, it is easy to overburden yourself with the weight of unrealistic goals. Keeping your resolutions manageable will make them easier to live by. Try making one resolution each for your mental, physical and emotional health, or one resolution for your business and one for your personal life.

I hope that 2022 brings you everything that you hope for and much more!

Happy Ballooning

Sue
Follow me @suebowler


Thursday, May 31, 2018

Build Your Brand by Guest Blogger Jill Shortreed - Part 2


Welcome to Part 2, "How To Build Your Brand" by Jill Shortreed, CBA, of Charleston Balloon Company in Mount Pleasant, SC, USA. To read Part 1, click HERE.


How can I make my brand more appealing?


Consistency is key when you build your brand
Of course, my company is the friendliest, and we give the best customer service!


We sell to everyone! 




Okay, what's the "Magic Formula?"


A great brand isn't just known and trusted - it is loved!






Jill has a wealth of business experience. She enjoys studying business books and engaging in online education seminars and classes to keep up-to-date. Sign up to Jill's Facebook group, The Business of Balloons. This group is aimed at those who own and operate a business that sells balloon decor, retail balloons, balloon deliveries, or entertaining with balloons.

This article was first published in Qualatex® Balloon Images magazine July/August/September 2017.

Happy Ballooning!

Sue
www.suebowler.com





Tuesday, June 14, 2016

Can an unhappy customer be your key to success?


Guest blogger Jill Shortreed, CBA, of Charleston Balloon Company in Charleston, South Carolina, U.S.A. has a wealth of business experience. She enjoys  studying business books and engaging in online education seminars and classes to keep up-to-date. Jill has recently set up a new Facebook group called The Business of Balloons. This group is aimed at those who own and operate a business that sells balloon decor, retail balloons, balloon deliveries, or entertaining with balloons.

Jill shares her experience with us and explains how an unhappy customer can be your key to success.




‟All complaints have a similar theme – something that was supposed to happen did not. Something didn’t work(i.e., a balloon drop or a special effect.) You didn’t deliver on schedule, were late to set up, or missed a delivery. Your client’s expectations were not met; your client thought they were getting X, but you delivered Y.
By the time a customer is ready to contact you, they are upset and emotional. 

So how do you turn this around?
  • Make your client feel heard, – Let the client vent; they deserve it. While it is only natural to get defensive, truly listen to their complaint and pick-up on nuggets of information that you can use to make them a loyal customer. 

  • Do everything you can to delight your client. - Sometimes you cannot undo a problem, but there are ways you can find to make it up to your client. If you go slightly above what your unhappy client is expecting as a resolution, then it can go a long way into making them a repeat customer who will refer new business to you.

  • Protect your Brand from negative mentions. - Before smart phones and social media, if a client had a complaint they called you or wrote you a letter. Now, it is easy for an unhappy client to damage your brand in a matter of seconds. So how do you handle this? Unresolved and ignored complaints tend to escalate. Respond promptly online and continue to update the situation so potential clients know that you care. This will go a long way and if the client leaves you negative feedback, you can try to balance it with a positive solution. Do not engage in an online argument with your client. This will just escalate and end badly for you with negative publicity.

  • Build and maintain a positive reputation. – So what happens when your unhappy client is transformed into a satisfied one, or better yet, a thrilled one? They become more loyal than your best satisfied customer. Why? Because your satisfied customer received what they were supposed to receive from you. Your unhappy customer was hoping for a resolution that probably was not going to happen, and you delivered beyond what they were expecting. So you know that they will do? Tell everyone about their unbelievable story! There is nothing like unsolicited positive mentions to improve your brand – to me that is a win! 

  • Welcome complaints as a way of improving your business. - If an unhappy client tells you about a problem, how many more have possibly experienced the same issue but haven’t said anything to you? When you incorporate complaints from your clients as a way of improving your business, you show your clients you care and help your business avoid the same issues in the future. Most clients will accept a human hiccup or occasional error; how you respond is what will distinguish you from your competitors.
So next time you have an unhappy customer, sincerely thank them for bringing this to your attention and take the appropriate action to turn this into a positive way to build your business.”
Jill Shortreed, CBA – Charleston Balloon Company 

A huge thank you to Jill for sharing her experience with the Very Best Balloon Blog! If you have not already found her group “The Business of Balloons,” I strongly recommend it, as it is a wealth of information and business support! 


Happy Ballooning!

Sue Bowler
www.suebowler.com



Wednesday, February 10, 2016

Risk Assessments & Method Statements

I hope like me, you are now starting to take bookings for corporate events for later in the year! With more of us working with corporate clients and in public spaces, I felt that it might be helpful to talk about Risk Assessments and Method Statements

It is becoming standard practice for a venue to ask event vendors to provide risk assessments along with proof of their business liability insurance prior to working in a venue, without either of these they will not permit you to work.



So what exactly is a Risk Assessment? In simplest terms, a risk assessment is a systematic process of evaluating the potential risks that may be involved in a projected activity or undertaking. 

Whereas a Method Statement is a document detailing how a particular task or activity will be carried out. It should detail the possible dangers/risks associated with your particular part of the project and the methods of control to be established, to show how the work will be managed safely. 

This all sounds pretty complex, like it's something that would only apply to industrial type businesses. However, in today's world of stricter health and safety laws, there are often requirements for us as event decorators to produce these documents.

Monday, February 1, 2016

14 Day Countdown to Valentine's Day - are you ready?




Now is the time when most people start to think about what they are going to buy or send for Valentine's Day. Many leave it to the very last minute! I remember receiving telephone calls on the actual day asking me to deliver a balloon arrangement and pleading with me not to tell the recipient that they had only just placed the order! 







If you have a balloon shop or store, then I assume that your windows are packed with a fantastic range of beautiful balloon displays and all the items that you are hoping to sell! The next few days is the perfect opportunity to make sure that all the balloons are looking fresh and well- presented. How about your other shop window? Your website? I have noticed that many balloon companies do not refresh or update their homepage very regularly. If I was looking for Valentine's balloons via the internet, I would want to find them quickly and easily on a website. The same applies for your Business Facebook page, too. Do you have a Valentine's cover at the top of your page? 

Creating your own cover for your Facebook page is easy. I wrote a blog a few years ago called,

How to create your own Facebook cover photo using PicMonkey Photo Editor. It guides you through the simple process, and it's free!


U.S. Patent No. 6,782,675


Think Pink! Is a top tip from Tope Abulude, CBA, of Balloon Inspirations, in Essex U.K. 
"I use as much pink as I do red, and air-filled Qualatex® Deco Bubbles... Simply so I can immediately convert my designs to Mother's Day as soon as Valentine's Day is done. I guess for me it's being able to create arrangements that I can still sell after Valentine's."


Monday, April 6, 2015

8 tips to make communion season a success for your business.

As a continuation to our communion season series of blogs, our guest contributors Luc Bertrand, WAW Balloons, Belgium, Tania Torre, Balloon Express Shop, Terme Vigliatore, Italy, Vanessa Moscardini, Balloon Express Shop, Firenze, Italy and Anne Cahill McGovern, Elegant Balloons, Pearl River, New York, USA share some top tips that will help you to make the communion season a success for your business.


Communion Cross design by Tope Abulude 

Make sure to market well


Design by Anne Cahill McGovern CBA
Anne: We market to "mom's groups” on Facebook, 
local parenting groups on 
Facebook, and local business pages and town pages on Facebook.  On Fridays, we list in about 10 different sites and this has been very successful for the communion bookings. (We also do this for graduations).

We visit our local Catholic churches with "communion" postcards and photos of our work with a "special coupon" the churches will hand these out to the CCD classes (religious education) as long as we are offering something special for them.



Tuesday, March 31, 2015

Do communions vary from country to country and how important are they for balloon businesses?

Communion Butterflies 

First Communion is considered one of the holiest and most important occasions in a Roman Catholic person's life. It is the first time that a person receives the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist, which is the eating of consecrated bread and drinking of consecrated wine. 



Illuminated Cross
#38465










When boys and girls make their First Holy Communion, it’s a big occasion for Catholic families. Like their Baptism, the day of First Communion is one filled with family, friends, and feasting after the sacred event has taken place in church.




Cross & Doves available in Pearl White with Gold Ink # 86384
and Pearl White with Silver Ink #84560

Friday, January 23, 2015

Are you ready for a little 'Spring Cleaning'?

How many of us say that we want to start the new year with a clean slate and dust off some of last years bad habits? We all consider making lifestyle changes like eating better, drinking less and sleeping more, but I wonder how many of us think about making changes within our businesses too?

So when was the last time you gave your website a Spring cleaning? OK, maybe the term "Spring cleaning" sounds a bit radical but seriously, when was the last time you made any changes to your website?

It is really important to keep your customers interested and excited when they visit your website especially if they are regular visitors looking for inspiration, so change is good   from a customers point of view, but also from a search engine optimising point of view too!
Wild About You

So let's think about what simple changes you can make today.

Spring is a great time of year for the balloon industry with Valentine's Day, Mother's Day and Easter all being perfect for the sale of balloons, balloon arrangements and balloon decor. 

So within the first few months of this year, you should ideally be featuring each of these events on your website homepage starting with Valentine's, maybe show just one design like the one featured and add a tag line;

'Make your Valentine Wild About You! Click here to see our fantastic Valentines range with prices starting from £xx'.

Pricing is IMPORTANT, don't fall into the trap of not showing pricing on your website. Let's face it, if we don't see prices, firstly we are going to assume that the price must be too expensive and secondly are we even going to bother to find out what the price is? 

If you show your prices you are more likely to attract customers to venture further into your website and look around as you have started to tick all the right boxes by fulfilling a customers needs and requirements.

You can download the Wild About You image and many others by visiting Qualatex.com, check out the Valentine's Business Booster and Seasonal Bouquets, both are fabulous resources!

You don't need to stop there, you might also want to do a promotion too for sales of a certain value or more by offering a promotional code that they can use when they place their order, this could be for something as simple as a FREE Gift Wrapped 4" Heart that will cost you pennies to make and give away but it will give you an indication of how effective and successful your online campaign has been, measuring the success of a promotion is very important, it will allow you to make informed decisions regarding future promotions.




To find out how to make a gift wrapped Heart click here.

Keeping content fresh on your website is vital for SEO. Active websites will rank higher on search engines than websites that are not regularly updated or active.

The 'Spring Clean' does not just stop at websites it covers all aspects of your social marketing, so make sure that you refresh your Business Facebook pages, Twitter and Pinterest with anything new or your special promotions, and link them back to your website to increase activity!

As with all cleaning exercises we almost always find clutter, so take time to declutter your website with unnecessary information, old promotions or just unnecessary text and remove pages that are rarely viewed.

To check out my theory I used Google to search for balloon companies within my area, checking out the homepage of each of the companies featured on the first page and looking specifically for a link to a Valentines campaign, sadly only 1 out of 8 companies had any reference to Valentines that stood out as an important seasonal event. 

Remember your website acts as your shop window, we need to make our windows exciting and inviting, we want people to enter our 'store' and look around.

What are you waiting for, get your duster out and start cleaning!

Happy Ballooning!

Sue

www.suebowler.com (Yes I know, I need to spring clean my website too!)











Tuesday, December 16, 2014

Be ready for the BIG job! 2/3 Price and contract

Here is the second part of my 'Be ready for the BIG job'... looking at the business side.

Before we talk about the design, let’s looks at the business side of a job like this and everything that we need to include when working out our costings. We need to make sure that we have accounted for everything!

Material Costs
Labour Costs
Other items

Material Costs - all the elements that we use to make the design, including balloons, accessories, design structure - such as Lomey products or containers.

Labour Costs that include preparation & assembly time - the time that it takes to prepare all the elements for each of the centerpieces. How many people do you need to work, how many hours of prep?

Van Hire - I will need a large van to transport as many pre-made centerpieces as possible, however, some will require ‘finishing’ on arrival.

Van loading - loading and unloading 80 centerpieces will take time, especially if you want them to arrive safely in 1 piece!

Travel time to venue

Unloading - (see van loading the same will apply).

Finishing and repair time on site - there are bound to be a few casualties so be prepared!

Parking Fee - check out parking at the venue, especially if you have a van and review any fee’s.

Refreshments - keep your troops happy, with food and drinks.

De-rig - the removal of any remaining centerpieces after the event, which will also include labour time & mileage.

Monday, December 8, 2014

Be ready for the BIG job! 1/3 Organisation

Does the thought of creating and supplying 80 centrepieces instead of 8 for an event fill you with dread or excitement?

I love to create exciting and detailed centrepiece designs, but these are not always practical, especially when you need them in mass! I have had the honour at previous events such as IBAC and the World Balloon Convention to design and create the "Final Night Gala" table centrepieces and have learned a number of very valuable lessons along the way:


  • Keep your design simple but stunning.
  • Don’t use too many complicated techniques.
  • Use elements that can be prepared in advance like air-filled 4” & 9” Microfoil® balloons. 
  • Make sure that you can achieve what you set out to do in the given time!

Monday, December 1, 2014

Matt & Celini McKinney tell us how using the AeroPole System has saved them Thousands of Dollars!



Balloon Arch by Balloon & Party Events, California
Everyone's talking about the AeroPole System and how easy it is to use with fantastic results every time! No more risks of 'failed' Arches due to insufficient floating time or bad weather bashing them to the ground!
Matt & Celini McKinney of Balloon & Party Events, California, are great advocates of the AeroPole System, and they have very kindly agreed to share their experience working with it.
Balloon Arch by Balloon & Party Events, California

"Our balloon business has run much easier since investing in the AeroPole System. Now we can create ‘helium looking’ Arches that last longer and hold up better, even in the wind and the rain. The AeroPole System is a real time-saver; allowing us to book more jobs simultaneously. Because we can pre-inflate and build the modules ahead of time, we can transport and set-up more events on the day of the event. Assembly is so fast, our clients marvel at how their events comes alive almost instantly.  We rarely sell helium-filled Arches anymore and have saved thousands of dollars on helium costs. Thousands!"


Monday, May 19, 2014

'Contracts or Service Agreements' as a small business do we really need them?


I wonder how many of us keep telling ourselves that we need to start supplying contracts when we take on decor and event work but have yet to do it?

Contracts sound very formal, however, putting your agreements in writing (between you and your clients) keeps your business relationships in good standing and potentially out of court! 
Contracts can be given a variety of titles; including: supply agreements, services agreements, service contracts, supply contracts, contract of work and just about any other permutation of these words and more!
Often a contract is formed once you have finalised all the details with your client, it could be that you have had face to face and site meetings, phone calls or a number of emails, but there comes a point when it needs to be summarised and collated into a formal document, thus creating a contract between you and your client.
Firstly you should create all of your documents on your company letter headed paper, if you are planning on emailing documents such as contracts and invoices, there are many free templates that will allow you to create your own, once you have spent the time creating your letterhead remember to save it as a template so that you can find it easily for the next time.
I am unsure of the legalities worldwide but in the UK there are legal requirements for business letterheads;

Sole trader business guidelines

If you are a sole trader you can trade under your own name or you can choose a different business name. If you choose a business name that is not your own name, you must include your own name and the business address on all letterheads and order forms.

Partnership business guidelines

If you are a partnership business your letterheads, order forms, receipts and even invoices must include the names of all partners and the address of the main office. If there are many partners then it is also acceptable to state where a list of partners may be found.

Limited company guidelines

If your company is trading as a limited company the letterhead and order form stationery (whether printed or electronic versions) must include:
  • Your full registered company name
  • The company registration number and place of registration
  • The company registered address and the address of its place of business, if different
  • There is no need to include the names of the directors on the letterhead for a limited company, but if you choose to name directors all directors must be named
Most letterheads also include a telephone and fax number, a url for the business’ website and an email address.

Contract content

  • Client name, address & contact numbers, if you have been dealing with someone specific make sure that you include their name as well as the company if relevant.
  • The date.
  • Project/Work Title.
  • Project/Work Description.
  • Event Venue including address.
  • Event Name and Event date.
  • Installation date and time. If you have agreed a specific access time with the venue/organiser or preparation area, include this within your contract, stating any named parties such as the 'banqueting manager' or 'shopping mall deputy manager's' name if that's who you agreed these with.
  • Removal of Installation. If you are 'striking' the event, state the date and time when this will take place. If you are not required to go back to remove the decor after the event, I would recommend stating; 
The client is responsible for the removal of all provided decor and please note: 
Foil balloons may conduct electricity. Do not release helium filled foil balloons outdoors or use near overhead power lines. 
Foil balloons are non biodegradable and therefore should be disposed of carefully with general household waste. 
Latex Balloons, Warning! Children under eight years can choke or suffocate on un-inflated or broken balloons. Adult supervision required. Keep un-inflated balloons from children. Discard broken balloons at once.  
  • Pricing. I would recommend listing what this includes - this could include headings (not actual items) such as 'materials', 'Preparation of balloons', 'inflation and Installation', 'Delivery'', and 'removal of Installation' this will ensure that both parties know exactly what is included within the price and more importantly what's not included * see below regarding 'ownership of materials'.
  • Payment Terms. Deposit and payment of final balance - how much is the deposit, when is it due, is it a refundable or non-refundable deposit? When is the balance due, make sure that you clearly state a date. 
Many professionals suggest taking a down-payment or deposit of up to 50% before the start of any project, and collecting the balance by the day of completion, before turning over any goods or services to your client. 
  • Cancellation/ Force Majeure (unforeseeable circumstances that prevent someone from fulfilling a contract). What is your cancellation policy? Many companies will have cancellation fee's and terms that relates to the amount of notice given. These could read like this;
      • All requests for cancellations and/or transfers must be received in writing.
      • Changes will become effective on the date of written confirmation being received.
      • Event cancelled less than ** days prior to the event will be subject to a **% cancellation fee.
Ensure that your terms are fair and balanced, you cannot expect your customer to pay excessive cancellation charges and loss of up-front payments if good notice is given, contracts cannot be unbalanced, that means that they cannot weight heavily in your favour, as in it's not OK to state that a customer cannot cancel an order without giving a minimum of 6 weeks notice, but you can cancel an order within 24 hours!

Other things that can also be included within your contracts:

  • Ownership of materials; This will cover any hire/rental items that may be included as part of the event. It is important that client is aware of all rental items and how these items will be collected or if the client is responsible for the return of the items?  A return by date and any charges that the client may incur for lost or damaged items should also be included. 
  •  Design change and bad weather policy; Weather can play a major factor especially when creating decor for outside events. I would recommend adding any agreed changes or that decor could be subject to change in the event of bad weather.

Finally, when you email or send your 'contract of work' to your client I would also include your invoice (including full details of payment terms and how you want to be paid), a copy of your public liability insurance document (anyone who offers services such as event decor, face painting, candy carts or other party supplies should have public liability insurance cover) and risk assessment. I am unsure if risk assessments are a legal requirement for everyone, however many clients will request that you submit a risk assessment.

I have create a sample 'Contract of Work' letter, to show you how easy it is to create a contract between you and your customers, you could easily create something like this as a template, making it quick and simple every time!


 Example 'Contract of Work' letter.


I hope this helps? The business side of running a business can be very daunting sometimes, however, a contract is vital for your own protection, you never know when you might need it!
To learn more about the business side of a balloon business and much more why not join the Qualatex balloon Network, for more details on this program click here!

Happy Ballooning!


Sue
 www.suebowler.com
  
For more information regarding writing contracts visit: http://www.businessballs.com/service_agreements_contracts_templates.htm

For Public Liability cover in the UK contact the Balloon and Party Industry Alliance www.bapiaonline.com




Sunday, October 13, 2013

How to create a simple Logo & Watermark... in a few simple steps!

It would appear that to ensure that we do not lose the identity of our original designs, we need to add a watermark to our photographs before posting them on the internet.

www.suebowler.com
Giant Tropical Flowers by Sue Bowler


In a recent blog that I wrote:  'Someone is using my photographs on their website, what can I do'? I talk about how Lily Tan uses her own very distinctive logo on all of the pictures that she posts and shares,  and in my opinion it really does not interfere with the beauty of the original design but I always know immediately who's work it is.




If like me you are not very computer savvy, I have found a really simple way to firstly create your own unique logo and then how to create a really easy way to watermark all your pictures! There are many ways to do both and I looked at a number of different options, but found these to be so easy... even for me!