Choosing the Right Training for Your Balloon Business

Choosing the Right Training for Your Balloon Business

The Balloon Business is booming and there are a lot of classes, conventions and workshops to choose from, both online and in person. View our live Webinar taped for you to hear from Balloon Coach Joette Giardina as she covers this subject and answers questions. Click here How do do you pick which is best for You? Write down – what your goals are for you balloon business:
  • Do you want to build a full time business with full time income?
  • Do balloons for church at no cost or for fun?
  • Entertainment focused or decor focused?
  What are your Pain points, the areas you need the most help with?   Do you have obstacles that make it hard to travel so that Online courses is what you currently need?   Are you able to take time away from home to learn hands on?   Ways to FIND the support you need. balloonbosspro.com Check with your local distributor about classes Check out your manufactures for distributors list and upcoming classes or conventions.   Sandi Masori, Rachel Porter and Joette Giardina will be providing Balloon Business Bootcamp Online July 22nd 2018 for 5 weeks.   Picking your Class Schedule at a Live event with class options.
  • If 2 or more people from the same company are attending the convention, it is best to divide and conquer. Learn as much as you can. You may take 1 or 2 key classes together, but splitting up gets you the most information.
  • Write down what you are wanting from your training before selecting your classes: What is your current top Pain point – difficulty in your business. What is a technique you would like to learn. Who have you always wanted to learn from. What is your top $$ customers requesting that you do not feel confident providing?
  • Print the schedule
  • Put a Star next to the class that solves a Pain point – problem for you
  • Put a smile face next to the people you want to learn from
  • Pick one class that you want to take JUST FOR FUN and put an ! by it.
  • Put a $ next to the business classes
  • You can use more than one symbol per class.
  • If a class has more than one of you labels it’s probably a class you should go to.
  • Then take the rest and see how they fit in the schedule and think How will I make my investment back if I take this class.
After you Choose an event to attend # 1 Reserve your hotel room #2 Set up to have a room-mate if you need someone to share expenses with Things to ask potential room mate – I have heard many horror stories from conventions past when people room with people they have never met. I know people who ended up sleeping in the tub or on the floor in someone else’s room to escape some crazy stuff!
  • sleep habits
  • smoker or non smoker
  • likes to turn room into a bar or likes to go to bed early
  • Snore?
  • Light sleeper?
  • Allergies to perfume or foods you love?
  • Shower Morning or night – how much time do they take?
#3 Schedule travel early to get best rates. Check on shuttles, Uber, Lyft, to the airport etc. #4 If driving, note if there is a daily parking fee at the hotel #5 Visit the website for the convention and take time to review the information!
  • Print the Event Schedule
  • Print the Class Descriptions
  • Print the Class Schedule
  • Look and see who the staff are, find out a bit about them
  • Check out the competitions and deadlines to enter
  • Review the classes and make your tentative schedule
#6 Take time to fill out the Registration forms and get them back to the producers to make their life a little easier (and save you time on site). Putting on a convention is a HUGE undertaking, help them help you by doing things in a timely manner. #7 Make an email file folder on your computer for ALL emails about the event to go in
  • Make it a habit to put all the notes there
#8 Make sure you are on the group Facebook page for the event and either turn on the notification or check it often to see new info. #9 Select your classes wisely; take time to really review the information Click on the link below and print this worksheet to help you with your decisions     Show your support to the event you are attending.  
  • Post on Social media you are attending the event (let your customers know you are continuing your education.
  • Purchase items from those folks at the vendor showcase, or if they sell from a class etc. No, you can’t purchase everything. But realize the reason people are selling items is to help make back the money they invested in the event. I do my best to support distributors that attend conventions and that provide education for the industry (something to think of next time you go to look for who to buy your balloons from)
  • Post thank you messages, and send a note of thanks to the company or people who organize the event you attend.
  • Give your honest feedback on what you liked and what can be improved in the future
  • Putting on a convention is a huge undertaking. Take time to thank the producers, staff, instructors and sponsors.
  • As you post photos in the future of jobs you land, or increased income from classes you take give a shout out to the teachers and event you learned from.
    Packing and Prep List for Convention  
  • Positive Mental Attitude
  • Smile and a good handshake
  • Check what the size and weight requirements are for your airline
  • Put suit cases out a week in advance so you are not totally rushed at the end.
  • Hotel and Plane Reservation numbers in my calendar
  • Deleting photos from Phone and Tablet, camera or purchasing additional cards to have room for over 1,000 photos!
  • Pack a lot of business cards! You are meeting hundreds of new people it’s great to share cards to network after event
  • Portfolio or marketing materials that you may share during conversation to get ideas from others on improvements you can make
  • Bring a special baggie or ladies even a cosmetic bag to put all the business cards in of the people you meet.
  • Pack your Power Cord for all electronics (WBC 2012 Jani Blocker was nice enough to buy me a universal power cord when I left my laptop cord at home – not cheap!)
  • Pack an extension cord they come in handy in your hotel room since we all have so many electronics! Make sure it is 3 prong, 3 plug end or power strip
  • If you have a back up power pack or battery for your phone – bring it!
  • Chap Stick
  • Hand lotion
  • Jacket or sweater
  • Logo Clothing to show off your brand
  • Backpack or day bag to keep your notebook, notes etc in from class to class
  • Clothing for the Awards Dinner, and anything within theme or fun for other parties and special events.
  • At least 1 Pair of scissors in your checked luggage
  • Hand pump for jams
  • Vitamins or Emergen-C! Typically you get lack of sleep and you are hanging out with about 800 people so keeping healthy is key!
  • Notebook, it’s nice to have extra Pad of paper for notes
  • Pens – easy to lose a pen or run out of ink
  • Highlighter if you like to highlight notes during class
  • Gum/Mints
  • Travel cup or money to buy one to have beverages in class and in your room
  • Travel Kleenex
  • Nail Clippers and file, with all the balloon work you are bound to break a nail!
  • Static spray
  • Swimsuit
  • FILES for the weeks events. If you are running crews while you are away and plan to be in touch with your crew. Email the information to yourself if you wish to review.
  • $$$$ You will want to have some cash and credit cards ready for meals and purchasing items from vendors
  • IF at all possible plan for a full 8 hours of sleep night before your flight. Once you get to convention it is easy to lose track of time and be up in the lobby talking to a new friend til all hours of the night and morning!
TIPS While at Convention Make friends with someone who has a car or split Taxi or Uber cost and run to a store to grab snacks and food for your room to reduce food cost. Volunteer to work on the hands on builds, teacher prep, or competition teams to learn new techniques and make new friends. Be proud to say “Hey, I helped make that and I know with confidence I can recreate for my client” When meeting new people that you do not want to forget take a photo of them with their name tag up by their face, this way when you return home and your memory is mush from meeting hundreds of new people you will easily be able to reference back to who is who! 2014-03-28 21.13.42 2014-03-28 21.13.47   Brenda Eng and Pearlyn Tam from Singapore After meeting at WBC they then came back to the USA for FLOAT 2014, and then WBC 2016, I enjoy spending time with people from around the world that share my passion for the Balloon Industry! Lots of fun memories are about to be created!           Eat meals with different people. It’s great to see old friends, but make some new ones too! IF you are not an outgoing person,and have a hard time meeting new people, relax and say hello! Networking is one of the main reasons I attend conventions. YES I want to learn from the classes. But the friendships I have made over the years from conventions have been my support system to grow my company and lead to many wonderful travels. *** Remember, lots of business cards!**     Ongoing training and support with monthly webinar programs at BalloonBossPro.com Twist & Shout is the premier convention in the US for Balloon Entertainers.     Join us online for our Workshops at BalloonBossPro.com, then Get into the Retreat for November!   If you are at FLOAT 2019, register in advance for our Lunch and Learn program you will get a Webinar before FLOAT to Prepare, Lunch and Learn on Tuesday of FLOAT and a follow up webinar after FLOAT to help you apply what you learned to your business!     If you have more questions on training email Joette@ballooncoach.com and I’ll be glad to point you in the right direction! Your Partner in Success,   Joette Giardina, CBA Mentor. Motivator. Speaker.     Stay connected on Facebook Balloon Coach Community we focus on balloon business topics Beginning Balloon Professionals we focus on how to create quality balloons

How do YOU define Business Success?

How do YOU define Business Success?

  Grab a piece of paper or the notes app on your phone and jot down your definition of Business Success.
  • Is it a specific amount of money that your company earns?
  • Is it the amount of money you are able to pay yourself from your business?
  • Is it gaining a target client you have always wanted to work with?
  • Is it working a____hour work week to spend the rest of your time enjoying life?
  • Is it earning enough money to purchase a certain house, car or vacation?
  • Is business success not about the money, but about enjoying the type of work that you do?
Here is the deal…it’s not a cookie cutter answer for everyone, each of us are built differently. We have different skills, values, hopes and dreams. The KEY to achieving success in business is:
  • Writing down those dreams, aspirations, goals, and intentions of what ever you wish to accomplish.
  • Then believe in yourself that you can reach them.
  • Put a plan in place.
  • Share your dreams with an accountability partner.
  • Take action.
  • Daily – go bravely into your success.
  From the successes I have experienced I have found that they have come when I focus positive energy on the things that I want. Put a plan on paper – nothing fancy but written down – some steps to get where I want to go. Lean in and LEARN from others successes and failures and apply that knowledge to my life. NOT LISTEN to the negative people in my life that say: “You can’t do that. No one will pay that much money for balloons.” Anyone ever tell you that? I’ve heard it many times. I choose to not believe them and focus on the clients who find value in my services. Let me go a bit deeper in the subject of Positive Mindset. Through my experiences I have found that we can CHOOSE how we are going to react to the situations in our life. Some people choose to believe the negative things that people say about them and make it their own reality. Other’s choose to ignore others and create their own path. When I was in High School I was told, “You are beautiful…but because you are fat you will never get married.” Boy did I prove those folks wrong…I have been married for 23 years to a man who supports my dreams and is there for me in the good times and bad. Had I listened to those people, I would of thought I was unworthy of love and not believed my husband when he said he loved me and wanted to marry me. What does this have to do with business success you may ask? When you go into business many times the people we think will support us and be our cheerleaders are not cheerleaders at all. But instead many family and friends will point out obstacles, state they just don’t understand how you think you are going to make money from “just balloons.” You then have to decide is that going to be your story? Or are you going to create a story of success and prove them wrong? Back in 2003 when I decided to run a balloon business as my full time career, it was a big change for me from being a social worker. However my background from my jobs in Social Work, Sales, and Adventure Based Counseling all came together and helped me form a foundation of a business owner who wished to help my clients create memorable celebrations, a work ethic to work long hours, a desire to learn from others in business, and the endurance to hike through the peaks and valleys of business ownership. As we come into 2018, I encourage you to make time to sit and write your vision for 2018. I feel it in my bones that this is going to be a truly amazing year of growth for the Balloon Industry worldwide. I know many companies who have seen 10 percent, 20 percent, 50 percent and more growth in the last year. The power of social media has clients coming to us wanting our decor. Now it’s up to us to see the value we bring to the world. Make sure to Price for Profit and make 2018 a business success story. If you would like support on your journey we have many online training and support options to give you support to success all year long! Join us for a one of a kind experience of In Person Learning November 11 – 16 in Orlando, Florida. Promotions & Profits Retreat Orlando 2018. Join us at the Walt Disney World Resort to take time away from working IN your business to work ON your business. Payment plans are available. To keep this a very interactive experience with the instructors only 75 total spots will be sold. With being in a Resort Hotel you want to book your Hotel room now from the link on our website. Check out our Monthly Passport to success program as a way to have support each month! Questions about our programs? Email Joette@ballooncoach.com   Your Partner in Success,         Joette Giardina, CBA Mentor. Motivator. Speaker.