Balloon Business Education: What’s my Best next Step? Part 2 of 3

You are visiting this blog because you either have a current balloon business and would like to figure out how to increase your earning potential. Or you have caught the Balloon Bug and would love to figure out how to create an income from your passion! BalloonCoach.com was founded with the Mission to be a resource and provide support to Balloon Professionals of all levels through Business Coaching, Webinars, creative new learning methods and lists of resources to assist the Industry to Grow to the Next Level.

In today’s Blog I will share several of the Education Opportunities available in the United states, and online open to anyone around the world! Please know I’m not suggesting that you attend all the training’s, but instead you should research your options and see what fits your Goals and life situation the best!

Online resources

BalloonCoach.com

Put us in your Favorites, to refer to our weekly Free Blog with business tips.

Webinar’s and Projects to see the next webinar available.

September 22, 9pm -10:30 pm EST David Mahoney, of Balloons Everyday, will share “Profits, Problems, and one company’s process to Success! You do not want to miss Davids Dynamic training! You will leave pumped up and ready to sell more balloons!

Online Webinars can be attended by anyone in the world, each paid registration comes with a replay function after the event to all who register Prior to the Class, so do not worry if you cannot join the call live – you will still be able to access the class. Class fee just $25! Register Now!

Business Coaching is available on a One to One basis for 3 hours a month or Elite package with 2 hours of support a week for ultimate support. Group Coaching offers you a community of your peers to meet with twice a month and support through online chat group.

IF you are New to Balloon Decorating, I encourage you to attend a hands on in depth training course. There is nothing like putting your hands on the balloons, and learning by creating decor! Research the options and decide what is the best fit for you! Each companies website provides you with a bio of the instructors, their accomplishments in the industry and a listing of the upcoming classes.

Balloon School Programs

Programs are listed in chronological order, with the school serving students for the most years first.

Learn Balloon Decorating is based in Tampa, Florida, run by Linda Kiss.

Event Decorating Academy is based in Hollywood, Florida, run by Carmen Ballering.

Balloon Training Institute is based in Gatlinburg Tennessee, run by Ben Rines.

Balloon Decor Training Online:

Balloon Click by Ken Stillman offers a wide array of services and tutorials.

DanteLonghi.com by Dante Longhi PDF and video instruction for balloon designs.

Business Training Online:

Balloon Expert School Sandi Masori, an Online Business Bootcamp.

Resources from Manufactures and Convention Producers:

Thank you Jan Iams, Education Director, Betallic for the following information.

What Website can balloon decorators use to find inspiration and recipes?

How do we find classes sponsored by Betallic?

FLOAT Producer Steven Jones has a Love To Link tour hitting several US cities Sept – November.

What is special about the LOVE 2 LINK Tour?

In my dealings with other industry professionals over the years, it seems like the number one thing people want out of classes is to learn things that will expand their business. Sure, it’s fun to learn a cute technique or trick, but at the end of the day, people want a return on their investment of their time and money invested in the class. The LOVE 2 LINK Tour is all about that return. While I am focusing on creating a lot of new pieces that I’ve never presented before, I am also trying to keep them grounded “in the real world” so to speak. You know, things people can actually use at their events or sell to clients. In addition, it’s really important to me that my colleagues leave the class at the end of the day with both recipes AND skills. Recipes are great, but anyone can follow a recipe. I would like people to leave my class with skills where they can go back home and design their OWN pieces, so they ultimately become less reliant on others. And one last added bonus.

Because the tour is about linking balloons, I’m really pleased that both major manufacturers will be featured in the class. Both Qualatex and Betallic have agreed to provide product for my classes, so just like at FLOAT, people will get the chance to see a variety of tools in action so they can decide for themselves which they would prefer to use.

Why should people register for FLOAT 2017 now?

One of the biggest factors that returning people love about FLOAT is it’s intimate size. We limit the number of attendees to only 300 in an effort to focus on class quality as opposed to a body count. This isn’t intended to insult other conventions with a larger draw; we just feel that a smaller enrollment means better one-on-one interaction between students and teachers. With that being said, FLOAT 2017 already has nearly 180 people registered…180 of the 300 available spots are gone….this means we’re over halfway sold out already and we’re still well over a year away. FLOAT 2017 WILL sell out, and when it does the registration page will be closed off. So it’s absolutely in your best interest to get your spot reserved now if you’re even considering joining us in St. Louis in January 2017.

I asked Susan Fleming, Education Development Manager for Pioneer Balloon Company to answer some of the questions I hear from time to time.

What are the steps someone needs to take to have access to the QBN private info on the web?
This answer is two-fold.
First, if someone is a QBN member but doesn’t know how to access the private information because they do not know their number, etc., they can simply email QBN@qualatex.com or call 888-496-8235.
If someone is interested in joining the Qualatex Balloon Network, they can purchase the kit by sending the order form (www.qualatex.com/downloads/proresource_order.pdf) to QBN@qualatex.com, call 888-496-8235, or purchase through participating distributors.

The current Qualatex tour seems to be a hit – how do people sign up for the US Tour?
The response to the tour has been overwhelming! I love hearing all of the amazing stories from people about how the classes have already helped their businesses. It is thrilling to realize how much we are impacting people in a positive way.
The starting point for registering for any of the remaining stops would be to visit www.qualatex.com/ustour.php. From there, people can click on the city closest to them to find a “Register Now” button that takes them to a 3rd party registration site.

What is Special about this tour?
Wow, where to start? There are SO MANY special things about this tour! I think the best way to touch on all of the key points is to do a bullet list.

• Combining teaching teams of US & international instructors makes the classes dynamic and exciting. You are able to get ideas and input from an entirely different market (Europe) while also relating it back to the US market.
• Each class comes with a couple amazing perks: a full-color class handbook & professional photos of some of the designs taught in class.
• We have made it easy to order product for designs taught by supplying a product list in the back of each handbook.
• Every class is truly valuable for every skill level. We have had dozens of advanced decorators AND new balloon professionals say that they learned more in these classes than any other class they have ever attended. While a few of the designs may be more basic for advanced professionals, the tips and tricks shared throughout the day have the power to completely revitalize your business. It was important for us to be able to provide something that did not exclude any skill level, as we always want to reach the most people possible.
• In addition to appealing to multiple skill levels, we have worked to cover a variety of topics throughout the duration of the tour & spread those classes across the country to widen our reach as much as possible.
• In summation, every detail of this tour has been thought out and considered with deep care in order to maximize its impact on the industry. Though there is always room for improvement in any situation, our team has worked tirelessly to provide a superior Qualatex experience with the Tour, and no detail has been overlooked – from start to finish!

How do people access information on Qualatex events outside of the US
Qualatex events can be found online at www.qualatex.com/balloons/shows_and_events.php ORwww.thequalatexevent.com/section/3/1/qualatex_balloon_training in Europe.

What Tips do you have for people to be Ready for Registration for WBC?
My number one tip is to check out the schedule online at Worldballoonconvention.com/classes.php and choose all of the your classes before registration so it won’t take so long during the registration process.

I know last year it was a long process with a survey ahead of time, and then signing up for all classes as I filled out the registration – the survey has been shortened considerably

Are people able to change classes after initial registration? Yes, you can change your schedule up until the week before the event.

Will some classes “sell out” with limited seating in the classrooms? Yes, there is a set capacity for all of the classes. However, most class sizes are larger than previous years.

How do people find out if there is a QBN chapter in their area?
A full listing of QBN chapters can be found online at www.qualatex.com/pages/qbnchapters.php

If there is some other fun fact you would like to share?
I cannot stress how phenomenal WBC16 is going to be! Our planning team has been working incredibly hard to make it the best World Balloon ever, and I’m confident that we’re going to achieve that goal. We have some huge surprises in store for attendees, and you should just take my word for it on this one: you DO NOT want to miss this event!

I also want to point out that at WBC16, the class handbook is INCLUDED in the price of registration. Not only that, but for the first time, it will be FULL COLOR!

BalloonCoach.com is proud to be an official sponsor for WBC 2016 and look forward to meeting many of you in person in classes, during the socials and in the Vendor room on Friday.

Networking with balloon professionals from around the world is always a wonderful experience!

As you can see above the Balloon Industry offers a lot of training! And I have not even started the long list of conventions and classes outside of the United States, that topic will be covered in Part 3 of this series!

No mater what training you choose to Invest in the KEY to SUCCESS is to Apply the concepts you learn and create a solid customer base! Creating a Full Time Living from Balloon Decor takes Time, Money, Business Practices and a LOT OF WORK! BalloonCoach.com is here to support you along the way. Professional Athletes and Top Business Executives hire coaches to help them reach their goals – Now YOU as a Balloon Professional have a Business Coach with Knowledge and success in the industry to help you set your game plan, and cheer you on your journey to success!

Your Partner in Success,

Joette Giardina, CBA

Mentor. Motivator. Speaker.

Take Your Business to New Heights!

BalloonCoach.com

Email Joette@ballooncoach.com