Keys to a Successful New years Eve! Notes from a Crew member for Balloons by Tommy!

Joette Giardina

Joette Giardina

Mentor. Motivator. Speaker.

I feel extremely blessed to have spent my 3rd year as a Crew Member for Balloons by Tommy in Chicago Il. I always enjoy visiting other balloon companies to see how they prepare for an event and experience the entire process. The best part is transforming blank spaces and creating festive celebrations!

Here are a few highlights from this years experience.

NYE 2015 Train window

I am in Illinois on Family vacation for Christmas and caught a train the Morning of the 30th to spend 2 days down to Tommy to Join in for Jobs 10 – 20 of his 22 event NYE. This Florida resident of 19 years is not use to Snow, Cold and Ice being a factor when loading in and out of a venue! My Hat is off to all of the decorators who deal with these conditions on a regular basis as it adds extra time and challenges, like rolling a Helium tank dolly through snow and Ice!

ON the 30th we worked from 9 am to 4 am (due to the times we were allowed to get into venues to work…YEP 19 hours!

Back Downtown on the 31st to install 3fts stuffed with 5 inch balloons and confetti (thankful Tommy and Scott had done all the hard work in advance stuffing all the balloons)

KEYS to a successful NYE:

  • prep as many things as possible the week before!
  • Book your events early, if you did NYE events for 2015 get them to book now for next year, or find out when they are willing to make that commitment.
  • Get Organized well in advance ordering in all product you will need.
  • Be prepared for last minute orders, have extra stock on hand of balloons you can use for other events down the road if you don’t use all the stock for NYE (don’t order in a ton of extra 2016 balloons – but Solid colors like Black, White, Silver and Gold.
  • Have extra Balloon Drop Nets in stock. (As Tommy got a last minute order on 30th for 31st he was able to put in end of the schedule since he was prepared)
  • Select a Crew that works well together, and has the stamina to work long hours.
  • Plan your schedule with flexibility to deal with delays that may occur.
  • Schedule with your venues to set up air filled decor and drops up to a week in advance if available.
  • Hi float Helium balloons if needing to set them up a day or two before NYE or early on NYE.

NYE 2015 Gold silver on Balcony Balloons By Tommy

Tommy Installing drop to a balcony as there were no other rig points in the ballroom for this NYE Wedding Drop. We inflated all Balloon drops on location. Walk in with 4 people, a net, balloons and inflator. With a team of 4 we could have 2 people hold the net while Tommy ran the drop line and the 4th person plugged in inflator, pulled out balloons and we were ready to rock. As soon as drop filled 2 people hold the net while Tommy secured it to the railing the other person cleans up the area, packs up and we are ready to take photos and head out to the next job!

IF you have a smaller team, then the installs take longer.

NYE 2015 Event 19 Gold, Black Silver drop and sprays

Working with Tommy for the 3rd time, I enjoyed seeing how many of the venues we had been to in previous years. Each Year your NYE business can grow if you retain the clients you had from this year and then add new clients. Tommy has been in business for a long time, this is not his first NYE, the reputation he has built over the years has helped him get to his largest revenue NYE and 22 locations on the books!

One location even had us Rolling Money to put in the balloon drops!

NYE 2015 White drop with money Balloons by tommy

If you put money in a drop – do not use coins! We were stuffing dollar bills, this adds in extra labor time so make sure to plan and charge for that if you get a request from a client. Never put anything in a drop that can hurt some one if it comes flying out of a popped balloon! This bar had really cool white lights on the ceiling that looked great with the white drops.

Some Locations ordered the minimum budget and had a few sets of helium and some exploding balloons. So not all of that is pictured. When you set up for NYE events think about what would items you want to offer that would be most profitable for you if setting multiple events.

If you are new to the industry or have never installed a balloon drop – Check out BalloonCoach.com or email joette@ballooncoach.com for more information on how you can purchase our past webinar with Chris Potts on step by step directions on HOW to install balloon drops with Downloadable print directions.

I’m enjoying seeing the post from so many wonderful Balloon companies who took Chris Webinar, and then tried out a balloon drop and landing NYE jobs due to their new knowledge and confidence from his class.

NYE 2015 Black and white Ceiling Fill with Balloons by Tommy

My favorite event of NYE 2015 with Tommy was this 1,000, 11-inch balloons to the ceiling and 9, 3 foots stuff and ready to be popped at Midnight! The room was set with Lovely Feather Centerpieces and red roses in vases. We finished just in time for Scott to Drop me Off at Union Station for My train ride back to my family as Tommy, Scott and Amy headed off to the last 2 events for 2015.

Thank you Tommy DeLorenzo and Scott Hemphill for having me on your team this year, and for your wonderful friendship. As I write this blog it’s January 1, 2016! I am so excited for the things that I have planned for BalloonCoach.com for 2016. 2015 was full of many blessings as my DREAM became a reality to launch BalloonCoach.com If you are NEW to seeing our Blog – check out the website

Ready to take YOUR business to New Heights in 2016?

Mark your Calendar for January 11th, 9 pm EST to join us for a live webinar with a panel of 6 balloon pros share Top 10 Ways to Grow Your Business in 2016 Registration and details here

IF that’s not a good time for you – NO WORRIES you never miss a class with our Pay now Replay later. Sign up NOW for the class and you will have the replay to watch anytime from the comfort of your home or office. In 2016 we will have recordings of the live web cam!

Like Balloon Coach on Facebook to see Introductions from the Panelist that will be in the class. Invest in your business just $25 a month for the Class Pass

Your Partner in Success,

Joette Signature 1

Joette Giardina, CBA

Take Your Business To New Heights!

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