Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Monique Hill. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Monique, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. It’s easy to look at a business or industry as an outsider and assume it’s super profitable – but we’ve seen over and over again in our conversation with folks that most industries have factors that make profitability a challenge. What’s biggest challenge to profitability in your industry?

One of the biggest issues in my industry with profitability is, clients not exactly understanding where and what the monies are used for. Clients can sometimes have grand ideas that may not match their current budget. Sometimes having similar companies undercutting pricing, which essentially brings the entire market down. Also, clients not willing to appreciate the time and effort it ACTUALLY takes to make their events such great successes.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I started working at Party City in Douglasville as their party planner. We had the responsibility of testing the stores new products as well as test them for efficiency. During this time COVID happened and they began to furlough and lay off party planners regionally, unfortunately this left me unemployed and/or trying to figure out the next move. While working I started doing balloon displays in store for customers that visited the store. From there I did start to gain clients, although I was NOT a business. From there I dived headfirst into learning about balloon art and improving my party decor skills.

I am most proud of building my business from scratch with NO support, NO financial contribution from family, NO investors, NOTHING just hard work, my own financial contributions and sacrifices while raising three beautiful children. One of which has sickle cell disease,

My clients know me for my amazing customer service and attention to the small details. In a world of rude, mean people, I think Im a refreshing change from the norm,

What’s been the best source of new clients for you?

Word of mouth! About 85% of my clients, new, corporate accounts come from word-of-mouth clients. They are the backbone of my business. I ensure that every install, I remain professional, listen intently to client instructions, make sure they stick to the vision of the day. I also make sure that IF there is an issue I correct it immediately.

How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?

So, starting out, because of my employment I had access to balloons freely. Also, the ability to purchase them at a discount absolutely helped during the learning a practicing part of my career. While learning balloon art is a never-ending skill, it definitely helps your initial startup to have access! this was before I learned what GOOD LATEX was!

As I contiued to make a name for myself and made money, I would reinvest into products that would make me more money, with bigger invoices and bigger clients.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://instagram.com/vinoblaqueballoons
• Facebook: https://facebook.com/vinoblaqueballoons

Image Credits

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