We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Tanya Allen. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Tanya below.

Tanya, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear how you think where to draw the line in terms of asking friends and family to support your business – what’s okay and what’s over the line?

At first I had wanted to do a soft opening of my business by working events quietly and without advertisement in order to gain more experience. I was nervous about jumping into something new with both feet. But as I was putting together a project my husband told me he wanted to take a picture to celebrate my new endeavor. He posted it to social media excitedly reporting to our network of friends and family that I was starting a new business. Amazingly, I never had to ask for the support I received. I was overwhelmed to say the least.

However, before beginning Petite Chou we surrounded ourselves with people that we admired in our neighborhood and in our church. We enjoyed serving alongside people in our community and felt it important to engage and integrate ourselves locally the moment we moved to Texas. Then when our friends and family knew that I was starting Petite Chou they jumped in with me ready to celebrate and support my business.

In 2021 we moved our home and my business to a new area. With a new customer base I’ve had to grapple with how to proceed with advertising when most of my business grew organically in the past. It’s tricky to ask new friends and family for their investment of time and money. And the last thing I want is to make anyone feel used for their potential to be a customer. And perhaps it was an ideal situation before because I didn’t have to ask explicitly for support. But I also recognize that although I didn’t ask, I offered. When I spend time on how and where to ask my focus is drawn to what I will be given (i.e. paid). My main motivation is on what I provide – that what I create is something to offer instead of sell. My work becomes more enjoyable and less transactional. When it comes to balloons or event decor, if it brings me a little bit of joy to see it, if it changes the feel of a space, I know that I’m closer to offering rather than asking. Also, social media is a great share and tell and has been my sole form of advertising, aside from word of mouth.

Tanya, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

During the pandemic I found myself needing an outlet as our regular activities were on hold with the rest of the world. I’ve always had difficulty staying still for long so I started looking into building a side business. And in our home, celebrations have always been a big deal. My kids start talking about their birthdays a good six months in advance. Event decor seemed like a natural extension of what I was already doing at home. Then over IG I started to watch a friend out in Tennessee build and expand a delivery balloon service. She went from doing small local jobs to opening a brick-and-mortar shop in a year and was actually having fun doing it! I soon realized that if I made a balloon delivery system, it could be a fun way to respect social distancing and still help people find a unique way to celebrate and connect during such a lonely time. So I started exploring balloon artistry and the work of other craftspeople. It was invigorating and inspiring and I realized that I was spending my free moments thinking of installations and creations to try out.

I reached out to my friend in Tennessee and she acted as a great support and directed me to educational resources and artists to follow. She gave vital business advice and was a great mentor. I ended up deciding on a set of pre-arranged products to provide but soon realized that Petite Chou needed to shift to meet the needs of Austinites and that meant acting as a custom decor provider. That shift was an adaptation that allowed me to exercise more artistry and to try new things. Now a day at Petite Chou means I get to build a personal rapport with clients, help them refine their vision, and to take another task off of their party planning list. Irregardless of business structure, Petite Chou still reaches its goal of helping others celebrate and connect in a unique way.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

How we remember things is never perfectly accurate, but I want to help sway the tide and offer the rose-colored glasses, so that when you do look back you remember WHO and WHY you were celebrating, and not the stress of party planning. I’ve mentioned it a lot already, but helping others celebrate and connect is the goal behind Petite Chou. It’s a goal that encompasses small projects and big events – because moments worth celebrating are important whether it’s a small token to let someone know they’re loved to a large scale charity event. And those tokens and the ambience is what we help create.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

My parents are artists and work in artistic fields. I often related unpredictability with a creative lifestyle. Although my parents raised me with love and support, working as entrepreneurs was lucrative some years and difficult in others. As I’ve aged I’ve realized that there a lot of external factors that I can’t control, that are unpredictable. I now recognize that fear of the unknown shouldn’t prevent me for pursuing something creative, and that the fear of failure shouldn’t stop me as well.

All that to say, creating is most rewarding when I enjoy what I see and it brings a bit of joy to my clients.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/petite_chou_balloons/?hl=en
• Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/petitechouballons

Image Credits
John Gough