We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Rye Von a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Rye thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear the story behind how you got your first job in field that you currently practice in.

The first event design job I received was monumental for me. At the time I had been advertising for months without any leads and I was honestly beginning to lose faith. One of the dance moms at my daughter’s dance school was pregnant and hired me to decorate her baby shower. I was so nervous! At the time my main goal was to provide an amazing experience for her. I had been stalking Pinterest finding inspiration photos and gaining confidence to complete my first paid event. I remember the day clearly. I did not have access to childcare, so I had to take my 10-month-old with me. He ran around the entire time. I kept running behind him adjusting things he had touched to make sure it was perfect for my client’s arrival. Let’s just say it was a very stressful experience.

My client was thrilled. She loved her decorations, and I was so happy I had completed my first full event set up. That was the first time I had felt empowered in this industry, and it was really a “I CAN do this” moment for me. In hindsight, it definitely could’ve been better, but it was the steppingstone I needed to land me where I am today.

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 began Art Haus Balloon Company in 2017 as a hobby registering as a business in 2019. After working as a social worker/case manager I decided to step out on a limb of faith in 2020 and run my business full time. Thankfully I celebrated 4 years of business in March. I honestly stumbled into balloon styling as a business. When I first set out on this venture, I wanted to be an event stylist, doing lavish parties for the stars, or at least that’s how I sold it to myself. I quickly discovered I actually did not enjoy full event styling but loved working with balloons. I became obsessed with learning everything I could and defining my style of balloon art. Over the last 4 years I have taken many courses, picked up and dropped off many services and products and worked hard to define what my brand really is.

Art Haus Balloon Company specializes in realistic balloon decor installations. I take the guesswork out of planning an event and provide top of the line balloon displays nationwide. My favorite thing is turning something from a client’s imagination into a tangible item they can see crafted out of balloons. I am the person you would call when you want a Batmobile or 20ft RV made completely out of balloons.

Right now, my main source of pride is the charitable Big Balloon Builds I have been participating in. Just last week I returned from Wisconsin after volunteering my time and expertise to build a balloon wonderland as a fundraiser for Inspiration Ministeries. Using over 120,000 balloons, we were able to raise over $100,000 for the organization to continue their amazing mission of helping differently abled individuals find jobs, homes, and build soft skills.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

One major lesson I had to unlearn relates to the pricing and charging our worth. I was engrained to believe we had to charge lower than market rate and raise the price as time goes on in order to build a portfolio. I learned very quickly that this was a mistake. In the beginning I was paying for materials, rentals and labor, however I was not charging appropriately therefore I was not profiting the way I could’ve been. Modeling my business this way made it take longer to begin seeing a profit.

I had to unlearn the belief that people would not pay the desired rate simply because there are others who are willing to undercharge to gain clientele. This was the biggest struggle for me. I had to teach myself to be confident in my pricing. I also had to become an expert in the world of balloons so I could state confidently and accurately why I deserved to charge my worth without question.

I feel this is an important lesson for budding entrepreneurs who face external pressures to charge lower rates than they should in an effort to build clientele.

I say that to say this to all those reading who may be struggling with raising their rates in today’s economy, do not worry about those who will not pay the price you request because the ones who will, make up for it.

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

They say for the first 5 years of business you will be broke and funding your business out of pocket. I have been in business for 4 official years and honestly, I am still bootstrapping.

When I began, I worked a full-time job in order to afford the basics, email address, domain, website subscription and inventory. My job at the time allowed unlimited overtime so I would voluntarily work an additional 20 hours a week and dedicated those funds to the business.

As orders began to grow, I was able to purchase more items, take a class here and there and invest in my first balloon convention. I started small by using a portion of each sale to buy bags of balloons, ribbon, weights, and other necessities to run the business.

To further fund my business, I began applying for grants and was awarded a marketing grant.

Now that I am full-time within my company, I make sure to charge for all materials, rentals, labor and other necessary expenses within my pricing to ensure my business maintains the capital it needs to stay alive and expand in the future.