We were lucky to catch up with Brian Ward recently and have shared our conversation below.

Brian, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. The first dollar you earn is always exciting – it’s like the start of a new chapter and so we’d love to hear about the first time you sold or generated revenue from your creative work?

I was 14 years old when I made my first dollar as a creative. I made $30/hr for 2 hours at a kids’ birthday party. I don’t remember the client too well because my parents handled that part. But, I remember making the money from twisting balloon animals at the party. I felt like I just made $1,000.

At the time, I was a freshman in high school and I cared a lot about clothes. After a few weeks of being in a new school, surrounded by older kids, I quickly saw the change in style and brands, and it was much different from mine. I wanted to find a way to make money for myself so that I could buy the shoes I was interested in, the hoodies, the sweats, etc. So in October of that year, I sat my dad down in the living room and talked about what I could do to make some money. My parents were entrepreneurs. My dad was a baker and my mom was an event planner. My dad mentioned that I could try learning how to do magic tricks, face painting, or balloon art. I practiced each one for a bit, and the balloons stuck with me for some reason.

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?

My name is Brian Ward, I’m from Philadelphia, PA and I’m a full-time artist and entrepreneur. My creative journey started at the age of 14 years old. With an event planner for a mother and a baker for a father, I began twisting balloon animals at events to start making some money for myself. By the time I turned 19, after a year of experiencing community college, I decided to drop out and become an entrepreneur full-time. I started a balloon decor company and I made a name for myself as a balloon artist. In 2023, I began to focus on not just being a balloon artist, but being an artist that uses balloons as their medium!

Now, I’m more focused on creating fine art with balloons. Since then, I’ve created artworks on canvas, sculpture pieces, and more. Last year (2024), I had my first ever solo art exhibition in Philly, and over 400 people RSVP’d in the first week of announcing the show. Luc Belaire even sponsored the show by sending me a bunch of champagne for the show.

What I’m most proud of in my career is my overall growth and the impact that I’ve had and will continue to have on so many lives. I love the fact that every day is a new opportunity to grow, create, learn, and to continue writing my story.

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

The one thing that drives me on my creative journey is life itself. I’m from North Philadelphia, born and raised. I grew up in what you would call “The Hood.” Coming from an environment like that, your exposure is very limited. Luckily for me, I was exposed to a lot of different things at a young age. One of my favorite memories as a kid (as we’re on the topic of exposure), is when I went on an end of the year class trip to Utah. It my first REAL experience of seeing stars. In a city like Philly, you’ll never really get a chance to see stars because of something called ‘light pollution.’ It’s a real thing, look it up. That moment when I saw that sky full of stars at night while standing by the grand canyon inspired me. I was 12 years old at the time and it hit me in that moment that there’s much more to life than what I used to see in the neighborhood everyday.

With that being said, the more I create, the more opportunities I receive to experience more of life. And life is all about experiences. Memories. Life is meant to be lived. Being a creative, an artist, entrepreneur, etc has been the key to open a lot of doors for me to experience life and live it the way I see fit.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

If you’re a creative or entrepreneur of any kid, you will have to be resilient because failing is inevitable. But, it’s about IF and HOW you bounce back. I live by “get knocked down 7 times, get up 8 times.” Failure isn’t an option for me. I have to win. So with that being said, I’ve made a lot of mistakes, I lost money, a lot of things didn’t go my way, but I refuse to give up. In this position, you’re going to take more L’s than W’s. Behind the scenes, there will be a lot of grinding, a lot failing, etc. But when you win, everyone sees the glory.

I remember when I was using my dad’s truck to get around and setup balloons at all of my events. One day the truck broke down. The engine went out on us and it wouldn’t come back on. For months, I had to use U-hauls to get to my events. I caught the bus. I caught the train. I had about ten thousand dollars saved, so I bought my first truck from Facebook Marketplace. I was 23 at the time, and I felt good about my first big investment. I was down to last my few grand after I bought the truck and I was eager to get the money back from going hard and hustling. But, the truck had so many problems. There was a faulty fuel pump, the gas intake was messed up, I needed a new battery after a few weeks of having the truck. It broke down on I-76 a week after I got the truck, as I was on the way to a client! I remember I was so embarrassed because I was trying so hard to do the right thing, and I felt like I couldn’t win. I got the truck towed and I cried on the way home. Fast forward to now, I learned so many lessons over the years. I kept the truck for 3 years and it taught me so much.

I did work for the Philadelphia Phillies with that truck, I did work with The Philadelphia Eagles for 3 seasons straight with that truck, I did work for Insomnia, Dunkin, and so much more. All because I never gave up. As I look back and reflect, I’m so proud of myself for continuing to keep going. Whenever I feel stuck, I can look back at my track record and remind myself that I AM resilient, and that I just have to keep going no matter what. A win is right around the corner.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.lastnameward.com
• Instagram: @myfirstnamebrian
• Linkedin: Brian Ward
• Twitter: @lastnameward
• Youtube: @Lastnameward