We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Bridget and Michael Hennessy a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Bridget and Michael, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Risking taking is a huge part of most people’s story but too often society overlooks those risks and only focuses on where you are today. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – it could be a big risk or a small one – but walk us through the backstory.

Bridget: When we came up with the concept of our balloon art exhibit (Hennessy Balloon Factory) we truly had no idea if anyone would come or not. We weren’t consistently booking jobs yet, so we decided to invite the community to purchase tickets and see our art in person. We had low funds, but big dreams, so we rented out an empty shop in our local mall. We couldn’t afford to rent it for longer than a week, so we only had 2 days to create our wonderland of balloons. We had the best time, zero sleep, and met people who became clients and friends. We would’ve never imagined we would win best art exhibit in the 904 through Void Magazine. That was a big lesson— we don’t want to try to “keep up” with what other businesses are doing, we want to stand out and do our own thing. Our success isn’t because we followed the books, it’s because we decided to start writing our own.

Michael: Leaving my full time job to join my wife in doing full time balloons felt like the biggest risk I’ve taken. Most doubted me, thinking Bridge and I were being unrealistic, and I had to push through that and not listen. I love when people tell us, “Ya know, I didn’t say anything but I didn’t believe you two could make a living off of balloons.” I think we’ve inspired people to follow their dreams and think outside of society’s box, which really is the biggest thing for me and Bridge.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

We are a married couple who specialize in balloon installations! I (Bridget) quit my full time job of 6 years February 2020 (working as an Executive Director of a local non profit) to start my own event planing company. March 2020 the world shut down, and I said to Michael, “I think I need to get better at balloons and start dropping them off on people’s doorsteps while they celebrate important milestones at home.” I started to have fun making balloon garlands at home (and started getting better) When things started opening back up, Michael would come home from work and each room was filled with garlands. Our house looked like Willy Wonka land, it was quite funny.

I started realizing that hanging garlands by myself was difficult, and with the help of Michael we could go from a balloon garland to a next level balloon art piece. I convinced Michael to quit his desk job and clean condos with me until we start booking more. 2 months after Michael joining me we were fully booked each month and were able to quit our cleaning jobs. All of a sudden we were paid artists, and our dreams grew bigger and bigger.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

For Hennessy Events we ARE our brand. Most of our clients aren’t hiring us only for our art, but also because they like us.

Society tries to tell you to color within the lines. Things like, don’t get a tattoo you’ll never get a job! You have to go to college or you’ll never see success! We don’t want to be hired because we wear all black clothing during set ups and are told the exact shape they want the installation to be. We wear our funky bright outfits, express ourselves and don’t hide our personality to fit in with “the norm”, and we don’t create mock ups. Our clients hire us for a one of a kind piece made just for them. We are impromptu temporary art sculptors. Whatever piece you get from us, no one else in the world has. Only your guests will experience this sculpture, and it being temporary makes it very special.

How did you build your audience on social media?

Our Instagram is our portfolio. My number one advice is pay attention to what works for you, and drop the things that don’t. Your time is money and you don’t need to be on every platform just because you think that’s what everyone else is doing.

For example, we have an auto response if someone messages us on FB that directs them to email us. I don’t provide a phone number because I learned people will talk to me for an hour and I’ll never hear from them again. If someone DMs me on Instagram I direct them to email me. This helps me stay organized and have all inquiries in one place. You don’t have to answer a client at 9 PM when they text you, set your boundaries and people will learn them eventually.

As for growing our Instagram, we created our own lane and don’t let what other balloon companies are posting affect what or how we post. We make sure we show not just our art, but our hearts and who we are. We interact with accounts we follow, and we only follow accounts that truly inspire us. If I followed thousands of accounts just to get them to follow me back, I’d have too many accounts popping up on my feed and I wouldn’t be able to genuinely interact/get to know other businesses.

Lastly, community over competition. I love hyping up other balloon artists that are genuine and kind. Like, comment, repost them and show them love. If you want to go fast, go alone — if you want to go far, go together.

Of course we have run into companies who rip off our art. One hurtful example is we had a local woman announce the opening of their balloon company with a photo in our balloon exhibit without crediting us, essentially pretending they created it and completely ripping us off. When something like this happens, I think blocking them and moving on is the best way to handle it. They don’t deserve your energy or time, and it’ll catch up with them eventually. It’s easy to focus on the bad, but I promise focusing on the good comes with great rewards.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.hennessyevents.com
• Instagram: www.Instagram.com/hennessyevents
• Facebook: www.Facebook.com/hennessyevents