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

Deann , appreciate you joining us today. Everyone has crazy stuff happen to them, but often small business owners and creatives, artists and others who are doing something off the beaten path are often hit with things (positive or negative) that are so out there, so unpredictable and unexpected. Can you share a crazy story from your journey?

When you are a small business owner you are “the person” for almost everything. In certain circumstances there is no one else to pass the buck off to. When is comes down to the wire the responsibility of things going to plan falls upon your shoulders.

Being a balloon artist can seem easy and frivolous. You do get a lot of, “It’s just balloons!”, when there is push back on pricing. There is some serious blood sweat and tears that go into running a business in this niche industry.

One of the great things with working with balloons as your creative medium is it allows you to make extremely large pieces of art. The scale is really cool to see in person.

I had a pretty wild experience making a client’s vision come to life. I had been booked for a corporate event to decorate a jet hanger. This space was massive and we had to come up with a sculpture that would make an impact on the space. It was decided to make three large balloons walls to hang from the ceiling that have gold fringe hanging from the bottom.

I really do enjoy the process of all that goes into making these sculptures come to life. Unfortunately, I also have a pretty bad fear of heights and failure. Which came to a head during this build.

To get the look desired I needed to hang the walls from the hangar ceiling which was around 50 feet heigh. Each wall had to hang from fishing line to appear to be floating mid air.

Already terrified but more afraid of failing for my small business I climbed into the largest scissor lift I had ever seen. My stomach felt sick as the lift rattled up and up and up. When the lift reaches its maximum height I was put in a very precarious position. The balloon wall dangled on fishing line being balanced on the tip of a painters pole. The painters pole had to be extended to reach twenty feet above me while I was already twenty plus feet in the air on the lift. It took every ounce of strength I had to balance the fully extended pole to reach the beams above my head.

I was drenched in sweat my arms burned and shaked. It felt similar to reeling in a giant fish. I had to be fully aware of my surroundings because one false move and the pole could catapult me down to the concrete below. I had to lean back and brace my feet using all my body weight to lift it all. It was one the scariest and most challenging things I have done in my life. The fear pain the pit of my stomach was horrible. It was just my luck that I need to do it three times in a row.

I was extremely relieved when I was finally back on the ground. With my legs feeling like jello I still had to keep on working to finish up with other displays for the event. It was a wild day. One upside is I don’t get too scared on my smaller ladders now.

The client was very happy with the finished results and it helped me feel confident that I can manage pretty much anything thrown my way running this business.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I have over six years experience as a balloon artists and event decorator. I help clients quickly pin point what displays will work with their venues and budget. I can find creative options for at home parties to maximize the wow factor a balloon display brings.

Beyond my experience I have professional quality materials and tools which collectively save my clients TIME.

I provide services creating custom balloon sculptures, arches, walls, garlands, and bouquets.

I am proud that I have been able to build a business and to create something out of nothing. It is wonderful to be able to show my children that your ideas can come to life.

For my clients I am truly honored to be able to participate in their life’s special occasions. It is a wonderful experience to feel the excitement in the air and to see the joy balloons bring.

Where do you think you get most of your clients from?

Having my work visually displayed in social media had been great for exposure and networking. My best source for finding new clients is word of mouth. Either from the people who have hired me or those who have seen my displays at events they have attended. That is why the quality of your products and services needs to be good. Bad reviews can spread much faster than good.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

When the pandemic hit all in person events stopped. Which included all of my corporate and marketing displays stopped. I didn’t know how or when I was going to work again. But even in those crazy times people wanted to celebrate. I partnered with a planner and we started an outdoor sign and balloon business.. To stay afloat I greatly reduced pricing to book jobs. We would sneak into people yards late at night or before dawn to build the the surprise displays. It was a huge adjustment but it worked and I was able to keep my business going.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.kansascityballoon.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/kansascityballoon?igshid=MzNlNGNkZWQ4Mg==