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

Hi Emelia, thanks for joining us today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

So I got my start within the Balloon decor industry, the summer after I graduated from high school. I really wanted a big nice balloon install that I could take cute pictures in front of at my grad party. I started searching my area for a Balloon stylist and couldn’t find any so then I searched the next big city which was Detroit for me to see if I could find any out there and I did. I called the person that I found in Detroit that did balloons and got all their information their pricing and all. It was just simply out of my mom‘s budget. My mom is a single parent and simply didn’t have within her budget that much money for a photo op spot. After I got that pricing and hung up the phone, I was absolutely determined to figure out everything Balloon Garland, Balloon decor, and Balloon related. I spent the next four months leading up to my grad party, doing an extensive deep dive into the balloon world and how to create balloon garlands at a beginner level. I did tons of research on Instagram finding some of the top balloon decorators within the industry and really analyzing how they constructed their Balloon installations. I then did a few balloon garlands for my friends grad parties that were before mine just so I could get some extra practice and really figure out what worked and didn’t work. It then came to my party and I went all in. I pulled out all the tricks all the stops and I got so many compliments on my garland. Everyone was like who did you hire to do your Balloon installation? I didn’t think anyone around here did them. I couldn’t find anyone for my child’s grad party, etc. that then lead me to the end of the summer and start of my fall semester at college and I really found myself feeling like I didn’t want that creativity and joy to end at the end of summer when it came to the love that I had realized that I had for Balloon installations. I loved that I got to curate custom color palettes to whatever theme the event was and really see a beautiful installation come to life that I created with my own hands. I have always been a perfectionist through and through and so traditional art forms brought me tons of stress, and I was always critiquing my work and never happy with it. When it came to balloons, though I knew I was always good at putting colors together and always naturally gravitated towards abstract art and I think that that’s what made Balloon decor stick with me, especially organic Balloon decor because there’s no defined framework that your garlands have to fit into. The whole point of organic Balloon decor is that they flow in whatever space they’re in or whatever foundation that they’re on. You have so much texture with using varying sizes of balloons from 5 inch balloons all the way up to 34 inch balloons. It really excited my mind in a way that it hadn’t been excited before when it came to abstract art. That being said, one day my mom came up to me after that summer that I had done my balloon garland for my grad party and was like I see how much joy you get out of doing these installations at these grad parties and you’ve only done a few. What do you think you would feel if you were doing more events and different kinds of events and really chasing this dream? And honestly, when my mom came to me and asked me what I thought about that, I feel like I hadn’t even let myself dream that big or feel the fulfillment that I was feeling with Balloon decorations just because of the bad taste that entrepreneurship left in my mouth after seeing my parents run a gym throughout my childhood. It was hard. It was a constant struggle, and there was nothing guaranteeing your success or a steady income and things of that nature. That being said, I was really hesitant, even though I knew that doing these balloon installations were bringing me so much gratification and joy while I was setting them up and also literally giving me a boost of confidence the whole next week after I had done the installation. So I really thought about it and took time to think about if I could do it or if it was something I wanted to genuinely sign up for pursuing. I then was like what do I have to lose? I have nothing to lose I can put my best foot forward see where it takes me and I won’t regret doing that for myself because it makes me too happy to not try. So I went for it! I dove headfirst into my first year starting in 2023 and every year since then I have learned and hit huge milestones and made the best relationships and friendships within this industry and within the event industry as a whole. I feel like I continue to just get better and better when it comes to my work because of the things that I’ve learned along the way and also just naturally being a very good and clear communicator that I’m really able to understand when my clients come to me and want something, but don’t exactly know how to execute it, that I’m able to carry out that vision for them and bring what they are picturing to life. I started this business at 18 years old and that lead to me hiding behind the camera and my installations a lot because I didn’t really want people to know that I was so young and running a business. That people were handing money over to me and trusting me with what they wanted for their baby shower, bridal shower, wedding, or birthday party. There’s just something about how you can talk to yourself and let yourself believe that you aren’t worthy of this beautiful thing that you’re creating because you’re so young and “how can you be so talented or responsible with such great responsibility?” I’m also not gonna sit here and say that I didn’t continue to still carry that weight till I hit 20 and I felt like, “oh I am out of my “teen” years and now I can really put a face to the name of Balloons N More Decor because I’m older and I’m more worthy”. I think looking back I would have showed my face more because it’s such a beautiful and huge accomplishment to start a business at 18 and still be running it at 21 and entering my third summer in business. That is huge and I think it’s so big to celebrate those milestones and appreciate where you started and where you are now and know that with hard work, drive, and hustle you really can create a successful and reputable business for yourself no matter how young or old you are. It’s never too late to start! I always just refer back to a quote where it says at the edge of the unknown comes the greatest growth and success that you never see coming if you don’t take that step. If you never start or take that leap of faith, you never know what could have come out of you betting on yourself.

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.

My name is Emelia Primm. I started a Balloon decor business in 2023 officially called Balloons N More Decor. I am based out of Central Michigan about an hour north of Detroit. Balloon decor is basically what was put on the map from celebrities like the Kardashians doing big extravagant parties with balloons in all different shapes and sizes and styles and themes. I feel like I bridge the gap between people who want the luxuriousness of aesthetic photos and social media posts that they don’t feel like could be attainable for their own personal event, but it is attainable because they do have someone that services that need in their area and I really help bring the theme that they have for their event to life. I feel like what sets me apart in this business is that I’m really centered with who I am and the “why” to why I started in the first place being that I was determined, I knew what I wanted, and I chased after it with a ferocity that some people might be scared to do, but it paid off, and I think my passion from that shows through my work and the relationships that I build with my clients. I am most proud of seeing the growth in my company over the past three years, seeing my installs evolve to more intricate, detailed, and bigger set ups. I just can’t wait to see where the next few years lead me within the industry and my business. The connections that I will be able to continue to make and the clients that I get to work with in the future that I haven’t even talked to you yet and how I get to bring their vision to life.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

A huge lesson that I had to unlearn was that entrepreneurs struggle. I always saw my parents struggle and fight to make ends meet while running their own business and the biggest thing that I have taught myself is that with a solid business plan, proper education, creating friendships within your industry, and really doing it from a place of passion and love goes such a long way and really healed me of that fear that you can’t be an entrepreneur and be successful at the same time. I always felt like you were signing up for a life of stress and instability and unknowns. When done the right way though you are signing up for a life of freedom, excitement, and pride in what you have created for yourself.

Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?

I feel like the biggest thing that has helped me build my clientele is viewing each client that comes to me as my last client. Nothing is ever guaranteed and anything can happen without notice. So I really create an individualized experience for each client making them feel seen and really valuing the excitement that they have about their event. Sharing in the vision that they have for what they want and how I can bring that last final touch to their decor within any space and have it be just as cohesive to anything else in the room. I take pride in asking tons of questions and really getting to the essence of what they are looking for. May that be colors, theme, or they might not know what they want at all and I really get to show them and layout all the possibilities when it comes to Balloon installations and create this excitement around what they are investing in for their event.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: balloonsnmoredecor
• Facebook: Balloons N More Decor