Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Eriqa Gatlin. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Eriqa, appreciate you joining us today. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?

I learned creating Balloon designs with practice. Started with YouTube , at the time there were not too many videos that were extremely helpful but I figured it out. Looking back the one thing I wish I would’ve love to have known is that when creating designs there isn’t a one size fits all type of deal . I wish I would’ve been aware that there are so many materials that can be used to create balloon designs . Having a list or a kit of the basic necessities to begin with would’ve been so helpful. As for the skills I have found to be most essential, I would have to say is learning what tools you need for different designs and understanding quality beats quantity in this business. When it came to learning more, at times money was a huge obstacle because the free tools available weren’t what I needed and gaining clientele was hard so I didn’t get to practice as much as I would’ve liked. Learning a skill from scratch with no help is just full of overcoming something new,over time.

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 Eriqa owner of Golden Thrills Events , who specializes in luxury balloon decor services. I began my business back in 2020 as a stay at home mom and a way to make extra income. I have always been a creative person I love all things design, I think I always knew I would end up being in a creative field that would allow me to consistently use my artistic mind and skill. I like to think that my attention to detail , and my mindset sets me apart from a lot of people. I believe that every job should be given 110% . I also believe in working as a community and utilizing other upcoming businesses while supporting local artists . Having this mindset of not wanting to solely build myself but those around me as well, has brought me some of the best experiences and opportunities. I’m beyond proud of my business and how much I have seen it grow and flourish since when I first began. I’m proud of myself for not giving up and being consistent and teaching myself all that I know and continuously trying to better my skills with each event that comes my way.
Golden Thrills believes that although not all things that glitter are gold , life should be celebrated like its Golden.

What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?

When it comes to sourcing clientele WORD OF MOUTH is key in this industry. Leaving an amazing impression on each client is so vital but beyond that , something that I had to invest in was running ads through Yelp Business. The amount of people who use Yelp on a daily brings so much traffic to my business whether they book with me or not.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

The biggest reward in being an artist is that I’m allowed to fully indulge myself in a skill that I love each day. I’m allowed to try new things as well as be a part of celebrating people’s big and small moments.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: Golden.thrills
• Yelp: https://m.yelp.com/biz/golden-thrills-events-loma-linda?utm_source=ashare
• Other: https://linktr.ee/goldenthrills?fbclid=PAAaYC5Qv1nfytYcSA6a3DEu_-suPxiTsqF_CfVSbz4Yy7c-7gHVRVF0Kf_PQ

Image Credits
Golden thrills Events