Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Holland Muscio. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Alright, Holland thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. So, what do you think about family businesses? Would you want your children or other family members to one day join your business?
Our experience is a bit unique, my husband Sean and I work together on the business and our business is a 7 day business, so we spend pretty much every waking moment together. It has been a challenge at times, but the good part is after 19 years in business, we still love each other and do enjoy spending time outsides of work together. When our business was run out of the house, it was difficult to ‘get away’ from work. there were balloons everywhere, our office was in our bedroom and we just couldn’t escape ‘IT’. One day I’d had enough and investigated a Craigslist listing by our house for a small warehouse. That was 6 years ago and it was the best decision ever. Now we try to leave work at the office and just be together at home.
People always say Oh I couldn’t work with my husband….my response is, you don’t know what you are capable of until you try it. That has been one of my initial thoughts too, but we make it work. Are there days we are snippy with each other? sure. But we just move on and get the job done. And we try to not take it home as a grudge.
If we had children, we know they would be a part of the business, but it would be their decision ultimately whether they wanted to continue our journey, Because in the end it is our journey.
Holland, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
It all happened over a pitcher of beer. About 20 years ago we were out with a vendor friend who owned a balloon company (they were a vendor of mine in my previous job) and they said ‘We’re moving to Florida, you should buy our business’. Initial thought was no, but after lots of research (and lots of tears) we signed a letter of intent. We knew nothing about the balloon industry, but part of the purchase included 6 months of apprenticing and learning the skills. I left my job in January 2005 and bought Balloonacy. I immediately added floral design to offerings and started our business ownership journey. We were home based until 2018 when we moved into a small warehouse in Chamblee and 18 months later into a larger unit in same building. We have 1 staff and several on call part timers.
We’ve been creating balloons designs all over the City- from classic walkthrough arches and columns to specialty columns and ceiling installations. We love bring that extra something special to all of these celebrations, Whether its a birthday party or a corporate dinner at a hotel, we do all size events & parties. I especially love working with flowers and creating unique centerpieces for my brides and other clients. Nothing is better than the oohs & ahs of handing a bouquet you your bride! In additions to balloons and floral decor we also have vases, themed tabletop props and backdrops available to our clients.
We pride ourselves on quality, creative designs. We’ve attended so many workshops from leading designers in the balloon and floral industries and its helped us define our style and honed our skills for our clients. We feel we bring some of the most experience in the City and can help our clients have the best event ever!
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
I know we all get tired of hearing what businesses had to do to survive COVID and our story is no different. March 13 we had just finished inflating a huge batch of balloons for a ceiling installation when the client called to cancel because the venue was closing due to Covid. On monday, I was faced with a warehouse full of balloons so I just drove around Brookhaven and attached these mini balloon garlands to stop signs, neighborhood signs, businesses that were still open…even the fire department! Pretty much everywhere I could, just to add a smile. Well I started getting calls from neighbors asking If I could make one for them or to send to a neighbors kids for their birthday….and well that just exploded. While everyone was locked down my husband and I were working harder for a dollar than ever before. We opened an online shop specifically to do doorstep & yard deliveries. We’d get up at 5 and make the first round of deliveries before kids were up for remote school then go back inflate orders that came in overnight and then take a second round at 2..come back, do more order processing maybe make a delivery, maybe go home and sleep….we kept this craziness up til about memorial day weekend with NO days off. It was a wild ride! We still have several clients who found us during covid and now use us for all of their family celebrations.
What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?
Consistently doing what we said we were going to do. Show up on time, be friendly and thankful, provide a product that is as described.
Contact Info:
- Website: balloonacyatlanta.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/balloonacyatlanta
- Facebook: Facebook.com/Balloonacy
- Linkedin: linkedin.com/hollandmuscio
Image Credits
pink flowers: julie anne floral
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