We recently connected with Lety Williams and have shared our conversation below.
Lety, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?
Lifted by Lety came to be due to two reasons – I wanted to help a friend in whichever way I could and that friend believed in me to see it through. In 2021, A dear friend of mine needed decor for a special event she was coordinating. She was feeling overwhelmed with other matters and asked if I could lend her a hand with something. She told me she purchased a pack of balloons online and needed help with turning them into a garland for her event. I had never put together a balloon garland before but I knew that I wanted to help her and could figure it out if I tried, she also had faith that I could too. So I arrive to the venue early, I start inflating all the balloons, then I had to assemble them, then I had to figure out how to connect them to a brick wall. Needless to say, it was a bit of a challenge but I’m never one to shy away from one. After a few failed attempts, I successfully put the garland up. It wasn’t the best but it had character! To my surprise, a few guests from her event then began to inquire of my “services”, and so began this journey of entrepreneurship.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
What inspired me to turn this new-found skill into a business was the love behind it. I’ve always been in love with celebrations, big or small, intimate or public, I enjoy seeing people gather and enjoy each other’s company. I specialize in creating balloon garlands, arches, backdrops, and more to give a client’s event a pop of decor or to create an intentional focal point. I think it’s so special and I truly am so honored whenever anyone hires me to create something for their event. I don’t take it lightly, I take on a person’s event as if it’s my own. Whenever I finish a balloon garland or backdrop and if time permits, I always try to help in any other area – whether it be hanging up banners, tidying up, etc. I strive to serve my clients to the best of my ability. My friend Jean, inspired the name “Lifted by Lety” and I instantly loved it because lifting up others is something that I strive to do.
How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?
Being kind and intentional with people. Kindness can really go a long way! When someone is planning an event, it can be a stressful moment in their life. So, I practice patience with my clients, I lend an ear, I offer advice if desired, and I care for them as a person and not just as another job. Sure, this means I’m sometimes spending more time and not necessarily getting paid for it but my desire is to invest in people and be genuinely good to them. I believe that’s why I can say that every single client I’ve had since I’ve started has been a referral from a previous client. It’s important to put people first, money comes and goes and I’m no where near rich in money but I am rich where it counts – in love and in joy.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
In 2022, a few months after I gave birth to my second son, I began experiencing crippling postpartum anxiety. It was so bad, I had to be taken to the hospital at one point. It was a scary season in my life, I was terrified of everything for no good reason and constantly worried that something bad would happen to me or my family. Driving was the worst for me and I avoided it as much as I could. However, months before my anxiety had reached its new level, I had been booked to do a balloon backdrop 2.5 hours away from where I lived. I had arranged to have my mother in law watch my sons since she lived near that venue. Having an extreme fear of driving, I thought to myself there is NO WAY I can drive that far by myself with two toddlers. But I had to, I refused to let my client down and I just remember thinking to myself “do it scared”. So I did it, scared and all, palms sweaty, heart racing but I got us there and I completed the balloon backdrop and my client was happy! That day was the beginning of my healing journey from anxiety because I learned to stop giving fear power. The more I did things scared, the less scary they became.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @liftedbylety
- Facebook: Lifted by Lety