We recently connected with Nicholas & Mary Finstad and have shared our conversation below.

Nicholas & Mary , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Let’s talk about social media – do you manage your own or do you have someone or a company that handles it for you? Why did you make the choice you did?

We decided Mary would manage our social media accounts starting out as entrepreneurs with a negative budget! We decided she would continue doing so, as she has two master’s degrees in business administration and accounting, and she is keeping up to date with the latest social media trends by taking ongoing full semester courses on topicals such as digital marketing, entrepreneurship marketing, social media marketing, etc. We have gone from only advertising our businesses in local mom’s groups without even a website to a full-blown marketing business campaign, where we utilize email marketing, landing pages, organic marketing, our website, social media, some paid advertising, and ALOT of time to manage our marketing campaign which aligns with our business plan and strategy. This has worked tremendously for us, as Mary had the basic knowledge of marketing from her degrees to get Nick’s 24 Hour Bounce Castles LLC going and it has been extremely cost effective and we are able to maintain more control over our social media by keeping it in house.

If you pay closely to that last sentence, it leads into my biggest advice for business owners, which is trial and error. It costs nothing but maybe time, and most times very little at that, just to try a certain marketing ploy or technique. If it doesn’t work, move on to the next technique. Your business plan and strategy should be developed AFTER you know what your strategies will be, how will you price your products, advertise them, connect with your target audience, etc.

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

When we had our 1st child (Charlotte), we wanted to make every first so special! It all started with her 1/2 birthday party and photo shoot. Mary soon discovered Pinterest and was hooked! Nick got on board, and we found our love for event and party planning. Every year, Charlotte’s birthday parties became progressively more “over the top” so to say. We loved incorporating new fun ideas, which eventually led to us renting a bounce house for one of her parties. We really loved the modern white inflatables, as they are perfect for any theme, and Nick learned VERY QUICKLY at how to become a balloon pro, so most of our modern bounce castles are rented out with balloon arches.

The problem we solve for our client is the same problem we needed solved the day of our special event. We deliver a seamless experience from our first interaction online until pickup. As a mother of two, party days tend to be pretty stressful, so Mary decided the biggest issue she ran into when planning parties was having to do it all herself. We were able to identify a need in the market for not just a bounce house, but a seamless experience from beginning to end without our clients having to lift a finger.

What we are most proud of is how quickly we have built our business and the reviews and feedback, including ton of word-of-mouth business we have garnered, since we began. As a retired Navy Chief, Nick takes his Chief Operating Officer title seriously, has his schedule mapped out a week ahead, and goes above and beyond to delight customers when he shows up. Mary is usually the first point of contact with the client, and with people skills, business background, and love for what she does, she always strives to go above and beyond, offering more customer value.

How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?

We have been very blessed with being able to take Mary’s savings from her years in corporate America to start our business. We have grown small and steadily. Remember, slow and steady wins the race! We took some of our personal savings and Mary’s paid time off pay-out from her last employer and bought 4 units. We really went out on a limb here, but once we recovered all of our money from those units, we began saving for our next several units. We have been able to successfully do this to where we were making a profit in less than a year!

Mary would like to provide a shout-out to her papa (grandfather) Legrande Jones who was an entrepreneur himself with only a 4th grade education, who had a very similar story. Mary’s papa’s courage and work ethic have stuck with her until this day. He always taught her to put the customer first and stand behind your work NO MATTER WHAT.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

I truly believe what helped build our reputation in our market is our LOVE for what we do! I think it shines through in every customer interaction, whether face to face or virtually. We run our business the way we would want to be treated if we hired a bounce house company ourselves. We offer loyal customer discounts for those who consistently promote us on social media, and always ensure a customer is 110% satisfied at the end of our business interactions; otherwise, we make it right. No questions asked.

We also offer a very unique product in addition to stand bounce house combos, waterslides, obstacle courses, and slip n slides, we offer modern white and pastel bounce houses. Many in the industry do not offer these, as they are a great deal of work to keep spotless, but we love the aesthetics of them, the ability to add a theme or color scheme with a balloon garland, and the truly endless possibilities! We have also added on additional services our customers request over time, so we do a great deal of listening to our target market. We have added yard art/decorations and visits with Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny! Did I mention we love what we do?

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.nicksfortworthbouncehouses.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nicks.24.hour.bounce.castles/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Nicks24HourBounceCastles/
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/nick-s-24-hour-bounce-castles-weatherford

Image Credits

Nicholas & Mary Finstad
Big & Bright Inflatables – for only the drone image photo