We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Sarah Spitzer. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Sarah below.
Sarah, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Talk to us about building your team? What was it like? What were some of the key challenges and what was your process like?
Final Touches started with just me and just recently has started to grow. At first, this was a side hustle, a hobby, I started off doing a friend’s baby shower, then another birthday, and so on and so forth until I realized, this has the potential to be a real deal business with real deal money. At Final Touches, we specialize in balloon structures which have grown so much in recent years! At first, I did basic balloon arches, but balloons can be made into walls, columns, circles, or whatever you can imagine!! But with bigger structures, it would require more people to help. Typically events only allow a certain amount of time to set up and I HAD to find someone who had that creative balloon “niche”. A close friend of mine was really good with helping me with events but just wasn’t in the right space to help me fully like she wanted. However, things changed this year when I really needed her assistance the universe answered my prayers. Now she helps with set up, takedowns, and everything “Crafty” she’s working her way to becoming a business partner! But I was tired of blowing up balloons, I wanted to work on expanding the business. You would think blowing up balloons is an easy job until you have to tie 300+ balloons, some people really can’t do it. I saw another event planner in the area hire kids/teens to help her and heard they were HUGE assistance, so I decided to test the theory myself. Now i have my daughter, and 2 others helping blow up and tie balloons, once they figured out how to tie balloons they loved it! Plus they get paid to do it! They love it here and so do I!
Sarah, 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?
We provide the “Final Touches” for ANY event. Big, small, wedding, corporate, baby shower, birthday, we do it all! We recently expanded into providing stuffed balloon bouquets and light-up rose balloons, they were a big hit for valentines day!!! Basically, any type of structure you can think of that involves a balloon we are more than happy to assist. We eventually plan on branching out even more into all the aspects of events. My 3-year goal is open up a store in Pinellas County and grow to 3 stores total within 5 years.
Have you ever had to pivot?
Inflation is no joke. Especially after Covid, I had to realize that the event industry is a luxury, it is art, and people pay for art. My client base has changed and we are still learning how to market to that client base because we make a living off this business. It costs time and money, we use quality products and have had to learn to upgrade our prices to match our quality. It’s a mindset pivot.
What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?
Customer service is key. Prompt response will get you, clients. We are known for our good communication skills, friendly customer service, and ability to deliver the vision the client wants. Word of mouth, repeat customers and social media has brought us a good 75% of our clients.
Contact Info:
- Website: finaltouchesnow.com
- Instagram: finaltouchesnowtampabay
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/finaltouchesnow