We were lucky to catch up with Tiffany Gonzalez recently and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Tiffany thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Are you able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen?
It all started from family gatherings to even friends. I’ve always been the one to decorate and bring visions to life, it was one year we celebrated my moms birthday and I decided to try a balloon garland out for her cake table. I went on YouTube and looked at a few videos on how to create the garland, I remember blowing all the balloons up by mouth I didn’t have a hand pump at the time . It turned out cute for my very first one and from there it sparked my interest to start thinking of more ideas and picking it up as my new favorite hobby. I talked about a name for my page and saved so many ideas on Pinterest as my vision board. One afternoon I was out to lunch and I received a message if I knew anyone that did balloons right away I said I do, it was my chance to practice more and slowly get my name out there. I took the job, it was a beautiful all white garland and I was so proud to be able to deliver the clients needs and expectations, I was on to something. Little by little by word of mouth I started picking up more clients. At the same time I was working a full time job as events sales manager for a resort in Fort Lauderdale. As time went on my interest and focused was all about how am I going to grow with the balloons it was making me happy doing what I love which was creating vs an office job. Pandemic hit things started slowing down all over, I got laid off a few times, which also gave me more courage to say, I can do this. I have the skills to communicate with clients my background is in events so I can coordinate with different vendors, I had a decent following on social media that I could get the word out there and slowly grow. I took the leap of faith because throughout this process I felt a nudge telling me go chase your passion, you’ll never know until you try and so the journey began. I registered my business, I made business cards I created a business page and I was now officially open for business. It sure didn’t happen over night, I took one day at a time tried to figure out strategies on how to build cliental, whether it was sponsored ads, passing out flyers going to networking events. I had to start somewhere, a lot of sacrifice came along with this journey but the growth has been rewarding. If there’s a few saying that stuck with me in this process of Entrepreneurship is finish what you started, Rome wasn’t built in a day, and it’s you against you. Everyone’s journey is different and path follow your own stay in your lane and the blessings will come and never lose the faith.
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?
The business journey of balloons started from a family event. I created my very first balloon garland for my mothers birthday after that my interest on creating more and different styles sparked my attention. Time went on, I received a message if I knew anyone that did balloons and I quickly responded I do. I took the job it was my sign to practice and my chance to get out there hoping to get more potential clients. The clients slowly started to pour in and since I had the communication skills in events I could ask all the right questions I needed to know about their event their wants and needs and with that I could bring their vision to life. I would say I take pride in attention to detail when it comes down to all my clients, I always go the extra mile to deliver excellence and that WOW factor when walking into a room and seeing their beautiful balloon displays.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
The most rewarding aspect for me it’s taking something and making it into a masterpiece of art. Majority of my work is free styling, sometimes I know the style or shape I’m aiming for but when I first begin it’s like a blank canvas and as I start installing the balloons little by little I start creating art. I add, I adjust I start seeing my vision come to life. For me that’s the most satisfying part of creating and can walk away with a smile of my face knowing I created that with love!
We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?
Social media is definitely a tool needed to grow especially this day in age where everyone is on it majority of the time. As a small business owner you want to engage as much as possible, post as frequent, use anything that pertains to your business as content. Share your story someone can possibly relate don’t be afraid to express yourself. People like to see consistency, bravery, encouragement and most of all follow your growing process.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://balloonsgaloreandmorefl.com/
- Instagram: Balloons_galoreandmore_