BUILDING MY ROLODEX

A friend called last week to schedule a “let’s catch up” lunch. I grabbed my calendar and he asked when I was available. When I told him it would be a week and a half before I could get together, he was shocked. He asked if I had a lot of jobs in the middle of the day during the week. I told him that mid-weekday work was rare, but I tried to book as many lunch meetings as possible.

While a few clients will take a lunch meeting, most of my mid-days are spent at networking meetings. I belong to several business networking groups and a few Chambers of Commerce. Their events and meetings give me the opportunity to meet hundreds of other business owners and contacts, face-to-face, to build great relationships. And those people can help carry my message to the hundreds of people they each know. In turn, I grow my contact list to possibly help my other contacts and clients with referrals.

A quick scenario; At a recent networking event, I met a man who owns a commercial hard surface cleaning company. They specialize in removing dirt from tile floors and walls in restaurants. They can restore grout to like-new appearance. When asked what I do, I briefly discussed my business. And I emphasized my vast experience and interest in working at restaurants.

To be honest, I will never own a restaurant. And he may never need a balloon entertainer. But as he visits his restaurant clients, I’ll be on his mind anytime someone mentions “Family Night”. And I will drop his name to people I meet who own restaurants, retirement homes and schools; any place with a kitchen that might have tile floors. If I can bring a referral to an existing or potential client, I improve my reputation. I’m not just pushing balloons, I’m also helping the client look out for their business.

There are many types of networking groups. Some require membership fees, other have meeting and referral requirements, while a few have mandatory participation levels.

Casual Contact Networks – These groups allow a wide range of professions to get together, learn about each other’s business and get to know each other in a non-business scenario. These networks often have monthly lunch meetings that can include guest speakers talking on topics of business, technology, marketing or other topics of general interests. Casual Contact Networks can also meet for breakfast meetings or after-work mixers. These networks include Chambers of Commerce that require membership.

Chambers are excellent sources to get to know businesses in your market. Members generally refer other members and meetings often allow attendees to bring marketing material to meetings to share. Most Chambers will allow guests to visit a couple of meetings prior to joining. This will allow you to get a feel for the group. I advise visiting several Chambers if possible. In my market, I could join up to eight Chambers of Commerce that are in my area. Not all of them fit my style or my marketing approach. I have been a guest at many of the Chamber luncheons to learn which ones work for me.

An excellent source for Casual Contact Networks is Meetup (http://www.meetup.com/). The website allows anyone to start a group, set up meetings and invite people to attend. These groups are very diversified, (Brazilan Culture, Ballet, Fitness, Single Mothers). But there are thousands of business networking groups. Just type your area of interest and zip code in the search fields. A quick look at the list can reveal many groups that gather at an area restaurant once a month just so you can meet other business owners, swap biz cards and help spread the word about their products/services. These meetings usually allow each person to stand in front of the group and present a short introduction to your company.

Strong Contact Networks – These groups typically meet weekly for the purpose of exchanging direct referrals collected over the previous week. Membership is restricted to only one person from each profession or specialty, (1 lawyer, 1 accountant, etc). The meetings are usually more structured than Casual Networks, allowing open networking but only a couple of more detailed presentations from selected members. These groups require members to cultivate their contacts into specific referrals for other members.

The largest of these networks is BNI (http://www.bni.com/), with chapters all over the world.

Community Service Clubs – These groups offer the opportunity to give back to the community while building relationships with other businesses that are like-minded in support of the Club. While there is no overt networking involved, conversations often revolve around business and providing word-of-mouth marketing.

Service Clubs include Rotary Club, Lions Club and Kiwanis Club. Primarily established for community improvement, these groups can be an excellent source of referral possibilities.

Professional Associations – What have been called “Knowledge Networks”, these groups are made up of one specific industry, (banking, insurance, architecture). The primary purpose of a professional association is to exchange information and ideas. While you might not be able to join the Certified Life Underwriters Association or the American Accounting Association, these can be excellent sources for referral business. While attending a networking event, ask an acquaintance if they are a member of any professional associations. Ask if they would recommend your service to their members. Chances are they would be eager to share your information with their colleagues.

Do I belong to a Professional Association? YES; My local balloon jam! While don’t have a fancy name like the Regional Association of Latex Inflators, we do get together to share twisting ideas, exchange tips for ending lines and help solve each other’s problems.

There are several tips to successful networking.

- Find groups that fit. You might “kiss a lot of frogs”, but you will eventually find groups that are comfortable and offer you opportunity to expand your contacts.
- Practice your “elevator speech”. This is your quick introduction of who you are and what you do. Emphasis on QUICK. Fifteen to thirty seconds and include who you are, your company name and your top services. I like to have the other person talk first. That way I can possibly customize my intro to fit their company.
- Have business cards available, not in your hand. Don’t introduce yourself by extending your right hand for a shake and extending your left hand with a business card. Wait for the opportunity during the conversation. If the opportunity arises, make it happen. Ask the other person for their card. They will also ask for yours. Now you have a prospect for your services and you have a contact for your referral list.
- Set yourself apart. One of the key tools, according to marketing geniuses, (Seth Godin, Scott Ginsberg), is to be unique. I don’t have a problem with that. In all of my networking groups, I am the only balloon business. And I don’t join a group that doesn’t provide the opportunity for me to bring a sample of my work to every meeting. Whether it is an attendance prize or a gift for the hosting restaurant, I always bring a balloon sculpture to show off my talents. I can talk all day about my stage show or my delivery pieces or my décor work and people will listen. But when I walk in with bouquet of balloon flowers or a leprechaun on a pot of gold or Santa with Rudolph, people are approaching me and asking what I do.

The best advice, above all other, is this: Participate. Regardless of the group you join, you must attend the meetings, join the conversations, meet new people, catch up with people you already know and become known to everyone. This is the best way to expand your referral base and build the relationships that will increase your business.

Thad James
SAMMY J Balloon Creations
http://www.sammyjballoons.com/
“Balloon entertainment with a twist”

Balloon Garden Wrap-up

Balloon Garden is popped and packed. This was the largest single project I have ever produced. Five days of construction, almost 7000 balloons, six inflators, pages of drawings, sleepless nights, countless re-designs, one garden gnome and thousands of thrilled visitors. While SAMMY J Balloon Creations received the recognition for this presentation, I am hardly alone in deserving credit for this project coming to life.

Gary Zide of the Home Builders Association of St Louis approached me many months ago with the idea of doing something special with balloons at the St Louis Home & Garden Show. While I have performed at one of the other home shows, Gary wanted a unique feature at their large show. We initially discussed placing large balloon flower bouquets around the show floor. I challenged Gary to imagine something bigger and more impressive than had ever been seen at any home show. I met with Gary, Tammy and Ellen at the HBA office and Balloon Garden was born. Without the imagination of the HBA staff, the event would not have been possible. They understood the idea of building a 600-square foot, interactive, walk-through space that would contain all the elements of an English-style garden feature; made completely out of balloons. Their vision launched the project.

After that initial meeting, I called several trusted contacts for feedback and advice, including Johnna Perry, Larry Moss, Jan Iiams and Troy Apprill. Having a large contact list is one thing. Having the ability to discuss a project like this with a wide range of very talented people is invaluable. I cannot express my heartfelt appreciation for these people.

Johnna Perry has a mind like none other. Her unique perspective helped me work through scheduling, proposal writing, scheduling, idea conceiving, logistics, dealing with clients and handling the public. She can balance the business side and creative side of projects. Johnna always has been and always will be on my speed dial.

Larry Moss is the king of large projects and everyone knows it. If you don’t, you need a lesson. He has conceived of and produced the greatest, largest, most impressive balloon projects in history. His resume of large-scale work cannot be rivaled. Larry took the time to listen to me rant about Balloon Garden. While he doesn’t believe he provided direct advice, he confirmed many of my actions. By working with Larry on Balloon Manors and watching him produce his projects gave me the confidence to produce my own project. Larry’s spirit was with me throughout this endeavor.

Calling Jan Iiams for advice was easy. I’ve done it several times in the past and will continue to do it in the future. Jan’s fountain of creativity never stops. And while she conceives great ideas, she is open to changes to her concepts if it helps the finished project. She appreciates my twisted mind. I am always proud to work with Jan because I always leave the job with more knowledge and a greater appreciation for the work.

Jan helped me work with Betallic to secure sponsorship of Balloon Garden. Betallic realized the unique possibility of this project and provided the product for this venture. A very special “Thank You!” to Mary Ann Amick and Jordan Von Wumb for their hard work and patience. I was able to work with the full palette of Betallatex products to produce an extremely colorful space. I incorporated most of the Betallatex sizes: 160, 260, 360, 660, Link-O-Loon®, specialty shapes, four shades of green for flower stems, five shades of blue for water, dozens of colors for flowers.

Balloon Garden owes its life to many people but none more so than Troy Apprill of Balloonville Productions. Troy was my creative collaborator, co-designer and project partner. He kept me sane, kept me on task, kept me positive and kept me laughing. We were cold, tired, hungry, sore, bored, irritated and confused. We shared and cared and built an amazing balloon spectacle. We may never speak to each other again. “Just grab it and go!”

I have many indelible balloon memories in my mind; my first balloon book, my first balloon convention, meeting my balloon heroes, Balloon Manor 1. Planning and creating Balloon Garden will join those monumental memories. To anyone who encouraged me, provided advice and supported, visited the project, sent me a picture of their favorite flower, saw me with Tim on TV; I owe you a Thank You and a debt of gratitude. Now on to the next job!

Thad James
SAMMY J Balloon Creations
www.sammyjballoons.com
“Balloon entertainment with a twist”

DOING WHAT YOU LOVE

As I write this article, the thermo-
meter reads three degrees. I’m not boasting or com-
plaining. My friends in Minnesota and Michigan are emboldened by their temperatures in the negatives. And fellow ballooners in Florida started wearing coats and gloves when the mercury plummeted below fifty.

I love living in the Midwest. I enjoy having equal parts of all four seasons. I look forward to the heat and humidity of August, the rain of April, the late frost in March, the last gasp of fall in November, the first day of short pants in March, the following day of wearing coat and gloves. I truly feel sorry for anyone who can’t enjoy both mowing the lawn and shoveling the driveway.

The cold weather gives me the opportunity to organize myself for the coming year. Compiling receipts and invoices for tax time, updating addresses for marketing campaigns, writing press releases for upcoming projects and working on new balloon designs.

I was recently talking with a friend at a networking luncheon. He has recently started a graphic design business out of his home. He has many years of experience and is very talented. His portfolio of logos, ad campaigns and websites is very impressive. (He designed the logo for my Balloon Garden project.) He’s been self-employed for about six months and already has a good client list.

We were discussing all the stuff we have to do that has nothing to do with the stuff we want to do. As we talked, we were joined by a few other “non-employee” business owners. (That’s the term being used to describe anyone who runs a company but doesn’t hire traditional employees.) Our little group included a bookkeeper, a baker, a plumber, a graphic designer and a balloon entertainer. We had a lot in common. While we all worked out of a home office, (the baker has partnered with a commercial kitchen), and are in different businesses, we all loved what we did. We all had a passion for our chosen field.

Unfortunately, to be successful in our business, we had to spend a lot of time not doing what we loved. Between marketing, contracting, invoicing, phone calls, letters, return phone calls and proposals; we were left with a small part of the calendar to perform our expertise. We came to the conclusion that you better love what you do because you’ll get very little time to do it. The rest of the time involves trying to convince someone to pay you to do what you love doing.

Many in our little group had worked in larger companies doing what they were now doing on their own. The plumber had worked for a national chain. The baker had worked in many restaurants. The bookkeeper had worked for a big firm. We all had our own reasons for starting our own businesses. Either the freedom to make our own decisions or to express our own ideas or to do things the way we wanted.

We discussed what we most loved about owning our own businesses. Nobody talked about the paperwork or phone calls or sending contracts. The plumber loves to rebuild drains. The baker loves to decorate cakes. The bookkeeper loves to balance numbers. I love to create unique balloon sculptures and entertain an audience. In our own ways, we love to show off what we love to do for the appreciation of our clients.

Certainly the burden of having to do everything yourself is outweighed by the sense of accomplishment in doing everything yourself. Love what you do and appreciate the time you get to do it.

Thad James
SAMMY J Balloon Creations
www.sammyjballoons.com
“Balloon entertainment with a twist”

Balloon Garden

This blog has been silent for far too long. While I’ve had many thoughts and topics I could have written about, one thing has been dominating my time for the last couple of months. I can finally announce the project: Balloon Garden.

I have worked with the Home Builders Association of St Louis for many years providing balloon entertainment at the St Charles Home Show. They have enjoyed the balloon creations and my interaction with the audience. I had proposed the possibility of entertaining at the St Louis Home & Garden Show at America’s Center. They wanted something different.

We started discussing balloon flowers and having large balloon sculptures at the show. From these discussions came an idea that excited everyone involved: Balloon Garden. What started as an idea of a small corner booth with some balloon flower bouquets quickly blossomed into a six-hundred square foot space filled with flowers, plants and everything you’d expect to see in a garden. And the entire garden will be made from balloons! The show organizers were thrilled with the concept and with of having one of the largest balloon installations every constructed in St. Louis at their Home and Garden Show.

Once the idea was accepted, the work began. Before the first balloon could be inflated, I had to put concepts to paper and prove that the whole thing could work. Not only did I have to convince the client, but I had to convince myself that what I knew was possible could actually be done.

I started sketching schemes and brainstorming plans. I wanted to fill six-hundred square feet with as much as I could. Certainly, balloon flowers would be everywhere. After all, this is the St. Louis Home & Garden Show. It will be February and attendees will be searching for early signs of Spring! But a bunch of balloon flowers would not be enough. I wanted Balloon Garden to fit with the other projects that would surround it. What do people think of when they picture the garden of their dreams? A wishing well. A fish pond. A decorative fountain. Ornamental landscaping. I would need to include all this and more.

Balloon Garden will be constructed during the early days of the St. Louis Home & Garden Show, (Feb 25-28, 2010), and will be open for tours on the last two days. The idea is to allow attendees view the construction process and to interact with the balloon artists. This is not an original concept on my part, but one that I am stealing from a good friend. I didn’t want Balloon Garden to simply be a static display of flowers. This will a space situated in the middle of the convention floor surrounded by a walkway on all four sides. Attendees will be able to not only watch the balloon-making but also be up close to the sculptures. During the tour hours, visitors will be engulfed by Balloon Garden.

As plans and details evolve, I will continue to promote the project. Thanks to social networking, I can reach many people, both ballooners and normal persons. I’m very excited by this project. And while it has taken over most of my time and thought process, I am most looking forward to inflating that first balloon.

Thad James
SAMMY J Ballon Creations
www.sammyjballoons.com

Balloon Holiday Season

What happened to October? Fall festivals, trade shows, birthdays, company events and so many Halloween parties!!! I’ve put away the ghosts and ghouls, finished making vampires and spiders and properly disposed of the rapidly decaying jack-o-lanterns. I’m still recovering from the sugar high off all the chocolate, marshmallows and nougat. (If only I knew what nougat was…)

As soon as I lose the Trick-or-Treat weight; I’ll be ready for turkey, stuffing, potatoes, green beans, cranberry sauce. And of course: Pie.

But enough about my food obsession.

The holidays are a great time for balloon artists. And the holiday season for balloons lasts all year long. Every month there are plenty of things to celebrate and balloons can be made to fit the occasion.

Some great holiday opportunities for balloon creations:

January
Paul Revere’s birthday - horse and rider, church tower with lanterns, revolutionary flag
Benjamin Franklin’s birthday – kite being struck by lightning, $100 bill

February
Sub-planet Pluto discovered – build a solar system and discuss how Pluto was de-certified as a planet.
Mardi Gras – anything and everything in Purple, Green and Gold. The possibilities are endless

March
Dr. Suess’s birthday – a red and white top hat or a red fish and a blue fish
First Day of Spring – flowers, birds, more flowers, sun

April
Jazz Appreciation Month – trumpet, saxophone, trombone
Earth Day – Earth imprinted rounds used in centerpieces or hats or column toppers

May
Cinco de Mayo – all things green, white and red
Hillary and Norgay first to climb Everest – what a about a large, white-capped mountain?

June
Summer Solstice – Bouquet deliveries to your favorite Wiccan or Druid
Luzo-Brazilian Month – Celebrate the Brazilian/Portuguese cultures in your area


You get the idea.

I enjoy showing customers the possibility of balloon sculptures. I look for different ways to incorporate my love of balloons with special occasions that are not well known. It is a great way to expose customers to less well known celebrations as well as expand their thinking of what can be done with balloons.

Best of all; nobody in my neighborhood has ever seen a 13-foot tall Frankenstein!


Thad James

SAMMY J Balloon Creations

http://www.sammyjballoons.com/

“Balloon entertainment with a twist”

A DAY OFF

Last week, I saw my neighbor as we each let our respective dogs out for their respective business.

“Morning!”, he yelled.
“Morning”, I returned.
“You got any jobs today?” (He knows all too well about my balloon entertainment business. His kids get huge sculptures on their birthdays. And his association hires me for their annual tradeshow.)
“No, I don’t have any bookings today.”
“Yea, I took the day off too. Great to have a three-day weekend, isn’t it?”
“Sure.”

I thought about that for a while; a three-day weekend? I’ve got bookings Friday night, all day Saturday and most of Sunday. I’ve got to prep for the weekend’s jobs, send out contracts for future jobs, proposals to write to potential clients, emails to send to the people I met at the last networking event, signed contracts to log into the database, expense receipts to update in Quickbooks, revise my website, return phone messages. Plus, I wanted to work on three or four balloon designs that have been bouncing around my head.

A balloon decorator friend and I were discussing our backward lives. She made the observation that we are the only people who look forward to Mondays. Odd as that may sound to people in the “cubicle world”, Mondays are usually a day of rest after several days of driving, inflating, tying, twisting, setting up, breaking down, following Mapquest directions, entertaining audiences and dealing with clients. Who knew having so much fun could be so exhausting.

While our clients and customers see us making balloons and making people happy, nobody sees the ugly behind-the-scenes work that goes into making those beautiful balloons. This is true of most event-oriented businesses. We work hard so others can enjoy their happy occasions.

JAZZ AND BALLOONS

I look forward to the Old Webster Jazz & Blues Festival every September. I have performed at the festival for eight consecutive years. While I don’t play sax or sing, I’m proud to be a featured artist. While, I don’t occupy space on the main stage; I always have an enthusiastic audience.

As a fan of jazz music, this is a great day for me. I get to make wonderful balloons, entertain my audience and listen to some fantastic music. The bands included the Dogtown Allstars, the Soulard Blues Band, the St Louis Jazz & Blues Revue and the Funky Butt Brass Band. While I didn't get to hear the Funky Butt Brass Band, Michael "Tunes" Brooks says their great. And that's good enough for me.

My own performance was interrupted several times by self-imposed “dance breaks” whenever the music moved me. Of course the crowd didn’t mind as they were usually tapping or snapping or head-bobbing to the beat anyway. Everyone was enjoying the great music and the cool vibe that moved through the air.

The Old Webster Jazz & Blues Festival was founded in 2001 to promote music and culture in the Old Webster Groves Historic District. The festival has been a HUGE success over the years. The event started with a stage at the end of a street and four bands. Every year the festival has grown and now includes two stages on different streets, a kid’s area, food vendors, a jazz clinic, eleven bands and hundreds of music fans. By the late afternoon, the streets are full of folding chairs and blankets and families from miles around.

The organizers hire me to arrive early so I can get a good spot. Far enough from the stage to be able to entertain but close enough to hear every note. I get to listen to classics from the golden age of jazz, the funky rhythms of new age, the big bands, the sultry vocals, the percussion, the fat sax, the brassy horns.

This year, a light rain began to fall in the afternoon. Did the crowd scatter? Did the audience thin out? Not a chance. It was quite a sight seeing the umbrellas pop-up and start swaying to the beat.

Major congrats to the committee: Joe Rath, Jennifer Bellm, Dawn DeBlaze, Mary Chambers, and Katy Sommer. Of course, the biggest thanks to the hardest worker of all: Matt.

See you next year!


Thad James
SAMMY J Balloon Creations
www.sammyjballoons.com
“Balloon entertainment with a twist”

FOR APPEARANCE SAKE

A networking group I belong to holds a meeting for new members. This orientation is to inform them on the benefits of the group, the networking opportunities and the ways to benefit the member’s company by attending meetings. Because I’ve been an active member for many years, I am asked to speak to the new members about networking.

Before the orientation began, I was introducing myself to new faces in the crowd. The makeup of the group was typical; insurance rep, remodeling guy, banking woman, etc. A wide variety of business types. And a variety of business dress. The main presenter is a financial advisor and always wears a suit. The banking woman wore a jacket and skirt. I typically wear nice pants and a logo-embroidered polo shirt.

As I was talking to a couple of people, a woman walked in the room. She approached our group and made her introductions. She is the area representative for a well-known cosmetics company, (I don’t mention the name of the company for good reason). The woman was dressed in baggy gym shorts, a wrinkled and stained T-shirt and cheap flip-flops. Here she was, attending a networking meeting full of potential customers wearing clothes suitable for hanging around the house.

More importantly, we didn’t just represent potential customers; we are her referral agents. The number one marketing use of networking groups is the “I know someone” aspect. The people you meet may be your future clients. But they talk to their customers and when the topic of your business comes up, you should be their first thought.

I know this works. I am the only balloon entertainer in my networking group. I am the BALLOON GUY! All other ballooners in my market are compared to me for people in my group. When the topics of “balloons” or “entertainment” or “balloon dress emails” are mentioned, my fellow members (over 450 of them) think of me first. That’s 450 business people talking to thousands of their customers with me on their mind. Now that’s marketing power.

But that’s not the topic of the day.

The first impression of the cosmetics lady was: gym shorts and T-shirt. It was difficult to listen to anything she had to say after that. She was very knowledgeable about the long history of her company. She was enthusiastic about her involvement with the company. She was proud to be a representative. My attention was drawn to that wrinkled, stained shirt.

No, I don’t wear a suit and tie when I attend networking events. I’m not in a “suit and tie” business. (I only own a couple of jackets and a few ties!) And I can usually be found in lounge-wear while I’m writing or practicing my stage acts. That’s in my home-office. But we were in a room a business people. I don’t wear my “entertainer outfits” when I attend business meetings. Those clothes are for performances. The remolding guy didn’t wear his tool belt. The doctor didn’t bring is sphygmomanometer. And the karate guy wasn’t wearing his Gi and Obi.

I have worked very hard to be known as “The Balloon Guy” in my networking groups. I am educated about balloon events, trends, conventions. I can build the most amazing balloon sculptures. And yes, I know most of the artists in those balloon-dress emails.

More importantly, I am a business person. I dress professionally when I’m at meetings. I can speak to issues affecting small companies. I address micro-business marketing ideas. I discuss articles from the recent business magazine. That gives me the respect of being a serious business person.

The cosmetics lady may attend other meetings and she may wear more appropriate clothes. It will take a long time before people forget her shorts and shirt first appearance.

So how do you present yourself? Is your appearance appropriate to the event? Do you wear a tuxedo to a bar-b-que pool party? Do you wear a tropical print shirt to a funeral? (I got to do this for a parrot-head friend as his last request. He would have smiled at the entire crowd in outrageous attire.)

We in the entertainment industry need to advance the idea that we are fun. Just make sure you dress the part.


Thad James
SAMMY J Balloon Creations
www.sammyjballoons.com
“Balloon entertainment with a twist”

So I met this guy....

I had the opportunity to hear Scott speak. Who is Scott? He is “The Nametag Guy”. You know those sticky name tags you get at meetings that you write your name on so people can say your name when they talk to you? Most of us can’t wait to rip off that nametag and throw it away as soon as we leave the meeting.

Well, Scott left a meeting with his nametag on and realized that people were friendlier with their nametags on. People were more approachable with their nametags on. So he didn’t take his off. That was over 3,200 days ago. Scott has been wearing a handwritten nametag ever since. Scott wears a nametag every day, everywhere and for every occasion. He wears one on his jacket, another one under his jacket on his shirt and another one under his shirt that he never takes off. (Nice tat!) This gets him noticed. This makes him unique.

But Scott is more than just a nametag.

He has spoken to thousands of people at hundreds of companies about dozens of topics. He has written countless articles on ways to increase sales, build better customers, out-perform your competition, and attract more business. Scott has a daily blog. He has written multiple books. He Tweets.

But you can learn about all this on his website, http://www.hellomynameisscott.com/.
Or on his blog, http://www.hellomynameisscott.blogspot.com/
Or listen to his podcast. Or watch his YouTube videos. Or visit his MySpace page. Or his Squidoo page.

Is there anyplace this guy isn’t? Well, no. And that’s one of his main points (and he has a lot of great points). If you’re everywhere, there is no room for your competition to be anywhere. If everyone is visiting your website, they’re not viewing someone else’s. If everyone is reading your blog, they’re not looking at anybody else’s. If everyone is wondering what you will do next, they’re not thinking about your competition.

If you have the unique angle on your business, great. But if nobody knows about it, so what? You have to be noticed and you have to let people know that you’re being noticed. And being noticed by people means being in front of people. Networking works. Period. Scott stresses this in many of his writings. And he proves it by speaking to groups, being interviewed on TV, newspaper articles, magazine covers. He gets people talking about what he’s talking about.

Hey, that’s what this article is about! You’re reading about me noticing Scott!!

Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to get the word out about how exceptional I am.

Thad James
SAMMY J Balloon Creations
http://www.sammyjballoons.com/
Balloon entertainment with a twist

A New Cake Every Week

A local restaurant, Maggie’s Lunchbox, hired me to make a balloon cake to promote their customized event cakes. The owner wanted something unique that would start a conversation about their offerings. Not only did they get a lot of interest in their baked goods, but I’ve received many compliments on my creations.

The first sculpture was so popular that the restaurant wants a different cake every week. The only criterion is that the sculptures be eye-catching and distinctive. I’m thrilled by the challenge of creating a new and unique design for them every Monday. I’ve already got weeks of ideas in my head. Colors and designs and shapes and weaves…..

More importantly, I’ve already received a couple of bookings from the sculptures.

So, what marketing plan did I put in to place to obtain this steady gig? Postcards? cold-calling? Coupons? Door-to-door offers? No. It would have been difficult to walk in to a breakfast/lunch restaurant and sell them on the idea of balloons. This never would have turned into a weekly “restaurant gig”. They’re not open for dinner, they get very few families and they don’t offer a kid’s menu. And since they just recently opened, they’ve had dozens of sales reps come in the door with great “marketing ideas” and “advertising opportunities”.

So how did I get me foot in the door?

I met the owner at a networking event hosted by the local Chamber of Commerce. I’ve been a member for several years and I got in the habit of bringing a different sculpture to every meeting, (read the July 1 blog). The event was a picnic and I created a hamburger and french fries on a plate. We began talking about the range of balloon sculptures and hatched the idea of promoting their custom event cakes using balloon cakes. They get business from customers asking about the balloons and I get business from people eating at the restaurant.

A win-win.

I can’t stress the importance of showing people what I do. I can explain balloon sculpture to them all I want, but nothing beats seeing something never seen before. But more importantly, I got a steady job by thinking differently about balloon art and getting a client to see the potential of increasing her profit.

If you’re in the area, stop by and see this week’s balloon dessert:

Maggie’s Lunchbox
867 Horan Dr
Fenton MO 63026

Let Kari or Ben know how much you like the balloons. And have one of Ben’s fresh baked cookies. You deserve it.


Thad James
SAMMY J Balloon Creations
“Balloon entertainment with a twist!”