We recently connected with Bill Allen and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Bill, we’re so appreciative of you taking the time to share your nuggets of wisdom with our community. One of the topics we think is most important for folks looking to level up their lives is building up their self-confidence and self-esteem. Can you share how you developed your confidence?
I am working on that everyday. It wasn’t until recently that I began truly having confidence in myself in various aspects of my life. My wife, being my number one cheerleader, has been a driving force in that. However, as much as she inspires me to be better everyday, I can only credit God for whatever confidence and self-esteem I have. I fail at something daily, whether it’s spending enough time with my family, doing the most important things at work that need to be done, making sure my team knows I appreciate them, taking care of myself, or a myriad of other things that don’t go right. If I let them, these things can bring me down, but I have to remember that God has instilled every bit of talent that I have, every bit of drive that I have, and every bit of humility that I have. Whether I fail or succeed, “God does everything for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose”. -Romans 8:28. Through Him, we’ve been blessed to have won many awards, been written up in multiple news outlets and magazines, been invited to teach conferences, etc.. I could not have done any of that without Him. That’s where my confidence comes from.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
Back in 2012, I took a chance on myself and my desire to own my own business and launched Balloon Man, – a vibrant venture that adds color into celebrations across Texas. We don’t just sell “colorful bags of air”. We’re a company dedicated to transforming ordinary spaces into colorful wonderlands, using the magic of balloons to create captivating festive environments for automotive dealerships, birthday bashes, baby showers, weddings, grand openings, corporate galas, and everything in between.
Balloons have this magical ability to transform any space, and we take pride in going beyond conventional designs. We’re all about crafting unique, personalized balloon creations that resonate with the essence of each event. It’s the smiles on our clients’ faces and the emotion we evoke that make every event special to us.
Actually, Balloon Man, LLC is gearing up for an exciting venture. Without giving away too much, we are in the beginning stages of working with other companies to change the way the world views our industry. I’m not at a point I am ready to share much about it yet, but know that this could, potentially, be huge for the balloon industry as a whole.
To that point, Balloon Man was recently invited to teach over one hundred balloon decor companies from across the globe at the “Balloon Boss Summit” held in Orlando, Florida back in November. We have been invited back for next year’s event and we are excited to share more information about the new endeavor then.
On a personal note, for as long as I can remember I have wanted to write a book. I can now say I have done so! It’s called “The Big Book of Balloons – A Balloon’s Life”. It journals the life of a balloon and his friends as he relates to our life events, such as baby showers, weddings, birthdays, graduations, etc.. This children’s book doubles as a baby book/keepsake where you can affix your own event photos to the corresponding pages as you read along. You can find it on Amazon or our website at https://www.balloonmanllc.com/big-book-of-balloons.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Thanks to the amount of conventions there are throughout the year for balloon decorators, I have been blessed to have been able to attend many of them and learn a ton about different design types, techniques, strategies, marketing, and other business aspects of the industry. This is where I have learned the most about the type of work we can do. However, it is my connections that are most important to me. Being able to reach out to another decorator to ask questions, brainstorm, or to simply bounce ideas off of is extremely helpful when trying to keep up with the latest trends, predict future trends, and just to have support when things get tough. Nobody knows the balloon industry like other balloon artists.
I would suggest to others in the industry to do your research. Find events out there that are going to help you move along in your career. Find other businesses like yours in your area and begin building relationships with them. Even though they are your competition, they can be your biggest ally, too.
Who is your ideal client or what sort of characteristics would make someone an ideal client for you?
Our industry has a vast client base. As you can imagine, balloons can be used for every part of life, from before birth (baby showers) to after death (Heavenly birthday celebrations). Therefore, we serve individuals from all walks of life in all stages of life. In the past, our company served only automotive dealerships. However, having pivoted into the private and corporate event space has opened our eyes and our imaginations to create unique imagery in balloons.
With all of that being said, our ideal client is someone that sees balloons as, not just a decoration to be looked at or to fill space with color, but as an artform that will transform a space into a canvas of magical moments that will create memories to last a lifetime. We, at Balloon Man, love to build sculptures, walls, tunnels, and to help a client bring to life what their imaginations have dreamed up. While there is no job too big or too small for Balloon Man to take on, our passion lies within the larger than life displays that will leave our clients in awe.
Contact Info:
- Website: BalloonManLLC.com
- Instagram: @BalloonManLLC
- Facebook: @BalloonManLLC
- Linkedin: @BalloonManLLC
- Twitter: @Texasballoonman
- Youtube: @BalloonManLLC
