We were lucky to catch up with Amber Ireland recently and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, so we’re so thrilled to have Amber with us today – welcome and maybe we can jump right into it with a question about one of your qualities that we most admire. How did you develop your work ethic? Where do you think you get it from?
My mother is my greatest example for work ethic. She is a top executive in sales. I’ve watched her all my life support our family and work tirelessly to provide for myself and 3 little sisters. She would pick us up from work in her suit, put us to bed and then work late into the night to finish projects and deadlines.
She has provided a very high threshold of work ethic. She has always preached leadership, kindness, and hard work to my sisters and I. I try to now provide my sons with a similar threshold. That hard (and smart) work can help give you a sense of purpose and provide for your family.
One other major contribution to my work ethic was my background in the wine industry. Straight out of college I landed a coveted position as a sales executive for Gallo Winery in their management development program. I moved to Jacksonville, FL by myself and worked 7 days a week. I lifted cases of wine all day, created displays, competed in competitions against other top sales reps in the area and learned what it meant to run a route like my own business. Those formative years with some of the top sales people in the industry led me to where I am today – running my own balloon business, working 7 days a week and loving what I do.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
I am the owner and lead creator for a small balloon business based in Waxhaw, NC called Twist-N-Shout Balloons. The business was started like a lot of small businesses, during covid when I was working a side gig as a full-time SAHM to 2 little boys 19 months apart. I quickly found that I loved it so much and it grew very quickly after creating my LLC in January of 2021.
I have worked with balloons half of my life. The interest began when I was 16 years old and my mother gifted my little sisters and I a balloon twisting book for Christmas. She thought it would be a creative way to volunteer in high school and it was! We taught ourselves how to make all of the figures in the book and moved on to Youtube to learn more. I would go to local shopping centers and restaurants on the weekends and “Twist for tips” for extra gas money. So, at 16, with my moms help, I created my first business at 16.
15 years later I found myself back in the industry, but pivoting to the decor world. I rarely do live twisting anymore. Now I have a small staff of women who are also moms and work full time, but help keep my business afloat in their spare time. It is crazy to think how far this business has come since 2020. Last year, I bought a 16 ft box truck to help with deliveries. No more renting has been a game changer! We also launched our updated website with quicker more efficient ways to order and book with us.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
1. Support others in the industry: Once I began to foster relationships with other highly successful small business owners in the area my business began to grow. I try to refer vendors to my clients that I love to work with and just love what they do. For example I love working with Alpha Lit Charlotte and The White Bounce House. The way they operate their businesses is admirable. Say other peoples names in a room and say something good about them – share the love. Find your people and check in with them often. You get what you put into relationships and they can go a long way when running a business.
2. Hire good help: In the early stages of building my business it was exciting, but also exhausting and lonely most of the time. It wasn’t until I finally opened up my arms and asked for help that we truly hit our stride. In 2022 I hired my first admin assistant, Arianna and she has been with us for almost 2 years now. She helps me with all of our inquiries, calendar and invoices. It was truly a game changer. I also have a small team of contracted employees that help me blow up the thousands of balloons a week instead of me working until 2am doing it all myself. I wouldn’t be able to do what I do today without them. This rule can also apply to other aspects of the business: cpa, insurance agent, etc.
3. Invest in Education: Creating a small business is baptism by fire. It is intense and you make a lot of mistakes. It is inevitable. Something that helped me a lot was paying for classes and tutorials online. Good ones by seasoned, trained professionals in the balloon industry. Instructors like: Feathered Fox, The Balloon Coach, The Creative Heart Studio and even one close to home in Charlotte, Confetti Castle. You get out what you invest in so I invested what little time and money I had in perfecting my arsenal. I still do today and this will always be the case. If you stop learning you stop growing.
One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?
We are always looking for other party business vendors to partner with for events in the Charlotte area! Especially ones in the South Charlotte/Ballantyne/Waxhaw/Weddington area. We get a lot of inquiries for uptown and North Charlotte, but being based in Waxhaw delivery costs can be a lot for events north of Uptown so we are actively searching out clients closer to home.
We are always looking for talented event planners to add us to their roster. We are at a place now where we would like to take on clients planning larger events because we can take the scale. We love working with corporate companies to put a twist on their gatherings. We keep an extensive vendor contact list from mobile bars to florists and we are constantly adding and referring our favorites to our clients to couple with their balloon decor.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.twistnshoutballooning.com
- Instagram: twist_n_shout_balloons
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/twistnshoutballooning
Image Credits
AB Photography, Andrea Brewer
