Balloon Decorating Success Story in Entrepreneur Business Magazine

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the lady showed up to deliver my bouquet, I started asking her all kinds of questions about where she advertised, how long she'd been in business, and so on." Prosper discovered she had been advertising in Los Angeles Magazine. He purchased a copy, saw several ads for balloon delivery services, and began to think that this would be a good way to expand his business. He ordered Entrepreneur's "Balloon Delivery Service" business guide (X1242), and conducted a market survey of every balloon business in the area.

By investigating all his competiors, Prosper obtained an in-depth education in all methods of creating balloon art and displays. "I went home and began to experiment with various techniques, and through lots and lots of trial and error, I came up with a balloon-arch concept that was my own creation," Prosper says.

Prosper perfected several of his own designs, then contracted with a friend who was a cartoonist to produce four-color illustrations of them. Once the drawings were completed, Prosper promoted his business by visiting every hall or auditorium that people could rent for wedding receptions or parties in the area. He showed his designs, and arranged to pay each hall manager a 10-percent commission on any customers who ordered balloon decorations for their social functions. Armed with the names and phone numbers of the groups, individuals, corporations, and wedding parties that had reserved space in the halls, Charles contacted each directly to offer his services as a decorator.

"The first sale I made was a six-arch tunnel over a dance floor for $200," he says. In his first year in business (while still working as a waiter in addition to inflating balloons), Charles estimates that he made just $500 a month. But that figure doubled the next year, and the next, and the next. By 1987, his ninth year in business, Prosper's company, Balloons by Prosper, was grossing $200,000.

Prosper has provided decorations for companies like Pepsi Cola, the Hyatt Hotels, Holiday Inn, Bekins, California Federal Savings, and Kentucky Fried Chicken. Balloons by Prosper also does an average of four or five major wedding decorations every Saturday, and handles at least ten $30-to-$40 balloon arrangements daily, on the slowest of days.

Prosper has expanded to offer instructional seminars on getting into balloon retailing. To perfect his seminar technique, Prosper purchased Entrepreneur's "Seminar Promoting" business guide (X1071), but didn't stop there. "I have many, many of the Entrepreneur business guides," he says. "The information in the business guides was so valuable, it would have been worth it at twice the price. I recommend the business guides to anyone, and use them when I train people. Since most people aren't born entrepreneurs and don't have formal business educations, I suggest they use Entrepreneur business guides to give them the tools they need to succeed."

As to the future, Prosper is unabashedly optimistic. "I have every reason to believe that if I just keep going at the present rate, I'll soon be doing $1 million a year in business."

(Entrepreneur Magazine, March 1988)

"If you really want to do something, you'll find
a way; if you don't, you'll find an excuse."

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